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Arguably, one of the best episodes yet, episode 15 opens on a wickedly grim tableau. Jack
and a team of NEST techs enter hangar 12 with the bomb on a trolley. The techs
purposefully go to work on the device. Jack looks on anxiously as they examine the timer.
He hears the senior tech say they are in good shape as he makes a circuit bypass.
But are they really in good shape? Let’s find out.
Having resigned his directorship of CTU, George Mason arrives at Norton Airfield alone.
George asks about the bomb’s status, Jack brings him up-to-date quickly, but assures him
everything is under control, and says surely there must be somewhere he’d rather be.
Mason replies: 'this is the thing that killed me, Jack'; he has promised himself that he
would see it through until the device was laid to rest. The techs alert Jack that there is a
situation. The trigger has been rendered tamperproof. Jack is horrified to learn there is
NO way they can dismantle the device without it detonating. With only 55 minutes left
on the clock, Jack orders Agent Goodrich to find a fast plane so that the bomb can be
transported elsewhere. Jack’s expression says it all as he calls the O.C. to notify the
President. He knows what has to be done.
Meanwhile, Kim walks along an isolated country road, shrouded by trees, with only a
torch and the moon to light her way. She tries to thumb a lift from an oncoming car, and
the vehicle pulls over. The male driver who pulls up just happens to be heading toward
San Jose, precisely where Kim happens to be going. She becomes wary, and declines the
ride. The young driver begins to get belligerent then scrambles out of the car. Kim draws
her revolver on him. He hesitates for a second, and then tells her he doubts that she even
knows how to use the weapon. Kim obviously decides that actions speak louder than
words, and proves Jack Bauer’s daughter is no slouch with a revolver as she blows out
his right side rear window. Kim orders him to get back in the car and start driving. The
guy drives off yelling ‘Bitch!’ from a nice safe distance. Kim continues on her way.
As we go to splitscreen mode, Jack is on his cell telling the President he needs a decision.
Palmer assures him that they’re analysing as they speak. Jack informs him the plane will
be ready to go in 10 minutes. Palmer tells Jack to prep for the two locations they
discussed—the Pacific Ocean and the desert—and co-ordinate with the FAA. The
President promises Jack he will get back to him as soon as possible.
The O.C. War Room staffers have assembled, and are listening intently as Mike Novick
outlines the disaster impact projections for detonating a 10-kilotonne nuclear device in
the Pacific Ocean. Lynne gives her own analysis for a similar detonation scenario in the
Mojave Desert. Although the calculations point to less health, economical, and ecological
impact with the desert scenario, there is a problem. Mike explains that the device would
have to be deposited in a very precise location. Since the Cessna they will use as a
transport is not a military plane, there will be no means to deliver the payload accurately.
Grimly, Mike tells the President that this is a suicide mission—the pilot will have to go
down with the plane.
The President calls Jack with the decision—the desert. Palmer tells him that his people
have told him the pilot has to die. Jack says that the CTU analysts had already arrived at
the same conclusion. The President asks who will pilot the aircraft. With a slight
hesitation, Jack tells the President that several good men have already volunteered.
Palmer asks Jack to express the undying gratitude of his country to whoever the chosen
pilot is, and that whatever family he leaves behind will be taken care of by his
administration. Jack assures him he will, and Palmer asks him to get back to him when
the plane is in the air.
Mason, who (intentionally?) overheard the conversation with the President, approaches
Jack. He notes that he doesn’t see any of the volunteers for the mission, and says he
knows that Jack intends to go it alone. George offers himself as a more suitable
candidate for the flight. Not only is he an instrument rated pilot, with a current license,
but he is already going to die by the end of the day in any case. In his current state, Jack
has no confidence in Mason’s ability to carry out a mission of this magnitude without
blacking out, or even dying, short of the target co-ordinates. Mindful of the potentially
cataclysmic consequences, Jack rejects George’s offer to fly the Cessna. The stakes are
too high to gamble that Mason can hold out. He calls Goodrich on the walkie-talkie and
orders him to clear airspace and instigate an immediate evac of the airport. As Jack walks
onto the tarmac, ordering the bomb to be loaded, we realise he has elected to go himself.
