Starting with the big action sequence that was there, Nicole came back into the spotlight this week with a whole act dedicated to her escape from Aisha and her goon. After stunt falls, some cat-and-mouse, and an oddly cathartic crow bar to the head, Nicole came out out on top and managed to save Isaac life's too. It was another strong showing for the character (after she helped out during the home invasion that started it all in the first episode). Indeed, it was strong enough maybe even to forgive the writers then tangling her up in police custody to put her on the sidelines for the rest of the hour.
The other, more abbreviated action sequence closed out the hour, in which Carter once again channeled Jack Bauer with a crazy plan to go rogue. Stealing from CTU and breaking out of it (though granted, neither of those things looked that hard) to now go off on an unauthorized op with only one person for backup -- a person who can't really be trusted? Yup, that's the brand of nuts we expect from our 24 protagonist. (Side note: I do wish they hadn't so widely advertised that a returning 24 character would be showing up at some point this season, because now I can't help but anticipate that the "Gabriel" they're going to see will turn out to be that character.)
The rest of the episode seemed to be taking us through a series of PSAs, but it managed to weave enough intriguing drama around them to not feel too forced. Donovan learned that his own father was behind the leak that set this season's plot in motion. (On the PSA side, the show used maligned Nilaa to show an innocent, non-terrorist Muslim. No doubt there are some in the 24 audience who think this is the most outlandish plot development of the season. Sigh.) Papa Donovan's motivations in all this don't quite track for me, but then I suppose that he is old enough to remember older days of politics, where it was easier to convince yourself that you could keep a scandal hidden indefinitely.
Another PSA in the making may be brewing about the reasons why CTU director Mullins has it out for analyst Andy. If it turns out to be because Andy is gay, cue the "More You Know" music. Then again, maybe it won't unfold that way. I don't usually get too invested in the office politics subplots of 24, but I'm interested to see if they can avoid stepping in cliche here.
Oh, I almost forgot Amira and the saga of the dead/not-dead/now-definitely-dead Drew. Until we see how this all connects with broader elements of the story, it's hard to say whether it's been worth the time tracking it all in isolation. So.... hold that thought?
I'd say this episode adds up to around a B. The show continues to fall shy of great, but then, 24 in any incarnation hasn't really been great since the early years. At least this reboot has kept on being reasonably entertaining.
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