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So Dad's back. I'm no longer living on my own, which means that the house won't be as clean as it is right now. And it no longer means sleeping whenever the hell I want or coming and going whenever I want without comment, but hey, at least there's someone else to talk to in the house. Funny thing is, I pretty much slept through the weekend because I was feeling sick all the way through Thursday night. I'm better now, but it kinda threw my sleeping patterns, as Dad has severe jetlag, and we are almost on the same sleep schedule. Whoops?
Ah well. Anyway, happy belated Bday to Ya Din and Paulette! I kinda find it amusing that I slept through Valentine's day and didn't do my ritual of watching When Harry Met Sally, but then again, there's no Steph on the phone to lovingly mock it with, so I suppose it's just as well.
In other news, I'm glad people liked the 24 parody. Since there was such a positive response, I'll go ahead and keep doing them, but I need to know 2 things first:
[Poll #1350678]
And finally:
1. So this is the first post-strike ep. The first 8, perhaps because of the writers' strike, felt very contained and we reached a nice stopping point. As such, this ep feels almost like a season premiere/turn in the narrative. It reminds me in many ways of S3. The first 8 prior to the Gael triple agent reveal seem almost separate from the Mexico and hotel arcs. That said, I think so far, S7 is much stronger and although not too much happens in this episode, they're setting things up and getting ready to ramp up for the rest of the season. I'm glad they reminded people that Jack has a personal connection to Dubaku through Redemption, as I'm sure it's now going to play into things sometime later.
2. President Taylor continues to have balls of steel. She's different from Palmer, who was all about finesse and diplomacy, but she takes no shit and and is pretty flippin' awesome. I'm not so sure about why we've never heard at least one reference to the daughter Olivia, but she's played by Sprague Grayden (Heather! of Jericho fame) so at least I like the actress.
3. Also? AARON MUTHAFUCKIN' PIERCE! I'm so glad that I don't read spoilers because when Bill said that he knew of someone, I was, "who? Tony's on the lam and Chloe's headed to the FBI." So when he showed up and they showed his BADGE first, I literally squealed in delight. That, as they say, is how they get shit done. Secret Service compromised? No worries. Pierce is there. This pretty much seals it, I'm going full on no spoilers for the rest of the season. Only promos, and I'm going to avoid all casting spoilers as much as possible. (Rachel, you're going to have to help me out on this.)
4. I'm still wondering where Tony went (Is he off looking for his Cubbie mug?), but it's like they're really getting the band back together with all the old favorites / important characters to Jack. And I'm LOOOOOOVING it. This contrast of the new guard and old guard is pretty awesome, and it's why in part why I'm loving this season. It feels like our reward for sitting through 6 seasons of 24, as the writers continue to make parallels and the characters themselves reference older players. Sean and Erica I could do without and Janis is okay, but I'm loving the contrast of the CTU of old and Larry and Renee. They are the two best new characters for sure.
5. The scene with Larry and Chloe worked so well too. Chloe's got a kid and a pretty stable (from the looks of it) relationship with Morris. Also, wasn't Chloe originally from CTU DC? I think I remember that from the game. So she must be pretty well-adjusted now, which is why she might not survive, esp with both Morris and Larry calling out her long record with the danger-magnet Jack.
That said, waaaay to lay the smackdown on Larry. Plus, all the references- Chappelle, Curtis, and Teri....so good. Mentioning Teri is where Larry crossed the line, I think. He had a point with Chappelle and Curtis because Jack actually pulled the trigger. It was the mention of Teri that was uncalled for (and personally, I think that the only ones who ever invoke her name correctly, to or in regards to Jack, are Tony and Kim, because they were the only ones who actually knew her.)
6. I LOVE Renee and Jack as partners. Renee's headed for a breakdown for sure, but I continue to love watching her struggle with it. She feels like the old Jack of S1, and I love that by virtue of who she is and what she is doing, she makes Jack see just how much he has lost of himself and what a shell of a person he has become. I am SO excited for the next episode. It's not even sexual tension, it's the fact that she pokes and prods at him like no one, except maybe Tony has. He's gone so long with turning off his emotions for the sake of the mission that when confronted with Renee, who is so much like his Ghost of Christmas past- he is forced to deal with that self-reflection. It's not just shoved to a few short moments throughout the season; it's constantly there in his face whenever they clash.
Because Renee *is* like him. So much so. Right down to it being so important to save Marika because she gave Marika her word. She knows that it has to be done, but she still feels it, acutely. That scene with Larry was so freaking awesome, as he keeps reminding her that her list of questionable, illegal actions is piling up and fast. And he keeps trying to pull her from the edge, but she's so much like Jack, she's pulled to follow Jack's instructions because they make so much sense to her. I'm beginning to think that Renee is a better version of what they were trying to do with Chase's character in S3, because Chase was too eager to be just like Jack. Renee's more reluctant and in that way, far more so like S1 Jack, who was tragically caught up in the urgency and unable to slow his descent into the madness. Her own struggle is interesting because we've seen it before and we're curious to see how she'll wind up.
