24 Reaction 3:00-4:00 - Driving Around NYC's Never Been This Easy

Last week I had to step away to my own crisis so I wasn’t able to give my 24 reaction. It was a shame because I thought last week’s was the best episode of the season replete with a classic Jack Bauer threat and the confirmation of my early season prediction that Hassan’s head of security was in fact a terrorist.

Tonight’s 24 labeled as having “a twist that would change everything.” I always get a little worried when shows tout something like this. Inevitably, the big “whhaaa?” moment is disappointing. I’ll be honest; tonight’s ending caught me a little off guard. Maybe 24’s losing some of predictability. Haha, sometimes I say crazy things.

Last week, we found out Tarin was a terrorist and tonight he followed through by helping the IRK take Kayla Hassan hostage. We pretty much saw something like this coming a million miles away. Why else keep President Hassan’s daughter around for so long? The terrorists nab her and offer a price: File 33. What is that you ask? Why of course it’s the file that shows all of the United States’ nuclear weaknesses. How did they get this file? Who the hell knows.?

Anyway, turns out Tarin isn’t all bad after all (or is he?) and lets his heartstrings overwhelm the need to die for his country. I actually kind of felt bad when I thought he died trying to escape with Kayla. I thought he was just a guy, like Marco from last week, who got involved with the wrong crowd. The same thing happened to me in middle school. I mean we weren’t trying to blow up New York City or anything (we toilet papered a few houses I think), but I get it. Kayla escapes and somehow had the number for CTU on the cell phone she somehow acquired. Good thing too because she had an EMP in the car. This is an incredibly huge leap of faith on the part of the terrorists. Not only did they just assume she’d call CTU, but that she’d drive a million miles an hour to headquarters and CTU’d just let her right in the front door. Good thing she didn’t stop at a red light because the EMP worked and now CTU no longer just figuratively blind.

Side notes and thoughts:

- The Dana Walsh storyline: I almost fast-forwarded through every exchange sha had with the guy from News Radio, but I didn’t in the hope that this storyline will actually mean something to the rest of the season. It probably won’t. This is starting to rival Kim being attacked by a cougar as one of the all-time stupidest plot lines in 24 history.

- Anil Kapoor continues to impress as President Hassan. He brings a great deal to every scene and tonight was no different when he wrestled with how to deal with his daughter as a hostage.

- Another good week of action escalated to a fairly reasonable degree without getting too crazy. In past seasons, the nuclear bomb would have already gone off and CTU would be dealing with a new, bigger problem. This hasn’t been the case and the action has worked nicely with the storyline.

- I drove around New York City this weekend. There have never been as few cars on the road as when the 24 crew hits the streets.