Episode Report Card M. Giant: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Poison
By M. Giant | Season 7 | Episode 15 | Aired on 03.23.2009
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.With the bodies of Kiefer's presumed victims piling up, Ethan realizes that his career is over, and he resigns to protect President Taylor from his mounting failures. And then we learn that Olivia was the leak all along. Kiefer and Tony are at the Port of Alexandria, taking the security guard hostage to try and find Starkwood's shipment before Hodges' men arrive to pick it up. The guard turns out to be the terrorists' inside man at the port, under the impression that he was just dealing with electronics smugglers. Tony and Kiefer draft him for their operation, in which they plan to follow the couriers offsite. Meanwhile, Moss is working the crime scene at Mayer's house, and certain clues lead him to suspect that Kiefer's being framed just like everyone's been telling him. At the port, Kiefer nearly blows the operation by saving the security guard from Starkwood's men, but he does manage to steal the truck with the weapon in it, leaving Tony behind to get nabbed by the bad guys. Kiefer tries to hand it over to the FBI, but when he stops to deal with a leak that occurred during the firefight, Starkwood's men catch up to him and steal it right back. So now he's lost the weapon, plus he's been exposed to whatever nasty-ass shit Juma was shipping to Starkwood, and Tony's not going to be happy with him the next time they meet up. Not a good hour.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Tonight's freeze-frame previouslies feature Ethan Kanin, Jack Bauer, the increasingly misnamed FBI Agent Renee Walker, Jonas Hodges, and the late Senator Blaine Mayer. Clearly, "dead" is the new "about to be dead." Which is odd, because it looks like "about to be unemployed" is also the new "about to be dead."
It's gettin' forensic all up in Senator Blaine Mayer's house. Crime scene guys are swarming around the building, while the senator lies dead in his entryway. Moss silently contemplates the wreckage of the French door that Kiefer dove through near the end of the last hour. Since it lies outside the house, even he can conclude that the shooter clearly didn't enter that way. Behind him, a couple of guys dig bullets out of the banister at that end of the hall, where nobody who was after just Mayer would have had any reason to shoot. An agent reports that Kiefer is nowhere to be found, and Moss gives the order to widen the perimeter before making a rather awkward cell phone call. It's to Ethan Kanin, back in his office with his tie loosened and his jacket off, and hoping to hear that Kiefer's been arrested. Moss has to tell him that not only is Kiefer still at large, it looks an awful lot like he just murdered Senator Mayer. "How could you have let this happen, Agent Moss?" Ethan rages. "I released Jack Bauer into your custody. I ordered you to keep him on a short leash." Moss is not about to let Ethan pin this on him. He snaps, "It was your decision to give Bauer access to Burnett! I advised you against it." That shuts Ethan up so effectively that Moss has to confirm that he's still there. After a long moment, Ethan realizes that Moss is right, and hangs up, telling him to just find Kiefer. He sinks into his chair. Not a good last day at work. Oops, did I just spoil something?
Kiefer, behind the wheel of the SUV he stole from the construction site where he confronted Quinn, is also on the phone. He's telling Tony about Starkwood's connection to Juma and the events of the day. He also tells him about the handy text message he got off Quinn's cell phone, telling him when and where the bioweapon is to be picked up. Tony suggests they call in the FBI, but Kiefer points out that as fugitives, they won't exactly have much credibility. "We need to know exactly where that weapon is before we call anyone else in." And, ideally, get their own hands on it while they're both still wanted for murder and terrorism. Seems like the only prudent course of action, so Tony agrees to meet Kiefer at the port's access road.