As much as Renee is turning into Jack, Jack used to be Renee, and that's why I think the writers did such a great job pairing the two up. The comparisons go both way so we're interested in both characters.
Ah well. Anyway, happy belated Bday to Ya Din and Paulette! I kinda find it amusing that I slept through Valentine's day and didn't do my ritual of watching When Harry Met Sally, but then again, there's no Steph on the phone to lovingly mock it with, so I suppose it's just as well.
In other news, I'm glad people liked the 24 parody. Since there was such a positive response, I'll go ahead and keep doing them, but I need to know 2 things first:
[Poll #1350678]
And finally:
1. So this is the first post-strike ep. The first 8, perhaps because of the writers' strike, felt very contained and we reached a nice stopping point. As such, this ep feels almost like a season premiere/turn in the narrative. It reminds me in many ways of S3. The first 8 prior to the Gael triple agent reveal seem almost separate from the Mexico and hotel arcs. That said, I think so far, S7 is much stronger and although not too much happens in this episode, they're setting things up and getting ready to ramp up for the rest of the season. I'm glad they reminded people that Jack has a personal connection to Dubaku through Redemption, as I'm sure it's now going to play into things sometime later.
2. President Taylor continues to have balls of steel. She's different from Palmer, who was all about finesse and diplomacy, but she takes no shit and and is pretty flippin' awesome. I'm not so sure about why we've never heard at least one reference to the daughter Olivia, but she's played by Sprague Grayden (Heather! of Jericho fame) so at least I like the actress.
3. Also? AARON MUTHAFUCKIN' PIERCE! I'm so glad that I don't read spoilers because when Bill said that he knew of someone, I was, "who? Tony's on the lam and Chloe's headed to the FBI." So when he showed up and they showed his BADGE first, I literally squealed in delight. That, as they say, is how they get shit done. Secret Service compromised? No worries. Pierce is there. This pretty much seals it, I'm going full on no spoilers for the rest of the season. Only promos, and I'm going to avoid all casting spoilers as much as possible. (Rachel, you're going to have to help me out on this.)
4. I'm still wondering where Tony went (Is he off looking for his Cubbie mug?), but it's like they're really getting the band back together with all the old favorites / important characters to Jack. And I'm LOOOOOOVING it. This contrast of the new guard and old guard is pretty awesome, and it's why in part why I'm loving this season. It feels like our reward for sitting through 6 seasons of 24, as the writers continue to make parallels and the characters themselves reference older players. Sean and Erica I could do without and Janis is okay, but I'm loving the contrast of the CTU of old and Larry and Renee. They are the two best new characters for sure.
5. The scene with Larry and Chloe worked so well too. Chloe's got a kid and a pretty stable (from the looks of it) relationship with Morris. Also, wasn't Chloe originally from CTU DC? I think I remember that from the game. So she must be pretty well-adjusted now, which is why she might not survive, esp with both Morris and Larry calling out her long record with the danger-magnet Jack.
That said, waaaay to lay the smackdown on Larry. Plus, all the references- Chappelle, Curtis, and Teri....so good. Mentioning Teri is where Larry crossed the line, I think. He had a point with Chappelle and Curtis because Jack actually pulled the trigger. It was the mention of Teri that was uncalled for (and personally, I think that the only ones who ever invoke her name correctly, to or in regards to Jack, are Tony and Kim, because they were the only ones who actually knew her.)
6. I LOVE Renee and Jack as partners. Renee's headed for a breakdown for sure, but I continue to love watching her struggle with it. She feels like the old Jack of S1, and I love that by virtue of who she is and what she is doing, she makes Jack see just how much he has lost of himself and what a shell of a person he has become. I am SO excited for the next episode. It's not even sexual tension, it's the fact that she pokes and prods at him like no one, except maybe Tony has. He's gone so long with turning off his emotions for the sake of the mission that when confronted with Renee, who is so much like his Ghost of Christmas past- he is forced to deal with that self-reflection. It's not just shoved to a few short moments throughout the season; it's constantly there in his face whenever they clash.
Because Renee *is* like him. So much so. Right down to it being so important to save Marika because she gave Marika her word. She knows that it has to be done, but she still feels it, acutely. That scene with Larry was so freaking awesome, as he keeps reminding her that her list of questionable, illegal actions is piling up and fast. And he keeps trying to pull her from the edge, but she's so much like Jack, she's pulled to follow Jack's instructions because they make so much sense to her. I'm beginning to think that Renee is a better version of what they were trying to do with Chase's character in S3, because Chase was too eager to be just like Jack. Renee's more reluctant and in that way, far more so like S1 Jack, who was tragically caught up in the urgency and unable to slow his descent into the madness. Her own struggle is interesting because we've seen it before and we're curious to see how she'll wind up.
As much as Renee is turning into Jack, Jack used to be Renee, and that's why I think the writers did such a great job pairing the two up. The comparisons go both way so we're interested in both characters.
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