Episode Report Card M. Giant: B | 0 USERS: N/A YOU GRADE IT Day 4: 2:00 AM - 3:00 AM
By M. Giant | Season 4 | Episode 20 | Aired on May 1, 2005
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.Veep hands things over to Palmer, and it's like Palmer never left office. He and Poor Man's Hume Cronyn even kiss and make up. As do DoDder and Grayadder (not that she's told Kiefer). But things are little rockier between Bitchelle and Soul Patch, now that she's found out that he's living with someone. Palmer's first challenge comes right away; the hard drive that Potato Face secured last hour leads to a Chinese national named Lee, who's taking refuge inside the Chinese Consulate. Palmer asks the Consul nicely to hand Lee over, but the diplomatic method is going to take too long. So Palmer sends Kiefer into the Consulate undercover to kidnap Lee, which basically amounts to an invasion of Chinese territory. Even that wouldn't be so bad, except that the Consul gets shot and killed during the grab. Oops. Way to come back to the White House in the middle of the night and practically start a war, Palmer. Lee is also shot but not dead yet, so Kiefer rushes him to the CTU clinic, where -- oops again -- the only trauma surgeon on staff is busy saving the life of Grayadder, who suddenly took a turn for the worse. To DoDder's horror, Kiefer hijacks the surgeon at gunpoint to work on Lee instead. We don't know whether to laugh or cry as Kiefer and Curtis labor desperately to save Grayadder themselves. But DoDder faces no such dilemma, especially when Grayadder dies. Dies! Because of Kiefer! Well, that's one way to resolve a love triangle. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
You'll never believe this, but due to some graphic violence, viewer discretion is advised.
Previously on 24: The Veep ordered Kiefer arrested, even though Kiefer was in the middle of trying to nab ImhoTerror. So ImhoTerror got away when the Secret Service waded in. Kiefer was released, but he was still pissed about ImhoTerror's escape. And the Veep felt like a tremendous ass, so Poor Man's Hume Cronyn suggested calling in Palmer. ImhoTerror's Missile Tech had a girlfriend who presented a security risk, so Keith Szhutterupnau sent a hit man to kill Miss Iletech. But it wasn't the hit man's day, because Potato Face was there too and managed to get her hands on an assault rifle. Which she used to shoot the hit man a lot. The following takes place between 2:00 AM and 3:00 AM.
I'm confused by this opening, because first we get an asymmetrical exterior shot of the White House, and then a close-up of feet striding purposefully along a red hallway carpet. I'd think they were inside the White House if they were all talking a mile a minute while walking, but an overcoated Palmer and the two Secret Service agents flanking him aren't saying a word. So I have no idea what building they're in. But then they're met by the former head of Palmer's Secret Service detail, Aaron the Lipless Gnome. I guess they're in the White House after all. Must be a cone of silence over the place or something. Aaron greets Palmer warmly and leads him and his guards into the elevator down to the Bunker. Palmer and Aaron make small talk about Aaron's son on the way down, because Palmer's a man of the people, and he doesn't want Aaron asking whether Theo's still pursuing a freelance career in the defenestrative sciences.
PMHC is pacing nervously outside the elevator doors down below, and he and Palmer shake hands when the former prez emerges. We get the non-update that Keeler is still comatose (and boy, is he gonna be pissed when he wakes up). Before Palmer joins the Veep in the Undal Office's outer lobby, Aaron again shakes Palmer's hand and goes back to the demanding work of guarding the President two hundred feet underground, a hazardous duty that I suspect involves a lot of Freecell. I love how Aaron glommed on to Palmer all the way to the White House, failed to prevent an assassination attempt, and then got to stick around when Palmer left. Quite the careerist, that guy.
Palmer enters the outer lobby of the Undal Office. The Veep rises to greet him, and the episode's director makes him stand reallyreallyclose to Palmer so he has to tip his head way back to talk to him.