411’s 24 Review: S08E12 – 3:00AM – 4:00AM

Posted by John Gale on 03.17.2010

A big plot twist changes everything halfway through the eighth season of “24.”

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone. Since I'm Irish (well, part Irish--I'm also part English and Scottish), I thought I'd mention that. Let’s get to the recap. First of all, I have to say that the writers did a good job of fooling me at the end with the promised plot twist. Even though they already announced a plot twist was coming, I was still surprised by it. More on that later.

Dana in trouble again.

Dana gets word from a CTU security guard that Kevin's probation officer (Bill Prady) is there to see her. She shows him into a room and asks him what this is about. He shows her a picture of Kevin, and she says that she met him at a bar a few nights ago. Prady shows her a picture of Nick and asks if he was there as well. She says that he wasn’t. He asks what happened with her and Kevin, and she said that she got drunk and had a one-night stand. She says that she doesn’t know where he is, and that it was a big mistake because she’s getting married in a few weeks.

Prady says that he just wants to find Kevin before he has to violate his parole, and Dana says she can’t help him. He then says that his contact in the NYPD told him of the robbery of the police evidence lockup and the assault that left a police officer in a coma. He says that Nick’s fingerprints were on the assault weapon, and he suspects that Kevin is in the same place that Nick is (well, that’s true). She says that she’ll come back when she has some more time.

A little later, while everyone is in the middle of the rescue operation, Prady just strolls into the main office. Arlo asks Dana who he is, and she says it’s nobody. She tells Prady that he has to stay in holding or leave the building. He says that he had a question, and she says that she’s in the middle of an operation and doesn’t have time.

He says that his NYPD friend said he has to ask her about the security cameras at the evidence lockup because they malfunctioned for the duration of the robbery. She says that it’s obvious that Kevin and Nick disabled the cameras, but he points out that they would have needed help because they’re not smart enough to know how to do that. He says that he’s learned that the raw video from every government facility in New York City feeds into CTU, the digital images are archived every eight hours and the source of every service outage can be traced.

He says that everything he needs is right there if she can get him what he needs. She says that they just don’t give information to anyone, and he says that he has an intra-agency data request authorization number ready to go. Out of options, she says that she’ll get him what he needs.

Dana calls Cole (who is riding shotgun with Jack) and tells him that it’s all over because the probation officer knows about the robbery and the camera outage. He tells her to hold off on doing anything, but she says that Prady will just go to Hastings. She has no choice but to turn over the video, and she says that she just wanted Cole to know what’s happening. She hangs up, and then the always unsympathetic Jack tells Cole that he needs to pay attention to the operation.

Kayla’s abduction and escape.

Hastings and Choe brief CTU on the situation. Tarin and Kayla are at the Teodore Hotel in Downtown Manhattan, and Kayla has been warned of the danger. She will attempt to stall long enough for the CTU tactical teams to arrive. Apparently, NYPD is already on site, while Jack and Cole are 10 minutes away.

Arlo approaches Chloe to ask who he’s supposed to be reporting to, and Chloe tells him that he just needs to focus on his job.

At the hotel, Kayla has locked herself in the bathroom ostensibly to freshen up before getting dressed. Tarin tells her that they have to go, but she stalls for time. She unsuccessfully tries to get a window open, and Tarin gets a phone call from Samir, who tells him that the Americans got Marcos to talk. Samir says that Tarin may have been compromised, and when Tarin says that Kayla received a call from her mother a few minutes ago, Samir orders Tarin to get out immediately.

Meanwhile, Jack is running point on the field operation. Or at least he’s supposed be running point. An overzealous NYPD sergeant seems to think otherwise, as Jack has to repeatedly order him to stay in the staging area until he and Cole get there. The sergeant just ignores the order, and Tarin spots him and his men approaching. He then breaks down the bathroom door and drags Kayla out of there.

Chloe informs Jack that Tarin and Kayla are on the move, and Jack relays this to the sergeant, who says that he and his men are moving in. Jack orders him to hold his position, but the sergeant ignores him. Try as he might, Jack can’t get the sergeant to comply with orders. This is going to end badly.

Sure enough, Tarin is able to get the drop on the officers and take all three of them out. He grabs a radio and identifies himself as one of the officers (he read the name off the officer’s uniform). He says that the suspect is heading to the fire escape on the south side. It takes Jack approximately one second to realize that this doesn’t make sense, as Tarin should be going down the stairs after taking out three men. Jack orders everyone to stay in their positions, as Tarin is impersonating an officer. I loved that Tarin discarded the radio after looking shocked and annoyed at how quickly Jack figured this one out.

As Tarin exits the building with Kayla, two NYPD officers tell him to drop the gun. A cab pulls up behind, and a man shoots the two officers. Tarin and Kayla then get into the cab, and it speeds off. It goes into an underpass, which blocks CTU’s view. Jack drives into the underpass, and they see the cab pulled over. Upon investigation, they discover that it is empty.

