Review: 24-6 (Spoilers Ahead)

Well, it was ep 6 of the show 24 last night. Another good show. [spoilers ahead] They opened it continuing (obviously) from last weeks cliffhanger and we watched as Jack went into the compound alone, with the Marines 15-20 minutes away and the the missile strike happening in 10. So in went Jack on a suicide mission with apprently no backup. Not good. He shows his skills haven't slipped any being out of the field as he quietly storms the place taking out guards left and right. Driscoll gives him the bad news of the impending wipeout and that the Pres isn't going to call it off. He says "I'm not turning back." She says "I understand." pause, "Good Luck." I think she was finally respecting him. Jack takes the earpiece out and continues on with six minutes left. He finds his girl, Audrey, but can't bust her out from there. He slides her a knife and goes after the Secretary, James Heller. He finds him a minute before the execution order is given on the internet fed kangaroo court. They make eye contact and Jack signals him - 5 seconds and Jack's hitting hard. The gun is pointed at Hellers head, Heller - tied to a chair - ditches himself backwards out of the way and Jack starts shooting. In a cool display of marksmanship, Jack dispatches the baddies and frees Heller. As the internet feed gets knocked over, the Pres is watching and realizes the rescue attempt might be successful and orders the strike aborted while the Marines are going hellbent for leather to get to the compound. Jack and Heller go back to back to try to make it out of the compound as more baddies keep coming. They get forced outside where they make what appears to be a last stand behind a car. Working well as a team (why do I seriously doubt any real-life current politician could hold his own in a firefight like Heller did? I just can't see Condoleezza Rice emptying a clip into the bad guys from behind a bullet-ridden jalopy, but hey, that's just me), they take out a few more terrorists as they continue to be surrounded. Jack takes a round off the vest, but is alright, as they are running out of ammo. The terrorists start closing in and it looks like Jack and Heller are headed for a dirt nap when,.....wait for it.......It's the Marines! In the nick of time, the cavalry arrives and saves the day as a few choppers sweep over the place taking out the bad guys. They hit the ground and start securing the compound. Of course, Audrey is still unaccounted for, and knowing this show, I figured something bad was going to happen. Sure enough, the chief compound baddie tries to make his way out using Audrey as a human shield. Jack and Heller wind up putting their guns down (I thought they were out of ammo anyway?) to keep her from getting shot. Some dialogue continues, and it looks like she's going to be killed anyway, when she pulls the knife Jack had given her earlier and stabs the terrorist. She hits the deck and Jack throws another knife into the baddie, then a Marine finishes him off with a couple of rounds. There are some intense looks between Audrey and Jack as they all breathe a collective sigh of relief and we head to commercial. The rest of the show was pretty good as the debriefings started and the psycological intrigue between the players got ratched up. Audrey's husband showed up too. 'Seperated' or not, ya gotta hate when that happens when you're secretly sleeping with the wife. (Here's looking at you Jack) She does happen to finally notify the husband that its over and she's been seeing someone for six months. How considerate ;-) We also find out that the whole compound, kangaroo-court, planned execution fed over the internet was just a plot to increase internet traffic to hide an attack on a nuclear plant's reactor's computer system so the contents of the stolen briefcase could be used to cause a meltdown. Then the hour ends as we see Marianne phone somebody to warn that the plan has been found and the big reveal is that she's in cahoots with the bad guys (yeah, colour me surprised...). The other interesting subplot was that the Araz guy allowed his son to be taken out to be killed to tie up a loose end. That's pretty cold - even for a terrorist. However, we've already seen that Behrooz can think on his feet with the previous cellphone con, and he figures it out and manages to take out his would be killer with a shovel. A couple of good thwacks and he was free. He got some good mileage out of that first swing too with a half turn swing into the killers head. Ouch. Go Behrooz! Another good ep, especially considering the edge of your seat action in the first 15 minutes. To have the kidnapping resolved in a high action piece where all the players made it out alive in only the 6th ep was surprising. I kept waiting for the inevitable 'good news/bad news' scenario this show is famous for, but Jack pulled off the rescue with a little help from the Marines in a very well done action sequence. The dedication to the armed forces at the end was a nice touch too. The rest of the ep was basically setting up the bigger threat for the next arc. Should be interesting. 24 continues to be the best show on TV right now. Its certainly the only one I actually care enough to make sure I see week to week. later