24: 12-1pm recap

*Yep, you guessed it - Spoilers time*

The theme for tonight seemed to be "Chasing Rabbits" *or* "How-far-ahead-can-Jack-get-in-this-game-of-cat-and-mouse".

When last we left Jack, he had just killed Dana Walsh after getting the microchip that supposedly had evidence of the Russian involvement in the day's events. At the time, I was scared the chip would turn out to be a fake and there would be no more leads to follow, but I should have known that was stupid. With very little time left, we are not wasting a single second of it for such lame storytelling tactics. Thus, my first thought was, "Wow, the microchip is actually real," which was quite silly of me.

My second thought might redeem me a little though: I am really glad to see Reed Diamond *aka* Jason Pillar, getting more screen time. I enjoyed his appearances on the show Dollhouse, but was confused to find him playing such a small part here. I thought he deserved better and am pleased to see they are delivering.

Third thought for the evening: Chloe is on Jack's side now? It took her long enough. If she had just listened to him from the start then maybe things would be different. So far her being on the inside hasn't really contributed much. If it does then I might change my tune (although more likely I will say lucky for her it worked out for the best). Right now it seems like she and Arlo are just going to play catch up for another hour or so.

Every time Jack talks about Rene I feel so incredibly sorry for him. This happened a couple of times during this episode. The first time was with whoever that is that's helping him. "The Russians took something from me. Her name was Rene Walker and they killed her inside my apartment. I need to make them pay." Actually, that made me feel sorry and scared for him at the same time. Jack has lost one of the most important people in his life and is completely broken. I am wondering though, wasn't it the beginning of this season that he was planning on moving to be closer to Kim? Has he forgotten about that just as easily as I almost did? Because that could be his only reason left in this world to go on living.

Going back to the story though... Jack calls in a reporter (Meredith Reed) who he helped earlier in the day, to pass off the info he got on the Russians. The call gets intercepted by the NSA, which puts them one step closer to catching up to Jack. They plan to dispatch the Russian team to take him out. Chloe gets suspicious and somehow becomes magically smart enough to figure out that Pillar is part of the cover-up and is planning on taking Jack out. Meanwhile, Logan tells President Taylor what is going on and she tells them, "let me know as soon as it's resolved." I had to wonder there, does she know how they are "resolving" it? Part of me wants to say yes and part of me says she doesn't want to know. I don't think she actually wants Jack dead, but at the same time this thing has soared way over her head at this point. She has lost control, and I think she is beginning to realize this.

Just when it looks like Bauer is caught in the cross-hairs, his partner takes care of the sniper. Go Jack for being on top of things! Shame on you for having a shoot-out in yet another public place though. First the streets of New York and now a department store... really now, Jack? That was not smart. He really doesn't care who gets hurt anymore, does he? Loved the fact that Logan had just asked for some kind of public acknowledgment from the President and then has to hear that Jack got away with one of his Russian friends. Looks like he is finally going to get what's coming to him.

So now Jack has the Russian who was going to kill him and can try to get him to spill who else was involved. "Four hours ago I had a friend," he says, "A very good friend who was killed with a weapon just like that." He is referring to the weapon they found with the sniper when they caught him. "Go to hell," sneers the Russian. "You first," Jack quips back. That exchange had the dual effect of making me smile and giving me chills.

Cue the torture scene that is really just a giant therapy session for him masked under the guise of being "part of the mission". He says he is looking for info, but what he really wants is the name of the person who ordered the hit on Rene so he can go after them next. Jack has totally lost control here, folks (in case you hadn't noticed). I was on his side in defying the President but this has become more about himself and less about what is right. He is going to extremes even for him. Tonight's ending really drove that home for me. First there was the torture, then he cut open the Russian operative to get at the SIM card he swallowed. This leads him to the person behind it all - Charles Logan. Charlie, you are so gonna get yours next week. It was nice knowing you.

That concludes tonight's episode. With only three hours to go, we are coming down to the wire here. Make sure you don't miss a second of it.