FOX's 24: Live Another Day - Episode 9.03 "Day 9: 1:00PM - 2:00PM"
As the hunt for Jack continues, the terror threat is intensifying, much to the chagrin of the CIA and Kate. Across town, President Heller prepares to address Parliament in an attempt to heal recent wounds and to preserve his legacy. Meanwhile, Margot proves she is willing to make any sacrifice for her mission.
It's odd that in a 12-episode condensed season of 24 the episode immediately following the two hour premiere largely plays as a piece moving episode. It's digging deeper into the characters and their core plot beats that will fuel the emotional and action pieces later on. Last week's premiere was a strong and confident welcome back to 24. It's been four years but Jack Bauer is still immensely enjoyable to watch kick some ass. There aren't any real big action set pieces this week. We're still learning who these characters and what this situation is all about. And yes, that's informative but not really special.The most enjoyable development from this hour comes when Chloe reveals to Jack that Morris and Prescott are both dead. That was a solid emotional moment that hit so well. Everything else at this plot feels forceful while that scene could simply be what it was.
The show is also physically changing Chloe into Jack. Their friendship has been a strong building block for years. But now, they're really pushing Chloe to the extremes. She's lost her job because of Jack. She's lost her family. She no longer trusts her government. She's been tortured. She's roughed up over the last four years which is in contrast to the Chloe we used to know. Now, she and Jack are cut from the same cloth as they both experienced the same things in life. They are both fugitives. Jack's moral code is more profound but Chloe's always there by his side.
And yet, all these developments with Chloe leave me wondering if she's going to make it out of this season alive? No matter what conspiracy was thrown Jack's way, he's always lived another day to battle the evil in the world. They've taken everything and everyone close to him but he's still trying to stop terrorist attacks from happening. Jack's always lived but will Chloe? Jack claims he doesn't have friends but she honestly is the only person still close to him. Yes, she too needs happiness out of life. But maybe happiness isn't in the cards for her. The only person she can trust is Jack. The organization she's working for is undermining her efforts to help him. It's just food for thought now. But the seeds have been planted and now I'm cherishing every moment of Jack and Chloe working against the world together.
Elsewhere, Simone is able to escape from Jack and make her way back to her mother. And we get an info dump about what Margot, her family and why they are doing this. Apparently, President Heller ordered a drone strike that killed her terrorist husband. So now, she's gonna get some revenge. And her kids are more than willing to help. Daughter is a killer and son is a tech guy. But daughter's husband is having reservations. So daughter has to sleep with him and mom creepily watches. It's all much less exciting once Simone gets to the compound. Her avoiding Jack and Chloe was fun. The rest? I'm not quite sure yet.
We also learn that things aren't the best with Audrey and Mark's marriage. She feels like he's the one making all the decisions. This "twist" was to be expected. I mean it had to be a strained marriage in order for Audrey to run into Jack again and have some kind of sparks fly again. Also, President Heller went to address Parliament and they mostly just angrily asked questions. I'm not sure how we are suppose to read that final scene with him. To me, it felt like he was waiting for a break in the onslaught of questions to speak again. I'm worried we're suppose to think it's him not sure what to say because of his condition.
Some more thoughts:
- "Day 9: 1:00PM - 2:00PM" was written by Sang Kyu Kim & Patrick Somerville and directed by Adam Kane.
- Oh, Erik and Kate started working together as a team. He finally is able to see her as a capable agent in the field. She's smart and can track Jack Bauer. But that just means he has to bring up her husband yet again.
- But that cliffhanger sure was a great moment to end on. Panic people running is always an interesting thing to throw in the middle of a tense situation.
