Farmer Hoggett is evil!And when I say evil, I mean eeeeevil, in that way Mike Myers used to say it.
Seriously, Phillip Bauer (played, of course, by James Cromwell) is a stone cold evil killer who murders his son Graem(hate the spelling of that, BTW) without any thought in order to save his own hide (and the interests of his company). And in last night's two-hour episode of 24, we saw that his willingness to exterminate members of his family extends not only to troublemaker Graem but also to prodigal son Jack... and teenage grandson Josh (who is so obviously Jack's kid).
But strangely this Machiavellian villain doesn't want to murder daughter-in-law Marilyn. Could this baddie have a soft spot for women? Or is he thinking that she has more usefulness as a live hostage? Or as bait for Jack?
On another note, I thought that last night's episode would also be the end for feuding analysts Morris and Milo. Poor Morris was tortured by Fayed into creating a trigger to arm the remaining suitcase nukes and, as for the torture itself, it was gruesome: drowning in a scum-coated bathtub, repeated beatings, and, oh did I mention the old drill through the shoulder routine? Ouch.
Meanwhile, Milo was nearly killed trying to rescue Marilyn from that ill-fated mission that screamed tactical error, as Jack was nearly blown up by a bomb planted by his father and Marilyn and Milo faced a firing squad as Phillip's men descended on the command truck. Nice to see Milo in the field, though, and with a gun. And he was smart enough to blow up the truck and keep running with Marilyn.
I'm glad that Marilyn revealed that she hated the shady Graem and wanted to leave her shifty hubby but couldn't bear to lose Josh in the process. (Aha, it finally makes sense.) What exactly happened between Jack and Marilyn to cause him to leave her and join the military? (And was it really 20 years ago? Or more like, say, 15?) Still, I was hoping that Marilyn would level with Jack (before he blindly went into the house) about Phillip's threat to kill Josh. But at least she now knows that her father-in-law means business.
So too does Reed Pollack, who finally tells Thomas Lennox that he's involved with a potential assassination attempt on the life of President Palmer (god, another presidential assassination?) and wants Lennox to see the light: namely, that this president is not strong enough to put measures in place to put an end to terrorism in the US. VP Noah Daniels is definitely involved, but I'm still not sure who's pulling the strings... and who is the mysterious guy that Reed was seen talking to?
All in all, not the strongest episode of 24 to date this season, but I'm not usually a fan of two-hour episodes to begin with. Still, the pieces seem like they are finally moving into place (including why Gredenko would be helping Fayed acquire bombs) and I'm hoping the endgame more than pays off.
Comments
They never said they were going to assassinate President Palmer 2, even if they "intimated" it. I think - even to Patriots like Graem Bauer and his ilk - that to kill a sitting President (at least one hunkered down in a bunker, rather than done publicly) would do little to advance their cause. Sure they killed a former President last season, but to kill another, I dont know if the show would go there. I think the mysterious cabal has another plan, perhaps to incapacitate President Palmer or force his resignation.
Marilyn is stupid. I can't believe she didn't rat out Phillip to Jack. It wasn't like she was bugged. But I suppose not talking to Jack for the last 20 year (or was it 15) made her not realize how creative he is to get out of situations like that. My one problem with the show is that now we have Kim Bauer 2 in the guise of Jack's nephew/son Josh. Instead of a cougar, we have Jack's silver cougar father Phillip. But do viewers care if Josh lives or die?
I knew Morris would survive but Milo on the other hand... I think he's a goner. There was a quick shot of a bloody Milo crouching on the ground in the next episode, but I think potentially he made have met his maker, especially with Eric Balfour booked for a pilot. Will CTU ever learn they need to keep additional men in the van with the engine running? Or to check for bombs before entering a building? Usually CTU has live video feeds of a raid - where was their feed here? And what was with the UPS truck that Milo was driving? Shouldn't they be a little more conspicious?
I'm glad though that Jack will learn about his father's treachery next week - how quickly will he inform CTU? And how will Bill Buchanan react? Hopefully a reaction bigger than the one when Jack told him that Graem was responsible for killing President Palmer, Tony Almeda, Michelle Dessler, and the whole conspiracy of last season: "wow Jack, that's crazy."