Episode Report Card M. Giant: C | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Husbands And Wives
By M. Giant | Season 6 | Episode 13 | Aired on 03.11.2007
In his file room, Kiefer emerges from his hiding place. Unsteadily pointing his stolen gun at the door in case someone comes back, he dials the wall phone. He gets right through to Morris at CTU and wastes no time in saying that he knows where Gredenko is, but the call is cut off before he can get any further. Kiefer realizes what's happened, and curses, "Dammit!" He should look on the bright side; if he had managed to relay his message, CTU would have been happy to let him rot in here indefinitely while they went after Gredenko. Now they're motivated to get him out. In trying to figure out his next move, Kiefer notices the circuit box on the far wall. When in doubt, knock the Consulate's power out. Worked last week, didn't it? He accomplishes this by wiggling his gun around in there, which, surprisingly, doesn't electrocute him. The place goes dark except for the emergency lights, and Kiefer slumps in pain against the wall, satisfied in the knowledge that whoever comes to fix the electricity will find him quickly. Or maybe he was just disabling the basement's one security camera so that he can move around more freely after the commercials.
At CTU, at 6:08:06, Milo alerts Buchanan to the truncated call that Morris just got from Kiefer inside the Consulate. Buchanan tells Milo to tell Doyle that Kiefer's "got key intel and is no longer dispensable." If Kiefer's got so much "key intel," why didn't he think to boost a cell phone when he had the chance?
Buchanan then goes into the back, to Logan's holding room, and lets himself in. He apologizes to the former Prez that they're going to have to reschedule their little talk. He's quite cordial, considering how much of Seasons 4 and 5 he spent getting yelled at over the phone by the man now sitting in front of him. When Logan asks why, Buchanan explains that there's a situation at the Russian Consulate. Logan stands up from his chair and asks if this is in relation to Kiefer going back inside. When Buchanan pauses in amazement at Logan's startling powers of deduction, Logan offers to help. So, since Buchanan doesn't have anything better to do right now, he explains to the convicted criminal under house arrest that they heard from Kiefer, but that the call was cut off before they got the goods. Logan knows this means that he was right about Markov's involvement, and Buchanan agrees that they either need to get Kiefer out of there, or capture and interrogate Markov. Logan's worried about the red tape involved in making that happen, and when Buchanan says that he plans to cut through that red tape with a pair of assault-team-shaped scissors, Logan thinks that it's a horrible idea. Buchanan says that they don't have a lot of other options. Logan asks if they've tried to talk to President Suvarov, and Buchanan says that the Veep tried that, and that Suvarov is already kind of pissed at the U.S. right now, in light of how Kiefer started this whole crisis and also in light of how the Veep is an arrogant prick. Logan has an idea for getting around the usual channels. He says that his ex-wife Martha (formerly FLOTUS in this space) is close friends with the Suvarovs, especially the missus. That probably has something to do with the rocket attack on their motorcade last season that Logan did nothing to prevent. People bond after experiences like that. Still, Logan thinks that Martha can get through to Mrs. Suvarov, who in turn can talk to the Russian President. Buchanan awkwardly mentions that Martha's been institutionalized, but Logan says that she's still the only one who can help them now. Plus the viewers want Jean Smart back, so they really have no choice. Buchanan agrees to make the call to Martha, but Logan wants to do it. "I didn't realize you were on speaking terms," says Buchanan. Logan admits that they're not, but he wants to try anyway. Sure, what's the worst that could happen?