Episode Report Card M. Giant: A- | 438 USERS: A- YOU GRADE IT Re-Juma-nated
By M. Giant | Season 7 | Episode 12 | Aired on 2009.03.02
7:55:22, and Hodges is watching CNB, where the news of the White house invasion is just breaking. And the world's worst and most bored reporter is on the scene. I suspect the entire point of this scene is for Hodges to learn that the Veep is now in charge of whether or not to order an assault. Either that, or to give a producer's girlfriend a speaking part.
Laptop Guy informs Juma that there are cameras in the chandelier over their heads, and even shows him the live feed from that camera on his laptop. I can only assume that the camera isn't connected to anything that records or plays back footage, because if it did, of course the Secret Service would be checking it to see if Taylor made it into the lockdown. Rather than waving at himself on Laptop Guy's monitor, Juma looks over to where Olivia and Aaron are being led in. He whispers, "Get me a chair." Not... the comfy chair?!
Inside the lockdown room, Taylor is pacing around. Kiefer's back in the supply cabinet, so Taylor's the first one to notice that a chair has been positioned in front of the camera outside. "He spotted the cameras," she tells Kiefer. As he joins her to watch, Juma stands behind the chair and has Laptop Guy patch him in on audio. Juma tells her that it's good that she's been watching them. "There's something else I think you should see," he says. And with that, Olivia is brought over to sit in the chair, while Juma produces a giant bush knife. Even Kiefer looks worried now. Juma cups Olivia's chin and threatens, "If you don't open the door, I'm going to cut out your daughter's eyes one by one. And then I'm going to cut out her tongue, and then her head." He's going to cut out her head? "Mom, don't listen!" Olivia screams predictably, until Juma claps a hand over her mouth. Juma admits that Taylor can't be sure he won't kill her anyway. "All you need to know is that I most certainly will kill her if you don't." And he presses the point of the knife against Olivia's cheek. Seriously, is no one outside patched into this? You'd think they'd at least be curious about what's going on in here.
"Open the door," Taylor orders Kiefer, but he's not about to do that. "I can't!" he finally yells at her. Taylor reminds him that she's already lost a son. Oh, and don't forget that her husband's fate is pretty much up in the air too. "Have you any idea what it's like to lose a child?" she asks. Yes, but she keeps turning up again. Kiefer tells her he's sorry, but there's nothing they can do. "Do you have children, Jack?" she asks. He says he has a daughter. "Could you do what you're asking me to do? Just stand by and watch her butchered?" Kiefer admits that he couldn't, "But I am not the President of the United States." Which is a pretty polite way of saying, "Sucks to be you." Taylor once again tells him that as President, she's ordering him to open the door.