'24': Who Framed Jibraan Al-Zarian?

To the creative minds behind "24," I have only one question for you... really? Have you completely run out of ideas to wrap up another day that you have to involve Kim-freaking-Bauer in another "do it or else she dies" scenario? Was it too much for her to be taken out by the cougar all those years ago? Okay, that was three questions. But still... *sigh.*

The Spoilers give mad props to Andrea for her awesome work!

So the canister is being prepped and readied for final deployment in a last-ditch effort to poison the District before the Committee of Bad Men have a nutty. Cara dons a wig and glasses (a conservative Lady GaGa, if you will) to place the bio-weapon on the Red Line for Washington Center. Tony instructs Jibraan to enter said train and do nothing but sit. Of course, Jibraan can't complete a simple task without raising a ruckus: he tries to alert Metro PD, only to find one of the officers is working for the Evil Syndicate. Tony gives him only one more chance to be a good boy.

Meanwhile, Jack resorts to his usual tactics in an effort to obtain information on Tony. Once the withholding of morphine tactic works, Jack has the bad guy call to say a wire transfer went badly. Too bad the call didn't last long enough for Janis to work her magic, but it doesn't matter as Chloe chides her for using the slow way. She only fares slightly better: pinpointing only the broader neighborhood. Jack directs a HAZMAT team to the area. Lucky for them, they're able to better locate Tony in time for Jack to run him into parked cars. On the other side of town, Cara deftly places the duffel bag onto the train, and then steps off before Jibraan is fully aware of what's going on.

Let us not forget the two "independent" women also involved whether they like it (or even know it) or not: Olivia and Kim. The newest Chief of Staff is in Pershing Park to meet Martin when Aaron calls; clearly upset she slipped out without his knowledge. More on that later. Martin appears from the shadows to reveal he went ahead and authorized the hit on Jonas because that's what she would have wanted. He encourages her to transfer the funds... and now! On the other hand, Kim is on her way home when the flight is delayed. The bigger problem is that she's being stalked from afar. She saddles up to a waiting couple (Glendale shoutout!) and makes small talk.

Tony isn't exactly being helpful to Jack, so the only home is to resurrect the computer tracking Jibraan. This time it's Janis to the rescue. Once they figure out Jibraan is on the Metro, Jack hacks into the private frequency and encourages him to find the device. He hesitates, but once the train is empty, is able to locate the duffel... except he nearly passes out when he finds out what's inside. Naturally, he makes the mad dash outside (like Jack asked) only to be stopped by another officer. By pulling out the device, he's granted access to the outside world... where he meets up with Jack, who takes the device into the HAZMAT vehicle and closes the door with 2.31 seconds to spare. That was close!

Back in the airport, Kim's stalker continues to lurk in the shadows. Small talk guy goes to make a coffee run, only to later snap the neck of the stalker (who, as it turns out was working for Jack to protect Kim.) Wither our attractor of senseless violence? Our other damsel in "distress," Olivia returns to the White House... and to a very upset Aaron Pierce. I'm going with the fact that he's still a little shaken up by the day's events, because he buys her outlandish sob story hook, line and sinker. Turns out that was just a cover to buy him time to call Ethan; inquiring as to the status of a recording system within the walls of Olivia's office. Finally something to bring Olivia down, especially since she actually goes through the wire transfer this time.

Cara breaks the bad news to Alan Wilson, who takes the news as you would expect. All seems lost... except she has one more card to play (Kim!) As Jack puts Tony under heavy guard, reunites the Al-Zarian brothers AND receives an approving nod from Renee, he receives the call from Cara. She's also kind enough to provide a live video feed of Kim, threatening her life (sigh) if he doesn't cooperate in freeing Tony.

Sorry Elisha, but Kim needs to die already. Also, can we say buh-bye to Janis already?

The two-hour season finale is next Monday on your local Fox/Global station... how will it all end?

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