1x02 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Wow. What an episode. There is a lot to say about the moral universe of 24: Legacy, where a black man can be picked up by police officers in a clearly racially motivated stop... and then turn around and strap a bomb to the police officers who attempted to subdue him in what ultimately appears to be a gesture of heroic patriotism. Legacy's fierce adherence to utilitarianism permits any action, no matter how transgressive. That makes the possibilities for plot and action nearly limitless. Assimilating those transgressions back into the idea of the patriotic hero, especially to an audience of Fox viewers, is no small feat.

Although this episode was lighter on the action, the potential energy built for a number of explosive sequences teased by the next-week preview. Issac and Nicole's interaction remain the low point of the series. Issac's phone conversation with Eric, in particular, calls Ashley Thomas's investment in this role into question. Still, I was glad to see Issac continue asking the question of what Eric really wants. If his avowed want is the domestic repetition, his desire compells him to a different repetition... the repetition of violence. Jack Bauer was perpetually the only one who could save the day, burdened with knowledge and skill that made him singular in the universe of 24. That positioning was not interrogated in the same way 24: Legacy seems intent on asking questions about avowed wants and unconscious desires in the case of Eric.

The moments of connection between Eric and the young police officer were reminiscent of some of 24's best turns, as Bauer convinces some hapless observer or bureaucratic drone he is doing the right thing, something borderline superheroic. I also enjoyed the clear discomfort of the younger police officer as the older gentleman, clearly signifying "good old boy," aggressively captured Eric and egged his subordinate on to participate in a ethically questionable stop-and-frisk. If I seem to be belaboring the point of the police stop scene, it is because I am endlessly fascinated with it. Usually in next-week previews, the scenes are deceptively ordered by studio people who have nothing to do with a show. Eric attaching the bombs to the police officers was clearly positioned that way after yesterday's episode, only to have a savvy viewer say "well, this can't be as interesting as it looks." But it was more interesting than it looked! After Eric's impassioned plea, Hawkins's delivery of the line "you're going to do what I say, when I say it" was absolutely chilling.

My only complaint is that instead of being treated to two consecutive nights of Legacy, I have to wait a week for the follow-up.