(S07E08) "When are you people going to stop thinking everyone else is following your rules?!? They're not!" - Jack

From one presidential press conference to another. While I'm thrilled about Barack Obama as our country's new president, I have to say - President Taylor's press conference was far more exciting. Overall though, the eighth hour of Jack's seventh bad day was about 50/50 for me. There was plenty of action to keep you on the edge of your seat, but there's still too much reliance on little sub-plots that just aren't adding anything of value to the show.

Yes, I realize that minor plots and assorted other inconsequential threads are essential to fleshing out a full episode of 24 - but that doesn't mean they have to be minor or inconsequential. Granted, I could be completely off here, but I don't see Sean's affair with Erika or Ike's girlfriend's conspiracy-theorist sister having a large impact on the season. Maybe Rosa (Rose?) will actually aid the government in finding "Samuel" and maybe Erika is actually the low-level turncoat agent using Sean as a conduit for info she's not normally privy to. However, until either of those things happen, I could care less about either story.

Beyond that, as I said, the rest of the episode was excellent. Following Jack, Bill, and Renee's meeting with the President, things progressed pretty much as you'd expect. Taylor can't trust anyone and as such, a "retired" agent and a presumed dead Fibbie ain't so hard to swallow. The one thread that I assume is going to play out is Sean's keen sense of being out of the loop. As long as things keep progressing but the FBI hears nothing, he'll keep digging and probably stumble on to Larry's involvement with the operation. What he'll do with that info is anyone's guess. He's still a wild card in my book and I say that because you have to consider his casting. What's Rhys Coiro known best for? Billy Walsh on Entourage. Any chance he's going to turn into a bit of a raving nut here? I'd say it's possible.

Also at play in this hour was Renee's continuing transformation into "Jill Bauer." She's already tortured Tanner and now she held Vossler's wife and kid at gun point. My one gripe about all this? For as distraught as Renee looks and as teary-eyed as she gets, it appears there's never going to be a point where she says, "no, that's too far." Where's the conflict in that? I'd like to see her reach the breaking point at least once to see how Jack reacts.

A few more thoughts on hour eight--

• Worst Matobo look-a-like ever! Tim Meadows dressed up as The Ladies Man would've looked more like him.
• I was initially excited about Janeane Garofalo having a role this season. Big name, assumed it would be a big part. Not so much. She was barely in this hour.
• Are we to assume that Dubaku has never been mentioned on the news and that neither Marika nor her sister have seen him on it? With Sangala dominating the world's attention I find that a bit of a stretch, even for 24.
• Why didn't Bill present Taylor with his proof of baddies in the government? We still don't know how exactly he and Tony figured this all out to begin with.

As for the ending, I'm not 100% sure I agree with it. I think it's safe to say that Henry will survive getting shot in the stomach, but where's the shock value? I think the tension leading into next week's episode would have been much greater had he taken a few more bullets and actually died. At this point, Dubaku has no more leverage, the First Gentleman is safe, and... and what? Where does the plot go from here? Paging Jon Voight...