Episode Report Card M. Giant: C+ | 1 USERS: B YOU GRADE IT Daddy Issues
By M. Giant | Season 6 | Episode 10 | Aired on 02.18.2007
In Wayne's conference room, he tells Tom how much he likes his suggested changes to Assad's speech. Tom modestly accepts Wayne's compliment, and then asks to be excused so that he can hurry up and get back to plotting Wayne's death.
Less than ten seconds later, Tom meets up with Chad Lowe again in the hallway and they duck into the steam pipe trunk distribution venue once again. How many times do they think they can get away with that before somebody notices? They're turning that doorway into a heavy traffic area. Tom explains that Wayne wanted to go over Assad's speech. "Which he'll never get the chance to deliver," Chad Lowe all but cackles. He's stressing out about how long it's taking to authorize clearance for Wayne's killer. Tom promises to push it through as fast as he can, and sends Chad Lowe out to meet the guy at the door. But then as soon as Tom's alone, he gets on his cell phone and gets put right through to the highest ranking Secret Service guy onsite, an Agent Hollister, instead. It's good to be the Chief of Staff. Tom tells Hollister that he has to show him something immediately. Hollister says that he can be there as soon as someone relieves him in fifteen minutes, but Tom can't wait that long. He's on his way to go find Hollister in person, but as soon as he opens the door to the hallway, Chad Lowe reaches in and conks him on the head with a Maglite. It's a three-"D"-cell model instead of a four, which is why Tom only reels on the floor instead of immediately dropping unconscious or dead. The question of how Chad Lowe got his hands on a heavy-duty flashlight so quickly is one that will have to be tabled for now. Closing the door behind himself, Chad Lowe drama-queens, "Carson didn't want me to bring you into this...but I defended you!" Does he expect Tom to thank him for that? From behind the ring of little tweeting cartoon birdies circling his head, Tom grunts, "Nothing justifies the killing of a president." Chad Lowe says that they have no choice. Tom tries to get up, but only gets another imprint of the word "etilgaM" stamped across his forehead for his trouble. This time he's both down and out. Chad Lowe steals Tom's security pass, and then calls Agent Hollister back to tell him that Tom's "issue has been resolved." Tom lies unconscious on the ground, looking quite resolved indeed.
Morris joins the gathering in the CTU Situation Room, which is already in progress. He takes the empty seat next to Chloe, who gives him a more potent Chloe-glare than usual. Nadia announces to the room that Marilyn came through for them; the house at the address she provided belongs to "a Russian shell corporation that Gredenko has a hidden interest in." Not that well hidden, clearly. Buchanan, his hair looking a bit lavender under the bluish lights in this scene, tells Chloe to set up the satellite feed. As she complies, she hisses at Morris, asking what took him so long. Morris grunts an apology. Chloe makes up some technobabble excuse to get her and Morris out of the room for a couple of minutes, and she uses the opportunity to buttonhole him about the liquor she smells on his breath. She's beyond angry and hurt, to the point where I think the question of what split them up in the first place has been fairly well answered. Morris insists that he took one drink and spat it right out. "I am stone-cold sober," he says soberly. He doesn't say what he did with the rest of the bottle. And I'm sorry to say it, but the fact that he's wearing his shirt untucked and seemed to have both hands down the back of his waistband at the beginning of the act is causing me to form a rather uncharitable theory. Chloe says that she has to tell Buchanan. Morris quickly makes his excuses, and says that he realized in time that he didn't want to throw everything away: "Especially you. Especially you. And I stopped myself, and that is a little victory." He promises never to do it again, and begs Chloe to not to tell Buchanan: "Because you're right. Me getting back to work is the best medicine." Well, that and Antabuse. Still so upset that she can barely look at him, Chloe says she's going to be watching him, and tells Morris to call his damn sponsor already. He quickly agrees to both conditions, and the O'Brians return to the Situation Room at 3:42:23, not having accomplished any technobabble of any kind.