Jack says that they’re gone, and he’s going to need to have a kidnap and electronic intercept package ready when he talks to President Hassan.

Here’s the video of the NYPD sergeant screwing up the mission and allowing Tarin to escape.



Samir gets word that Tarin has the girl and is on his way, and he calls another man. He tells the man that they will shortly take care of CTU’s radiological detectors.

At the UN, Dalia is freaking out about Kayla’s kidnapping, and she asks how the Americans could have lost them. Hassan says that before blaming the Americans, they need to remember that it was their own people who are responsible for the kidnapping.

Jack and Cole arrive, and Jack says that he’s sorry that they weren’t able to find Kayla, but they’re going to do everything they can to get her back safely. Dalia asks how they could let her out of their grasp, and Hassan tells her to calm down.

Jack asks why the terrorists would want to kidnap Kayla, and Hassan says he doesn’t know. Cole says they need to set up taps on their phones in the event that the terrorists contact Hassan directly. Hassan agrees, and they get to work.

Meanwhile, Tarin has arrived at what looks like a bank vault, and he has Kayla sit down in a chair in front of what I assume is the flag of the Islamic Republic of Kamistan. He says that she needs to do what Samir says, and she asks if Samir is another traitor. Samir removes her blindfold and says that the only traitor is her father. He then orders his men to tie her up.

The terrorists surprise CTU by calling Dalia’s cell phone instead of Hassan’s, but they’re able to get a tap on the phone quickly enough to hear the conversation. Dalia answers, and Samir tells her to put her husband on the phone.

Samir disrespects Hassan by calling him “Omar,” (then again, he’s also called him a traitor, so I guess it wasn’t that bad), and he says that he wants “File 33.” Hassan says that he doesn’t know what Samir is talking about, but Samir says that he shouldn’t insult him by saying that again. Hassan says he needs to talk to his daughter first, and Samir sends an IP address so that they can see video. Samir dons a ski mask and then puts a plastic bag over Kayla’s head.

As Hassan screams for Samir to stop, Samir says that Hassan has 15 minutes to deliver the file or else his daughter will die by asphyxiation as Hassan can only watch. He then disconnects the feed, and Jack and Hastings demand to know what the file is. Hassan orders Nabil to show them, and he pulls up the file.

Hassan enters the password, and it turns out that the file contains operational details of all US anti-nuclear defenses, including their radiological detection arrays. He asks how Hassan got the highly classified information. Hassan seems insulted and asks how Hastings thinks they got it. He says that for 20 years, the US has threatened his nation with possible sanctions or military attacks, so his country gathered the intelligence and found the weaknesses in the defenses.

Jack says that they can’t allow Hassan to turn over the file because it would enable the terrorists to get the nuclear rods into Manhattan. He says that the lives of tens of thousands of people are at stake, and when Dalia asks about her daughter’s life, Jack says that it was their family that brought the threat to his country.

Chloe then jumps into the conversation, saying that Arlo has a lead on Kayla’s location. Apparently, it's close to the F train stop near the Williamsburg Bridge running between Manhattan and Brooklyn. Jack says that he and Cole will be heading down there, and he tells Hassan that they’ll give him a fake file so that he can stall the terrorists. Hassan says that they won’t fall for a fake file, but Jack says that any extra time they can get will be important.

Meanwhile, Tarin escorts Kayla into a room and has her take a seat. He removes her gag, and she asks why he’s doing this. He tells her not to say anything and walks away. Samir asks Tarin what’s going on, and Tarin says that the Americans will never hand over the file. Samir says that they’ll have to, and Tarin asks what happens if they don’t, saying that killing Kayla was never part of the plan. Samir asks about Tarin’s loyalty, and Tarin says that he’s still loyal to their cause. Samir walks away, and Tarin looks awfully conflicted about what will happen to Kayla.

Back at the UN, Hassan looks depressed, and he tells his wife that the fake file has been prepared, but the terrorists won’t fall for it. She tells him that they might believe him, as he has a gift for persuading people. She says that he can do this, and then Nabil says that it’s time.

Tarin then goes to get Kayla, and he says that the deadline has passed without a response from Hassan. She pleads with Tarin, saying that she doesn’t want to die, and he says that they all need to hope that Hassan does the right thing and turns over the file. She keeps begging, and he stops to survey the situation. He notices that Samir and the others aren’t looking, so he has a sudden change of heart and tells her that they need to get out of there.

Samir sees them running and orders his men to stop them. Tarin knocks one guy out with a fire extinguisher and takes his gun. They run up some stairs and out a door. They rush to get into a car, and Tarin says that they have to get to CTU because Hassan is surrounded by traitors. He tells her to call CTU with his cell phone, and before they can drive off, one of the men catches up to them and grabs Tarin.

Tarin opens the door of the car and kicks the man in the face, knocking him down. Kayla sees Samir behind Tarin and screams out a warning, but it’s too late. Samir shoots Tarin, and Kayla speeds away under fire.

