Episode Report Card M. Giant: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT One-Term Wonder
By M. Giant | Season 5 | Episode 23 | Aired on 05.21.2006
It's 5:17:27 as the two parties stalk each other silently below, each listening for the other to give themselves away. Kiefer and McCullough find an apparently empty room, but it's only empty long enough for Kiefer to get out of the way before a bad guy appears out of nowhere and starts shooting. McCullough goes down. I'm surprised he lasted this long, frankly. Fifteen minutes as a non-speaking sidekick on this show is almost good enough to earn a gold watch. Kiefer quickly takes out the shooter, and now he's just got Bierko and one other guy left. Henderson says he needs more time, and tells Kiefer to hold them off. Chloe says they have sixty seconds left, so that's one more time crunch Henderson has to deal with.
Further down in the sub, there is much tense, quiet stalking. Everyone's in the same room, but they're all hiding behind all of these giant pipes, trying to see each other without being seen. Kiefer spots Bierko's shoulder, but before he can react, the surviving henchman appears out of nowhere and kicks Kiefer's gun out of his hand. Kiefer tries to disarm his attacker right back, and Bierko steps out of cover to take aim at Kiefer. But he also takes his time, and Kiefer's able to point the henchman's gun in Bierko's general direction. It goes off, clipping Bierko in the gun arm and sending his weapon flying. Kiefer continues grappling with his opponent, and the next wild shot from the bad guy's gun breaches a steam pipe. Kiefer takes advantage of this opportunity to poach the man's head. Upstairs, Henderson is trying to ignore all the chaos and screaming coming from below. "Almost there, Jack," he says as the coded display windows start to go blank. Kiefer is satisfied that he's let off enough steam, but it's too late to avoid a wrench swung at his head by Bierko. Kiefer manages not only remain conscious, but to also block the third blow and kick Bierko away. As Bierko starts to rush back -- and Henderson says he just needs a few more seconds as Chloe gives him ten -- Kiefer jumps up and grabs some pipes near the ceiling, and hangs onto them, kicking his legs up to wrap them around Bierko's neck. I'm surprised they go all the way around. The red missile icons on the screen go blank; Henderson's done it. And Kiefer somehow jerks his knees in such a way that Bierko's neck snaps. Or Bierko just snaps it for Kiefer, as a gesture of goodwill, which seems about as likely. He's dead before he hits the deck.
Up top, the missile hatches close. At CTU, Henderson's voice rings out over the floor to say the launch sequence is cancelled. And how weird is it to hear him reporting to home base over the comm system? Relieved, Hayes tells Audrey to recall the F-18's, like Audrey wouldn't be shooting them down herself right now.