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Alias: Nightingale

Jack: "Yes, I imagine this must be quite upsetting for you, Arvin, my not anticipating that Sydney and Vaughn's deceit could be greater than your own."

I love all of the regulars on this show. Every single character is well developed, well written, and well acted. But I have a special fondness for Jack. If Jack has just sustained a fatal dose of radiation, I'm going to be seriously, seriously pissed.

This season's major arc now appears to be something about Elena Derevko and Bill Vaughn. I have absolutely no idea what's going on. I've thought all along that Irina probably isn't dead (though we still don't know for sure), but does that have something to do with Elena and why Jack and Sloane need to find her? Sloane said that Sydney connecting with Elena would be "disastrous." Why? Plus, it sounded like Jack and Sloane covered up Bill Vaughn's death by switching him with this Philip Burke guy. Is Bill Vaughn "dead" for the same reason Irina is "dead"?

I like that Sydney put her love for Vaughn ahead of her job, but I don't understand how she could possibly believe that Jack wouldn't figure that out, or that anyone would believe that Vaughn would clip her in the mouth. I'm also not quite on board with the Bill Vaughn is-he-alive-or-isn't-he subplot, despite my fondness for Vaughn and Vartan.



My favorite scene was the Sydney and Jack "Daddy, may I borrow your clearance?" and "Gee, we haven't really talked much since you killed Mom." (They didn't exactly say that, but I can project a little, can't I?) I also loved the Jack and Marshall scene at the end. We've been getting a Jack and Marshall comedy bit every week, but this time it was serious: "It was my daughter's life," and the cryptic, and moving, "Between us."

Bits and pieces:

— Good news, Alias fans: the show has been renewed early for a fifth season.

— I loved the whole beer garden scene: Sydney sliding down the bar, the silliness with Klaus, the way she verbally seduced Dietrich until she had her heel at his throat. (How many of you Buffy fans were shrieking, "Ethan Rayne!"?)

— Vaughn didn't pick up Through the Looking Glass in the children's library: he had Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: I recognized the first page. Yes, they're usually published together, but they're not the same thing. The "Inject me" thing was pretty cute, though. (Although I sure wouldn't have done it.)



— This week's winner for Most Obvious Symbolism was the almost Whedonesque opening dream sequence, with Bill Vaughn's memorial star crumbling, as Michael Vaughn's perceptions about his father are also crumbling.

— Jack and Sydney were drinking pinot noir at the restaurant. Wasn't that the wine from "Sideways"?

— Dixon has gotten over his bout of nerve agent well enough to spar with Vaughn, although having them doing it right there in the office looked odd. You don't often see people sparring in the office. Not where I work, anyway.

— So what's going on with Nadia and Weiss? They seem all couple-y, but where are the smoochies? I would have enjoyed a scene with Nadia and Weiss instead of the gratuitous gross-out scene at the beginning.

— Speaking of which, the nuked people Nightingale thing was just bad. But the genetic marker bit smells like Rambaldi to me.

— There were no cute Marshall gimmicks or com links: just cell phones. After last week's episode, I'm sure Sydney has developed a lasting appreciation for cell phones.

— By the way, in the states we got a commercial for The Muppet Wizard of Oz that had Miss Piggy doing Sydney Bristow.

Quotes:

Jack: "The only way to proceed is honestly, above board."
Yeah, right. It would have been even funnier if Sloane had said it.

Sydney: "We always thought my mother killed your father, but what if we were wrong?"
I think the fans all got there several weeks ago, Sydney.

This week's...

... itinerary: Siberia, Munich, Siberia.

... language skills: Jennifer Garner did a fabulous job with the German. I don't speak it, but I just loved the way she came on to Robin Sachs in German.

... gross out moment: Do I even need to say it? It reminded me of my least favorite scene in Robocop. Yucky things keep happening to people on Alias this season, and frankly, it's turning me off.

... hot look: the beer garden cutie waitress outfit, although how did Sydney braid that wig so fast?



Pretty good in spots, less good in others. Two out of four spies,

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

3 comments:

  1. You are right, Jennifer Garner's German pronunciation is quite good. In fact I understand her better than most of the guys playing actual Germans on this show.
    With them I often need the English subs to get what they were trying to say. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ethan Rayne! That's it. He sort of looks like Henry Ian Cusick's evil uncle, doesn't he?

    The grossout scene in the opener was too much for me, but Jack's willingness to sacrifice himself (and forgo information about Elena Derevko) to save his daughter was a heartwarming reminder of where his true loyalties lie, no matter how much crazy cahooting he does with Sloane.

    Jack: "The only way to proceed is honestly, above board." Yeah, right. It would have been even funnier if Sloane had said it.

    Amen to that! Sloane said something else, too (I'm paraphrasing):

    Jack: "I've betrayed my daughter."
    Sloane: "I'd never do that."

    ReplyDelete
  3. Forgot to mention: I will always associate the "Trouble" song that played at the end with that delightful commercial in which a dog tries to invest his bone but worries about financial security.

    ReplyDelete

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