Season 8, 6-7AM: hulu reprise

Finally caught the missing episode fragment, and while I was at it I watched a most of last week's episode(s).  I tried Fox's viewer a bit this season, but it just seemed flaky and slow.  I've found hulu more reliable, less time spent bufferin' (so much sufferin').

I'd missed one of the presidential bashings--Jack getting conked by rebar from the Islamic president.  That hadda hurt!  And wasn't it coincidental (not ironic, aw heck, just check the wiki) that it happened right when Renee was warning Jack that pres was listening to Jiminy.  The good news--Jack's OK.  The gooder news--Islamic pres gave himself up to save New York.  Gooderer news--the terrorists kept their word and gave up the bomb in time for Jack to save the city.  The goodererer news--once Jack found the dirty bomb he put a cold compress on that nasty bump (for about 3 seconds--musta learned that trick from soccer players). 

Now, that switch of bomb for pres was pretty nifty--ear-piece cell phones have done wonders for TV drama.  They're so ubiquitous that you just wonder how we had the patience for any plot to develop without them.  The switch of pres for keys to the bomb van seemed pretty slick--I always wonder about the logistics of a swap between sides that don't trust each other.  This one was nice because terrorist (Tarin) talked army man through the swap real time.  But it was a case of getting so caught up in the drama that you don't realize the substance just isn't there (hairography).  Tarin had everything in his control.  He didn't have to drop the keys to the van to get army man out of the SUV, leaving pres behind.  No matter--NYC is safe.  Though I wonder if any of you locals can let me know if there really is a parking garage between 158th and 159th on the west side of Broadway (I don't see it on Google Earth!).


I guess Tarin is (er, was) still conflicted.  As the bomb's ticking down below 30s, he's outside seeing the humanity--all the New Yorkers walking the street, and praise be to the writers, these all look like ordinary people, no one pulling any heartstrings--and he looks worried.  That was a nice touch--not over the top.  So, I guess it's OK to believe Tarin dropped the keys. 

And we'd also seen the Jiminy effect plain, ordinary New Yorkers have on people as pres was deciding to exchange himself for the bomb--he got a look at ordinary folks going about their business, which helped him convince himself he was doing the right thing.  Even if he sees how he's breaking the hearts of the wife he newly reconciled with and his daughter.  Even if it means throwing away the peace he'd worked so hard for, the peace that President Taylor is willing to give up a chunk of NYC for.  New Yorkers must be the finest slice of humanity there is.


Interesting choice that, in the abstract, at least.  Is a chunk of the upper west side worth bringing peace to a noted hot spot?  Would a US president really make that trade?  How does one do the calculus?  Tens of thousands die in NYC, but hundreds to thousands of service women and men don't die in a hot war?  President Taylor got some internal dissension from her decision.  I think you know where I stand on that--I'm not trusting terrorists to keep their word.  On the other hand, how sure is this peace?  Islamic pres brings the peace, but how long does he stay in power? 



Taylor had the internal dissension, but not from Jack!  Oh, his life is so simple--trust and respect the president blindly and be skeptical of everyone else (except Renee and Chloe and a select few others).  And simply do not question the president but do what she says.  Now I'm a little curious to go back and see how Jack dealt with President Logan.  I kinda remember him being respectful and obedient, at least up till the last episode, or was it when Logan tried to kill Jack?  Sweet thing here is that Renee has that same obedient streak, even after she's been rogue and on her own for so long.

I was wondering why Islamic pres had to die.  Why not save him at the parking garage?  Then we'd have a whole nother episode for some other kind of fun.  Maybe Jack escaping from some hopeless situation.  We haven't seen that much this season.  But then seeing Jack hide the baddie's gun on the fire hose cabinet was cool if inexplicable.  And Renee putting 2 and 2 together to get seven--blond wig means Islamic mom is a terrorist!  I guess that's worth offing the Islamic pres.  And now that all those New Yorkers are saved, the writers had to throw all those "they can't do that!" folks a bone.  But we're left with, "where's the drama to take us through the last 8 hours?"

Maybe we get the chance to look back and see that Taylor's dissenters made the right call.


Kinda interesting that Jack said the wishes of Islamic pres were irrelevant--Jack had orders from his president to protect Islamic pres, even if pres wants to trade himself to the terrorists.

And my final thought on this episode--with Jack so quick jumping to the right conclusion, as Tarin is racing to the roof of the parking structure, why isn't Jack realizing (about the time Freddy is wondering what in the world Tarin could be doing going that way) that Tarin is buying time because Islamic pres isn't in the car?  OK, one more thought--why does Tarin drive off the building instead of head on into Jack?  And one more (earning my nom de plume): I really wonder how Dana became the mole and what's in it for her.  Just money?  How does she get paid?  Wouldn't she have taken some in advance?  Why would she risk getting caught when it was falling down around her ears and not get out when the getting was good (trying to get out only once the getting got bad)? Sphere: Related Content