Episode Report Card M. Giant: C+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Not-So-Grandfather
By M. Giant | Season 6 | Episode 9 | Aired on 02.11.2007
On her way out of the Situation Room, Chloe gets sidetracked; Morris has arrived, and he's being led across the floor by agents and medics. The clock tells us that it's only 2:05:26, so CTU must have been in the blast radius for Morris to have gotten here so quickly. Or else travel times are even more elastic than normal this episode. Chloe hurries over to talk to him, but the doctor says that he's going to Medical. Besides, Morris isn't talking anyway. They leave Chloe standing there on the floor, fretting. Her boyfriend has not only been tortured into giving terrorists the Bomb, he's also become emotionally unavailable. Hey, doesn't she have a Russian nutbar to track down anyway?
Kiefer is also entering the building for the first time this season, along with a bunch of armored troops. As soon as he steps onto the floor, he sees a bunch of CTU people dong what they do best: standing around and staring, specifically at him. Kiefer looks all self-conscious at the unwanted attention, but I think they're just amazed at how well his self-administered haircut turned out. It really does look better every hour. Buchanan steps up to greet Kiefer. They shake hands as Buchanan tells Kiefer about the email fragment Milo found, and how it points to Gredenko. Kiefer asks what other leads they have on Gredenko. Well, Chloe's supposed to be working one, but now she's just standing off to the side waiting for her turn with Kiefer. Buchanan reminds Kiefer that Dad's company dealt with the Russian. Kiefer says that was Graem's project, but Buchanan still thinks Dad might know something. Kiefer asks where his dad is, and Buchanan directs him to the morgue, where Graem is. Kiefer efficiently makes a little sad-face, and then heads over to talk to Chloe.
This is the first time Chloe and Kiefer have been face-to-face since Kiefer last left CTU almost two years ago, but don't worry; it doesn't get too mushy, despite the best efforts of the soundtrack. Chloe thanks Kiefer for saving Morris's life. "Yeah," Kiefer bites out, like he's kind of regretting it. In fact, it sounds more like "Yh." Chloe says she's glad Fayed didn't kill Kiefer, and Kiefer says he is, too. Well, that's progress. Kiefer says that he's off to talk to his dad, but that he wanted to thank Chloe. He rubs her arm, and leaves her to get back to the very important standing around she has to do.
Dad is indeed in the morgue with Graem, but he's not sitting idle; he's erasing contacts from Graem's cell phone. Clearly, CTU has decided that he's above suspicion, leaving him alone in here with his son's body and the tray of his personal effects. Let's just hope they don't let him wander around the building unaccompanied later. Once he's finished, Dad sets the phone down at 2:07:22 and picks up his son's wallet to see what else he can loot. All he takes out is a photograph showing him and Graem sitting at an outdoor table together, smiling at the camera. Well, he'll certainly want to get rid of something that incriminating. Kiefer arrives outside the glass door, and watches through it as Dad goes over to Graem's gurney and places a stray dead hand back beneath the sheet that's spread over the body. Because Dad's all about covering stuff up. Kiefer works up the nerve to enter, and stands facing his Dad over the gurney. Dad gives Kiefer a severe disappointed-father look and says that Graem didn't deserve this. Quit deciding what people deserve, Dad. You suck at it. Kiefer guiltily says that it wasn't his intention. "Yeah, well," Dad grumps. Kiefer apologizes, and brings up the subject of Gredenko and whether Dad knows about him. Dad tells Kiefer some stuff that he already knows, which is that Gredenko was the Russian liaison for the family company's contract to decommission Russian nukes. Kiefer tries to follow up, mentioning that CTU thinks Gredenko might be in town, but Dad claims that he doesn't know anything else about the deal, because Graem handled the whole thing: "Whatever you need to know died with him." Kiefer asks where Marilyn is, and Dad doesn't know. "Why? You gonna question her, too?" he asks sarcastically. Kiefer's face says, "Well, I was." As he starts to leave, Dad says that Marilyn is probably with Josh, like that's helpful. He adds, "He's taking the death of his father pretty hard. Leave them alone, Jack. Let them grieve in peace." All right, Dad, we get it. Keep twisting the knife like that and it's going to fall out. Dad offers to call around to the company executives and see if they know anything about Gredenko. Kiefer thanks him, and finally leaves. Wow, Dad lorded that guilt over Kiefer so well, I almost forgot he was the real killer.