The New War
We see Stryker in a military hospital bed with his head bandaged in a close up, as flashbacks from the war are superimposed over him. The imagery shows that though the war is over, he has begun a new one in his mind as the horror he's experienced has taken over in his mind.
Closed In
We see Stryker looking out a window inside the airplane bathroom during the storm. This shot is seen from the exterior of the plane and it shows that Stryker is trapped inside of a place he desired to never be again, flying far above the ground. The imagery reveals his heightened stress and his varying emotional state.
Air Speed
Bartlett uses a close up of the air speed gauge on the instrument panel of the commercial airliner while Ted pilots the plane and Ellen works the radio. The shot is effective because Ted has just been told to keep the speed above 120 mph. If he doesn't there will be disaster for everyone aboard. Thus, the instrument panel allows us to participate in the danger, and creates suspense for the viewer because, if we see the speed drop below 120, we know that everyone is in trouble.
Airwaves
Back on the ground, the team working to provide Stryker with commands has lost their radio connection with him for a long period of time. We see a shot of a speaker with nothing coming through on it. The imagery is suspenseful because those on the ground need to get through to Ted in order to have any shot of people surviving, and the radio silence creates the air of doom as we know that Ted cannot do this on his own.
