Review Roundup: 24 Live Another Day Episode 6

Here’s a comprehensive collection of reviews and recaps for 24: Live Another Day Episode 5. The vast majority of critics were very positive on this hour, although a few critics labeled this a filler episode or criticized it for repeating past storylines. Check out the reviews below.

The A.V. Club (A-): “The saving grace here is the resolution, which is both entertainingly awful (for Simone) and also proves to be relevant to the larger narrative. Random complications can bog a story down, but so far at least, this show is using them in smart, economical ways.”

IGN (8.8/10): “It’s been a relatively quiet few hours for 24 since the rollicking premiere episodes. Tense standoffs and high-stakes decisions have been made, sure, but we haven’t had the pure adrenaline shot for little while. Tonight hits that spot hard, as agendas collide in an hour that’s alternately suspenseful and flat-out exciting.”

HitFix: “There was an awful lot to induce wincing and the rolling of eyes… and yet, one of the things the season has done consistently well throughout is in establishing Kate as a worthy partner of Jack’s. The moments focusing on Kate dealing with this lunatic and the danger he is going to keep putting her into were excellent, whether she was choosing to inject herself with the anesthetic or holding up under some really nasty torture.”

BuddyTV: “I’m honestly not sure what to think of this week’s episode of 24: Live Another Day. It contains so many 24 cliches that I normally abhor, but somehow, this episode winds up being highly watchable and manages to surprise me in a number of ways.”

TVLine: “Fox’s 24, for all its accomplishments over the years, has seldom given us the female equivalent of Jack Bauer. (One could argue that as badass field agents go, the list starts and ends with G-woman Renee Walker, RIP.) But did disgraced CIA analyst Kate Morgan just join the short list?”

TV Fanatic: “Kate Morgan was having one hell of a very bad day. First Jack drugged her up. Then Rask’s men pulled her out of it only to hang her on a hook, electrify her and threaten to drill a hole in her head. And when Jack’s well place sniper was about to save her, MI-5 stepped in and made things worse. I’ll admit, I was impressed when Kate started choking the guy with her legs and lifted herself off of that hook. Remind me to find that Thighs of Steel exercise workout this week.”

Fox News: “Much has been said about her potential to be the next Jack Bauer; after all, she has problems with authority, is quick on her feet and has a mean shot. If tonight’s episode proved anything, it’s that Kate is every bit as tough as her male counterpart.”

We Got This Covered: “The seventh episode of FOX’s revival was its crazier hour yet, in some ways that were darkly thrilling but also brisk to the point of letting the characters evaporate to let the exposition and plotting take the frame.”

Den of Geek: “This is 24, where the shootouts and double-crossing and botched operations reign king. Stealth is great, but we need action. We got it with Jack and Rask going head to head, Britain’s operatives crashing the party and Kate living up to the hype by escaping a torture session and taking out a slew of baddies.”

TV Equals: “However, it turns out that bad guys should also beware of Kate Morgan. Even if the show descends into its typical lunacy, Yvonne Strahovski has been a revelation in this role. The show has done an exceptional job of establishing Kate Morgan as a really solid character with ass-kicking capabilities to rival Bauer’s.”

E! Online: “Um, Kate Morgan is the badass CIA lady we’ve always wanted ever since Chuck ended and we had no more Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski, how we love thee) in our lives.”

Paul Levinson: “Meanwhile, Margot continues to evilly distinguish herself as one of the most ruthless and driven villains in the history of the series.”

Boston.com: “Jack manages to take out most of the terrorists and pluck the fateful key on the keyboard, and Morgan—in a bit of awesomeness straight out of Jack’s playbook (or straight out of “Lethal Weapon”)—pulls a legs-around-the-throat move to get free from her chains and knifes her torturer to death. Coolest moment of the year so far, and it’s not even close. We’ve got a new Renee Walker here.”

