Episode Report Card M. Giant: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Putting The "Curt" In "Curtis"
By M. Giant | Season 6 | Episode 3 | Aired on 01.14.2007
At 8:57:02, Chloe has finished remotely recovering all she can from the Handler's blown-up laptop, which Kiefer has plugged into the open back of a CTUmobile. With Curtis at his side, Kiefer recognizes what looks like a wiring schematic. Chloe says that there's only about a page and a half of the file left, mostly in Arabic and some in Russian. Kiefer sighs in frustration, and then tells Curtis to summon Assad. Once Assad gets a look at the computer screen, he seems to recognize right away what's on it: "A list of electronic components, field specifications, and programming instructions for a detonator. But...this is for a nuclear device." Kiefer turns to Assad in horror, wondering if it's possible that Fayed got his hands on a nuke. Assad says that Fayed's been trying and failing for a while; maybe he stopped failing. Curtis goes completely rage-wad, grabbing Assad and accusing him of knowing all along. Kiefer manages to separate them and protect Assad's pretty face so that Assad can finish what he's saying. Assad says that he sees a reference to "Softel 3." Back at CTU, Nadia chimes in on the comm system to say that's the designation for a Soviet device called a "suitcase nuke." They were all supposed to have been destroyed, but of course there are rumors that one of them survived and found its way to a nuclear scientist with terrorist ties. Nadia even knows the terrorist's code name: it's an Arabic phrase meaning "Sword of the Faith." Chloe's already running a search, and comes up with one six-year-old surveillance photo. She sends it to Kiefer's laptop. Assad takes one look at the guy and recognizes him right away. "I saw him with Fayed a year ago. His name is Numair. Hasan Numair." I recognize him, too; he's that slack-jawed, dead-eyed prisoner from Palmdale that the camera kept focusing on. Chloe punches that name into the system, and sure enough, she's rewarded with a more recent photo of Numair in his Palmdale jumpsuit. Chloe breaks the news that Numair is being released as she speaks. Buchanan tells Nadia to call the White House and tells Chloe to tune in PrisonerVision. Even without an earpiece, Assad is able to keep up: "These bombings were designed to make you free this man," he analyzes. Kiefer curses, and Chloe says that the prisoners are on the plane, but won't be in the air for a few more minutes. Buchanan rushes out, saying that he's going to stop the release. Nadia is put through to the White House...
...and into the end-of-episode splitscreen. We also see Walid waiting in an interrogation room while someone brings in a polygraph; Dad drags Marcus's body out of sight; and a soldier at the airfield is already on the line with Buchanan, who's giving him Numair's name and sending his picture to the soldier's PDA. Things certainly move quickly during those splitscreen interludes, don't they? Meanwhile, Wayne, Tom, and Karen nervously watch PrisonerVision from the Oval Office.