Bill Buchanan: A Decent Man in an Indecent World (24) by marinw

[marinw]

Title: Bill Buchanan: A Decent Man in an Indecent World
Author: marinw
Character: Bill Buchanan
Fandom: 24
Spoilers: Through Day 6, 5:00 am to 6:00 am
A/N: I felt inspired to write this essay after reading puirtybrown’s wonderful post on Jack Bauer.

Comments

[ladylavinia]

Frankly, I think that Bill Buchannan is a better man than Jack Bauer.

But I do have a question. Was he in charge when Jack and Palmer made the decision that the Chinese Consulate should be invaded back in Season 4? I hope not . . . for his sake.

[marinw]

According to the Fox official website, Michelle Dressler was the director of CTU during the raid on the consulate. A moot point, as it was Palmer that approved the "unofficial" raid on the consulate.

[marinw]

An interesting interpretation of the "Let him go remark." In my imagination, Heller just calls CTU and asks Bill to get Jack off his property.

I came across your essay (and this forum) thanks to a link from the 24 Newsletter (http://community.livejournal.com/24_newsletter/forum.) It's a great site.

[sardonicynic]

Fantastic deconstruction. My inner angst masochist is all kinds of intrigued by the guilt complex Bill has to have over handcuffing Jack to that grate. And I love that we got to see him assuage it at least a little by morphing into action!Bill and aiding Jack by manning the helicopter.

I do have issues with the decision to clear Jack for active duty on Day Six when the man was just released from twenty months of imprisonment and torture. (Of course, without that particular oversight, there'd be no real plot, and the 24-verse is nothing if not a study in shades of gray and desperate-times-call-for-desperate-measures.) But, I digress. *g*

He has to do an impossible job with limited resources and against overwhelming odds. ... He is doing the best he can with what he has, and it still isn’t enough.

Oh, right on. That's Bill, encompassed perfectly in two sentences. Thanks so much for sharing this.

[marinw]

Thank you so much for reading.

My inner angst masochist is all kinds of intrigued by the guilt complex Bill has to have over handcuffing Jack to that grate.

Bill's angst isn't showy, but it is there. I commend James Morrison for the subtlety of his performance.

I do have issues with the decision to clear Jack for active duty on Day Six when the man was just released from twenty months of imprisonment and torture.

To be fair, I think it was Jack for decided to go back to work.

Of course, without that particular oversight, there'd be no real plot, and the 24-verse is nothing if not a study in shades of gray and desperate-times-call-for-desperate-measures.

Is Bill letting Jack do his thing any more desperate than the 24 PTB letting Kiefer go back to work after a DUI arrest? Oh, how life imitates art! *pounds head against wall*

[sardonicynic]

Oh, my pleasure; it was a fun read!

And you're right: Ultimately, it was Jack who decided to go back to work. But I just wonder why no one at CTU - Bill included - had the foresight to pause for a moment and wonder, "Is he going to be able to physically and psychologically handle this?"

To me, it seemed that everyone at CTU and in Washington took Jack's (in)famous resilience for granted, without concern for his well-being so long as he could help avert the crisis at hand. Then again, in pursuit of the greater good, he is, of course, expendable.

And I'm pretty sure my ramble just ate itself. *G* Sorry about that. Tangents and me, we're like this. *crosses fingers to demonstrate*

Is Bill letting Jack do his thing any more desperate than the 24 PTB letting Kiefer go back to work after a DUI arrest?

*snorts* Y'know, what kills me is that he was doing so well, behaving himself and even being so responsible that he'd take the subway while inebriated. And it would've been sooo easy to catch a ride from someone else, call a cab, or even