If asked to describe this week's episode of 24 in two words, I think it would be a pretty simple task: nothing happened. Literally. Not one thing of major note occurred. its true that the show needs episodes to put pieces in place for what's to come, but this didn't even feel like a piece moving episode. It felt like an episode where nothing I cared about at all occurred. Annie Wersching is getting in some very solid scenes out of Renee's on screen breakdown, and watching her skirt the edge with a combination of fear and cynical detachment is remotely interesting because she handles it so well ,but she is really stretching the material as far as it can go.
Meanwhile, President Taylor still wants to get the peace dea through, Hassan seems to be a little nuts after the assassination attempt, Dana is still going through the motions of her incredibly rote "forced mole" plotline, Arlo is still kind of a jerk who is kind of right, and Jack is still stuck ineffectually behind the scenes calling out Renee for being far less crazy than he has been before (until he finally gets moved to the front line near the episode's end). Maybe becoming a grandfather has softened Jack, but this is a man who has done things far darker and crazier than anything Renee has thought yet who is freaking out over her. I desperately hope this doesn't turn into another damaged romance subplot as Jack's overreaction seems to indicate, as we all know Jack is cursed by his past to never be truly happy.
I'd love to stretch this review more, but there isn't much to say. I found Renee's idea to take a shower while her former rapist was in the next room entirely preposterous, and thought that the russian crime boss killing his son was very "look how evil I am, I kill my own men" cliched, to the point that it didn't even shock me. Clearly he wasn't going to kill David Anders, because no one kills Sark that easily, and because he is the thing I'm most excited about so far in this season. Let's pause for a moment to consider that fact: the semi-rebellious son of a disconnected and none too threatening bad guy is the closest thing we have to a solid plotline yet this year. Which reminds me, does anyone else feel like there isn't really a threat or tension in this season? I mean sure, there's a chance someone will get a nuclear weapon, but we already saw Los Angeles get a huge pock mark a few years ago (which was, by the way, incredibly shocking and a great moment for the series) and they really can't pull that trick again. Plus, I seriously doubt 24 is controversial enough to set off a nuclear bomb in New York City, which leaves literally zero tension. The preview for next week promised some cool looking action, and I seriously hope there are a few plot twists or complications thrown in to get this incredibly lackluster season off the ground. Otherwise we too are about to experience a very long day.
Grade: C-
Notes:
-Freddie Prinze Jr. is not nearly as bad as I'd worried he might be, but to this point has been pretty underused. I wonder when he'll get pulled in majorly...
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