Episode Report Card M. Giant: A- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Re-Juma-nated
By M. Giant | Season 7 | Episode 12 | Aired on 03.02.2009
At 7:20:27, Juma's party is heading for the Oval Office when Laptop Guy reports that Taylor's on the move. Juma splits his men into two parties to trap her in the corridors in a pincer movement. They don't know that they're actually tracking Buchanan, who's now running around the halls, ducking around corners with his gun leveled. He wants to avoid capture as long as possible, not only to buy more time for the president, but also because he probably doesn't much want to be captured anyway. With all these people running around in the White House hallways, it's like watching the Sangalan army's reenactment of their favorite West Wing episode in fast-forward. Finally Buchanan finds himself trapped between Juma's two groups, and surrenders. Laptop Guy takes the presidential tracker off of Buchanan, and other soldiers roughly force him to his knees. Juma quickly figures out what this means: "They know we're here. They're moving the president to the lockdown. Find her." Juma levels his pistol at Buchanan's face, and I actually wonder if four seasons is all Bill Buchanan gets, but then Juma pistol-whips him to the floor instead. He just realized that they need hostages. Not a moment too soon, either.
Hovis and a few other agents scamper through the halls until they run into a party of Juma's men. Everyone dives for cover behind priceless colonial furniture and starts shooting, but the Secret Service's pistols are no match for the Sangalan machine guns. Hovis tells his cufflink what's going on. Meanwhile, other soldiers are sweeping offices, herding civilians into the hallways. This is what's so frightening about Juma's elite commando force: they're everywhere they need to be, all the time, in whatever numbers are necessary. If they were back home, defending Sangala, the U.S. invasion probably wouldn't be going as well as it is.
While accompanying Taylor and her two-man detail to the lockdown, Kiefer asks Aaron via walkie-talkie where he is. Aaron whispers back that they're upstairs, trying to get past the bad guys. See what I mean? I'm starting to think Sangala is Swahili for "ubiquitous." As Taylor's party reaches the entrance to the lockdown room, Kiefer warns Aaron that the bad guys are getting close, and he has about thirty seconds to get Olivia there before he has to seal it off. Taylor protests, but Kiefer tells her, "Madam President, your life is the priority whether you like it or not. Please, step inside." If she was going to argue, the rattle of gunfire from the end of the hall causes her to think better of it. Kiefer ends up safely inside with Taylor, while the two members of her detail stay out in the hallway to die. Well, this is their house, after all.