Here’s the video of Kayla’s escape.



Kayla calls CTU, and Hastings asks what’s going on. She says that Tarin broke her out, but he was killed during the escape. Jack asks her where she was held, and he she says that she doesn’t know. He asks if she can remember what the building looked like, and she said that it had a bank vault, but it was abandoned.

Chloe tells Jack that she has identified the location of the bank. It’s on the Lower East Side and was closed a year ago. Dana gets the location of Kayla’s vehicle and tells her that she’ll instruct her on how to get to CTU.

The big twist.

Here’s the video of the promised “big twist,” which actually lived up to the hype.



Jack and Cole arrive at the bank where the terrorists were holding Kayla, and they enter to find it empty. Jack discovers some kind of tunnel system, and Chloe says that the schematics show three exit points. Arlo positions drones on all three exits, and he sees four men leaving the building from the south exit.

Well, so much for my theory that Arlo was the mole. If there was ever a time to sabotage the mission, that was it. I still think there must be some kind of mole because Samir somehow knew that Marcos identified Tarin as a traitor, but it’s likely that it’s just one of Hassan’s men that hasn’t been arrested.

Meanwhile, Kayla is two minutes away, and Hastings congratulates everyone. Uh oh. There’s still a big plot twist to come, and we don’t know what it is yet.

Arlo tells Jack that the men are getting into an SUV, and Jack says that they’ll follow. The drone picks up the face of one of the men, and Arlo sends it to Chloe to go through the facial recognition software. Chloe (and everyone else) is shocked when it turns out to be Tarin.

In the car, Samir tells the very much alive Tarin that he did the right thing and that Kayla will die for a good cause.

Chloe tells Jack and Cole that Tarin is alive, and Jack realizes that the demand for the file was just a ruse. He tells Hastings that they can’t let Kayla get to CTU because that’s what the terrorists want, as they faked her escape. Jack says there must be some kind of bomb in the car, as taking out CTU would be the best way to disable the radiological sensors.

Chloe reports that Kayla is already in the tunnel, and Hastings starts screaming “Security!” as he rushes toward the entrance. Chloe tells Jack that the SUV has just crossed into Brooklyn, and Jack says they can’t lose the car.

As Kayla arrives, the security guards pull her out of the car. Hastings orders Dana to call the bomb squad, and a security guard removes the back seat to reveal an EMP. Oh crap. Jack says that CTU needs to shut down their systems to protect the drones, but Hastings says there’s no time. The timer is set to go off in less than 20 seconds, and Hastings orders everyone out of there. One of the security guards gets in the car to try to move it, but it’s too late.

The EMP goes off and sends out a shockwave that breaks glass and knocks everyone in the vicinity to the ground. It also destroys all the electronics at CTU. Jack says that CTU has just been taken out, and they need to talk to the NSA.

Wow. As I said earlier, I was totally fooled by this. Tarin did a great job of acting conflicted to fool Kayla, CTU and the audience into thinking that he really did have a change of heart and was killed trying to make an escape. When it turned out that he was still alive, we didn’t have much time to react before Jack realized what was going on. And when it was revealed that there was a bomb, I was expecting a conventional bomb, not an EMP. They haven’t used one of those since Season 4, so it was a good time to use one again.

Not only was this a good plot twist, but it was all the more impressive because the writers promoted it in the promo for this week’s episode. They even said exactly what time it was going to happen. And I still couldn’t figure it out. Bravo, writers. Well done.

On a side note, the only person who could be even remotely happy about this (a silver lining in a dark cloud) is Dana, as the EMP just destroyed the evidence or her involvement in the robbery. I don’t see what that shifty-looking probation officer can do about it now.

Obviously, with CTU totally disabled, this means that Jack and Cole are likely on their own for awhile, or at least until NSA can get up to speed or something. I can’t wait to see how this turns out next week. Oh, and maybe President Taylor, who has been conspicuously absent for the last two episodes, will return. Given that CTU has been taken out, it would make sense.

BEGIN DISCUSSION OF NEXT WEEK’S PROMO



“Surveillance blinded. Communication destroyed. CTU just has one weapon left…Jack Bauer. This is the hour when anything could happen.”

That pretty much sums things up. It appears that Jack and Cole will drive into an ambush, and Jack will be risking death. Also, the probation officer guy will be going after Dana, despite the fact that the EMP surely destroyed everything.

This looks like it might be the most action-packed episode of the season. It looks like it’s just going to be Jack and Cole vs. Samir and his men, while everyone at CTU tries to sort things out.

END DISCUSSION OF NEXT WEEK’S PROMO

All right, everyone. I have to make some last-minute changes to my bracket. See you back next week.

The 411: This was one of the best episodes of the season. It featured a lot of action and a very good plot twist that managed to fool me, even though the writers told everyone that a twist was coming. With CTU now out of commission, it will be interesting to see how Jack handles things without much support for at least the next few episodes.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]