This episode showcased Sydney's partner, Dixon, a wonderful partner and a good man who loves his country. I completely sympathized with Sydney wanting desperately to tell Dixon the truth, but Vaughn was absolutely right: Dixon has a wife and children (we saw his wife Diane for the first time here). How can Sydney put Dixon into such a hazardous situation essentially without his permission? Except she can't get his permission without telling him the truth. It's a classic conundrum.
On the other hand, how can Sydney continue to deceive a man she works so closely with, a man she loves and trusts? This was probably the point where she should have trusted Dixon, and told him the truth, anyway – no matter what the consequences. Because it just got worse. Dixon has now inadvertently killed several CIA agents because he didn't know the truth. He will certainly find out someday; how will it make him feel?
The double plot was excellent. We felt empathy for the brave agent who stood in for Schiller. I was wildly impressed (again) with Jack, who is a very, very scary guy. He was brutal enough and calculating enough to deliberately break a friend's arm as cover, but all the while he was risking his own life for his country. What a fascinating man.
Vaughn is already operating outside the box, and his loyalty to Sydney may be growing stronger than his loyalty to the agency. Giving Sydney her father's file was way above and beyond, and I'm sure it was ten kinds of illegal. (I wonder what Case 332L was?)
And Will is STILL on the Danny story... but he's giving it up. Right. No, he's meeting someone called Kate Jones. It's not Syd; it's a woman who was having an affair with Danny. Who is she, and where did she come from? How come she is using Sydney's alias?
There is now a back door to SD-6's computer system, and it was Vaughn's idea. Very cool beans, and I'm sure we'll hear about it in future episodes.
Bits and pieces:
— Dixon actually got to perform surgery on his idol in the back of an ambulance, and literally hoisted the bad guys on their own explosive petard.
— Jennifer Garner runs really well. And in gorgeous clothing, too.
— Sydney and Francie have known each other at least since the seventh grade.
— Dixon: "I just punched Dhiren Patel in the face. I worship this man."
This week's...
... itinerary: Sao Paulo, Berlin, and Badenweiler, near the Black Forest.
... cool look: Loved Sydney's spiky hairdo in Berlin.
... cool gadget: a business card that destroys a firewall.
Excellent. Exciting, well written, beautifully acted. Four out of four spies,
Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
I agree about the Berlin outfit. Adorable. And gassing a company that had ties to the Nazis? Perfect.
ReplyDeleteThis whole episode was wonderful, in fact. I didn't realize the episode title was "Doppleganger" until I'd turned it off, but I kept thinking of the great parallel structures in Sydney's life: Will/Vaughn, Francie/Dixon, Sloane/Dad. Both Will and Vaughn know more than they're telling--I think Vaughn was definitely lying about not knowing the contents of that file.
Fun Sydney/Dad parallel with the two different methods of interrogation, too.
And poor Sydney, dressed as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. She's not in Kansas anymore, especially after that factory blew up.
Loved the dual structure of this one. Sydney's second life is certainly becoming a direct mirror of her "real" life. But, as she gets pulled more and more into the CIA, both literally and emotionally through Vaughn, will her second life become her "real" life and her public life become the mask she wears?
ReplyDeleteDear Chris (with an H)
ReplyDeleteA while ago, right in the middle of Winter, I decided to go though a massive Alias viewing marathon. I do not remember how many months I've spent watching the show (yes all 5 seasons), but I was so enthralled with it (and that was BEFORE my Lost marathon) that I even dreamt about it.
Josie,
Nothing like a massive marathon viewing to survive the daily Kafkaness of my charming office.....
I thought Sidney was dressed as Alice in Wonderland...
ReplyDeleteAm mainling the first few episodes in one evening. I love Sidney and Will together and keep wanting to watch a whole series about Will: Investigative reporter and his long-suffering intern, with occasional appearances from mysterious love interest Sidney. I'm so much more interested in Will's investigative journlaism adventures than the really very long spy action scenes.
In reference to Josie's comment about the interrogations... Loved it! Jack is so cool and creepy. It's not clear what drives (or drove) him to be this way, but it is in stark contrast to Sydney. Emotion drives her, whether it is love or empathy or anger (particularly over Danny's murder). She trusts her emotions and used them to get the information she needed from Schiller.
ReplyDeleteI also liked how she reached out to Jack for help. I think this was the first time she really conceded that in order to bring down SD-6, they were going to have to work together. (I think this is the first time, but I may be missing something as I write this!)
Just wondering why Sidney didn't take 2 seconds to toss the K-Directorate creep into the furnace where he had been about to toss her?
ReplyDelete