24 Review:
"12:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m." (Episode 7.17)

Part of me has to admit—when we were first introduced to the big Starkwood conspiracy, I was skeptical 24 could pull it off. Who's going to buy into the idea that an American private army would have the audacity to turn on its own country because that government turned its back on the company? And yet, after the last hour, it all seems so simple thanks to one factor: We get a better glimpse at the madman behind the absurdity. With what seemed like more screen time in an episode than ever before, Jon Voight brings us closer to the man that is Jonas Hodges. Jonas the idealist. Jonas the businessman. Jonas the murderer. (Or at least that's how it looks after he he takes care of chairman and co-founder of Starkwood, Doug Knowles, bludgeoning him and throwing him out of his second floor office. Without a pulse check and a solemn "he's dead" to go along with it, you never know for sure.)

One has to wonder what's in this guy's endgame. We know he has 13 missiles armed with the deadly toxin that infected Jack (we'll get to him later), and that those missiles are targeting major U.S. cities. The mere thought of these weapons being deployed causes President Taylor to call off an airstrike on Starkwood. He may have used the element of surpise in a way that gives Starkwood the upperhand in the short-term, but does he actually believe a 1,500-man private army can hold the U.S. government hostage after today? Jonas insists the president meet with him in the Oval Office within an hour, so, crazy as it sounds, next hour should have his laundry list of complains and demands. But don't expect an hour of diplomacy. Previews show some sort of big explosion. It could be bad in one of two ways: It's an attack on a city, or it's an explosion on the grounds of Starkwood, leading to a possible missile launch on a city. Either way, it's getting more and more urgent.

Speaking of urgency, Jack was again an almost-non-factor this hour. Besides staying behind at FBI headquarters and running point for Tony as he infiltrates Starkwood, our damaged hero seems as pitiful as ever. The infection is starting to kick in, causing uncontrolled shaking and an eventual collapse in the office. While the medic gives him some injections to "mask" the symptoms, she also tells him there's research in the early stages involving stem cells from a family member that could give him a slight chance. There's the window we've been waiting for. Jack Bauer will live to see another day, and Kim Bauer (Elisha Cuthbert), his daughter will return, despite his best efforts to not get her involved. You can almost imagine how it'll play out. Jack will begin to deteriorate even more, and Renee will—against his wishes—make the call to his long-lost daughter. (Let's just hope she's matured enough to not be an unnecessary distraction.) There is always that possibility, in this show especially, that things won't go as expected, and the writers are just setting us up for an even bigger shock. But it's Jack. And he has one more season to go, plus a movie after the whole thing wraps up. Like we said before, unless they go into prequel mode and let the bomb go off before the timer hits zero, Jack will live today.

On a semi-related note, isn't it strange to see the parallels between 24 and Lost this year? They must be the two most intense shows on television, albeit for different reasons, and both staple-character Jacks have taken a backseat to the action the past couple episodes. Besides that, Lost has one season to go, and 24 may only have a single day left as well. While one show thrives on non-stop action and the other on relentless character studies, it could be a pretty dramatic 2011 if the two of the best dramas bail at the same time in 2010. With the way this year is going for each of the shows, you can only imagine the withdrawal.