'24' readies itself for the Starkwood revolution... ¡Viva Jonas!

It's safe to say Jon Voight's turn as Jonas Hodges has brought "24" back from the brink of irrelevancy. You may think he's taking the character to a certain level of cheesiness, yet I hope the powers that be save him from a certain death and bring him back next season... if only briefly. He's so deliciously evil!

The Spoilers sense the writers looked to the end of "The Rock" for inspiration to the solution to destroying the weapon.

When last we left Moss and Tony, they were staring down the barrels of some mighty powerful guns. Jonas decides to puff his chest out even further by proclaiming his FAITHFUL LOVE for the United States... and by forcing the government off his land in five minutes. Moss complies, but only after leaving Tony behind for a little recon work. Yet another of the Starkwood gang (this time it is CEO Douglas Knowles) claims to be done with the evil doings of the company, although this time I think it's for real. He leads Tony to a cluster of buildings, one of which is housing the weapon. When a random security sweep threatens the operation, Knowles sacrifices his position so Tony can enter the building. Jack, Renee, Janis and Team FBI become his eyes and ears.

Speaking of Jack, the nasty effects of the pathogen begin to rear its ugly head. First it's the tremors, then the full-on collapse. The on-site doc injects him with a fantastic shot of something, sending him with a fanny pack for the road. A treatment facility can do wonders for him with a suitable donor involved (Kim!), but he respectfully declines every overture made to him by both the doc and Renee. I agree with this choice, if only because it keeps Kim from coming back.

Meanwhile at the White House, the President is briefed on the plans to bomb Starkwood back to the Stone Age when Olivia receives a call from Ken the news producer. He knows enough about the impending operation to cause her to leave 1600 Pennsylvania and meet up in his hotel room. Thanks to Aaron Pierce, she arrives in record time only to find he'll stay quiet if they do the nasty. Seconds turn into minutes, which turn into far more than I wanted to know. Once the deed is done, Ken reneges on his promise, which allows for Olivia to reveal she was recording the whole thing... which we get to see far too much skin and hear... Oy vey. Where would she be without blackmail?

With Tony inching closer to the weapon, the security is stepped up. He manages to knock out a flunky here and there on his way four floors beneath the earth, yet nearly blows his cover by small-talking a lab rat. On the surface, Knowles relives the glorious history of Jonas Hodges before he's pummeled with a blunt object AND tossed over the second-floor railing to his death below. That's how I know he wanted out for good.

Jonas then places a call to a White House proprietary line, informing President Allison that he knows F-18s are on the way from the 757 (VA Beach represent!), and that she should recall them unless she likes the idea of the east coast being coated in a savory pathogen. The Python 5 missile system will be operational unless he gets his meeting in the Oval Office. She rushes back into the Situation Room to abort the mission. Good thing the Admiral didn't delay much longer than he did...

Would you believe I wasn't terribly annoyed by the appearance of Janis in this hour?