Episode Report Card M. Giant: A- | 1 USERS: A YOU GRADE IT Heads of State
By M. Giant | Season 8 | Episode 16 | Aired on 04.05.2010
to them, but Hassan's belief in victory proved correct. "I'm not saying I'm never wrong, but I believe just as strongly in this peace agreement," he says. "All I'm asking is that you put your faith in me once again. I implore you to stop this madness." Samir smacks him in the face. I think he almost had him until "madness." Samir informs him, "The next thing you say will be an apology to every citizen of the IRK. You will beg forgiveness for your treason, and you will renounce the peace agreement." Hassan is defiant, but Samir threatens, "It just depends on how long it takes, and how much pain you can endure." The bomb tech, who is now also a doctor and interrogation specialist, picks up a syringe from what seems to be a whole kit, and gives Hassan an injection in the side of his neck. It's 7:28:02. Hassan's hair is not going to hold up much longer at this rate.At 7:32:33, Ethan's in a large, sunlit hospital room at the Air Force base. While walking to visit him with Tiny Tim and a gaggle of assistants, Taylor is looking over the immunity agreement and noticing that it's made out to Dana Walsh, even though she's heard that's not her real name. Tim says it'll hold up. "Too bad," Taylor says. "I thought for a moment there we had a way out." Oh, she will. She signs it, and Tim heads off to get it to CTU while she enters the room to talk to Ethan. They exchange greetings, and Ethan asks about Hassan. Taylor gives him the bad news that the terrorists have him. "They're gonna kill him," Ethan sighs sadly. Nice to see his brain wasn't deprived of oxygen for too long. Taylor tells him about the rescue mission that's about to go down, and the immunity deal that's part of it. Reluctantly, she asks Ethan whether Hassan's successor -- whoever it is -- might be like Hassan. Ethan isn't hopeful. "Hassan barely was able to form a consensus in his own administration. It took a man of his charisma and passion to achieve that...without Hassan, there can be no peace." So do we have the stakes sufficiently stated? Good? Good.
At CTU, it's 7:34:34 as Chloe tells Arlo that Dana's about to start the briefing. "Or whatever her name is," she adds. Arlo seems a little out of it. "You work with someone for a year, you think you know them. How did we all miss this?" Chloe claims that she knew all along that Dana was too perfect, "But I never imagined she'd be a terrorist." Arlo blames himself. "Maybe if I'd been looking in the right spot, like somewhere in the vicinity of her face, I might have noticed something useful." Has he totally forgotten nearly busting her an hour ago? "She played us, get over it," Chloe says. Chloe O'Brian, professional therapist.
Cole is busy hand-writing his statement when Hastings enters the room. I hope he hasn't gotten to the part where he killed a guy and then hid his body and that of his accomplice. Hastings sits down across from Cole and breaks the news of Dana's immunity agreement. Cole angrily protests, possibly because this means he's going to have to cancel the wedding himself, until Hastings cuts him off. "I know you've been burned. Professionally, personally. Get over it." Is that on a sign over the entrance or something? He says that Kiefer's running the rescue operation and he wants Cole. And what Kiefer wants, Kiefer gets. "But Dana is briefing the group. Do you have a problem with that?" Cole lies that he doesn't, and Hastings gives him his gun back. "Stand by outside the conference room," he instructs, leading Cole out of the debriefing room at 7:36:12. If Cole ducks back in to rip a few pages out of his statement, we don't see it.
In the briefing room, Dana is giving everyone a quick overview on Samir Mehran. "Altogether, he has about six men left...you killed the rest." This last she directs at Kiefer, who doesn't look too broken up over it. Then a 3-D schematic of an old apartment building is rotating on the overhead screen. This would be the place where they're holding Hassan. Dana tells them where the exits are, and that Samir will have lookouts in place. Dana doesn't know the apartment number -- "If I knew I would tell you," she insists when Kiefer gets crabby with her about it. "Somewhere above the first floor." She knows this because there are neighbors, including families. "Samir will want to use them as human shields in the event of a frontal attack." Well, that's awesome. Hastings and Cole have arrived outside, and Cole quietly struggles to keep his shit together. Kiefer and Dana stare at each other for a while, and Kiefer says it's time to go. "Secure the prisoner," Hastings orders. First he demotes her, then he locks her up. On his way out, Kiefer pauses to make sure that Cole's all right, and says he'll meet him and his men in the motor pool. Cole lingers long enough to briefly lock eyes with Dana on her way out of the room, then shakes it off and says, to no one in particular, "Let's go." It's 7:37:22.
7:41:44. Hassan is looking pretty out of it in his chair, until he gets tasered and rolls to the floor with a cry of pain. They haul him back up into place, his pompadour degrading so badly that he's looking like late-period Elvis after the third encore. "Just read the statement, Omar," Samir says, giving the usual speech about how he can stop this. Hassan refuses, like he's presumably been doing all along. Of course that just gets him tased again, although he keeps his seat this time. Samir threatens, "Read the statement, Omar, or I will start cutting pieces from your body." He'd certainly make a convincing spectacle reading to the camera with parts of himself missing. Hassan insists the peace will happen one way or another. "This peace dies right here with you!" Samir retorts angrily. Then he turns on the tech, saying the drug was supposed to break down Hassan's resistance. The tech says it should (forgetting to remind Samir that he's a bomb tech), and Samir tells him to give him another injection, not caring that it might kill Hassan. While he's prepping it, the other henchman tells Samir they need to come up with a plan B. "He's stronger than we thought. We need to accept it." Samir stops the next injection just in time, and orders, "Prepare the internet feed...I will tell the world of his crimes, and carry out his sentence." Samir puts on his ski mask. So it sounds like Hassan's prediction was pretty much dead on. Except I haven't seen a sword yet.
At McGuire AFB, Taylor and Tim are pedeconferencing furiously about the upcoming rescue attempt, and he adds that Dalia and Kayla are waiting for her in, where else, the waiting area. It's 7:44:27 as Taylor rejoins them and tells them Hassan is being held in an apartment building, and CTU is about to move in. Kayla asks if he's still alive. Taylor gives what assurances she can, and Dalia thanks her. Taylor is called into the Situation Room. I guess the Hassans don't get to come in this time. While she walks in with Tim, he tells her about the live internet feed that NSA just flagged. "It's President Hassan." Dude, the NSA is on the ball. It was about thirty seconds between the end of the previous scene until Tim got that cell phone call. The door closes behind them as Taylor orders the feed put up on the big screen. But is this on YouTube or Hulu or what?
Whatever the case, there's Hassan up on the display, looking battered and disheveled in his chair in front of the IRK flag, with the morning sunlight from the window spilling onto the right side of his face. Samir is standing next to him in his ski mask, beginning his own address: "What follows is a list of his crimes." While Samir continues to hold forth, the video is also being monitored live at CTU. Hastings asks if there are any clues they can take from the video. Apparently having just been waiting to be asked, Chloe points out the shadows behind Hassan's head. She can tell there's a window on Hassan's right, which means the apartment faces east. She can even tell they're on the fourth floor, based on the height of the surrounding buildings. Arlo calls over to say a drone is in position, and has spotted two lookouts on the roof. "Patch me through to