Spies spying on spies. We're revisiting SD-6 in a big way, and that's just fine with me.
As much as I loved the arrest and helicopter sequence in Paris, the big moment here was Nadia crashing her car into a building, shooting the bad guys, and rescuing Jack. Nadia proved herself (this time) to be a better person than Sydney: as Nadia asked, would Sydney rescue Sloane under similar circumstances for Nadia's sake? I wonder if Nadia would have rescued Jack if she knew that Jack killed Irina? If, in fact, he did. The jury's still out on that one.
Nadia has no emotional foundation; her loyalties are built on shifting sands, and there's no one she can truly trust. She certainly can't trust Sloane if she has a brain in her head, and she keeps finding good reasons not to trust Sydney. It's odd, seeing Sydney on the wrong side of an issue like this.
Sloane: "I take it you'll have no problem bringing Nadia up to speed?"
Weiss: "Yeah, I already did, last night."
Sloane: (pause) "Excuse me?"
and
Weiss: "What do you think, Arvin?"
Sloane looks at him.
Weiss: "... Mr. Sloane?"
The strained faux birthday party for Nadia was my favorite scene. Gee, do I detect some Nadia-induced tension between Arvin Sloane and Eric Weiss? I sure wouldn't want to be Sloane's prospective son-in-law. Ouch.
I expected Sloane to be innocent, this time; I suspected he was secretly bringing down the old Alliance, and son of a gun, he was. But I still don't think Sloane is on the side of the angels. Why do Jack and Sloane want the blackmail list? Did Sloane (and possibly Jack) have anything to do with those three dead agents in Sarajevo? Is Jack playing along with Sloane for some reason of his own?
Vaughn got a new subplot: he discovered (via the mysterious, disappearing Rosemary) that his father may not have died in 1979 after all. Lest we forget, Bill Vaughn was supposedly killed by Irina Derevko. If he wasn't, that raises some interesting questions.
The wonderful Angela Bassett was back as Director Chase, and did several intense scenes with Dixon. They make an extremely attractive couple. And they were flirting; I saw it! ("If anything else comes up, be sure to call me." "Anything?") I'd love to see Dixon happy again. Although no one ends up happy on Alias.
Bits and pieces:
— This was the second time Sydney pulled a job in Sloane's study. We really are revisiting SD-6.
— Safe to say that Jack and Sloane are not party animals. Interesting that they chose to have Jack bring the party down with talk about the grim future of energy crisis and global conflict. Just social commentary? Or does Ford have a hybrid now, or something? (I tend not to absorb commercials.)
— I did notice that Nadia was driving a bright, red Ford Mustang when she rescued Jack. I don't know cars, but I know a horse when I see one.
— Will we ever meet Vaughn's mother? Do you suppose she was a Russian double agent, too?
— That helicopter jump made me cringe: very scary.
Quotes:
Sloane: "Sydney, figure out a way to get yourself arrested."
And she did, very funny. I liked Dixon's stuffy lawyer pose, too.
Sydney: "Je ne parlais francais pas!"
Nadia: "I'm so glad you didn't listen."
Sydney: "I usually don't."
Sloane: (to Nadia) "Because of you, I am a changed man."
Time will tell. Truth takes time.
This week's...
... itinerary: Paris, Brussels, and Mesa, Arizona.
... hot look: Nadia in that yummy red party dress. I also loved Sydney with fishnet stockings and pixie stix in her hair, although I bet those stix drove them nuts while they were filming.
Another very good Alias episode, and the standard three out of four spies,
Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
I love Jack's monologue during the dinner, and the way it emphasizes his inability to interact normally with anyone, ever. No chit-chat for Mr. Bristow.
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