To me, the greatest thing I can say about 24 is that the best episodes of the show's history don't always have to be action-oriented or violence-driven in order to have a compelling plot or be interesting. Rather, I think that the best episodes focus not just on the action, but also on the everyday happenings of the characters when they're not on the job, and this show (episode 4.8) manages to capture the personal lives of some of the customers quite skillfully, as well as providing an enjoyable episode.
Continuing from the previous episode (in which Tony Almeida arrived in the nick of time to save Jack and Audrey at the security office after they were ambushed by Marwan's thugs), Tony decides to take the pair back to his house to retrieve some information about Henry Powell, a suspected felon. When Jack and Audrey arrive at Tony's place, however, they find out just how far he's fallen since being released from prison.
I think the reason why this episode works so well is because of the established chemistry between the two lead actors (Kiefer Sutherland and Carlos Bernard). We see that Tony has fallen on hard times since Michelle left him, and as a result, he is unemployed and living with a woman he doesn't really love, which causes Jack to be resentful that Tony didn't come to him for help. Indeed, there is also a nice mixture of action (at the end) and comedic elements, as well as a couple totally surreal moments. Watching Tony sitting on his couch drinking beer out of his Chicago Cubs mug and watching soccer while Jack explains how far Tony has fallen to Audrey is definitely one of the more memorable moments from the season. In addition, there are also scenes of unintentional humor (such as Jack accidentally pulling a gun on Tony's girlfriend) and a couple hilarious jokes as well (such as Tony's remark about being unemployed).
The split-screen effect was also used to a somewhat greater degree in this episode, which I also enjoyed.
There were a couple minor gripes I had with this episode. The cliffhanger at the end with Powell's death feels unnecessary and tacked-on, and only feels like a way to have a cliffhanger at the end of the episode. Another problem I had was that there were a lot of supporting characters who were introduced here (Jen Slater, Marcy, Henry Powell) who kind of showed up, and then never appeared again (except for Jen, but she appeared for a few seconds in another episode). It would have been nice to find about more about these characters (especially Marcy, who seemed to have inside contacts in Washington). Then again, it's a minor gripe, and it didn't really affect the episode that much.
Bottom Line: I think this is one of the highlight episodes of the fourth season, and definitely representative of the feel and look of 24. I am giving this episode a 9 out of 10. A real winner.
Continuing from the previous episode (in which Tony Almeida arrived in the nick of time to save Jack and Audrey at the security office after they were ambushed by Marwan's thugs), Tony decides to take the pair back to his house to retrieve some information about Henry Powell, a suspected felon. When Jack and Audrey arrive at Tony's place, however, they find out just how far he's fallen since being released from prison.
I think the reason why this episode works so well is because of the established chemistry between the two lead actors (Kiefer Sutherland and Carlos Bernard). We see that Tony has fallen on hard times since Michelle left him, and as a result, he is unemployed and living with a woman he doesn't really love, which causes Jack to be resentful that Tony didn't come to him for help. Indeed, there is also a nice mixture of action (at the end) and comedic elements, as well as a couple totally surreal moments. Watching Tony sitting on his couch drinking beer out of his Chicago Cubs mug and watching soccer while Jack explains how far Tony has fallen to Audrey is definitely one of the more memorable moments from the season. In addition, there are also scenes of unintentional humor (such as Jack accidentally pulling a gun on Tony's girlfriend) and a couple hilarious jokes as well (such as Tony's remark about being unemployed).
The split-screen effect was also used to a somewhat greater degree in this episode, which I also enjoyed.
There were a couple minor gripes I had with this episode. The cliffhanger at the end with Powell's death feels unnecessary and tacked-on, and only feels like a way to have a cliffhanger at the end of the episode. Another problem I had was that there were a lot of supporting characters who were introduced here (Jen Slater, Marcy, Henry Powell) who kind of showed up, and then never appeared again (except for Jen, but she appeared for a few seconds in another episode). It would have been nice to find about more about these characters (especially Marcy, who seemed to have inside contacts in Washington). Then again, it's a minor gripe, and it didn't really affect the episode that much.
Bottom Line: I think this is one of the highlight episodes of the fourth season, and definitely representative of the feel and look of 24. I am giving this episode a 9 out of 10. A real winner.