Finally, something happened, but it was in the last minute of the episode. The rest of the episode was spent following Dalia whine incessantly, Dana continuing to be stupid, and Jack and Cole running around guns drawn, accomplishing nothing. I'm predicting the rest of the season gets better, so hopefully this is the last mediocre episode for a long while.
CTU has been attacked like 5 times before, so it's not a new thing. The effect, however, is as real as ever. When the very core of the group whose sole purpose is to fight terrorism is attacked by the terrorists themselves, it dramatically alters the stakes It personalizes the story and makes the situation more dire. And that's where Jack Bauer comes in.
I think we can officially call Dana's storyline the worst storyline in 24 history. It's worse than Teri's amnesia, Kim's trip in the woods, Chase's baby, or anything Audrey relate. Dana may be stupider than Kim and Milo combined. She openly invites Ben Prady into CTU, and finds out that he knows everything. There's a point when she has to say no, and it appears he would literally have to come in with a gun and start shooting everyone before she puts an end to the madness. When Prady comes wandering into the operations area of CTU, Dana leisurely takes her time. There's a terrorist threat!! Get your priorities straight! And if you want to deal with Prady first, actually deal with him!!
It seemed like everyone other than the terrorists were acting completely stupid in the episode. The details of the episode were largely insignificant since the ending was all the mattered. Everything will invariably change from this point forward. Let's not dwell on 12 boring episode and look towards the last half of the season. It will most likely be the final season after all.
Score: 8.5/10
