Black Ops - 17

[A truly masterful episode. Compare with the season 10 episode "San Diego", filmed to please CBS minions wanting the "younger demographic," and it's: intrusive space-ship music; vertiginous, aimlessly wandering photography; disgustingly confusing character morality; and superficial entertainment despite a moderately interesting core plot. This was a well written and delivered episode. Music was grand, photography larger than life, character development captivating and script (as C said) "heroic."] Harm & Meg investigated the death of USN Pilot, Lt Douglas Marion, the son of unforgiving Senator Grace Marion, during a SEAL "black op" mission; but, they were "stonewalled" until finally they charged the entire team with obstruction. Marion's autopsy showed massive injury from his fall after his parachute didn't open but also hypoxic coma which proved some of their lies. The group leader, Lt Alexander Kellogue, thought Gen Behnke would get him out of trouble; but, the general just let them all hang. Chegwidden came personally to San Diego and brought the Senator. Kellogue still lied but C's threats got the men to tell the story. The General and changed the Op at the last minute from a 30 knotts/30 feet helicopter insertion into a High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) jump, 2 hrs before the mission. He hoped the SEALs would decline so "his own men" could do it. Marion was to have flown back a drug lord plane; but his parachute didn't open and he hit the water. H found that he had suffocated on the way down due to a sabotaged o-ring on his oxygen. The General probably did it.

Kellogue gave C the pre-mission letter Marion had written to his mother - (a SEAL tradition started many years earlier by "Ensign Chegwidden".) H found that the General was repeating the mission with his own men, so C ordered him to HALO with the SEALS and recover the plane. The team quizzed each other on famous quotes as was their tradition in order to keep their minds off anxiety. The general had a "spy" watching the SEALs so was told of Cs plan. In the race to the site the SEALs win and beat general there, finding an old R4D prop plane; but, also that it had been outfitted with AWACs type black ops gear from McDill - apparently sold to them by Gen Behnke! That was why the general had to be first to the site, to prevent being found out. Worried that they couldn't get the old plane to fly, Kellogue asked "who said: I will fight no more, forever"? When others couldn't answer he continued, "I don't know either, but he wasn't a marine"! C and the senator flew in the aircraft with the seals insertion. She was impressed with the jump and the men, and and was visibly softened; so, C gave her son's letter to her, saying: "you're ready to read it." After he saw H take off with the plane he realized the trouble he was in and the General committed suicide by jumping out of his helicopter over the ocean. No Krennick in this episode (thankfully).