24 (TV Series) Day 3: 11:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m. (2004) User Reviews

Shocking Conclusion As Tempers Flare Near Deadline

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 18 May 2007]

The President lists the aid of his former wife to help deal with Alan Milliken who is using extortion tactics against the country's leader. If the President won't fire his brother, then Milliken will make sure his health care legislation won't pass. Palmer feels "Sherry," who used to be a "shark," can handle Milliken.

Meanwhile, actual good news: Chase is rescued, along with the kid and his old man. Poor dead Claudia is left behind.

Jack is literally trying to smooch his way into convincing Nina that he's now a rogue, but she isn't buying it. Yet, since Jack is physically stronger than her, and has offered her money she can't refuse, she really doesn't have much of a choice but to play along and get this virus package from Michael Amador.

Everyone at CTU knows what's up and they are racing to get at the scene but can't be detected until they know the virus is there to be taken. Chase is going back, volunteering to be an "observer" to make sure it's there, but you know he'll get more involved than that. Meanwhile, at headquarters they are monitoring the whole and know where the deal is going down, thanks to info Jack has passed along to them via a cellphone.

Once again, there are a lot of stories here, but the big one is the debate going on between the Salazar brothers. Ramon and Hector are arguing over the deal, which is just minutes away.

Hector just feels (and he's correct, of course) that something isn't right and we wants to back out. Ramon won't listen as he doesn't want his good name hurt by letting someone else beat him to the virus purchase. Pride wins out in a shocking last-second scene where Ramon settles the brotherly debate on his own terms.

Sherry's back

[MaxBorg89 · 9/10 · 19 August 2008]

As the third season gets closer to the closure of its first half, another beloved character is brought back to spice up the conspiracy story lines.

The character in question is Sherry Palmer (Penny Johnson Jerald), the President's ex-wife. Despite her attempt to sabotage his administration in the previous season, she is still the best when it comes to political manipulation and extortion, which is why the Commander in Chief asks for her help to bring the Milliken situation to its end. A rather different scheme is concocted in Mexico, where Jack, Nina and the Salazars prepare to meet with Amador while Chase, having escaped relatively unharmed, establishes contact with the CTU and sets up an ambush near the location of the virus deal.

Much like Nina, Sherry is a crucial part of the first three seasons of 24: they're both volatile and extremely unreliable, which is what makes them a pleasure to watch. Sherry, in particular, is always a welcome presence thanks to her plotting expertise and sharp mouth. Unlike Nina, though, she can't really be branded as a "villain", at least not using the standard definition. She's a much more complex individual, and, for that very reason, one of the series' best characters, adding gallons of ambiguity to an already suspenseful tale.

The calm before the storm

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 30 October 2012]

Having escaped from Hector, Chase has been picked up by Delta Force leaving Hector searching for him. The Salazars have no idea he has been in contact with CTU already but are desperate to catch him before he can do so. Hector is particularly concerned and thinks they should walk away from the deal as it is far too dangerous; his brother Ramon is equally adamant that the deal must go ahead... the damage done to their reputation if they failed to deliver would be more dangerous. Things at CTU are comparatively quiet as they wait for Jack to make contact so they know when to have Delta move in to seize the virus. With the return of Sherry Palmer it looks as if the fight with Alan Milliken is about to escalate dramatically; she has some dirt on him but so far she has told neither the president nor the audience. Whatever it is Milliken is clearly rattled.

After the action of Chase's escape in the previous episode and Jack's meeting with Nina this instalment seems fairly quiet but with only one episode till the season's half way point it feels like the calm before the storm. The action in Mexico is just an hour away from the handover of the virus and the Salazar's are arguing and this leads to a good shock ending. Chase's recovery does seem a little bit too quick to be fully believable but that can be but down to dramatic licence. Penny Johnson's return as Sherry Palmer is welcome; she does a great job as this devious character; with her in the game the fight with Milliken should get a lot more interesting. Albert Hall is equally good as Milliken; a potentially dangerous character, he gives a restrained performance that makes him more menacing.

Interesting bit of trivia in this episode

[kevingi-1 · 10/10 · 7 July 2009]

As another writer has mentioned, this episode features the return of one of the more complicated and reviled members of the "24" family, Sherry Palmer, the president's Macchiavellian ex-wife. Her purpose: To serve up a freezing-cold plate of revenge to one of President Palmer's adversaries. Penny Johnson never looked more beautiful or more dangerous.

Since it wasn't mentioned in the Trivia section here, I thought I'd add it: There's a brief shot of Nina Meyers' information on a display screen back in CTU. A close inspection reveals that it is, in fact, either the real driver's license or real passport of Sarah Clarke (who plays Nina Meyers), who presumably goes by Sarah Berkeley elsewhere, since she's married to former "24" co-star Xander Berkeley. The name on the document reads "Sarah Berkeley." This can't have been an oversight, so one presumes that Nina is intended to have an alias of "Sarah Berkeley" as a cover. Who knows? Or maybe it's just the writing team having a little fun at our expense. At any rate, it caught this writer's eye, and probably many other viewers' eyes as well.

Fun stuff from an already-fun series that really knows how to build and sustain the suspense!

In Transition and Then

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 19 January 2019]

There are many factors at work here. The President's problems go beyond what is happening in Mexico. He is in a dogfight with the guy who holds a lot of pursestrings. The President's brother slept with the guys much younger wife. But David Palmer has an ace in the hole: ex-wife Sherry, the barracuda. She is able to manipulate and extort almost anything. Palmer will pay for this at some point. Down in Mexico, the deal for the virus is approaching a climax. Nina and Jack are central. Hector smells a rat and lets Ramon know that. Chase is proving to be a big time pain in the butt. It's interesting how many characters in high level security have no respect for authority. Chloe has her baby in her office and that is ticking people off. Kim is running around, ticked because Jack has to deal with Nina. She's going to do something to mess all this up. We aren't even half way through the day and there are numerous questions that need answering.

things are heating up

[nerrdrage · 7/10 · 2 October 2023]

Hurray for the return of the machiavellian Sherry! The whole soap opera with Wayne and Millikin's wife was underwhelming until she knocked on David's door. This show really needs its outlandish villains.

And speaking of outlandish villains, hurray for the return of Nina too. It makes sense that, as she knows Jack a lot better than anyone else in this scenario, she wouldn't be fooled by his sudden switch to hard nosed capitalism and nihilism.

But the Salazars are pawns of the plot. Hector wants to do the deal and Ramon doesn't or is it the reverse? Whatever the plot needs. I'm fine with Claudia and Hector both biting the dust and being reunited in Heaven so they can squabble and fight with God as the referee, because they were cliches who outlived their purpose in this story, especially Hector and his spaghetti Western desperado sneer. Kind of cringeworthy but 24 has never been subtle.

What happened??

[brennansmomma · 1/10 · 15 September 2020]

The whole episode was in the dark...dark woods, dark barns/rooms. In the woods, they were speaking Spanish, running and driving trucks and Hummers. Why do directors do this? Too hard to follow. I just skipped most of the episode hoping to be caught up later on.