Episode Report Card M. Giant: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Shanghaied!
By M. Giant | Season 5 | Episode 24 | Aired on 05.21.2006
6:53:22, and it's time to wrap this up. In the last act-in splitscreen of the season, Audrey is still practicing her dreamy music-video smile, the President's entourage is starting the long, quiet walk back to Not Camp David, Logan is riding...somewhere, and Buchanan's staring into space at CTU. Hayes comes up to him, wearing her coat like she's going somewhere. As they walk across the floor together, she denouements that Logan will probably try to get clemency in exchange for resigning without a fight. Buchanan remarks, "In any event, we can expect Hal Gardner to be sworn in as President soon. Which means this'll probably be the last time I'll see this place." Hayes declines his pity-party invitation, saying that she'll see that he's back running CTU. Buchanan thanks her, and she apologizes for her high-handedness at the time of her arrival. She doesn't apologize for Slime, though, which is too bad. Buchanan admits that "mistakes were made," although he doesn't say that most of them were McGill's. She looks like she's about to say more -- or possibly just climb up his tie and stick her tongue down his throat -- but she thinks better of it and starts to leave. Buchanan quickly, and a little awkwardly, invites her to breakfast, but she begs off, pleading a briefing at Division. "Rain check?" she asks. Buchanan agrees, as something really weird happens with his face. I think he's smiling. Hayes smiles back, and she's out of there.
At 6:55:10, Buchanan looks across the floor and sees Chloe, who is also preparing to leave. He pulls something out of his jacket pocket and approaches her, telling her, "Really good work today." Chloe returns the compliment. Buchanan hands over the item from his pocket, saying he found it in Edgar's stuff and thinks Chloe should have it. Well, I guess he hasn't really had a lot to do the past couple of hours besides loot the possessions of his scores of dead employees. Chloe thanks him, and he leaves her alone with what he gave her. She opens the item -- which just looks like a piece of paper with doodles on it -- and finds that it's a black-and-white photograph of herself and Edgar. They're sitting outside somewhere, smiling at the camera with Chloe's arm around him. Yeah, I would have wanted a picture of that, too. Also, I'd like one of Bigfoot and one of the Loch Ness Monster. They don't even have to be smiling. As she looks at the photo, her face starts crumpling. Morris suddenly appears at her elbow, apparently having decided to come back to CTU for some reason despite being "out." "What's all this then?" he Britishes. Without looking up from the picture, Chloe says, "A friend of mine died today." Morris asks her if she wants to talk about it. She nods, and they head off into the hiatus somewhere to have a quiet talk. You know, there are any number of CTU corridors that are ideal for just that purpose.