Episode Report Card M. Giant: B | 556 USERS: B YOU GRADE IT Poison
By M. Giant | Season 7 | Episode 15 | Aired on 2009.03.23
Ethan is cleaning out his office. From a frame, he removes a picture of Taylor and himself in happier times. Apparently the frame is government property. Olivia comes in to express her condolences. "I appreciate the courtesy, if not the sincerity," Ethan says, a bit snippily. Olivia insists that she's sorry for him, "and for some of the harsher things I said to you in anger." In turn, Ethan apologizes to her for accusing her earlier. "Considering the impression I gave you I'm not surprised," she admits. Ethan decides to offer Olivia some advice, and gives her a little lecture about ambition. He wants her to remember that running the country is different than running a campaign. "It's not about doing whatever it takes to win. It's about doing what's right for the American people." "Sometimes those things aren't mutually exclusive," Olivia says smoothly. Ethan takes off. And the second Olivia's alone in his office, she takes out her cell phone and calls the reporter from last hour, the one who pulled Ethan aside during Taylor's address. "You can go with that story now, Ken," Olivia says, revealing to nobody's surprise that she was the leak after all. "And it just got better," she adds. "Ethan Kanin's resigning...It seems Jack Bauer just murdered Senator Mayer." Ken is shocked, not least of all because she's giving him an exclusive on this, and in time for the eleven o'clock news, no less. "You just hold up your end," she warns, by which she means he needs to make sure that Ethan gets the blame and her mom gets away clean, and more importantly, ignorant of Olivia's role as the leak. Well, that certainly sounds feasible. He asks her to dinner, because this isn't all incestuous and creepy enough yet. "Maybe next week," she dodges, clearly not for the first time, and hangs up. It's 10:34:57. Ken, even though she just used you to get rid of a political rival in under two hours, it would seem that she's just not that into you.
10:39:24. Moss is in Mayer's study with the crime scene guy, who hands over the preliminary ballistics report. Right now, Moss is more curious about the files that were up on Mayer's computer. I know it's a bit late to be mentioning this, but clearly Senator Mayer needs a screensaver password. Moss also wonders aloud why there are slugs in the doorway and the railing at the far end of the hallway, if Mayer was shot at point-blank range in the entryway. Maybe Mayer saw the gunman from the opposite end of the hallway and tried to rush him when he turned out to be a shitty shot? For now, Moss passes it off to the crime lab, thinks for a second, and pulls out his cell phone.