Episode Report Card M. Giant: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Finger Pointing
By M. Giant | Season 8 | Episode 2 | Aired on 01.17.2010
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.Recriminations are rife in the aftermath of Victor's death, and those of a couple of CTU guys. A lot of people are pointing fingers at Hastings for cutting corners, but the good news is that Dana quickly tracks some suspicious UN computer activity to the reporter, Meredith Reed. She gets nabbed right in front of Hassan, which I guess eliminates the issue of whether to keep him in the dark regarding the threat. Only Chloe is suspicious about the ease and speed with which Reed was busted, and even Kiefer isn't all that interested in getting involved -- at first. Dude's still got a plane to catch, after all. But then Spawn cuts him loose to help Chloe, and the two of them work together at CTU until Hastings busts Kiefer. But then Kiefer busts Hastings right back, blackmailing him with his screw-up unless Hastings lets him and Chloe keep digging.
Meanwhile, Hassan confesses his affair with Reed to his brother, who turns out to be the real mole in Hassan's circle, and we also learn that Toombs is undercover as part of the security detail at the U.N. Also, Dana seems to have a secret redneck past, in what promises to be the dumbest D-plot of the season.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Previouslies no matter what, because regardless of how fresh your memory of the events of the last hour might be, they still can't make enough show to fill the whole second hour and they have to do something with these first few minutes. In this case, it includes showing freeze-frames of Jack Bauer, President Allison Taylor, President Omar Hassan, and "CTU NY Brian Hastings." I bet he got made fun of a lot as a kid, with that name.
The CTU helicopter is still burning merrily up on that rooftop, and has drawn a small crowd watching from the sidewalk below. Probably because it's five o'clock and New Yorkers are on their way home anyway, otherwise no one probably would have noticed. Toombs emerges from the building behind them, blending in his nondescript service outfit, but less blendy with the cell phone conversation he's having with someone. "Aruz is no longer a problem," he says in his scary Eastern European accent. "But we don't know how much he told CTU. We need to accelerate the hit." He hangs up and walks on without waiting for an answer. Or for anyone to notice such an openly suspicious conversation.
Finally, CTU is getting word that Cole Ortiz is alive and calling in. As Dana allows herself to breathe, Hastings tells everyone on the floor to listen in on the call, which he'll live to regret. The first thing everyone hears is that two of his guys are dead and another is injured. "What happened?" Cole demands. "Those drones are supposed to have anti-ballistics. Why didn't they take out the missile?" Who would have expected that the first big surprise of this season is that a magical flying robot plane didn't shoot down an RPG? Arlo, who is being pretty well established as CTU's resident drone-whisperer, looks uncomfortable in a splitscreen window as Hastings says they're looking into that. Ortiz cuts in, saying they should have had another team, like he wanted. Hastings puts that discussion off, and agrees to talk to Kiefer. Kiefer reports to Hastings what Victor's last words were: that the assassin is working with someone close to Hassan. Hastings says they'll look into it, and summons Kiefer and Cole back for their debriefing. Kiefer tries to bail on that, but Hastings insists, and with a look over at the dead Victor and CTU guy, Kiefer reluctantly agrees. He should have known better than to expect to be able to witness the deaths of two police officers and two federal agents, kill two guys himself, and then get on a plane, but given some of the lengths he's gone to in the past to avoid paperwork, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.