In the fifth hour of the ninth unfathomably awful day in Jack Bauer’s career, everyone learns that the former federal agent/current wanted man was right. Of course, there were a few people who already knew this. Jack’s methods of obtaining information are typically suspect, but his instincts are excellent. Kate Morgan, whose own sharp intuition and questionable tactics are reminiscent of Jack’s, works with Chloe to retrieve info off of Chris Tanner’s flight key. Kate takes the information to her superior, Steve Navarro. The two contact President Heller, who immediately orders that all U.S. drones, no matter where they are located, must be grounded. There’s a problem, though: six of those drones went missing.
This is where 24: Live Another Day starts to get really interesting.
Margot Al-Harazi is shaping up to be one of the great 24 villains. Her actions are cruel; her calm way of justifying those actions only amplifies that cruelty. Margot’s treatment of her children, particularly daughter Simone, is abusive. In the last episode, she had her daughter maimed to get her son-in-law, Navid, back as the drone pilot. In the early minutes of the three o’clock hour, Simone is in clear pain from her injuries. Margot tells her daughter not to blame herself. Instead, Margot confesses that this situation is her own fault. For a second, we think Margot is actually regretting her actions. Not quite. Instead, she tells Simone that if she knew Navid would turn on them, she would have done something about him earlier.
Margot unleashes a tape explaining her master plan. She explains that her husband was considered a terrorist, despite being part of a “legitimate struggle.” She says that the drone attack that killed her spouse also ended 23 other lives. Moreover, she notes, six of those killed were children.
When President Heller sees Margot’s video, he requests footage of the attack. As they watch the video, Heller realizes that Margot’s accusations were correct. He asks why no one told him that there were civilian casualties in the attack. Mark Boudreau, the President’s son-in-law and Chief of Staff, says “I was protecting you.” The justification here is that telling the President about the attack would have derailed other deals he had in the works.
President Heller has not been well this season. His memory and his judgment are slipping. Yet, in this scene, he can see the situation with more clarity than anyone else in that room. “We just gave our enemy a moral victory,” he says. No one gets it. Heller goes on to explain what he means. Margot is about to launch a devastating attack, but she’s justified it as payback for American actions that are already considered controversial.