24 Review:
"10:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m." (Episode 7.15)

Mark this hour in your calendar, episode log, timesheet, whatever: Larry Moss, special agent heading the FBI in D.C. and ultimate pain in Jack Bauer's rear, is finally starting to get it. Perhaps not the most important bit in last night's thrilling episode of 24, but one we, and our poor televisions bearing the brunt of hurled insults and cries, can be thankful for nonetheless. As agents sweep Sen. Mayer's house for evidence, it finally dawns on Larry a third party was involved and that maybe Jack wasn't the culprit after all. Hmm, ya think? Don't be fooled. His body language up to this point suggests he probably knew in his gut that this was the case all along but was too busy being jealous of Jack and trying to keep up appearances as the sane, politically correct guy in control of the crisis. Well, whatever the case, that annoying, seemingly eternal moment in time is past. Glad to have you on board, Larry, working with the good guys instead of against them.

There was a sweeping breeze about this hour as a whole. Before you knew it, the final ticks were taking us to the conclusion and the preview for next week's episode. Besides the aforementioned transition of our favorite goody two-shoes, there were other important character developments. Firstly, it should be noted Jack and Tony are back in action together once again. While Tony threw it on auto-pilot the entire episode, Jack had an inner-conflict moment we rarely see. He promises an innocent security guard, a guy who has a wife with twins on the way, that he'll be OK, knowing full well the small Starkwood army at the shipping dock is going to kill him. And, up until the guy is about to be brushed aside, that's how it looks like it's going to play out. But Jack, seemingly affected by his time with Renee, has a change of heart, killing the man's would-be executioner and putting the whole mission to secure a WMD at risk. What does this mean for Jack in the future? Is he getting all warm and fuzzy on us?

But the better question everyone will be asking is this: Did last night begin the countdown to Jack's ultimate death in the show? As he's escaping with the WMD, leaving Tony captured behind, he's exposed to some of the toxins from a leak in the bio-weapon. We don't pretend to know how long someone could live from such exposure, but with only one more guaranteed season with Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, could this be the beginning of the end? It seems silly and stupid to even entertain such a question, but again, it's 24. You never know what they're going to throw at you. And, this might be a way for Jack to go out with a bang in some crazy heroics either in the last season, or in the rumored movie after the series concludes. In any event, we find out next week how bad the exposure was, so just sit back and hold your breath. Our prediction: He's probably just fine, as usual.

As accurately predicted last week, our suspicions were confirmed about the president's score-settling daughter, Olivia Taylor. In the wake of the senator's untimely death by whom everyone believes to be Jack, President Taylor's chief of staff, Ethan Kanin, decides it best he resign since he was the one who let Jack off his leash in the first place. (This essentially puts Ethan in the clear of any shadiness we thought might have been following him.) Hardly able to keep from salivating as she bids farewell to the shamed adviser, she calls the CNB anchor we knew she was dealing with all along and tells him to air the story about Ethan and Jack. Again, as with the season premiere, you have to wonder if Die Hard 2: Die Harder subconsciously seeped in to the story somehow. First, it was the terrorists taking over air traffic control. Now, we have the potential, panic-inducing leak to the press. This woman has an agenda; it's just not clear how immature or sinister it is. (By the way, doctor's update on the other Taylor: Henry, the president's husband, is out of surgery, able to sit up in bed and even talk to his now-relieved wife on the phone. We wish you a speedy recovery, sir.)

The only out-of-place moment last night was where Jonas Hodges, Jon Voight's shadowy private army contractor, calls a meeting with the Starkwood board. It's obvious to all he's not happy with the government's probing and general turning away from the company, but what exactly he's telling them is a bit of a head-scratcher, given the reaction afterwards. This is one of those things we'll just have to let play out as we countdown the last nine hours to the season's close.