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Alias: Authorized Personnel Only, Part 2

Marshall: "You are hot, and I mean that in many ways."

Part one Hitchcock, part two Mission Impossible. There was even a flavor of Mission Impossible in the music.

The Sydney/Jack father daughter conflict (one of the best things about this series) is back in a big way. Is Jack capable of killing Irina in order to save Sydney's life? Absolutely. Was Irina capable of putting out a hit on Sydney? This I have a hard time accepting. Irina gave herself up and spent months in solitary confinement in order to be with Sydney; I truly believed Irina loved Sydney deeply. Is Irina really dead? I think she is. Did she put out the hit on Sydney? I just don't believe it.

This whole Wittenberg vault thing just doesn't make sense, either. Sydney said the secret materials were mostly about Irina and her history with the KGB, but I thought, from what we could see last season, that it was more about Sydney and Jack and Project Christmas.

On to APO, and the sword mission. Nice twist that Tamazaki was Vadik, and was hired to kill Sydney; their interaction was almost sexy – at least until he started to torture her. Drowning torture. Not quite as ooky as the dental torture they're so fond of here.



Nadia to the rescue! I do like Nadia; she's interesting and complex as well as gorgeous, a much better choice for younger sister than what they did on Buffy, and a more likeable character than Lauren Reed. And of course, there's the fun aspect that she has vowed to avenge herself on Irina's killer, which is Jack.

We have new code names:

Sydney: Phoenix
Marshall: Merlin
Jack: Raptor (how appropriate)
Vaughn: Shotgun
Dixon: Outrigger

Dixon's isn't as cool as the other names. I think Carl Lumbly should complain. What about code names for Sloane and Nadia? I'm blanking out on Nadia, but:

Sloane: Voldemort

So we have a working group consisting of close family members, some of whom barely know each other; mortal enemies who despise each other; and a couple who are sleeping together. How delightfully dysfunctional. It's almost incestuous. I have high hopes for season four.



Bits and pieces:

— I'm not surprised that Irina Derevko is dead, since Lena Olin refused to return to the series. Irina's absence last season was jarring, and had to be addressed.

— We learned that Sark is in custody, and Marshall even went to visit him. ("We had eggs.") Please, bring Sark back! Couldn't he join APO, too?

— Weiss returned at the end, filling in as Sydney's friend and panting over Nadia. Weiss is not a stupid man; I just can't fathom him believing that Sydney really works for a bank.

— Irina's dates of birth and death were given as 1950-2004. Which would have made her 52 during the second season.

— Speaking of family members, I wonder: could it have been Irina's devious sister Katya who put out the hit on Sydney?

Quotes:

"Am I dead?" I just had a huge grin on my face when they brought Marshall in and we got our comic relief back.

Thug: "You don't frighten me."
Jack: "Then clearly you're an idiot."

Jack: "Get in now. You can be stubborn later." and "You know what else typically works in a situation like this? A simple thank you." I loved that little homage to the pilot, with Jack driving up and rescuing Sydney again.

"Hello, I'm Eric Weiss. Thirty-eight, single." I do love Weiss.

This week's...

... itinerary, part two: London, Brussels, somewhere in Argentina, Rio de Janeiro, and Moscow. What is that, three continents and two hemispheres?

... hot look, part two: Nadia in the slaughterhouse with the tight white skirt, black top, red heels, and tranquilizer lips. Marshall looks good, too. Did they let him get a better haircut or something?



This was a fast, fun episode; I watched a lot of it with a big smile on my face. I'm a little worried about Alias getting simpler instead of more complex, but for now I'll go along for the ride.

Three out of four spies,

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

1 comment:

  1. Please, bring Sark back! Couldn't he join APO, too?

    Yes!

    I really like Nadia, and I like the idea of her being a love interest for Weiss. Although it'd help if the let Weiss join APO, too. (I wonder what Weiss thinks Vaughn is doing for a living.)

    Sydney looks great in glasses, and it's nice to see a return to the domestic scenes again.

    That scene in the underground tunnel was wonderful and incredible suspenseful. Way to go, Alias, with the iconic scenes!

    ReplyDelete

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