Jack: "Sydney, I was not that agent. Your mother was."
No surprise in the opening scene: I was certain that Jack wouldn't sacrifice Russek to save Sydney, and then turn around and follow orders to kill her. Blinking Morse code was sort of spy-a-rific silly, though.
But we did get some serious father-daughter spy bonding in Cuba. We learned that Jack didn't want Sydney to be a spy, and Sydney finally asked him why he didn't tell her about SD-6. It did make sense. I can't imagine a loving parent wanting their child to do what Sydney does. Sydney must know now that Jack really does love her, and when Vaughn told her about the codes in the book, she was not ready to believe it.
I don't know why it never occurred to me that Sydney's mother was the KGB agent, not Jack, but it makes sense. Sydney has super, super spy genes, talent coming from both sides of the family. We also learned that William C. Vaughn was killed by whoever that KGB agent was. So – Sydney's mother killed Vaughn's father; as melodramatic plots go, that one is a winner. And the CIA knew, all this time. Now Vaughn and Sydney know, too. What effect will it have on their non-relationship?
Hassan had guts, faking Vaughn out that way in order to save his family. Good for him, even if he is a slimeball.
Bits and pieces:
— Dixon is finally back. And he doesn't remember Sydney's mistake. Sydney got lucky.
— Weiss is back! I like Weiss. Cute and funny.
— We finally got to see Devlin.
— The Sydney and Vaughn meetings in that basement are starting to feel like a rendezvous.
— Does Will have a chance with Sydney after all? She did cry in his arms.
— The guy who tried to kill Sydney got fried. Instant karma's gonna get you.
— Even ickier than rubber gloves, that guy LICKED HER FACE. Yecch. How did they film that? Did the actor actually lick Jennifer Garner's face?
— The taxi was supposed to pick up Sydney at the northwest corner of Westwood and Wilshire. I go through that intersection pretty often. Sometimes it's fun being a fan girl living in L.A.
This week's...
... itinerary: Cuba, Athens, Crete.
... cool gadget: a faked retina scan, wow.
... hot look: that red fringe-y dress. Garner looks best in either black or red. Actually, she kinda looks good in everything, which is probably why she's a big TV star and all.
That ending was just amazing. Gotta give it a four,
Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
"Even ickier than rubber gloves, that guy LICKED HER FACE. Yecch."
ReplyDeleteYes to this. A thousand, thousand yeses. Hopefully the gasoline bath burned the syphilis away.
"The taxi was supposed to pick up Sydney at the northwest corner of Westwood and Wilshire. I go through that intersection pretty often. Sometimes it's fun being a fan girl living in L.A."
And also this. I think there's a gym on that corner, and what used to be a Blockbuster. Like all empty Blockbusters, it's probably being turned in a Ross, because we certainly don't have enough of those.
"This week's hot look: that red fringe-y dress."
I'd also give a shout-out to the split-front a-line she was wearing at SD-6. This show is definitely revealing my obsession with clothes, isn't it?
"Weiss is back! I like Weiss. Cute and funny."
Amen.
Great family theme in this episode: Hassan risking his own life (at Vaughn's hands) to save his family. Vaughn risking his relationship with Sydney to avenge his father--but then backing out of outright betrayal--in a great parallel with Jack's conversation with Sydney about why he didn't tell her about SD-6: Vaughn wouldn't betray his closeness with Sydney to avenge his dad, but Jack let Sydney betray herself and her country to keep his cover.
And, of course, the revelation that Sydney's mom was KGB. And that she killed Vaughn's dad! While I understand that Jack called a large meeting in order to make his story more believable, choosing to reveal to his daughter that her mom was Evil in front of a bunch of unknown bureaucrats was a terrible choice. Did he want to avoid an emotional scene? Is he just uncomfortable with disclosure?
Great parallel structure, too: at the beginning, Sydney learning why he didn't disclose. At the end, Sydney getting a full disclosure that is perhaps worse than thinking her father was KGB. She seemed sort of willing to forgive him for that (who cares about the Cold War anymore?), but can she forgive her mother, whom she obviously loves and misses? Can she forgive Jack for telling her? And for not telling her, all these years?
9/11 reference: Vaughn talking about the Patriot Act, which reminded me of Jack Donaghy's recent assertion on 30 Rock that it gives a white man the right to detain anyone else.
Continuity error in this one. Jack tells Sydney that he learned she was with SD-6 two years ago, but later in the series we see her telling him when she gets at the job at Credit Dauphine. The problem with watching this show too many times...
ReplyDeleteThe last line of this episode is simply amazing, and Victor Garber delivers it perfectly. I remember the first time I saw this, I shouted something I probably shouldn't have at the television. It still gets me every time.
I am increaingly convinced that Vaughn is the worst CIA agent in the world, ever. He breaks every rule, he flirts with his agent (and it's not a slowly developing tragic love either, he outright flirts with her from the start) he jumps to conclusions almost as much as Sydney does and any idiot could have seen that Hassan would do whatever it took to protect his family. You'd think Vaughn had never seen a JJ Abrams show before...
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the best endings ever. I'm with the rest of you - how did I not see this one coming?? Sydney is going to need serious therapy for this one. Jack's cryptic behavior is now explained. I love him - he'd rather Sydney hated him than tell her about her mother. The only reason he told her is because of her and Vaughn's discovery.
ReplyDeleteVaughn's loyalty is starting to be with Syd and not necessarily the CIA. It's definitely become personal for him and he is conflicted between his desire to avenge his father's murder and his desire to stay on Syd's good side. When he decided not to use the recording he made, it just shows that he values their relationship too much and that Sydney deserves full disclosure from him - he is the only one she can truly trust and be herself with. He can't risk jeopardizing that.