24

[Nostradamus]

Just finished the latest episode, so if you Tivoed or taped yours and haven't watched it yet, you might want to skip this post until you do, cause of course it's got...

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Your guess is as good as mine as far as what exactly the CIA is doing with Bob, Kate, and that PI. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were funding Sayed Ali thinking he was working for them, when he was in fact playing them. In any case, it's obvious that they didn't bother to share their intel with CTU. <Sarcasm> Government agencies not cooperating with each other for the greater good? How could that be? </Sarcasm>

Does anyone else think that the radiation is affecting George's mind a bit sooner than expected? Then again, this could just be more of his emotional turmoil welling up, as we saw with his son.

Did Nina know about the missile ambush, steering the plane to San Diego so as to put it on target and give her a slim chance of escape? Or was it the survivors of Fahin's cell acting on their own to shut up Nina and their boss once and for all?

Even if Nina spills the beans on the bomb's location, that nervous terrorist may not be on schedule after his mates killed each other. Someone's going to find the mechanic's card on one of those bodies, and he might remember details about the van and its occupants.

It didn't take Sherry long to abuse her presidential authority, but under the circumstances, she may have done the best job of damage control with that reporter. At least this way no one mentions LA specifically, (if I heard right) which is what Palmer was worried about. It's still hard to tell who exactly is in Sherry's circle of influence; there may be more than two sides to this power play.

I give that cop about five minutes before he takes a sick day and calls all his family and friends with the bad news. Kim will have a chance to escape from LA via CTU, but she'll go back for Megan at just the right moment to distract Jack and screw things up again...

Heh, I do a lot of griping in these posts, but I still think it's a great show.

[NIGHTJESSI]

Since I do commentary on this show for another MB, I figured I would just cut and paste my initial comments on the latest episode from there.

Wow! This episode definitely kept things moving on all storylines.

Nina is certainly doing her best to protect herself, but the plane going down could prove to be a problem. I wonder if the terrorists are that organized that someone from the inside was able to leak the location of the plane in order to take out a possible threat to stopping their attack. Whatever happens there, it looks like Jack will have to continue working with Nina, although it does get harder and harder with each thing she pulls.

What did you think of the revelation that Bob is a consultant to the CIA? While that might explain why he didn't say anything when Tony first got to the house or why Bob has been so calm, it doesn't explain why Bob wanted Kate to contact the tax attorney. I'm thinking that Bob and someone at the CIA are in cahoots, using a covert CIA mission as a cover for covert activities. The fact that Tony believed Reza also makes Bob look more and more guilty.

As for Sherry and her continued ways of trying to "help" Palmer, I trust her less and less. That deal she was trying to strike with the journalist seemed doomed from the get-go. Any ethical journalist would be obliged to report what had happened to him or at least what intel he came across prior to him being detained, and Sherry should have known that the journalist in question would never stay silent if let out. I can't wait to see what Palmer's reaction is going to be to Sherry now. If everyone around him wants her to go and he's not happy with what she's doing, I don't understand why he doesn't just let her go. Granted, she might be able to get intel that no one else can, but is it really worth putting other presidential efforts in jeopardy?

With the journalist revealing the rumors and Kim telling the cop about the nuclear bomb, word is going to spread quickly. I do wonder how that will affect CTU's efforts to protect the city. With a couple of the terrorists dead and a somewhat unsure man manning the truck carrying the bomb, I'm wondering what will happen next.

It's going to be a long wait until the next episode. I can't believe we have to wait three weeks. Hopefully TPTB will definitely make it worth our wait.

[Nostradamus]

Crikey! If there were any doubts in my mind as to whether S2 could match S1's intensity, they're gone now.



LATEST EPISODE SPOILERS AND THEORIES

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I had previously considered the "Manchurian Candidate" plotline, but I figured the writers would go with a more conventional story. If you're confused, I'm not talking about the mind control stuff, but rather the "create a Red Scare to trick the USA into a totalitarian state" plot. With 24, you simply substitute "terrorist" for "Red" to get the same outcome.

Many of the characters in 24 resemble those from "MC".

• Jack Bauer -- Major Marco
  Kate Warner -- Eugenie Chaney
  Sherry Palmer -- Mrs. Iselin
  President Palmer -- Sen. Jordan
  George Mason -- Colonel Milt

Of that list, Sherry bears the most striking similarities; wouldn't she love "powers that make marshall law seem like anarchy"? I don't see a clear Raymond Shaw equivalent in 24, but the brainwashing would have been pushing it anyway. And the opening scenes of S2 were set in Korea; an homage shot?

I'm guessing that the soldiers killed at the crash site will prove very difficult to identify, unless the satellite caught something of their arrival. The missile could have been a shoulder launched heat-seaker, which would have given little warning and could have been deployed anywhere within a few miles of the flight path.

