If anyone is interested in seeing some hard-core torture, be sure to tune in to next Monday night's episode of 24, Day Eight, Hour 12:00pm-1:00pm (episode 21). According to the previews from last night's episode, Jack Bauer goes all hyper-Bauer on the Russian spy who assassinated his lover, Renee Walker, in this season's episode 17. It looks like some pretty intense shit. Put it this way. In the preview in question, the Russian spy was visible from the waist up. Jack was standing right in front of him. The guy was screaming in agony. You could see Jack's arm going towards him, but you could not see Jack's hand. You do the math.
Jack is trying to learn the identities of the Russian officials involved in the terrorist plot that took the life of IRK President Hassan and ultimately cost the life of Renee. He now has a disc that was purported by Dana Walsh (the CTU analyst who was a Russian mole) to prove who was behind these events. Evidently, it is this disc that will eventually lead Jack to the Russian spy. Just wait until he finds out ex-President Logan is involved with the Russians. I expect Logan to face Jack's ire and to meet his ultimate fate. Jack is not to be outdone. He is out for justice, but also fueled by the desire for revenge.
Dana Walsh learned that in last night's episode the hard way. In a way it was too bad, as she demonstrated in this episode that she was a worthy foe, but she was, alas, not quite good enough. After Jack extracted the disc from her, he could have tied her up and left her to the police, or for that matter even let her go, as he himself said she was nothing but small potatoes. Instead, he killed her, more or less in cold blood. I liked the way he did it too. He shot her once, just to make sure she knew the end was coming. He definitely wanted her to know what hit her. Then, once he was satisfied that message was delivered, Jack shot her again and put her out of her misery. Dana almost looked, ironically, like she was finally at peace. She knew any chance for a normal life was long over, at any rate. Perhaps, in an odd sort of way, this was Jack's way of showing her some mercy, since she admitted to him that she didn't have the heart to kill Agent Cole Ortiz (her former fiancee') when she had a clear chance to do so.
This happened while Jack, who was on the run from CTU, waited outside the bank while Cole and Dana went to their shared safety deposit box to retrieve the disc, Dana agreeing to do so after Cole and Jack rescued her from Bledsoe and his men who, unbeknownst to Jack, was hired by Logan with President Taylor's permission to keep Dana from spilling the beans about the Russians and their involvement with Hassan's murder, thus derailing the still fragile peace accords. Bledsoe subjected Dana to numerous water-boarding ordeals, but Dana still refused to divulge the information they were after, telling Bledsoe to go to hell. After all, she knew her life was over the minute she told him what he wanted to know.
But now, Dana seemed willing to hand this information over to Jack and Cole. Unfortunately, she had a prearranged ace in the hole. Along with the disc was a concussion device that was activated when Cole opened the box, temporarily disabling him to the extent Dana was able to easily render him unconscious. She then took the disc, along with the remainder of the contents of the safe deposit box-a cell-phone, some money, and a gun. She then used the phone, after she shot and killed her and Cole's friend who had come to investigate the noise, and made a 9/11 call reporting Jack's presence outside the bank.
This report made it back to Logan's flunky, who was now at CTU, in charge of the hunt for Bauer, and who sent word to the Russians, who will now be on the hunt for Jack as well. However, Jack easily escaped the two police who responded to the 9/11 call, shooting one in the foot and knocking the other one out. He then took off after Dana, who made it to an empty construction site, ditching her shoes in an attempt to move quietly. After some brief tension, Jack got the better of her, as reported above.
There was one major flaw in the entire episode which has so far been unremarked, concerning the scene at the bank with the safe deposit box. In the box, as I said, was a gun, money, and a disc in a plastic case. There was also some kind of concussion device, which was strong enough to temporarily disable Cole, who stood over the box, then taking the gun, remarking as to how Dana would never change, before the concussion stunned him. Yet, it did so while seeming to not damage the thick wad of bills, or the disc in the case. So far as you could tell, they were not so much as even jostled around. I guess you could make the point that the case was concussion proof, but I think it's more than likely just one of the many oversights that crop up from time to time.
At any rate, I am looking forward to see how this series finally resolves. I tend to think the news of a 24 movie might be a blind, to disguise Jack's demise at the end of the series. Of course, the movie could also be a prequel with a star other than Sutherland-a younger Jack Bauer.
At this stage, it wouldn't surprise me to see the series end the opposite way it started. Jack taking the life of a president instead of working to save the life of a presidential candidate. I can envision Logan's coming fate, as he crouches in terrors, knowing Jack is in the room with him, having made it past his security, or disabling them, before he finally puts the weasel out of the world's misery.
Nothing is better than justice served with a piping hot side of revenge.
