Day 2: 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. (19 Nov. 2002)

CTU is attacked and faces serious casualties. Jack discovers who gave Joseph Wald the schematics for CTU. President Palmer fires Rayburn after Kresge tells him about the 30-minute gap between Jack's warning and the bomb explosion.

Director:

James Whitmore Jr.

Writers:

Joel Surnow (creator), Robert Cochran (creator),

Stars:

Kiefer Sutherland, Sarah Wynter, Elisha Cuthbert

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Jack Bauer
Sarah Wynter	...	Kate Warner
Elisha Cuthbert	...	Kim Bauer
Xander Berkeley	...	George Mason
Carlos Bernard	...	Tony Almeida
Dennis Haysbert	...	President David Palmer
Reiko Aylesworth	...	Michelle Dessler
Skye McCole Bartusiak	...	Megan Matheson
Billy Burke	...	Gary Matheson
Timothy Carhart	...	Eric Rayburn
Michelle Forbes	...	Lynne Kresge
Sara Gilbert	...	Paula Schaeffer
Tracy Middendorf	...	Carla Matheson
Phillip Rhys	...	Reza Naiyeer
John Terry	...	Bob Warner

Storyline

CTU is attacked and faces serious casualties. After deposing Joseph Wald's domestic terrorist group, Jack learns who gave Joe the schematics for CTU. President Palmer fires Eric Rayburn after learning about a 30-minute gap between the initial warning and the CTU bombing.

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Plot Keywords:

president | digit in title | black u.s. president | black president | u.s. president | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 November 2002 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Imagine Television, Real Time Productions

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

In the the gun fight with the terrorists that bombed CTU, a terrorist shatters the front passenger window with a stray bullet intended for Jack Bauer. Jack shot out the rear window while killing the driver. The windshield was hit with multiple bullets, also. When you see Jack driving down the road moments later the car has both windows clearly intact and no cracks in the front window.

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Quotes

Tony Almeida: I need your password.
George Mason: Hendrix.
Tony Almeida: Is that with an "x"?
George Mason: How else would you spell it?

User Reviews

"I'll do my job! You people better start doing yours!"

In terms of bleak endings, few could match the climax of Season Two's third episode: with CTU blown up and George Mason contaminated by exposition to plutonium, there is no way Jack Bauer's second longest day could get any worse. Or could it?

After helping Wald's men bomb his won workplace, Jack exposes himself as a federal agent, shoots everyone and goes after Wald to find out who organized the hit. Meanwhile, back at CTU Tony is struggling to keep things together and ensure wounded colleagues survive, and President Palmer gets very concerned when he learns the tragedy could have been avoided if it hadn't been for the NSA director's objections.

In the first season, Palmer found out his wife and some of his financial supporters had conspired to keep a dirty secret from him, and subsequently vowed never to behave in a dishonest way. This character arc is rebooted starting from this episode, and Haysbert is once again revelatory, showing the complexity and emotional burdens of a man who wants, above all, to protect American citizens and won't let anyone go behind his back.

As for Jack, the writers take advantage of the real time to put him in an interesting situation: the tension almost triples as he spends a large part of the show outside Wald's hiding place, with only a camera acting as a communication device between the two bitter adversaries. In other productions, such a scene is a mere gimmick, chucked in to anticipate some huge action sequence; here it is a valuable part of the plot, and leads to a climax that will have a massive impact on the rest of the day, not to mention prompt die-hard fans to re-watch Season 1.