User blog comment:Thief12/Thief12 and Season 8/@comment-118736-20100302220005

None of these developments are new, however. If you really hated these events, you'd have stopped watching back in season 2 or 4:

Season 4: Jack chokes up and fails to shoot Navi Araz in the kneecap Season 8: Jack chokes up and fails to shoot Marcos in the kneecap

Season 2: Joseph Wald hides inside an impregnable chamber Season 8: Marcos hides inside an impregnable chamber

Season 4: Jack and Audrey talk on the phone, briefly, at several points to remind the audience they're in love Season 8: Jack and Renee talk, briefly, at several points to remind the audience they're starting an intimate relationship

If you hate them because they're recycled plot elements, that's fine, but you didn't mention that: you're only saying you hate these developments per se.