What I’m Watching: 24

24: Season 8, Episode 17 “8:00AM-9:00AM” (F)

Forget about the fact that the director of CTU is relieved and replaced by the lowest-ranking, proven subordinate employee with absolutely no management or leadership experience at all (I suppose it’s only a little bit better than promoting the field agent whose wife has just been revealed to be a traitorous spy). Forget about the fact that the first thing that Jack does after failing to save the life of the leader of a country is go home and cool off after vowing never to give up on his commitment to the President and to his country. What I find most unbelievable about this episode is that, after not eating or drinking a thing for seven seasons, Jack is felled by thirst. He finally relaxes and makes a move on Renee, only to have her taken out by a gunshot less than a minute after he gets up to bring her a glass of water. This guy has the worst luck. He already walked in on a dead body thirty minutes earlier, and now he has to see the woman he cares about killed while he’s by the sink? That feels like overkill, even for this show. The return of Gregory Itzin as former President Charles Logan came out of nowhere, and is likely more borne out a desire to satisfy loyal viewers of the show with a fan favorite than any actual relevance he might have to the overarching plot. Appointing Hassan’s wife in his stead is a good idea, but I don’t see that playing out well at all.