Episode Report Card M. Giant: B | 1 USERS: C- YOU GRADE IT Dead Boss Walking
By M. Giant | Season 3 | Episode 18 | Aired on 04.17.2004
Kiefer gets to the real reason he wants to talk to Soul Patch: Saunders's order for Chappelle's execution. Soul Patch is also baffled at this development. Kiefer says he doesn't know what he's going to do if he doesn't find Saunders by 7:00. My suggestion is to think back to about twelve hours ago when Chappelle was trying to get Kiefer shot out of the sky, but apparently I lack the forgiving and compassionate nature of Jack Bauer. Soul Patch seems to be more worried about what this means for Kiefer than for Chappelle. He asks whether Kiefer has told Chappelle yet; when Kiefer answers in the negative, Soul Patch says he'll change Chappelle's security clearance first. Kiefer seems surprised that Soul Patch thinks Chappelle might bail, but I think that's because he wasn't around when Soul Patch tried unsuccessfully to stop Mason from leaving the office at the beginning of Season Two. Fool Soul Patch twice, shame on him. Kiefer has Soul Patch put all his people on the search for Saunders, telling him they don't need to know what's going on. I don't know why he wants to keep the threat against Chappelle quiet, unless it's to prevent a run on the coffee machine when everybody decides to take a break at the same time.
Out on the floor, Chappelle catches up with Kiefer and asks him what Palmer wanted. Kiefer leads him into the conference room and closes the door just as the clock briefly pops up showing 6:09:21, lest we think we're about to hear the same information for the fourth time in nine minutes. We only hear it the fourth time in ten minutes. Kiefer doesn't mince words: "[Saunders] wants you killed." Chappelle is just as flummoxed about this as everyone else, but he seems to take it a little more personally. Go figure. He asks Kiefer, "Is Palmer actually going along with this?" Kiefer says nothing. When Kiefer says nothing, it's usually bad, and he does it twice in this conversation. Kiefer asks Chappelle if he has any connection with Saunders, but Chappelle insists that he's never heard of Saunders before today. They argue. Chappelle reminds Kiefer that he hasn't been able to trace anything to Saunders, but Kiefer insists that the fact that Saunders wants Chappelle dead proves that he's getting too close. Kiefer gets to the point: "Finding Saunders in time is the only way to keep you alive." Ladies and gentlemen, we have a theme. I should mention that Kiefer hasn't bothered to take off his flak jacket since returning to the office. I suppose if you're going to wear a bulletproof vest into a meeting with your boss, this would be that meeting. Kiefer finally gets Chappelle to sit down at his computer and start sending data to Potato Face. As Chappelle does so, Kiefer puts a comforting hand on Chappelle's shoulder and says, "I'm sorry, Ryan. Let's find this guy." Kiefer leaves Chappelle alone so he can discreetly close that solitaire game he has running in a minimized window. The time is 6:11:28.
At 6:15:53, Chappelle scowls at his monitor while more Inn Fection guests go into quarantine. Kiefer comes back into Chappelle's office just as Chappelle succeeds in opening some Saunders-related document that turns out to be encrypted. Kiefer tells him to send it to Potato Face for decryption, but Chappelle decides that there's no time for that and he'd rather freak, thanks. "This is it, Kiefer, don't you understand?" Kiefer says nothing. Stop doing that, Kiefer. It's not helping, and it gives Chappelle an opening: "Of course you understand. You're the one who's going to kill me." Instead of saying, "So now is good for you, then?" Kiefer talks him down, sort of, and Chappelle forwards the encrypted file to Potato Face.