CNS News: “Nearly every second tier character received some depth this episode. The British PM is understandably worried for his country and distrustful of a mentally lacking U.S. President. Navaro is at the beck and call of some mystery collaborator looking to sideline Kate. Kate herself shows her toughness in the face of some vicious conditions. And Simone, seemingly a bitterly loyal terrorist, nearly compromised her whole mission.”

Vulture (4/5): “The best scene was the brief conversation between Mark and Jack. Preparing to go back into the field, Jack is surprised when Mark comes in to let him know everything is ready for him. We think the scene is going to be a dick-measuring contest between the two, but it wisely avoids that.”

Screen Crush: “This was a far more exciting hour than the last one. The sheer amount of action and drama made up for the fact that the real-time aspect of the show is flimsier than ever, with Jack able to drive across London, infiltrate a criminal organization and kill everyone in about a half hour.”

Starpulse: “It was brilliant the first time the show pulled it off with Nina Myers more than a decade ago – then it just kept happening, and by series’ end, it was just played out. The only plus of this is that maybe it’ll give Benjamin Bratt something more to do than being another meddling government official, but that’s a slim positive. This is probably the device the show has used more than any other, and it seems like an easy choice for a show that doesn’t make easy choices.”

New York Observer: “How cool is Agent Morgan, exactly? Like, really super cool. Not only does she consent to Jack’s plan to shoot her full of Propofol, then hand her over to some guys who want to kill her, she picks up the damn needle and administers the shot herself. Then, when things inevitably go awry because things always go awry when it comes to wacky infiltrate a mega-powerful arms dealer’s operation and save the world schemes, she handles herself like a total pro.”

Pop-Break: “Then we had the absolute clunker of a storyline where Kate Morgan’s husband might not actually be a traitor. Really? We need this right now? And when we get the reveal of who’s involved (and the implications of who is) the results are just so groan inducing.”

Schmoes Know: “Dammit! I love me some 24! Although this weeks episode was a step down from last weeks phenomenal episode, this one definitely has some great moments and one killer twist ending.”

TV.com: “This was probably my least favorite episode of the season thus far, especially considering that it followed two legitimately good ones. Nevertheless, everything that was dumb or sloppy or annoying about it was in keeping with 24 tradition, and that’s worth acknowledging. As the midpoint of Live Another Day, “4:00 PM-5:00 PM” skipped ahead too quickly in some spots and diverged into cliché too easily in others, but there’s still enough forward momentum here that there’s absolutely no reason to get discouraged yet.”

NY Daily News: “Of course he takes his sweet time, leaving his underling plenty of time for a gratuitous electrocution of Kate. Maybe it’s sexist of me, but I’m extra uncomfortable seeing a woman being tortured and frankly can the show’s writers stop beating us over the head with torture scenes every few episodes?”

Guardian Liberty Voice: “By the time the episode ends, 24 has the viewer falling in love again with the whole premise, and of course Jack Bauer. Like a Weeble, Jack may wobble, but “he don’t fall down.””

Red Carpet Crash: “This hour is packed with relentless action and tight pacing. It overcomes the jaded familiarity with these characters and format, making me care once again about what happens next.”

Kotaku: “The bulk of this episode—a great one!—involves Jack convincing his former arms dealer boss to log into a bank account and inadvertently upload a virus that Chloe will use to track down his connections to Lady Big-Bad Terrorist Catelyn Stark. To kick off this crazy plan, which, like most of Jack’s plans, involves TAKING THINGS TOO FAR, Jack decides to pretend he has kidnapped and drugged Kate, who, being a team player, goes and sticks a propofol needle into her own neck. This is a serious turn-on for Jack, who immediately has to unload some steam by killing two terrorists.”

Assignment X: “This was a damn good episode of 24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY. Action packed from start to finish with some pretty good tense moments where even though we knew the outcome was still nail biting in some sense.”

Other Recaps

Note: these are mostly just straight-up recaps with little or no critical analysis.

• Zap2It
• Hollywood Life
• Baltimore Sun

Video Reviews and recaps

Post Show Recaps:

AfterBuzz TV:

Issues Program:

2 Guys Talking 24, Hour 6: