'24': Season 8, Episodes 3 and 4

'24' Season 8, Episodes 3and 4 continued to ramp up the tension and stakes on Jack Bauer's latest bad day. A number of murders, an assassination attempt, a betrayal or two, and the return of former FBI agent Renee Walker occurred.

Spoilers surely followed.

It seems that the Russian Mafia's agent inside the New York Police Department has managed to get a spot in the escort for President Hassan by forcing another officer to switch shifts with him at gun point. Then he killed the officer and his wife. Then Jack Bauer found the corpses, and much to his consternation, he was found with the corpses by two other police officers, one of whom is very much into street justice for cop killers.

The upshot was that the Russian hitter planted a bomb to detonate under President Hassan's limo. Fortunately Jack Bauer was about to persuade the more reasonable officer of his bona fides and warn CTU just in a nick of time, allowing the heroic Cole Ortiz to foil the assassination at great risk to himself.

The upshot of the aftermath is that faithless brother, Farhad Hassan, is unmasked and is forced to go on the run, the Russian Mafia guy is killed, Hassan's reporterette girl friend is set free with apologies all around, and Brian Hastings has one more mistake to smooth over.

Now why would the Russian Mafia want to take out the President of the Islamic Republic. It seems that the Russians would like to sell the Islamic Republic some spent fuel rods that can be turned to weapons grade uranium of which nuclear bombs can be made. President Hassan had demurred. His brother would very much like to work a deal. If this means that President Hassan has to die and little brother take his place, the cause of Jihad sometimes required martyrs.

Who should be the FBI's most skilled expert in the Russian Mafia, having spent two years undercover with them, but Renee Walker, Jack Bauer's good friend from Day Seven. The intervening year has been as unkind to Renee Walker as it has been kind for Jack, what, with a separation from the FBI, a mental breakdown, and a chaotic job situation. Nevertheless, Renee Walker is brought back in, and over Jack Bauer's objections, agrees to re-infiltrate the Russian Mafia with a view for finding the guy who ordered the hit on President Hassan.

Jack Bauer is right to be concerned about Renee Walker. The end of the fourth hour of the eighth day of '24' finds Renee Walker helping an informant with a GPS tracking bracelet in a way that shocks even Jack Bauer, who has been known to use bullets to the knee cap to get people to talk. One supposes that there is a reason that Renee Walker was so readily accepted in the Russian Mob. They tend to be ruthless that way.

Oh, and Dana Walsh's old boy friend really needs to learn the meaning of, "Importune me no more."

Sources: 24: Day 8, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., TV.Com
24: Day 8, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., TV.Com