Episode Report Card M. Giant: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT The Veep Is A Creep
By M. Giant | Season 6 | Episode 15 | Aired on 03.25.2007
8:53:54. Kiefer puts Brady in a CTUmobile and sends him off to see his brother, thanking him for doing so well. Rubbing his face in guilty incredulity that he actually got away with this, Kiefer gets back into regular mode to head back into the house and confront Gredenko. An agent says that the suitcase nukes weren't in Gredenko's car, which would have been nice. Oh, well, nine hours left to recap. The agent says that Gredenko's awake already. For a dart that works so quickly, it sure didn't last long. Kiefer proceeds inside.
Gredenko is in a chair, wearing handcuffs and leg irons, and when Kiefer enters, Gredenko seems to recognize him. Kiefer is all, "You know who I am?" Gredenko calls him "Agent Bauer" and says he knows all about him. Kiefer leans down and says that Gredenko must realize what Kiefer's going to do to him. Kiefer further threatens to send Gredenko back to Russia when he's finished: "I don't think President Suvarov is going to be too happy to see you." Or the three Chinese takeout cartons that Gredenko will be able to fit into once Kiefer's had his way with him. Gredenko's not interested in being a tough guy, so he says that Fayed has the bombs. He claims not to know where Fayed is, but offers to help find him. He explains that he came to get security specs for the Edgemont Nuclear Power Plant, and that Fayed is waiting for him to call. Kiefer holds out Gredenko's cell phone and tells him to do so, but Gredenko states his terms first: amnesty from the U.S. government, and a guarantee that he won't be returned to Russia. Seems like he should also ask for local amnesty, lest he spend the rest of his natural life in the L.A. County drunk tank. Kiefer looks surprised and not a little suspicious that Gredenko is rolling over so easily. Gredenko says he's no martyr, but a soldier and realist, and warns, "If I don't call him soon, Fayed will get suspicious." Not nearly as suspicious as Kiefer is right now.
Back in D.C., the Veep returns to the Battle Bridge and asks the Joint Chiefs Chairman if the sub Vickery is ready to launch yet. The admiral confirms that the launch window is seconds away. Just then, Tom rushes in, waving a cell phone and announcing that CTU has nabbed Gredenko, and that Kiefer's already questioning him. Tom says that Buchanan's confident that Kiefer's the man for the job. The Veep chuckles that he hopes that confidence is justified, and orders the Admiral to proceed with the strike. Tom freaks, protesting that they should wait and see what Kiefer gets: "If Gredenko gives up the bombs, then surely that is the desired result?" Which is so naïve of him, because by now the rest of us have realized that the Veep's "desired result" is a whole lot of dead Muslims. But he just makes the excuse that, in that case, they'll just consider the impending strike a retaliation for Valencia. Damn, how frustrating to have a commander-in-chief who's dead-set on an aggressive and irreversible course of action against a Middle Eastern country, who keeps coming up with new reasons to justify it as circumstances change. Good thing that could never actually happen. Nobody else in the room seems to have a problem with letting the strike go ahead, so the Admiral picks up the phone to call in the order. Tom shrinks into a split screen as he contemplates his sad role in history. In other windows, Fayed waits for Gredenko's call with his pathetic remaining arsenal of two nukes in the background, Gredenko looks smug, and Nadia is still back at work. Back in the Battle Bridge, the Admiral hangs up the phone and reports that the Vickery just received an order to stand down. But from whom? Why, from Wayne, of course. Just then, the phone rings. Lisa picks it up and stands up to hand it to the Veep, who's sitting right next to her.