24 (TV Series) Day 3: 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. (2003) User Reviews

So Far, I Have To See A Bad Episode

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 16 May 2007]

We begin with Gael holding a gun on Kim, who had seen through monitors what was going on with her father (taken hostage on the plane back to Mexico by Salazar and his aides). He gags her with duct tape and leaves her take charge while --- visits her husband in the hospital. (It doesn't seem like he secured her enough, one of the few credibility gaffs - maybe - I've seen on this show.)

Nonetheless, this is again an interesting episode. (So far I have yet to see one that wasn't good.)

Chase is now back to being a good guy, trying to track down where the plane is headed by working on his own. The CTU is doing the same, especially after discovering Gael is a mole in their office. They are interrogating him but not getting too far.

Meanwhile, Jack pulls a fast one while being held hostage on Ramon Salazar's plane. He has turned the tables yet things still don't exactly look to promising for him. The same can be said for the President, David Palmer, whose relationship with Anne is not helping his campaign to be reelected. There are other sidebars in here, too - too many to mention.

So far, one of the things that has impressed me about this show is that they have not gone overboard on personal problems, letting those detract from the main story. There is a lot of suspense but the writers seem to know when to break it off for a few minutes and give the viewers a respite.

The ending of this episode is an absolute shocker, something totally out of left field!

Another mole

[MaxBorg89 · 9/10 · 18 August 2008]

Further complexities ensue as the second fourth of 24's third year (or day) begins: orders are violated, allegiances are put into discussion, and the stakes are, as always, sky-high.

It all kicks off with Kim learning her colleague Gael Ortega (Jesse Borrego) has been working for Hector Salazar (something we, the audience, have known since the end of Episode 2) and her being unable to ask for help, especially since Tony is still in a hospital recovering from a recent injury. Elsewhere in town, Chase has decided to go rogue and look for Jack, who is doing everything he can to keep Ramon from killing him during their journey to Mexico.

The double agent or classic traitor is a classic element of the thriller genre, and every season of 24 seems to have its own take on the subject, with characters ranging from Nina Myers to Sherry Palmer. The inclusion of yet another unreliable person may be a contrivance by now, but the show's writers know how to make this kind of narrative choice fresh and interesting. In fact, the end of the episode presents us with one of the best set-ups in the series' history, and the best part is, no one saw it coming.

Getting back in

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 26 October 2012]

Things are looking pretty bad for the Bauers as the episode begins; Jack in unconscious on the Salazar's jet as it takes him and Ramon south to Mexico and Kim has been tied up by the traitor Gael having discovered what he was up to. On the plane it looks as if Jack might not make it to Mexico as Ramon wants him dead despite being told that Hector wants to get Jack alive for some unspecified but presumably not good reason. Back at CTU Adam notices that Kim is missing and goes to look for her; it isn't long before she is safe again and Gael is in custody being interrogated by Chappelle; he doesn't want to talk though; even when tortured. With the threat from Kyle Singer eliminated Michelle finally finds time to visit Tony in the hospital; when he learns about what is happening at CTU he immediately demands to be discharged and as the episode comes to its conclusion we get the biggest twist of the series so far. Away from the main plot the presidential campaign continues and Anne gets a phone call from her ex offering to give her papers that prove her innocence... if she meets him alone.

This episode contained enough tense moments but the highlight is the twist at the end (which explained something that I'd thought was a flaw up until now); I certainly didn't see it coming and won't spoil here. I'm sure it will have a significant affect on future episode especially as it appears that Chase is intending to head down to Mexico on his own having learnt the most likely location of Hector Salazar but not told CTU due to fears of other moles. There may have been slightly less action this episode but there was still some including a fight on the plane as Jack overpowers his guard and Gael's attempted escape from CTU. As always acting and direction are solid making the extreme situations seem believable.

Just a Bit Over the Top

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 18 January 2019]

Sometimes there are too many twists and turns in a plot. While this is gloriously entertaining, they could have held themselves back a bit. Major plot events include the continuing problems that President Palmer is having as he tries to run the government honestly. The mole works his magic but then...... Jack is aboard a plane, heading for Mexico and everyone is trying to find him. His actions and the results of all this defy believability, though it plays into our wishes. And then there is Tony.

plot twist, more like a plot pretzel!

[nerrdrage · 7/10 · 29 September 2023]

And this is the point where the plotline officially goes off the rails. Still entertaining so I won't mark it down too much, but...

So let me get this straight, Jack and Tony and Gael were in on a plot to get Jack back in with the Salazars and the way to do that just conveniently happened to dovetail with something they could not have predicted, namely the virus plotline, so that the best way to accomplish each mission was to do exactly the same thing.

Jack must have been following a pre-set playbook since he didn't communicate with Gael and couldn't communicate with Tony who was in surgery. Jack wouldn't have put the Salazar mole plan ahead of the stop-the-virus plan, that would have been grossly irresponsible. So it just magically lined up. Talk about serendipity!

And why did Jack leave the Salazars in the first place if his mission wasn't over? He left, then it became obvious to the Salazars that he was a plant, then he wanted back in? What the hell, why not find an entirely different person to send in as a double agent. Why not Gael, they already trusted him!

Did this episode really win a writing award? Maybe an award for herculean effort keeping a crazy plotline going and papering over any plotholes that might emerge.