24: Oh Happy Dana

I feel it’s only fitting we begin this recap the way last night’s episode ended — with a moment of no silence for one of the most unpopular characters in recent “24” history.

I allowed myself to wonder, if only for a second, whether this much-maligned individual would get the silent clock treatment usually reserved for beloved characters in the show’s universe. Instead, the ticking clock sound which closes out ever hour seemed to come on even LOUDER than usual. And I had a good laugh.

It’s probably no coincidence that I feel like the episode in which Dana Walsh was FINALLY killed is the best of the season. However, there was plenty more to like about this heart-pounding and humorous hour.

The episode picked up with Dalia Hassan praising President Taylor during her press conference, and President Taylor in the background trying not to throw up. That’s because she knew Dana was in the clutches of the private security firm recommended by Logan. Bledsoe was leading Dana’s waterboarding session, but the treacherous gal was hanging tough. More than anything, I wondered how they managed to fake that waterboarding scene so convincingly without actually doing it — major credit goes to the director and to Katee Sackhoff.

Fortunately(?) for Dana, Jack and Cole stormed the safehouse (after Jack actually got around to giving Cole ammo) and rescued her during an infiltration mission that was both convincingly methodical (the way Jack took the guy on the roof out) and exciting. Obviously, the best moment was Bledsoe using Dana as a human shield and telling Jack he’d shoot her in the head before Jack had time to take him ou…whoops, Bledsoe just got blown away. (RIP, D.B. Sweeney.)

Dana went to work on Cole pretty much from the instant she was rescued, trying to convince him that Jack was out of control and only hungry for revenge. (Not an unreasonable position to take.) Tensions nearly boiled over when Cole — feeling frustrated over the fact that he still had feelings for Dana and that she was getting in his head — shoved Jack to the ground, and Jack drew his weapon on him. Still, think how much better the scene would’ve been if Freddy Prince Jr. hadn’t wildly overacted!

The trio went to a bank to retrieve a safety deposit box, which Dana claimed contained the video evidence Jack needed to link the Russians to Renee and President Hassan’s death. (Does Jack even care about President Hassan’s death anymore — I think the fact that he only mentioned Renee’s death yesterday was telling.)

The bank sequence was one of the best in the show’s recent history. Dana once again tried to sweet talk Cole, and just when I thought he was falling for it, he hardened and insisted on opening the safety deposit box himself. (Mini-twist.) Inside, he found a gun Dana had stashed away (TWIST!) which made us think that she was busted. Instead, a blinding light went off (double twist!) incapacitating Cole and facilitating Dana’s escape after she placed a call to 911 and let them know of fugitive Jack’s whereabouts. For a second, I was thinking (hoping) she would put a bullet into the unconscious Cole. (What I’m saying is that Cole kinda sucks.)

Jack predictably disposed of the flunkies who tried to grab him (shooting that guy in the foot instead of the knee was a show of restraint, I think) and chased Dana. After a delightfully anarchic sequence where she may have shot a few tourists, he cornered her in an abandoned building (but forever messed up that terrific brown leather jacket).

Now, there will be people out there who claim Jack crossed a line by killing Dana in cold blood, and I never really love it when my protagonist commits murder. However, Dana had CLEARLY established that was going to do everything she could to save her ass. Besides, this isn’t even unprecedented within the world of “24” (see Jack’s shootings of Nina Meyers and Christopher Henderson, unarmed baddies like Dana who simply had to be put down.)

Still, I have to give the writers (and ESPECIALLY Sackhoff) a bit of credit for somehow crafting a formidable villain this season. You will never, EVER be able to convince me that the plan was always for Dana to be a Russian mole, but it ended up working out in the end because the character became a truly loathsome villain.

The rest of the episode was business as usual, with Logan expertly manipulating President Taylor. Logan’s plan now is to have Jack killed. He’s enlisted Novakovich and the Russian sniper who killed Renee to do the dirty work and convinced President Taylor to install his right-hand man Jason Pillar as the head of the manhunt for Jack. (Much to the delightfully sour-faced chagrin of Chloe.) It’s actually a pretty terrific plan on Logan’s part.

At least President Taylor displayed somewhat of a backbone by hanging up on Logan when he was still talking. (Even better was Logan pretending that Taylor was still on the phone to save face with Jason — Gregory Itzin is the MAN!)

I hate to say this, but if episodes like this one are what we have to look forward to the rest of the year, then they really should’ve canceled the show sooner.

So what’d you think of this episode? Did Jack cross a line by killing Dana? How long until Dalia finds out about President Taylor’s cover-up? Finally, how exactly is Jack going to kill that Russian sniper? (You KNOW it’s going to be good.)