It’s 10:17 pm, and two CTU field agents bring Tony a suitcase filled with Syed Ali's
personal effects from the safe house. The agents also have with them one Yusuf Auda, a
visiting intelligence liaison from the Arab country suspected of harbouring the Second
Wave terrorists. Tony asks Agent Graves if he trusts him, he replies that at the moment,
he doesn’t trust anyone. While Graves takes the case to a conference room, Tony
introduces himself to Yusuf, who is eager to get involved in the analysis of Ali's personal
effects. Tony is evasive and obviously unwilling to trust this man. Tony asks Michelle to
assign someone to baby-sit Yusuf and ensure he doesn't see anything of significance
related to the case. When Michelle informs Carrie that she will handle Yusuf herself, she
refers to Michelle’s continuing discomfort in working alongside her. Michelle
offhandedly tells her to do her job. Tony Joins graves in the conference room to exam
the case. Among the items discovered is a hard drive encrypted with a function so
complex they CTU field equipment was not up to decrypting it. Tony thanks the agent
and tells him he’ll get their people on it right away.
As the NEST techs load the nuclear bomb onto the Cessna, Jack calls CTU to ask Tony
about Kim's whereabouts. To Tony’s disbelief, Jack reveals that he will be the suicide
mission pilot, so he needs to speak to his daughter immediately. Tony promises to find
her. He also tells Tony that there is safe in his apartment containing will and a letter to
Kim written in the event that anything ever happened to him. Tony assures him he’ll
make sure she gets it.
Kim is still hitchhiking along the road when another car approaches. Kim sees the
headlights, and checks to make sure the revolver is still tucked snugly in to the waistband
of her jeans. The vehicle draws alongside Kim, but this time the driver is a woman
named Anna. She asks if Kim is okay and why she is out in the boonies. Kim tells Anna
that she fled a date that had gone bad, and Anna invites her along for the ride. Anna lets
her use her cell phone to call Jack. The Cessna has been equipped with a clock
synchronized to the bomb's timer by the NEST techs, When Kate inquires if the Cessna
is fitted with an autopilot she is horrified to learn it isn’t and that Jack will be the pilot.
She calls out to Jack as he boards. He turns to her, and they share a moment, but no
words; neither of them can find any for what is happening. Jack shuts the cockpit door,
and she watches helplessly as he gets clearance and begins his take-off.
It’s 10:28 pm when Mike Novick gets word that the Cessna is in the air with the bomb
on board. Palmer requests that Air Force One be prepped to take him to Los Angeles.
Mike and Lynne try to dissuade him from this course of action, as Commander-in Chief
the citizens of the US need to know he is in charge, and directing the situation…not
caught up in it. Lynne forewarns him that he will undoubtedly be caught up in the
inevitable civil unrest when the situation is announced. But Palmer is resolved to be there
to reassure the people in person. The President is then shocked when Mike tells him that
Jack Bauer has elected to fly the plane.
Tony patches through to Jack in flight. He has Kim on a secondary line, and connects
them. Jack is relieved, but explains to Kim that he has to fly a nuclear bomb to the desert.
She asks how he will get off the plane, and Jack sombrely explains he must remain on the
plane until the device is sited. Kim becomes upset and starts to cry. Between sobs, she
expresses intense regret for the way she has behaved in the past. Jack tells her he has
always loved her just as she is, he asks her never to change, and to grow up in a way that
would make her mother proud. They say their tear-filled good-byes to each other as Jack
tries to focus his concentration back on the situation at hand.
Anna pulls the car over and tries to comfort Kim, but she gets out of the car because she
wants to be alone. She no longer cares about leaving Los Angeles, or anything else except
her father’s fate, and she runs into the night. Michelle brings Tony a decrypted transcript
of a recording pulled from Syed Ali's hard drive. The audio is of a conversation that took
place months ago in Cypress between Ali and high-ranking officials of three Middle
Eastern governments. It appears to confirm that these nations bought the device and
supplied it to Ali’s terrorist cell. Michelle suggests that they run a voiceprint
authentication on the tape.