Why didn't the head terrorist kill Kate when he shot the PI? Why hand her off to the henchman?

If the bomb is delayed, Nina will have to wait a while on Jack's execution.

Does the NSA/CIA/military coup have someone in CTU? Michelle?

Judging by the previews, the other posters here were right about Marie! I was actually buying the whiny but innocent little sister act...

[dTheater]

BEST...EPISODE...EVER!



WILD THEORIES ABOUND!
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Does the NSA/CIA/military coup have someone in CTU? Michelle?

They (meaning the creators of the show) hired her; I guess they want her to do something. So far, she hasn't really served any purpose, yet she always credited as a regular, so something's gotta give.

What happened to the 3 terrorists in the Astro Van who ended up shooting each other and leaving one guy alive? They just completely vanished from this episode.

Mark my words on this, my friends: the address that Nina gave for the house in Chatsworth that is supposedly holding the nuke will turn out to be the new house that Reza showed Kate about 5 episodes ago.

[NIGHTJESSI]

I, too, am wondering what is going on with Michelle. She seems shady now, but I'm not sure why. It must be that damn paranoia that sets in every time I watch this show. Seriously though, she's been privy to everything going on thus far, and she seemed quite antsy to oust Mason out of power. We know Tony is trustworthy, and given the vibe of this show, there has to be a traitor within somewhere. Why not make it Marie who has been quiet thus far?

Here's additional comments on this episode that I initially posted on another board:

I really enjoyed this episode because there was so much to take in. The pace is certainly picking up, and most of the characters were left in a precarious position by episode's end.

The minute Jack took the handcuffs off Nina, I just knew that it would backfire on him. Granted, he had no choice with them being hunted down, but he should have known that she would double-cross him. It was heartbreaking to see Jack staying strong and encouraging President Palmer to allow Nina to kill Jack. Talk about a powerful scene.

When it comes to Reza and Bob, I don't know whom to believe. According to the machine, Reza is telling the truth and Bob is the one who is lying, but maybe that's too obvious. I think I am just becoming really paranoid with this show because now I'm thinking that perhaps Marie, the seemingly innocent one, has managed to dupe both her fiance and her father. What do you think?

As for Mrs. Palmer, I don't trust her still. Somehow I think she tricked Armis or was the one who gave him the order to let the reporter go. After all, she was promising nearly the world when she met with the reporter, and I wouldn't put it past her to do whatever she wanted in order to further her agenda, whatever it may be. I can't wait to see what happens next between her and Lynn because those two are really dancing on thin ice.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

If you haven't watched this week's 24 episode, close your eyes!!

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Duuuuuuuude I was getting high fives from my boyfriend all over tonight's episode because I told him weeks ago that Lady Mac was the one engineering the presidential takeover (how would SHE know that Roger had an additional four digit subcode on his passwords?) AND that Marie was the one with the terrorist connection. I do have to give my man credit - when Marie initially walked into the office at Daddy's place tonight, he said she was going to shoot Reza. He was right, just premature.

Now how am I supposed to wait three more weeks for another episode?!

I'll be over here pouting.

In the mean time, gee, what are the chances that Kim won't get away? Why don't they kill her off already?! Maybe Senor Perv will make an unexpected appearance when she gets back to LA.

And when will Bitchelle show her true colors? That evil look on her face didn't seem to say, "Yay, Tony says he likes me." It was more like, "A-HA! You have fallen into my trap!" Next thing you know, she'll start speaking German and killing her co-workers. Except for maybe George who's going to die anyway. I liked seeing the Softer Side of George this week.

[NIGHTJESSI]

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Candygirl, I'm with you on waiting for the next episode. Talk about torture! Then again, anytime there is going to be a gap, TPTB certainly go all out in leaving everything hinging, and they certainly did that here.

As for Kim, she drives me crazy with the situations she gets herself into. How did setting a fire really make sense? When I saw the transport teetering, I thought it was going to be a flashback of what happened in the first season with Kim and her mom's car. In any case, I can't wait to see where she goes next. You would think that she wouldn't head back to L.A. because of the bomb, but knowing her, that's exactly where she will go despite trying to initially escape being brought back there.

When Marie turned out to be the turncoat, I wasn't completely surprised since she seemed like the least likely to betray anyone. And with a show like this, you always know it's going to end up being the person you least expect. Still, I can't wait to see if she was working alone, or if her father was in on it too.

The more I watch this show, the more I see the storyline going in the direction of the threat not having anything to do with the obvious assumption of the Middle East and much more to do with the struggle for power in the White House. Sherry definitely seems up to her evil tricks again, and I wonder where this plan is ultimately going. Even for her, killing 1 million people is quite a stretch from wanting to get back at her former husband.

