I'm writing this minutes after tonight's episode of 24 ended and, perhaps this is just a knee-jerk reaction to the hour, but that may have been one of the best episodes of 24 in years.  The plotting was splendid, rarely bogged down in the usually constant exposition, and the action was of the highest quality.  Could this be the episode that turns this, the seventh season of 24, from an OK season into a really good one?  For this first time all season, I'm legitimately excited for next week.

Previously on 24: Henry Taylor is in surgery, and remain there for a bunch of episodes.  Dubaku is on his way out of the country, Marika supposed to follow him.  Unfortunately, Marika's cooperation with Bauer was discovered, and Dubaku wants to take care of her himself.  Jack and Renee were road-blocked by the police thanks to Sean Hillinger, who turns out to be the mole.

Sean Hillinger looks around FBI headquarters with a newfound evil stare.  His blonde paramour Erica, it turns out, is also a mole.  He tells her they need to stay calm, not panic, and they'll get out of this situation just fine.  Sean is an icy dude. 

Jack tries to explain the situation to the police as he and Renee are cuffed and led into the back of a squad car.  “She's not an asset, she's a human being,” Renee says of Marika.  Marika is dropped off in an alley – Dubaku is there.  He rips her out of the car and accuses her of working with the FBI.  He takes her phone, smashes it, and she explains what the FBI told her.  He says that what they showed her were lies. “I've brought peace to Sangala,” he says.  He says he's a forgiving person, and that he wants her to go with him, regardless.  Marika protests, saying she doesn't know him.  He caresses her face, and says that she does know him.  Marika agrees to go with him, and then he kisses her.  Marika – quite the pushover.  They leave. 

Renee and Jack are released, they learn that they lost Marika's signal, then drive away in search of her.  The FBI found Dubaku's car, with Marika, on a traffic camera.  The FBI gives directions to Jack.  Dubaku charms Marika – she's not sold.  Jack does some absurd off-road driving to catch up with Dubaku's car.  He literally drives through a park.  Maybe the wrong move, because Dubaku notices Jack's car and a chase commences.  Jack's driving a Ford Crapmobile, and eventually runs into a taxi.  Marika all of a sudden grabs the driver's face, and forces their SUV to crash.  It does about nine flips in the air in what was certainly an expensive stunt. 

Jack and Renee go to the overturned SUV.  The driver gets out and Jack is forced to kill him.  Two shots in the chest.  Jack gets Dubaku out – he's still alive, but badly hurt.  Renee works to get Marika out – Jack notices the car is on fire and about to explode.  Jack yells at Renee, tells her to run away and leave Marika.  He tries to pull Renee away, but Walker pulls a gun on Jack, tells him she made a promise to the girl.  Eventually, they get Marika out right as the SUV explodes.  Dubaku is still alive, but it appears Marika has perished.  Poor girl.

At the hospital, Madame Lady President Allison Taylor is updated by Ethan on the goings-on in Sangala.  The reports are positive, the troops saving lives.  Taylor is distracted, she blames herself for what happened to Henry.  She wishes she would have listened to him about their son.  Bill Buchanan arrives and informs Taylor that Dubaku has been caught, and that Jack and Renee are waiting for him to gain consciousness so they can interrogate him.  He's the only link to the MASSIVE CONSPIRACY – expositional dialogue makes this clear to us viewers.  Taylor heads back to the White House. 

Jack yells at some EMTs, who begrudgingly inject Dubaku with something, and he wakes up.  Jack aggressively informs Dubaku that he needs to tell them what he knows, the names of people in the conspiracy, everything else, or Jack will literally hunt down his family.  Before going into cardiac arrest, Dubaku mentions something about a list.  While the EMTs do some work, they find something metal inside his body.  Jack then yells at the EMTs some more – he needs them to open the body up and get the metal object.  They open him up and get it.  Jack has the device – it's Dubaku's list of names.  Jack gets a policeman to fly a helicopter to FBI headquarters and hand over the database to Moss.

Sean and Erica have a discussion in the bathroom.  Sean knows that they found the database.  Their names are on that list.  Sean has a plan – they are going to crash all the servers in the FBI.  He sweet talks Erica until she relents.  They get to work after creepily making out. 

Walker is handed Marika's personal effects.  Bauer tells her they got the database drive.  Renee makes a snide remark to Jack, insinuating that he doesn't care about people or something.  Jack tells her to figure her shit out, and deal with it. 


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