12:00AM-1:00AM (24 season 5)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about Hour 18 on Day 5 of the Fox Network TV series 24.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

“12:00AM-1:00AM”
24 episode

Episode no.	Season Day 5 Episode 18
Written by	Howard Gordon
Directed by	Brad Turner
Production no.	5AFF18
Original airdate	April 17, 2006
Episode chronology
← Previous	Next →
"11:00PM-12:00AM"	"1:00AM-2:00AM"
Episode Chronology

The media reports that martial law remains in effect and that civil rights activists are starting to complain about it. President Logan calls Karen Hayes and tells her that he wants Jack Bauer captured before the morning. Meanwhile, Jack tells Bill Buchanan about what has been going on and then drops Wayne Palmer off at Buchanan's house for safety. Jack goes to meet Secretary Heller at Van Nuys Airport to ask him to present the tape to the Attorney General to begin legal proceedings against the President. Heller arrives at the hangar and meets with his daughter Audrey Raines and Jack. Heller is at first skeptical of Jack's innocence, but Jack plays the tape for him. After Heller learns the truth, he punches Jack and has one of his men handcuff him. He tells Jack that he is doing this all wrong. He says that destroying the Presidency will weaken America. Heller decides to use the evidence to make the President step down quietly. He demands that Audrey accompany him but has her restrained after she refuses. Jack yells after Heller that he cannot negotiate with Logan. Both Jack and Audrey are moved to a utility room in the hangar and are guarded by Heller's men.

Chloe O'Brian asks Shari Rothenberg why she was not called to a meeting, unaware that Shari is wearing a wire and that Hayes is listening. Chloe tries to call Audrey, and her call is traced. Chloe gets called in for questioning.

Mike Novick calls military commander General Warren and asks how the search for Jack is going, but the commander has no idea what he is talking about, making Mike suspicious. Novick asks the President why Warren doesn't have the orders, but the President says that he doesn't answer to him and that he is "using a secret task force." Logan claims he went this route to keep as many people out of the loop -- that Jack never died -- as possible, but Novick says that Hayes already knows about Bauer and the situation with the Chinese, thus voiding the need for the secret task force. Logan tells Novick to leave.

Chloe escapes after telling Shari that Jack is getting evidence on the President. Heller calls the President and tells him that he wants to meet tonight.

Martha Logan asks Aaron Pierce about Heller's visit, and Aaron tells her to meet him in the stables. Heller meets with Logan and accuses him of the murder of David Palmer. Logan argues with him saying that he does not know what he is talking about and he has no idea what it is like to be the President, saying he acted to secure oil for America's future. Heller tells him that this doesn't erase the blood on his hands, and Logan asks what he wants from him. Heller tells the President to take back the warrant on Jack, to leave his daughter alone, and hand in his letter of resignation. When Martha goes to meet Aaron, he is nowhere to be found. Martha calls Aaron's cell phone and discovers that the cell phone is right next to her, but Aaron is nowhere to be found.

Having been tied to a metal pole, Jack melts his plastic restraints by holding them against a nearby pipe. He then frees Audrey with a pair of pliers, disarms the guard outside the utility room, and makes his way to the airport tarmac. Audrey remains in the hangar. In the shadow of Heller's private jet, Jack disarms another guard just as Christopher Henderson's helicopter lands. While Jack and the guard are occupied in a shoot-out with Henderson's men, Henderson takes cover in the hangar. Heller's guard is killed and Jack removes the tape recorder from the guard's pocket. Jack runs into the hangar where he finds that Henderson has taken Audrey hostage.

Henderson demands that Jack give him the recording. Jack asks why he is protecting the President, and Henderson says that he is protecting the integrity of the government. Jack says the government has no integrity as long as Charles Logan is the president. It is revealed that Henderson has cut Audrey's brachial artery and he tells Jack he has three minutes to give him the tape or Audrey will bleed to death. Jacks slides the recording across the floor to Henderson. Audrey falls into Jack's hands, and Jack ties her arm to stop the bleeding.

The eight-way split screen at the end of the episode

Logan meets with Heller and Vice President Hal Gardner. At the start of the meeting, Logan receives a phone call from Henderson saying that the tape has been recovered. Logan then tells Gardner that Heller is the one who is handing in his resignation. Heller is shocked and says that Logan is the mastermind behind the terrorists. He asks who has called Logan and threatens Logan about the safety of his daughter. Since he doesn't have the evidence with him, Heller is escorted out of the office.

This episode can be considered the climax of the season. This is supported by the dramatic use of an eight-way split screen, showing ten different characters, in the final seconds of the episode. Unlike other episodes, the split screen goes right to the timer at the end of the episode. To date, the only other episode that has had the timer directly following the split screen was Day 3 9:00am-10:00am. In this episode, after James Heller is asked to leave the retreat, the split screens begin amidst Logan's troubled looks and Gardner's confusion. Following normal "protocol" it is joined by two scenes, when suddenly they begin to pop up at a faster rate. Rather than returning to any of these scenes to finish out the episode, the clock is displayed and the episode suddenly ends. The eight scenes displayed in this montage are (clockwise from bottom left): Christopher Henderson stealing a car, Miles Papazian working in CTU, James Heller being escorted from the retreat, President Logan with a troubled look on his face, Martha Logan worried about Aaron Pierce's whereabouts, Chloe O'Brian and Bill Buchanan working from Bill's house, Jack Bauer and Audrey Raines at the Van Nuys Airport, and Karen Hayes working at CTU. This is one of the most dramatic endings of any episode in all five seasons.