who's the real main character, here?

Tonight's episode of "24" introduced an interesting wrinkle: are Jack Bauer and FBI Special Agent Moss fighting for Agent Renee Walker's soul? Moss and Walker were an item before the day began, though we still don't know just how close they were/are. Moss is almost stereotypically by-the-book in his approach to crisis situations, and it galls him that Agent Walker has been so easily seduced by Jack Bauer's brutal pragmatism. A conversation between Bauer and Moss in front of the Capitol Reflection Pool brings out the central issue: Moss tells Jack flat-out that he won't stand for Walker becoming like Jack.

I like this dynamic, which is new and unusual for "24": it's like a sick version of a love triangle, but with weaponry instead of genitals. I get the impression that Moss is basically a good, stand-up guy, which is why I noted before that he's probably going to suffer an unpleasant end (the sacrificial lamb is a ubiquitous "24" trope). And if he truly cares for Walker, as seems to be the case, he's justified in his concern for her.

Walker's internal conflict was a major element of tonight's episode. Jack had asked her to threaten the wife and infant child of a dirty Secret Service agent named Vossler. She did what Jack asked, agreeing with Jack about the necessity of her actions (Jack was trying to force Vossler to tell him where the president's husband was being held), but obviously hating herself for what she was doing. Tonight, it seemed that Walker was the main character. Good for her!

I'll be curious to see how all this plays out. If it follows the template from a couple seasons ago, when Audrey Raines found herself torn between Jack and her estranged husband (a man she still loved), it's not going to turn out well for Special Agent Larry Moss.




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