I'm sure this is what the writers want us to think, but it's interesting that after killing Palmer ten minutes into the season, it's become a constant game of "What Would Palmer Do?" and I have no doubt that it's a question that's crossed Jack's mind over and over again.
Logan consistenly makes decision after decision that Palmer would outright reject. Palmer was always hesitant to make a cover-up. Palmer was never willing to sacrifice innocent life when there was no guarantee it would pay off. Think back all the way to season one when Palmer absolutely REFUSED to sacrific Kim for his own safety/image. Palmer would have responded to Lynn and Buchanan's suggestion that they let the mall get hit with a very eloquent but fervent "BITCH, PLEASE." Palmer CERTAINLY wouldn't have covered up Walt's treachery/suicide the way Logan has. And it's interesting that it's Novick who's nudged Logan in that direction, and very telling of why Palmer had to let Novick go. Novick plays politics, while Palmer followed the directive that Martha
( ... )
Very good essay and I'm so glad about the idea of Jack being his own man for this season because I was very wary of Jack in S3-4 with his "I am following orders!" deal and I think he couldn't have become his own man in the way he has so far this season without Palmer getting killed. As long as Palmer was alive, he could go along being the robotic government man because, hey! it's Palmer, it's all good, torture overload of S4, being the exception. With President Weasel, I mean, Logan, he can rebel and make decisions for himself on what is right or not. Also, I feel like I can support Jack wholeheartedly this season because my inner voice is screaming at him to bitch-slap President Weasel and rebel against the 24-verse government.
Oooh. That's a good point about Palmer being killed - and also it's important that Palmer was killed by someone inside the government, which means that they betrayed even HIM.
I think his trust in Palmer and his belief in that Palmer was doing the right thing and for the right reasons was in some ways his achilles heel - his trust and respect for the man himself beyond his office - well, we see what that caused.
The 24-verse government's kinda evil! But I completely agree.
You're welcome and maybe another theme to think about this season is betrayal. Palmer got betrayed by someone in the government, a place he has served faithfully over the years. Jack's "I'm dead, but not really" cover was betrayed by people who wanted to use his as a scapegoat for the assasination and President Weasel betrayed the country and his office with his general weasiliness. Jack also betrayed the trust of Diane and Derek by masquerading as Frank, even though their trust in him served as a form of healing for Jack from the events of S1-4.
I also agree that Palmer was always his achilles heel and as long as the man remained alive, Jack would be trusting of the government he served, even when it held some seriously bad apples. Palmer the man deserved to be trusted. The 24-verse government, as represented by the likes of Novick (in Cheney mode) and Logan, do not.
I think the only anology between the seasomns you left out is the parallel between aiding terrorists to blow up CTU and aiding terrorists to release the nerve gas at the mall.
I agree that jack's more human. He also realizes that perhaps there are grey areas, there are ways to find the terrorists by other means, and that's why we see his focus shift to saving the girl, instead of just dropping the girl at medic's fet and running after the other bad guy.
D'oh, I knew I forgot something, I mentioned it to a friend but when I was writing this I didn't really use season two at all. But in that case he also tried to warn them and evacuate the building a while before, like a half hour earlier.
That's a really good point with him saving the girl instead of just putting her down and running off - I missed that somehow.
Hello, I've been looking for 24 caps and found your journal. I wasn't sure where to comment, but I wanted to ask if it's ok for me to use some of your caps? Obviously I will credit.
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Logan consistenly makes decision after decision that Palmer would outright reject. Palmer was always hesitant to make a cover-up. Palmer was never willing to sacrifice innocent life when there was no guarantee it would pay off. Think back all the way to season one when Palmer absolutely REFUSED to sacrific Kim for his own safety/image. Palmer would have responded to Lynn and Buchanan's suggestion that they let the mall get hit with a very eloquent but fervent "BITCH, PLEASE." Palmer CERTAINLY wouldn't have covered up Walt's treachery/suicide the way Logan has. And it's interesting that it's Novick who's nudged Logan in that direction, and very telling of why Palmer had to let Novick go. Novick plays politics, while Palmer followed the directive that Martha ( ... )
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I can't put my thoughts into words all that much either, hence why I tend to ramble :)
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Oooh. That's a good point about Palmer being killed - and also it's important that Palmer was killed by someone inside the government, which means that they betrayed even HIM.
I think his trust in Palmer and his belief in that Palmer was doing the right thing and for the right reasons was in some ways his achilles heel - his trust and respect for the man himself beyond his office - well, we see what that caused.
The 24-verse government's kinda evil! But I completely agree.
Reply
I also agree that Palmer was always his achilles heel and as long as the man remained alive, Jack would be trusting of the government he served, even when it held some seriously bad apples. Palmer the man deserved to be trusted. The 24-verse government, as represented by the likes of Novick (in Cheney mode) and Logan, do not.
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Very very well put -- the 24-verse government has some serious flaws.
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I think the only anology between the seasomns you left out is the parallel between aiding terrorists to blow up CTU and aiding terrorists to release the nerve gas at the mall.
I agree that jack's more human. He also realizes that perhaps there are grey areas, there are ways to find the terrorists by other means, and that's why we see his focus shift to saving the girl, instead of just dropping the girl at medic's fet and running after the other bad guy.
Reply
That's a really good point with him saving the girl instead of just putting her down and running off - I missed that somehow.
Thank you :)
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