24 S7.E3 “10:00-11:00 AM” 
, Amazon.com
, Amazon.com
Well the season premiere is finally over (only 20 more hours to go), and I am ready to give season seven my initial review since there really isn’t a better time to do it. Season six and Redemption were disappointments but if the first four episodes of the seventh season of 24 is any indication of what we will see this season; I am comfortable saying that 24 is officially back and is reestablishing itself as one of the best shows on television.
Jack, Bill, Chloe, and Tony: Well in last night’s episode, we finally found out Tony’s true motives. In what wasn’t much of a surprise (at least for me), Tony was undercover after all. Supposedly he was actually dead for a couple of minutes but was saved by the terrorist group he now is undercover with. He was actually part of the terrorist group until he found out the group’s ultimate motives. He ended up hooking up with Bill and Chloe and they formed a group outside the government in order to bring down the terrorists and all the corruption in the government.
Back in the present, Jack finds out about the whole plan when Tony gives him a message to call Bill. Jack is then forced to break Tony out of FBI headquarters. With a great escape scene which includes Chloe having a computer hacking fight with Janis and Jack hot wiring a car and driving out of a parking garage while hiding under the seat; Jack ends up breaking Tony out of FBI headquarters. Tony ends up going back under cover and Jack joins him. Their first mission is to capture Ule Matobo (the former leader of Sangala). This is where Jack and Tony’s storyline ends.
While I have already mentioned that the twist wasn’t really surprising (I would have actually been shocked if Tony wasn’t undercover), I still do like the twist though. It’s great to have Tony back even though I think the show could have had a better explanation for how he ended up not dying. I also like the fact that Jack and company have to try and bring down the terrorists, corrupt government officials, while trying to avoid the FBI that is now hunting them down. If the show utilizes this story properly, I think it could be a great season long story arc.
The President’s Decision: Meanwhile at the White House, President Taylor is given an ultimatum. She can either continue with the plan to invade Sangala and have Juma’s men use the device to kill innocent Americans or she can back down and remove troops from Sangala.I honestly don’t really see the debate. I don’t know why you just wouldn’t remove the troops until you got the device back. You could then just invade Sangala since they wouldn’t have any bargaining power left. Overall I think the storyline is interesting and it should only get better once it starts hooking up with Jack’s storyline.
Henry’s Quest For the Truth: At this point the storyline is a little slow but you know it must play a big role in the rest of the season (since everything in 24 end up connecting at the end of the season). Henry ends up talking with his son’s former fiance again and this time she tells her that his son was being framed and was eventually killed. She gives documents to Henry to prove his son was murdered and then she leaves apparently scared for her own safety. Maybe the conspiracy has something to do with the secret service since it appears at this time that Henry’s secret service agent doesn’t have his best interests in mind.
The FBI: After Jack and Tony break out; the FBI is forced to track down Jack, Tony, and Juma’s men. Renee Walker and Janis end up heading to the hospital in order to interrogat one of Tony’s men that were captured when Jack and Renee stormed Tony’s base. Through she said at the beginning of the season that she didn’t condone torture, Renee quickly resorts to it in order to get information. I don’t know if it is just me but every hour Renee seems to remind me more and more of Jack. Also as I hinted after the first two episodes, I think there is actually a decent shot of the FBI agents getting a spin off. I obviously haven’t heard anything but it just seems like how they are handling the FBI agents that they were at least considering the spinning them off from the beginning if they were well received by the fans and 24 was doing well in the ratings. Well 24 is doing well in the ratings so if they think fans will watch the spinoff, it wouldn’t shock me if a spinoff end up happening.
Quotes:
Jack (to Tony while torturing him): “Why don’t you just save yourself some time and pain?”
Jack: “I will kill you and you will stay dead this time.”
Janis: “I thought you would welcome the idea to complain about something.”
Jack: “I’m glad I didn’t break your neck.”
Bill: “We like to think of it as CTU.”
Jack: “Why the hell are you not dead.”
Jack: “Not like these two traffic cops.”
Your Thoughts: What are your thoughts on the final two hours of the seventh season premiere? Do you like the twist that Jack, Tony, Bill, and Chloe are working in order to stop the terrorists while also bringing down some corrupt government officials?
