Episode Report Card M. Giant: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Everything Changes
By M. Giant | Season 7 | Episode 11 | Aired on 03.02.2009
After hanging up, Chloe sighs and pulls up the list of names, quickly finding Ryan Burnett's. Her finger hesitates over the delete key, but when she sees Janis coming, she hits it and the letters take their sweet time disappearing from the screen. Janis comes in, and their first face-to-face meeting is quite anticlimactic; Janis simply offers to help Chloe with getting the names ready for distribution. Chloe is quite agreeable to the idea and grateful for the offer. Of course Janis hasn't known Chloe long enough to realize that agreeability and gratitude are the biggest and reddest flags Chloe has in her giant collection of big red flags.
Tony pulls up outside the White House and asks Kiefer to think about bringing Buchanan into the loop, but Kiefer doesn't like that idea. "I'm driving off a cliff here, Tony. I don't need to put Bill in the passenger seat." Besides, even if they were going to do that, Kiefer would be Thelma and Buchanan would be Louise. Tony offers to go with him as backup, but Kiefer says that won't fly, with Tony being a wanted felon and all. And besides, Tony might be the only one able to stop the attack. "See you on the other side," he says as he gets out of the car. Which is the kind of thing people say when they expect to die. Could you maybe not be such a downer for five minutes, Kiefer?
It's 6:09:53 and Burnett is in the White House, on the phone to Juma to try to extend the attack window and give him time to clear out. But he has to hang up quickly when Ethan comes down the hall to meet him. They share the secret Washington Chiefs of Staffs handshake (not really), and Burnett ushers Ethan into a guest office where Senator Mayer already has himself all set up. Ethan tries to charm Mayer by joining him for a glass of bourbon, but it doesn't work. "The president didn't call me up here at the ass-end of the day to drink her booze and flip through a briefing book," Mayer barks, like Ethan is Hyde from That 70's Show. Ethan explains that he wanted to bring Mayer up to speed, and when Mayer wants to know what the day's events have to do with Kiefer, Ethan tells him about how invaluable Kiefer was in uncovering the conspiracy. Mayer's shocked that Kiefer's been active, and that the White House has been "colluding with a rogue operative from a disbanded agency." Ethan says the president sees it differently: "Jack Bauer saved lives today, plain and simple. Including her husband's." But Mayer isn't about to back off of Kiefer. "He's a thug, Ethan. He's Exhibit A." I know we're supposed to hate this guy, but he has yet to say anything I really disagree with. So Ethan starts bargaining: Taylor will back Mayer's war crimes act amendment if he'll let Kiefer off the hook. Otherwise, Ethan hints, there might just be a pardon coming. "You tell her she just walked into a street fight," Mayer says. Ethan invites him to tell her himself. I know this "street fight" crap is just a blustery political metaphor, but how much would you pay to see Kurtwood Smith and Cherry Jones actually throw down on Pennsylvania Avenue?