(S08E06) "If you're talking about what I think you're talking about, we don't do that anymore." - Hastings to Jack, on using unsavory methods with the Russians

Oh, snap. The Russians may have bought Renee's cover, but that doesn't mean she's out of danger. Just the opposite, especially given the fact that she's a loose cannon and doesn't seem to care whether she lives or dies at this point. Or maybe that's not necessarily true.

(S07E22) "Why did you betray me?" - Jack

Since next week's finale is actually the last two hours of the season back-to-back, I think it's safe to refer to tonight's hour as Day 7's penultimate episode. As is so often the case with pivotal installments that precede a finale (especially with 24), going into it, I couldn't help shake the feeling that the bio-terror threat would be erased for good only to reveal one more crisis ready to spill over into next week. I'm not trying to say that it was predictable, but ... well ... nevermind. It was predictable.

In mid-April, we reported that the '24' producers were studying potential story lines for the seventh season of the FOX hit series, one featuring Quebec's separatists. About two weeks later, it was confirmed that Jack would go through his next action-packed awful day in a different scenery. In early July, we learned that writers had planned to have the action set in Africa and the U.S. but that the network sent them back to the drawing board because that story line would be too expensive. Eventually, official spoilers started to leak and FOX announced the names of actors joining the show (more after the jump).

But yesterday, FOX sent out a press release so juicy that it had some people pinch themselves to make sure they weren't dreaming!

Spoilers after the jump!