My big question is: what did Jack whisper to Nina when the helicopter was there? After she tried to ensure a pardon for killing him, I'm sure he's even more unhappy with her than he was before. I love how she says she didn't want things to get personal. How much more personal can you get than having an affair with someone and then killing that person's wife?

[Nostradamus]

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The snake unit tatoo was a bit unrealistic. Due to their politically unpopular (and all too often illegal) activities Black Ops units will go to great lengths to prevent their members from ever being identified or linked back to the parent organization. That means no dog tags, false or nonexistant credentials, no personnel records, no unit tatoos, and sometimes even no fingerprints (remember Men In Black?).

Maybe the conspiritors don't plan to let the bomb go off; it may be enough to create a believable threat, make Palmer look incompetent to stop it, and sweep in to save the day at the last minute. Who do you think will be the new leader? Stanton? Rayburn? Sherry seems to prefer her power behind the throne, using the public leaders as lightning rods in the event that things go wrong.

I'm really stretching now, but it occurs to me that even though all the evidence, including her own confession, point to Nina killing Terri, we never saw her do it. I'm not saying that Nina isn't crooked, just that there may be more to Terri's death than bad timing.

[NIGHTJESSI]

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Nostradamus, I wouldn't put it past the writers of 24 to come up with something plausible that would make Nina not the killer of Terri. You are right. We didn't actually see her shoot Jack's wife. And it would be just the kind of twist that would throw us off.

Then again, last season, I kept thinking that Nina and Tony were somehow in on things, so do you think it's possible that perhaps they really were working together but Tony has stayed deep undercover for the bigger plot? If so, then perhaps he was the one who shot Terri. I know it's far-fetched, but 24 tends to make me paranoid. I never know who to trust on here.

[Nostradamus]

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Then again, last season, I kept thinking that Nina and Tony were somehow in on things, so do you think it's possible that perhaps they really were working together but Tony has stayed deep undercover for the bigger plot? If so, then perhaps he was the one who shot Terri. I know it's far-fetched, but 24 tends to make me paranoid. I never know who to trust on here.

<cold laughter> We've trained you well, Nikita!


A LFN veteran of your calibre hardly needs me to confirm your paranoia, but yes, the Tony-Nina connection is still a possibility. Their earlier romance may have been a cover for frequent clandestine meetings. It was Tony who talked Jack out of killing Nina in the garage. And you said it yourself:

with a show like this, you always know it's going to end up being the person you least expect.

Who among the main cast has given us the least reason to suspect him this season? Obviously Tony is evil!

[NIGHTJESSI]

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Nostradamus, considering I used the theory of least likely to be suspected must be the crook, to finger Marie as the culprit linked to the terrorist before that revelation came, it's entirely possible that Tony is indeed dirty. I definitely thought he was for most of the first season, and he's been on the inside in prime placement this whole time. I suppose truly only time will tell.

[Nostradamus]

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Now I'm really really stretching it, but here's one theory of Tony's involvement. Since Nina sold the CTU info before she was caught on Day One, we know that the Day Two plan has been building for some time. We also know that someone in the government does not want CTU to find the nuke, at least not right away. The CTU-LA bombing was one aspect of this plan, but neutralizing Jack Bauer may have been another goal. Nina's leaks to the Drazens almost got Jack killed, but the guy's got nine lives. Seeing that strategem fail, Tony cripples Jack emotionally by murdering Teri and pinning it on Nina, who at that point was already exposed. This paves the way for careless George Mason to take Jack's place at CTU-LA while Tony remains in place at his right hand.

What has Tony done on Day Two? He sent Mason into an unsecured terrorist hideout; he prevented Paula from completing the file transfer before the bomb went off, and argued against reviving her afterwards; he had access to the jet's flight path; he has yet to take action to remove the rapidly disintegrating Mason from command.

Does any of this prove Tony's involvement in the Day Two conspiricy? Not really. Some of these points could even be used to draw the opposite conclusions. But it's something to think about...

[NIGHTJESSI]

Arg. Is it 2/4 yet? This waiting is killing me.

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Nostradamus, I like your thinking when it comes to Tony, and much of that falls in line with the theory that he might be a traitor. I suppose only time will tell.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

Woo hoo! New episode tonight!

[NIGHTJESSI]

I can't wait either, candygirl. It seems like forever since the last episode aired, probably because it has been. I'm sure it will be an interesting one.

On an FYI note, when I was in Barnes & Noble the other day, I noticed 24: The House Special Subcommittee's Findings at CTU. I flipped through it but had no extra cash to pick it up. It did look quite intriguing, though. Has anyone picked this one up yet?