24: Legacy Acquaints Us with Naseri in ‘8:00 PM – 9:00 PM’

“8:00 PM – 9:00 PM” Plot Summary:

Having escaped the destruction of the terrorists’ hideout alive, Naseri (Oded Fehr) plans to break Jadalla (Raphael Acloque) out of CTU.

The world of 24 is a truly rough place to live. Besides numerous terrorist attacks, including attacks on Air Force One and the White House, plus a successful nuclear detonation, only one U.S. president has managed to complete a term without being killed or forced to resign in the span of 20-something years. And after that single term, someone assassinated him, which others had previously tried to do. Similarly, besides a plethora of moles and compromised agents, terrorists have attacked government agencies multiple times with explosives, deadly gas, armed raids, EMPs, and cyberwarfare.

24 had already exhausted nearly every plot twist imaginable by the time Legacy rolled around. I believe I’ve mentioned this before and I knew it coming in. The show will have a hard time surprising longtime fans. So Legacy really needs to nail plot twists in execution more than anything. It’s here that this episode falters a bit. The storyline is difficult to do the way the writers wanted to pull it off. Though the franchise is supposed to take place in real time, episodes follow a structure similar to most other series. The episodes usually build up to a climax in the last 15 minutes or so. There are exceptions, but not too many.

This episode should have had Eric (Corey Hawkins) defuse the bomb in a shorter amount of time. It doesn’t because the writers wanted to have the CTU raid at the end of the episode. This causes an issue. Eric asks the lady who she is being used as leverage against, but then he drops the subject. For the length of time it takes him to defuse the bomb, he should have asked again. It mostly takes place off-screen and he apparently doesn’t.

If not for this, it’s an otherwise well-done twist. Sure, it’s based on a guard having an affair, but the extramarital affair rate is probably higher than we would like to believe. It’s not something most people will admit to.

Speaking of marriages, there are some interesting developments in John (Jimmy Smits) and Rebecca’s (Miranda Otto) relationship, as John continues to deal with his father’s treachery. Smits and Otto made me genuinely feel for John and Rebecca this week. But now the terrorists have John and are going to use him to get to Rebecca. We did this plot two episodes ago with Isaac (Ashley Thomas) and Nicole (Anna Diop). It feels redundant to do it again with other characters.

I’m surprised that Isaac and Nicole go back to the Carter residence. Sure, they have CTU/police protection, but I wouldn’t categorize it as safe. It would make sense if they went to CTU, or at least Nicole; Isaac probably wouldn’t want to go. Rebecca supposedly offered Eric a job as an agent, but I’m confused how that would work with his new identity following the Bin-Khalid mission. Eric might have to choose between his marriage and the new job.

We’re in the last fourth of this season, but there’s still plenty that can happen. I hope it utilizes Tony (Carlos Bernard) more heavily, because to bring him back just have sit around for a couple episodes is a waste. The execution might be a bit off and it might be redundant, but next week looks promising.

RATING: 6.5 OUT OF 10 (AVERAGE)