Episode Report Card M. Giant: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Undercover Brothers
By M. Giant | Season 7 | Episode 4 | Aired on 01.12.2009
After Taylor and Ethan get done beating up on poor Moss, they basically write off the whole FBI as being any possible help in this situation. Nice work, FBI. It usually took CTU eight or ten episodes to get to this point. They then remind the new viewers -- you know, the ones who missed the episode that just ended -- that if they're going to meet Dubaku's demand to back American forces off from their invasion position, they have less than two hours to get started. "Which would effectively end our mission in Africa and condemn a hundred thousand Sangalans to a certain and brutal death," Taylor complains. They couldn't come back after six days, when the firewall has been reprogrammed? Ethan points out that there are still a thousand passenger planes in the air over the U.S., waiting for landing clearance. "Dubaku could bring any one of them down at any moment!" Uh, what about implementing an emergency code phrase among real controllers and air crews, so the pilots would know when they're talking to legit ATC? No? Too simple? Even if that did work, Ethan continues that Dubaku could also "use the device for something far worse." Ethan adds. Taylor says that she ran on a platform of not negotiating with terrorists, and she can't exactly give in on that the very first time someone asks her to. "Won't I be telling Dubaku and the rest of the world that blackmailing America works?" "Those are questions for the future," Ethan says. "We have a decision to make now." Well, when you put it that way.
Okay, I've got this giant impacted bolus of exposition stuck somewhere, and things might get a little awkward here while I free it up. Here we go.
At 11:06:15, Buchanan slowly leads Tony and a fully recovered Kiefer up the stairs to his base of operations, which looks almost like an abandoned church. There are brown marble walls and unused furniture stacked up in the balcony where Chloe has her computers set up on folding tables. Kiefer asks what they call it. "We like to think of it as CTU," says Buchanan. "What's left of it, anyway." Which explains why Buchanan picked the highest point in the building for his office. Obviously, nobody knows they're there, or the place would be instantly condemned. Chloe appears, and she and Kiefer tell each other it's good to see one another, although they don't smile or hug or come within ten feet of each other. I suppose that might be too much to ask. Really, how close can they be? At this point, they really only see each other for a few minutes at a time over the course of one day every few years. I've got relatives I spend more time with. "I'm glad you're with us," she says. Kiefer grumps that he isn't with anyone, "until someone starts answering some questions." His first one is for Tony, and rather than something germane to the current crisis, it's the one the viewers have probably been nursing the longest: "Why the hell are you not dead?" Tony says he was, for almost ten minutes. "Or so I was told." By whom? Chloe pulls up a photo of Tony's buddy and boss, David Emerson. "I don't know who he paid off at CTU," Tony says, "but it was his people who injected my body with a hypothermic compound. Was able to revive me." Sounds reasonable enough. Almost as believable as the lack of a silent clock in Tony's last scene. Tony explains who Emerson is: "Independent contractor. Enlists ex-military and -intelligence operatives, jobs them out to clients. Apparently I fit the profile...former employees with grievances against the Federal government." Emerson had even been watching Tony since he left CTU. Would that be the time he left in handcuffs, or one of the other times? Tony continues, "After Michelle was killed, he figured I'd make a good recruit." Kiefer asks, all judgey, "And everyone else thinking you're dead? So much the better." Buchanan doesn't say anything, even though he's the only one in the room who didn't know Kiefer wasn't dead between Seasons Four and Five. "And since then, you've been working undercover to expose his operation?" Kiefer asks. Long, uncomfortable pause, before Tony confesses that he was working for Emerson for real. "I was angry. I hated the federal government for what it took from me. I ran Emerson's crew for more than three years. And I did some pretty bad things." You can tell he feels guilty about it, though. What those bad things might be will have to wait for later, because as pissed as Kiefer might be, now he just wants to know why Tony flipped on Emerson. Tony explains about the CIP firewall, which was too much for him. "Innocent Americans would die, and I didn't sign up for that," he says heroically. Kiefer asks why Tony didn't call the authorities, and Buchanan says he couldn't, because the job was for Dubaku and Tony knew Dubaku has spies in the government. The whole government, apparently. "Juma controls Sangala's vast diamond wealth, and Dubaku hasn't been shy about throwing it around," Buchanan adds. Sangala is diamond-rich? I don't remember that coming up before. In fact, during "Redemption," didn't outgoing President Daniels describe the country has having no natural resources? He must have meant no natural resources besides the vast diamond wealth. Buchanan explains that that's why Tony came to him, and Tony adds that they need to get to Dubaku, which is why he needs to get back undercover. Tony says there's a new job coming up that will allow him to meet Dubaku in person. "Emerson's going to think Tony made a deal with the U.S. Attorney," Kiefer bitches. Buchanan confirms it, and everyone's quiet while they let Kiefer think about that for a minute. "I can help you with this," Kiefer finally says, instead of just walking out. Because why would he bail on these nutbars when he's looking at such a sweet opportunity to stick it to the Man? He asks who else is involved besides the three of them. Chloe says it's just them. So I assume she and Buchanan have split with their respective spouses, then. Probably just as well, since I can't really picture Karen Hayes slinking around in the field in a leather catsuit with a knife in her boot, and all that computer equipment wouldn't be able to survive Morris spitting booze all over the place. Kiefer asks Buchanan whether he has proof of a conspiracy. Buchanan says he does, but only at the lower levels. That's enough for Kiefer, and he agrees to help them out. "But only because right now, you are the only people that I trust. You give me one reason to question that, I swear I will turn you in." Well, I can think of several dozen reasons. Maybe he just means they'd better not let the number of reasons drop below two.