So, what have we learned so far, based on the previous 13 episodes of 24 - Season 2? Well, there's a nuclear bomb somewhere in L.A., it was brought there by a terrorist group known as Second Wave (with the help of a covert American unit), Sherry Palmer was apparently conspiring against her ex husband, sweet little Marie Warner helped the terrorists, and as of the thirteenth hour of Day 2 Jack Bauer was this close to closing in on the nuke.
Unfortunately, that would have ended the season way too soon, which is why it is revealed that the device they found at the airfield was in fact a decoy. At this point, all Jack can do is find Marie and pressure her to find out the exact location of the bomb. Meanwhile, President Palmer confronts Sherry, who naturally denies everything Roger Stanton said about her, and George Mason appoints Tony Almeida as his replacement at CTU after his condition worsens in the most unwelcome way. Oh, and Kim finds out Lonnie McRae (Kevin Dillon) lied to her about the explosion so she would stay with him (poor fella).
As I said in my review of the previous episode, the second half of Day 2 is shaping up to look just like its Season 1 counterpart: with the threat out of the way, it will be time to locate and punish the perpetrators. Who they might be, as well as what motives they could have, won't be fully clear until the very last few hours of the day, but hints of American involvement in the plot are very effective in keeping the suspense consistent, as is the introduction of a new CTU employee, played by Lourdes Benedicto, who immediately gives the impression of being unreliable.
In addition, this episode and the next do the greatest job at humanizing one of the most unlikable characters of the first season: okay, so he's dying, which makes him the ideal candidate for a re-evaluation, but watching George leave CTU forever is so powerful a sight you might not even remember what an utter pain in the ass he used to be. In fact, how is it that Xander Berkeley was denied an Emmy nomination?
