Episode Report Card M. Giant: B | 1 USERS: C- YOU GRADE IT Dead Boss Walking
By M. Giant | Season 3 | Episode 18 | Aired on 04.17.2004
It's 6:34:35 at CTU. Kiefer and Chappelle walk out onto the roof and into a golden sunrise that symbolizes hope and renewal, except for all those people who are about to die. Kiefer and Chappelle are heading for the helipad when Special Agent Charlie Brown shows his round, beat-up face for the first time in the episode. He wants to know why Kiefer isn't part of the strike team that's going after Saunders. Chappelle makes up some ridiculous lie about wanting Kiefer to answer questions downtown, and I don't know if it says more about him or Charlie Brown that he is instantly believed. Charlie Brown lays into Chappelle: "You know what, Ryan? All you do is put obstacles in our way. We have a chance to get Saunders. We need our best people and you tie us down with your bureaucratic BS." Ooh, watch it, Charlie Brown. He might hug you. But no, Chappelle just sadly says, "Those are the orders," and keeps walking toward the chopper. Special Agent Charlie Brown's super secret agent senses finally tell him something's up, and he asks Kiefer what it is. Kiefer's not saying. Man, Special Agent Charlie Brown is going to feel like such a putz if Kiefer comes back alone and with one less bullet. As the symphonically heroic (or perhaps heroically symphonic) music swells, Kiefer climbs into the helicopter's pilot seat next to Chappelle. The chopper lifts off and flits into the sunrise. So now we know that CTU is west of downtown, I guess. It's 6:36:02.
6:40:25. Chappelle takes what might be his final flight while Bitchelle tries not to fall asleep. An SUV pulls into a parking garage and disgorges Special Agent Charlie Brown and Special Agent Tom Baker, whom you may recall from season two as the character Gustave dubbed "Hot Asian from Angel." Charlie Brown and Baker scope out the building that Potato Face's investigative skills led them to, trying to work out how they're going to get past the guards outside without tipping off Saunders.
That gentleman, meanwhile, is busy at his workstation when a minion comes up to tell him that flights out of LAX are being grounded. Saunders asks whether all of the couriers made it out with their vials, and learns that the V-I-R-U-S is on its way to New York, Washington, and San Francisco. A guy is driving to Vegas, but Chicago and Cleveland won't be getting their deliveries. I'm glad to see Saunders isn't wasting his time on Minneapolis. This is flu country. We keep viruses as pets up here. Some of us marry them. Saunders's minion still estimates two to five million dead within the first forty-eight hours. Saunders shrugs: "Good enough." Hey, he's more easygoing than he lets on. The minion warns that there's a chance the V-I-R-U-S might spread beyond the Americas, and Saunders says, "We'll be fine. Don't worry." Whatever that means. The minion withdraws as Saunders turns his attention back to his monitors, pausing a few seconds to indulge in a chilly "I'm eventually going to kill that guy" take at the camera.