There’s that phrase again: “game-changing.” It’s the way almost every producer has described his or her finales this TV season, and it sounds like Monday’s seventh season finale of 24 (8PM ET, Fox) will be no different.

From star Kiefer Sutherland: “You see a real, monumental shift in (Jack Bauer)” in the season finale. Considering that Jack , who, as of this week’s penultimate episode, is dying, has been betrayed by best pal Tony (Carlos Bernard) and now has to betray new pal and co-worker Renee, a.k.a. Girl Jack (Annie Wersching) to save his daughter Kim (Elisha Cuthbert), it’s not tough to see how this could end up being Jack’s most emotional finale since he sat in his car crying after being blackmailed into killing his co-worker Ryan Chappelle (Paul Schulze) and having to chop his partner’s hand off in season three.

Kiefer, who was on the red carpet in Los Angeles Tuesday night for a screening of the finale, also gave this hint about season eight, which begins filming at the end of May and will be set in New York City (yay!): “I think, maybe, five scripts (have been finished), so I can’t tell you too much. But where it’s starting right now is probably the most believable scenario that I feel we’ve ever done before.”

And about those recent legal woes, a.k.a. Headbuttgate, Sutherland was mum, but real-life pal and co-star Bernard told reporters, “Kiefer is one of my best friends, and he’s a great guy. I’ve been around the world with him in bars and social situations, and I’ve never seen anything close to this happening. He always bends over backwards to be courteous with people and to be generous with his time.”