Expect More Flip-Flops On Tonight's Twisted Finale Of "24"
By Martin Renzhofer
Nina, Nina, Nina, you bad girl, you. You used sex to worm your way into the boss's confidence.
Don't you know that history has long looked down its nose at women who have used sex as an espionage tool. (It didn't stop another fictional spy, James Bond. But, as we know, history is sexist.)
As the penultimate episode of Fox's sometimes illogical, always twisting, thrill ride, "24," wound down on May 14, federal agent Nina Myers (Sarah Clarke) was revealed to be "Yelena," Serbian war criminal Victor Drazen's (Dennis Hopper) Mata Hari.
The big giveaway? Drazen was on Nina's speed dial.
So expect more flip-flops than a Cirque du Soleil performance during tonight's finale of "24" at 8 on Ch. 13 (KSTU).
But back to Nina, the last person Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) suspected to be a turncoat. Television viewers should have known that it's always the mistress.
It was obvious. Then again, in hindsight, when reviewing his relationship with Delilah, Sampson probably rued not thinking more with his brain.
Remember, early on, when Jack discovered that a keycard that belonged to the mole inside his anti-terrorist group belonged to Nina?
Jack was mad, but not too smart. He fell for Nina's cranky pout while she reminded him that on the day she'd supposedly last used the card, she and he had been together in Santa Barbara doing things that a married man shouldn't do without a note from his wife or doctor.
Nina altered the date on the keycard to cover her tracks. If there ever was a clue that screamed long and loud, that card and explanation was it.
For the uninitiated, "24" takes place in real time during a 24-hour period. Each episode represents one hour in Jack Bauer's day. (See explanation of suspension of belief.)
As for the effect all of this mayhem, several characters may have reservations inside the looney bin. They have survived a day that has been worse than hell and more like being locked in a room with an insurance agent.
For example, Jack's wife, Teri (Leslie Hope), has had her daughter, Kim (Elisha Cuthbert), kidnapped. She escaped one of Drazen's killers. She was raped. She killed a bad guy, was rescued, attacked again, learned of her husband's infidelity and thought her daughter was blown up.
Then she gets a case of amnesia.
Everything has been connected to Drazen's plot to assassinate Sen. David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert), the first black presidential candidate with a real chance of winning. (Palmer's race was a red herring. Drazen wanted revenge.)
However, Palmer has his own problems, including a ruthless, manipulating wife, Sherry (Penny Johnson Jerald), who encouraged a Palmer staffer to have an affair with her husband. (See explanation above about having a note from your wife.)
Then . . . No. No more, please.
"24" is as entertaining as it is confusing. And it has given Fox, despite the show's less-than-stellar ratings, a profit. Apparently, "24" appeals to the more affluent television audience.
The network has even renewed the series in its current self-contained format, which is good news. There had been talk about the show returning in a different form.
But hopefully Jack, who hasn't slept in 24 weeks, has learned a lesson: never date a co-worker.