Tony phones Air Force One and tells the President what he has uncovered in the
recording. Palmer is concerned that CTU's Division headquarters will have already
notified the Pentagon and other agencies, which means everyone will know. Palmer
questions why Ali would have taped his conversation, and Tony assumes that Ali may
have wanted ammunition in the event one of the countries in question was to turn
against him. Palmer isn't thoroughly convinced, but thanks Tony for his work.
Palmer then tells Mike that the US could soon be at war. It would not only be with those
three Middle Eastern countries, but with their allies and other American-hating
opportunists. When that bomb goes off, the President's knows his options will quickly
narrow.
As Jack is flying, he senses movement behind him. He instinctively draws his weapon
and whirls around to find George crouching behind him. Mason, who has snuck on to
the plane, passes Jack a parachute. He says that the hardest part of the flight is over and
he can take over the suicide flight. George tells Jack he can handle it from here, unless of
course Jack wants to die. Mason thinks he has had a death wish since Teri was murdered.
He knows Jack blames himself, but Mason tells him he shouldn’t take the easy way out. it
would be far more brave of Jack if he managed to put his life back together, mend the
fences with Kim, forgive himself for his wife’s death, and continue to serve his country.
Jack ruminates on this seriously. At length, with only twelve minutes on the clock, Jack
asks George whether he is absolutely sure he is able to man the plane. Mason assures him
he is—that he was meant to do this. Jack gives him final instructions on how and where
to crash land. They sit in reflective silence for a moment, and then Jack thanks George
earnestly.
It’s 10:52 pm and Jack is preparing to make his escape, while Mason gets in to the
hotseat. He will wait to jump until four minutes before impact so that he can stay with
Mason for as long as possible. This is not solely a gesture of friendship; he wants to make
sure George is still conscious as he approaches the target zone. He calls Tony about the
change of plan. Tony then orders Michelle to send a helicopter to track the Cessna and
pick up Jack in the desert.
Yusuf notices the commotion at CTU and inquires about what evidence has been found
on the hard drive. Tony refuses him access, saying he does not have high enough
clearance. Yusuf becomes irritated because his country has shown good faith in leading
the Americans to Syed Ali's safe house but he is being left out of the loop. Tony stands
his ground.
On Air Force One General Bowden from the Joint Chiefs of Staff enters the president’s
private office. He congratulates Palmer on managing to get the bomb to a relatively safe
location, but he has really come to see the President to discuss proposed retaliation plans.
The military already knows about the Ali tape, which points the finger at three Middle
Eastern countries as the backers behind the Second Wave terrorist group that delivered
the device. The general informs the President that Plans for invasion are already in the
pipeline even though it is not yet confirmed whether the intelligence is legitimate or if the
three countries named in the tape were in fact involved. With a heavy heart, Palmer gives
the General approval to activate the plan, but warns him that the military cannot
implement the plan without direct authorization from him. After the General leaves,
Palmer quietly observes to Lynne that they may be facing World War III.
It’s 10:57 pm and as Jack loads his parachute to prepare to jump, he inquires if there is
anything he can do for George. Mason says it’s okay, and that he got to see his son
earlier. He asks Jack to look in on the teenager after he's gone. Jack swears he will, and
places a reassuring hand on George's shoulder. Mason grabs Jack's hand in an emotional
farewell. They let go, and Jack parachutes from the Cessna and fires a locator flare.
Mike awkwardly informs the President that at this altitude the explosion will be visible on
the eastern horizon if he should want to look. Palmer crosses over to a seat with an east-
facing window and gazes out of Air Force One with a devastated sigh.
It’s 10:59 pm, with less than sixty seconds to zero hour. While George doggedly steers the
Cessna toward Ground Zero, Jack drifts down to the ground. He lands, discards the flare
and his ‘chute then shelters behind a rock. The nuclear explosion roars in the distance.
Meanwhile, unaware of her father’s narrow escape from the aircraft, Kim sobs as she
looks up into the sky to see a faint glow in the northeast. Palmer also witnesses the eerie
glow of the bomb from his seat on the presidential jet. His very soul apparently chilled,
the president looks away speechlessly.
As the episode ends, Jack looks up to see a massive mushroom cloud blossom on the
desert horizon. The blast was a fitting full stop to George Mason’s explosion of heroism
and nobility as he gave his life for his country.
The screen fades to black as the clock ticks over to 11:00pm
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