Usually, when a major character dies in a TV show, the episode that takes place immediately after-wards is a little more laid-back, so that everyone can relax. Does this happen on 24? No way. The moment Ryan Chappelle (Paul Sculze) is on the ground, shot in the head by Jack Bauer, three men arrive to collect the body and instruct Jack not to follow them.
Such a dramatic start serves merely the function of setting the tone: after the disposal of the corpse, Saunders calls President Palmer with a new request: if he isn't given a complete list of American agents working abroad, two vials of the virus will be released. While Palmer informs his cabinet of the situation, Jack finds out that Saunders has a daughter, Jane, who goes to college in Santa Barbara. The plan is to replace her with someone from CTU and use her to find the terrorist. Who's gonna do the switch? Why, that would be Kim, actually. In addition, Chase tracks down the infected man who escaped from the hotel.
This episode works on two races against the clock: one to replace Jane Saunders in time to put an end to all of the day's threats, one to find the potentially dangerous hotel guest. These tow situations are inter-cut to great dramatic effect, with more emphasis on the first plot strand, given that will play a bigger part in the last five episodes of the season. Gratifyingly enough, that section of the narrative also gives Elisha Cuthbert something really substantial to do after just sitting around for eighteen hours (not that she was doing a bad job, it's just nice to see her take part in the action again).
Such a dramatic start serves merely the function of setting the tone: after the disposal of the corpse, Saunders calls President Palmer with a new request: if he isn't given a complete list of American agents working abroad, two vials of the virus will be released. While Palmer informs his cabinet of the situation, Jack finds out that Saunders has a daughter, Jane, who goes to college in Santa Barbara. The plan is to replace her with someone from CTU and use her to find the terrorist. Who's gonna do the switch? Why, that would be Kim, actually. In addition, Chase tracks down the infected man who escaped from the hotel.
This episode works on two races against the clock: one to replace Jane Saunders in time to put an end to all of the day's threats, one to find the potentially dangerous hotel guest. These tow situations are inter-cut to great dramatic effect, with more emphasis on the first plot strand, given that will play a bigger part in the last five episodes of the season. Gratifyingly enough, that section of the narrative also gives Elisha Cuthbert something really substantial to do after just sitting around for eighteen hours (not that she was doing a bad job, it's just nice to see her take part in the action again).