We are warned about graphic violence. It cannot be avoided. I feel like Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange, propped up in a chair with my eyelids clamped open and forced to watch soul-numbing violence.

The hour starts with something CTU does best, making use of the conference room set.

They've been a little slow on the uptake here. A clue that there was a leak somewhere should've come in the airport. Jack was up in the rafters, no one knew he was there except for some in CTU, and within minutes, Anton was referring to Jack Bauer by name. A fairly strong indication information from CTU went directly to the baddies.

So, Team CTU kicks around Walt's plot, and Palmer's too-clever-by-half plan to expose Walt. Jack says he should go meet secretly with Mike Novick.

Samwise Gamgee is standing over in a corner. What's he doing there? Perhaps Bill sent him to the corner for daring to suspect Gollum of ill motives.

Samwise keeps a firm hand on the tiller and informs Jack he doesn't really work there anymore. Hmm, then I'd ask Samwise again why he gave Jack that Level 2 lembas bread.

Ha, then in one perhaps my favorite moment of the episode, Jack says the genius of the plan is if it backfires, there'd be no fallout on CTU.

I'll point out again, this was precisely the inspired motivation for letting Jack raid the Chinese Consulate last season. That ended up with a dead Chinese Consul guy, various Chinese employees at the Consulate tranked up like some rhino on Wild Kingdom, the Chinese kimnapping CTU agents on American soil, and the US and China staring down the barrel of nuclear war. I'd say there was just a wee bit of fallout. Bill was there in the middle of all that, why didn't he speak up and point out the risks in letting a rogue Jack gallivant through one international crisis after another?

Samwise, apparently knowing none of this, is pressured into authorizing Jack to go after the President's Chief of Staff. But, he feels he was to do something to act like the Big Chief, so he tells Jack this is all about the nerve gas, not about getting revenge for Palmer. Jack agrees like a teenager who just got the keys to Dad's Camaro. He's not hearing anything Samwise is saying.

Audrey and Jack have a little conversation about Walt trying to kill Jack again once he learns Jack is still alive. Jack just says "Yeah." The two of them must be assuming that Hank the assassin's plan was to get into CTU and kill Jack all within 30 minutes.

Down by the docks of the bay, the baddies are rolling up in their rig. We get a little product placement for Peterbilt trucks.