I've been a huge fan of 24 for years. Whenever I want some exhilirating suspense and get an adrenaline rush, this is the ultimate go-to show.
So the fact that I rarely felt that rush this time told me something was off.
First, the good stuff. Annie Wersching is still brilliant as Renee Walker. You see how Renee tries to stay strong in the midst of everything and everyone pushing against her, but she struggles very hard because she thinks so lowly of herself. In the interrogation scene her eyes start to slowly water and she's getting very close to admitting she's a "murderer". The emotion feels so genuine. You also have fine performances from the other cast members as usual, the stand-out being Kiefer Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub and Mykelti Williamson (more on his character later). Freddie Prinze Jr. Is a little unconvincing when he tries to be intimidating though.
And the plot does start off well enough, with the CTU team trying to track down the nuclear rods.
Okay, the first problem I have is that this episode is very slowpaced. I'm used to some being a bit slowburn, giving the story some time to breathe... but I feel like this time they could have really tried harder to speed it up a little. Did we need several shots of Dana just waiting in her car near her ex-boyfriend?
I didn't like the plot twist near the end. Why did Farhad decide to turn good? Sure he was put in a tight spot, but they made such a big deal out of him betraying his brother at first that this feels like a bit of a cheat.
And I think this is something that most will agree on: Hastings is the most incompetent leader ever. He keeps no track of his staff members (Dana is gone AGAIN? Oh, whatever, she'll be back), he's constantly rude and disrespectful towards everyone, and worst of all he has no self-respect. It's bad enough that he often tends to slow the process down, but now he wants to pin Renee on something just because he doesn't want to take personal responsibility for the mission going awry? This guy is a total dick.
And lastly, while I'm glad to see the dragged-out Dana plot getting resolved, it could have been handled better. Because Cole decides to let Dana's ex Kevin and his crazy friend Nick off the hook (on the condition that they never return again), the only excuse they've got to end the scene with a death or two is to make Nick decide to kill Dana anyway. Considering how great of a deal they got, it comes off as contrived. I also don't get the point of letting Kevin in pain be the cliffhanger. Doesn't seem like they can take that story much further.
In general, although it's still watchable due to the acting and most of all the music (no matter what, Sean Callery always delivers a great score), the writing and tension is considerably weaker. Let's hope this was only a one-off misstep.
So the fact that I rarely felt that rush this time told me something was off.
First, the good stuff. Annie Wersching is still brilliant as Renee Walker. You see how Renee tries to stay strong in the midst of everything and everyone pushing against her, but she struggles very hard because she thinks so lowly of herself. In the interrogation scene her eyes start to slowly water and she's getting very close to admitting she's a "murderer". The emotion feels so genuine. You also have fine performances from the other cast members as usual, the stand-out being Kiefer Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub and Mykelti Williamson (more on his character later). Freddie Prinze Jr. Is a little unconvincing when he tries to be intimidating though.
And the plot does start off well enough, with the CTU team trying to track down the nuclear rods.
Okay, the first problem I have is that this episode is very slowpaced. I'm used to some being a bit slowburn, giving the story some time to breathe... but I feel like this time they could have really tried harder to speed it up a little. Did we need several shots of Dana just waiting in her car near her ex-boyfriend?
I didn't like the plot twist near the end. Why did Farhad decide to turn good? Sure he was put in a tight spot, but they made such a big deal out of him betraying his brother at first that this feels like a bit of a cheat.
And I think this is something that most will agree on: Hastings is the most incompetent leader ever. He keeps no track of his staff members (Dana is gone AGAIN? Oh, whatever, she'll be back), he's constantly rude and disrespectful towards everyone, and worst of all he has no self-respect. It's bad enough that he often tends to slow the process down, but now he wants to pin Renee on something just because he doesn't want to take personal responsibility for the mission going awry? This guy is a total dick.
And lastly, while I'm glad to see the dragged-out Dana plot getting resolved, it could have been handled better. Because Cole decides to let Dana's ex Kevin and his crazy friend Nick off the hook (on the condition that they never return again), the only excuse they've got to end the scene with a death or two is to make Nick decide to kill Dana anyway. Considering how great of a deal they got, it comes off as contrived. I also don't get the point of letting Kevin in pain be the cliffhanger. Doesn't seem like they can take that story much further.
In general, although it's still watchable due to the acting and most of all the music (no matter what, Sean Callery always delivers a great score), the writing and tension is considerably weaker. Let's hope this was only a one-off misstep.
