24 Review:
"4:00 a.m. - 5:00 a.m." (Episode 8.13)

I have to admit up front I was a tad bit doubtful. Alright—I assumed the momentum from last week's solid, fast-paced hour wouldn't carry over to this week. Can you blame me? After the big event, I've routinely come to expect the usual lull for the characters (and the rest of us) to catch our collective breath. But I contest that last week—the halfway point, the hour that would "change everything"—was only setup for this week, the true hour that changed everything.

If we had one of those old movie trailers from the '40s leading into last night's episode, those big bold letters smothering the screen would go something like this: Intense blazing shootouts! Sinister surprises! Chloe O'Brian wielding a gun! Perhaps "wielding" is a bit strong, but holy hell. Chloe—gettin' work done without the computer. Well, the gun was more of a means to a computer-related end, but still. Thank you writers for finally answering our pleas and letting Mary Lynn Rajskub do her thing. If you think about it, her character is like C-3PO and R2-D2 mixed into one lovable awkward darling: She's super snarky, but has the geek-filled wherewithal to back it up. And like the latter, she's always the unsung hero. I'll tell ya, it was a thing of beauty seeing her point that gun at the bullies from the NSA and then proceed to somehow convince Brian Hastings to give her 10 more minutes to get CTU back online. And after she does (duh!), a vintage Chloe moment: Hastings begins to thank her when she rudely interjects, "I don't deal well with praise." Gotta love her.

You know who you don't gotta love? Dana Walsh. Now there's even more reason to loathe her after discovering she's working with the terrorists. Whodathunk the rattled and distressed blonde pushover could be capable of such acts as strangling a big dude like Bill Prady (Stephen Root)? Or being involved in a layered plot all along without dropping any hints to the audience? So you have questions, wondering if this move matches up with everything that's gone down the past thirteen hours. Really though, who cares? As far as I'm concerned, it's a great move. I no longer have to watch as Dana flails around trying to keep her head above water, and she'll more than likely get what's coming to her. Sounds like a winner to me.

OK, so it did seem like an easy out. Make the character everyone hates the most the bad guy—err, girl. But hey, we've put up with enough. Time to bury the whole redneck past thing and focus on the real story.

Other observations:

Jack, Cole and two other agents spent pretty much the entire hour in a shootout with terrorist bodyguards. Toward the end, one of the two other CTU agents was shot and left for dead, but the other younger agent, who played a part in previous hours, couldn't stand to leave his friend behind. Against Jack's instruction, he tries to drag back the wounded man, getting shot in the process as well. Both men ultimately die, the man who tried to save his comrade holding out a few minutes longer. His pained conversation with Jack is simple: "I couldn't leave him out there... Did he make it?" Jack lies to him. It's one of those things where you ask yourself why someone would pretty much go on a suicide run when he's in the clear. But in those simple, frantic words, you get it. Bravery doesn't always follow logic; it is, however, synonymous with honor and pride.

Oh, and Renee is back again, and just in time. A regular killing machine! It'd be nice to see her stick around a while.

If the next 11 hours can somehow manage the intensity of the past couple, and I don't want to speak too early—we may be looking at a comeback.