REVIEW: '24: Live Another Day' - Jack and Kate Try to Outrun a Drone and Its Missiles in 'Day 9: 5:00PM - 6:00PM'

FOX's 24: Live Another Day - Episode 9.07 "Day 9: 5:00PM - 6:00PM"

Following an intense and deadly shootout, Jack and Kate are in a race against time to save the life of a key player tied to the imminent terror threat. Meanwhile, Jordan is ordered into the field on a perilous mission. After President Heller engages Margot to end her savage attacks, he faces an unthinkable, game-changing decision.

"I just hate these people that think they have anything to justify what they are doing." -Jack Bauer

Jack turns to Kate shortly after torturing Simone for information on her mother halfway through the episode and says that line. It's a line of self-reflection and condemnation. Jack hates himself for having to torture people in order to save the world. But he also hates that there are bad people out there that are forcing him to torture in order to stop them. It's a vicious cycle that has been discussed many a time on 24.

After a strong string of episodes, 24 hit a major speed bump during last week's midway point. It felt like they could rely on some old 24 tricks in order to keep the story and the multiple characters interesting. There's a handful of subplots that I'm really not interested in at all - namely the Jordan investigating Kate's husband and Steve trying to take him out and the Mark trying to cover his own ass stories. The CIA material is completely extraneous! Are they even helping Jack and Kate try to stop the attack anymore? I don't know! Everyone of value is instead talking about Kate's husband and an event that happened off-screen before the season even started. The stuff with Mark is at least setting up a future endgame for Jack Bauer. It's worried about and planning for the future when 24 is a much better show when it's all about the complications of the here and now. That's what is exciting. But alas, we get stuff that will become important later even though it's pretty boring now.

But an episode of 24 can become instantly wonderful simply by having one really well-executed action sequence. "5:00PM-6:00PM" features that in spades once Margot decides to target the hospital where Simone is at. To her, it's a massive betrayal to the family that she refused to kill Naveed's sister and daughter instead opting to get them out of the city. She has defiled orders one too many times and must be taken out otherwise she risks ruining this entire operation.

It's a heart-pounding sequence as Jack and Kate get just enough of a warning time to start evacuating the hospital and try to get Simone out of there. Luckily she's conscious enough to make decisions and walk. And that luck continues - which is a very rare feat for Jack and 24. Usually, the clock is ticking down and the asset dies before he gets any kind of useful information. But all three of them survive this ordeal - albeit just barely for Simone. She's willing to help now seeing the lengths her mother will go to to keep her quiet. Plus now, she's down one drone. That's one less threat to worry about.

However, it seems as if President Heller is willing to give into her demands in order to save the greater good. He makes that call to her and makes sure that he can trust her word. It's odd for the two opponents of the season to speak back-and-forth like this but it's wonderfully exciting. It also goes directly against the country's no negotiating with terrorists policy. Is Heller's plan a valiant effort of self-sacrifice or does he have another trick up his sleeve? I'm guessing the latter.

Some more thoughts:

• "Day 9: 5:00PM - 6:00PM" was written by Tony Basgallop and directed by Jon Cassar.
• Chloe also is forced out of her current tech hideout because of law enforcement. Now, she's set up shop at a local pub.
• The person on the other end of Steve's call is Adrian Cross. I can see how that story is shaping up to be but I strongly don't care about it at all.
• The show is obviously keeping Jordan alive for some reason. Maybe he'll make his way back to CIA headquarters just in time to run into Kate.
• In more long-term planning, Heller wants to meet with the Vice President when they get back home to discuss his resigning.