(S06E12) *Warning, spoilers ahead from the new episode*

Now, we're gettin' somewhere.

Argue all you want to about whether season six has been a rehash of other seasons. Nuclear weapon detonation? Been there in season two. President getting undermined by conspiring underlings who don't think he's being tough enough? Done that in season two. Tried to frame Muslim terrorists for something they didn't do when some sinister white dudes were behind it instead? Ditto.

And even though the fresh episode of 24 contained yet another repetitive story twist that viewers have seen in previous seasons, it was done surprisingly well, except if you're involved in one of those human rights groups who think 24 is a scourge. Those folks wouldn't have liked this episode at all.

So what if Jack Bauer violated the sovereignty of a foreign country's property located within the continental United States? Again? So what if Jack felt as though he had no other option than to illegally gain entry to the Russian foreign consulate? Again, like he did by sneaking into the Chinese embassy in season four? It was still entertaining to watch Bauer -- who spent much of the episode in a starchy, too-white shirt and dark suit -- scale walls and go classic Bauer on the Russian consul, Markoff. (By the way, where did Bauer get those duds? From former President Charles Logan? He wasn't packing a suit with him when he arrived at Logan's compound.)

After Logan sandbagged Jack and said he had to speak with Markoff privately, Logan left the Russian consulate with no information about the whereabouts of the former Russian general Gredenko or the three loose suitcase nukes. However Logan told Jack that he was convinced Markoff was lying. Jack, who'd just been informed by CTU Chief Bill Buchanan that a failed assassination attempt had been made on President Palmer II (he was in surgery and sustained shrapnel wounds), felt as though he had no choice but to go back into the building and force Markoff to tell him where Gredenko and the nukes were. This was the only lead left to try to stop another nuclear detonation.

How did Jack get the necessary intel, other than having our gal Chloe cut the Russian consulate's power feed for a minute so Jack could slip into Markoff's office? When drawing a gun and verbal threats didn't work, Jack used a cigar cutter to amputate one of Markoff's fingers. Now 24 has utilized two everyday tools, a drill and a cigar cutter, as implements of torture this season. What's next, a cork screw? Marilyn Bauer's nail file? Or maybe a salad spinner.

Much to the chagrin of the people who want Kiefer Sutherland to tell West Point cadets that torture doesn't work, in 24-land, Jack Bauer's use of the cigar cutter got Markoff to admit that the "bad" terrorist, Abu Fayed, was loading the nukes onto unmanned drones to fly over the United States. But before Jack could relay the information to CTU, Russian security forces moved in and took him into custody. And even though Jack bizarrely persuaded a security officer to call CTU on his behalf, the Russian guard was shot before he could speak with Bill.

What I loved about this whole thing, even though it was a bit of a retread, was that the 24 writers seemed to acknowledge as much when they had Logan say incredulously that Jack had just emerged from a two-year stint in a Chinese prison for breaking into an embassy, so why was he considering violating another country's sovereignty? Somehow, having the writers wink and nod at viewers, indicating that they knew they'd covered this territory before, made it okay. At least for me. Maybe not for other fans who've been disgruntled as of late by what they see as a sluggish story thus far.

The other main plotline from this new episode was the ascension of Vice President Noah Daniels to the post of acting president, who was suddenly shadowed everywhere by an assistant named Lisa, the alien mom from Invasion. I wonder if the writers have yet decided whether Daniels is a malevolent, conspiratorial force or simply a guy who's trying to do what he thinks is right but is somehow misguided, or if they're just going to make that call later.

After Chief of Staff Tom Lennox was set free by his idiotic deputy Reed Pollock -- the one who tried to kill President Palmer II and kidnapped Lennox, holding him hostage in the boiler room -- Lennox told Secret Service agents that Pollock and the bomb maker were involved in the assassination plot. He wanted it made clear that the "good" terrorist, Hamri Al-Assad was being framed for the assassination attempt. But Daniels wanted Lennox to simply go along with the Assad-did-it story. If Lennox did what Daniels wanted, not only would any charges against him be dropped, but his security plan of curtailing civil liberties would be enacted.

The way Daniels went on and on about how Assad hated the United States, about how Assad must have been behind the assassination -- even when Lennox was telling him that wasn't true -- leads me to believe that either Daniels is in on the conspiracy, or he's just being politically expedient to push his policies through. (My bet would be on the latter.)

Although I'm sure you fans out there missed seeing Sandra Palmer, Marilyn and the whiny "nephew" Josh Bauer, the political intrigue deepened in this hour, pushing the story forward, even if aspects of seemed like blasts from the past.