Alias - 2/09/03 - A Free Agent (1 Viewer)

[Jon Mercer]

Did anyone else catch the number of the vault that Sloane was raiding? It was #4747 - page #47 was the page from Rambaldi's book that revealed Syd's Mom as the destroyer (or whatever...) I thought that was a nice touch.
I caught the Raiders nod as well.

 

[Jim DiJoseph]

Jon, I didn't catch that, but I have been wondering whether Sloane planned this whole scenario. He has been telling everyone that he has the pieces to the Rimbaldi "puzzle," but I wonder...

...if Sydney is one of those pieces...he may need her to complete/use the device.

Great episode, by the way. The scenes with Dixon and his wife were compelling. I don't believe he is KD, and I foresee him joining the CIA and forgiving Sydney after getting a taste from the other side of the lies.

*edit: added spoiler tag in case my "theory" turns out to be correct.

 

[Tom Meyer]

Though it wasn't as blatant, there were several Volvo S60s & a V70 in that high speed driving scene as well. Volvo is owned by Ford.

 

[Michael Martin]

Jim's spoiler may actually help explain why Sloane didn't outright kill Sydney or Vaughn. He may need her because of the prophecy, and Sloane knows if Vaughn dies, Syd is more likely to act rashly and perhaps get killed if her man gets whacked.

 

[Joel Mack]

I thought it had been determined that the woman Rambaldi prophecised about was Irina
...

?

 

[Dave Morton]

Those CIA computer nerd guys gushing over Marshall was hilarious. What a great character.

And if Irina is a key to Rimbaldi then what better way to get to her than by having her daughter as a hostage.

 

[Jon Mercer]

It could be that Sloane doesn't realize that it is Syd's Mom in the Prophesy and not Syd herself...

 

[Matt Goddard]

I could be wrong, but I think only the CIA and FBI knew about Syd/Irina's involvement in the prophecy. Sloane never saw the page with the drawing of Syd/Irina IIRC.

 

[Jason Quillen]

Well, I've stayed out of the Alias threads for a couple weeks, cause I thought the episodes were just plain bad, and I didnt wanna come in here and be "that Buffy thread guy that rips on Alias too". But I thought I'd pop in this week and say I thought last nights Alias was the best we've gotten since the Marshal-out-on-mission episodes.

I can't put my finger exactly on why, though. Maybe it was because there wasn't the gratuitous poorly done "Syd in skimpy clothes" shot this week, like the past few (hey, I like seeing her in skimpy clothes too - but part of the charm of S1 was that it was tastefully done, not an obvious ploy to lure in viewers like the post superbowl episode).

I'm glad Marshall is sticking around, he's a great character and the show wouldn't be the same without him. I also like the Dixon angle - he won't forgive syd and yet he is guilty of a similar crime to his own family, who he wants forgiveness from. Well played. Sloane is also breaking out of his mold - but I get the impression that he is living on borrowed time. I hope they don't drag affairs out with him for 2 more years - hes a great character but they've put him in the position now where his expiration is inevitable - if they don't get rid of him in one way or another he'll lose that sense of urgency and power he has right now - like a comic book villian thats been to jail and escaped too many times.

All in all, I think I liked last nights episode because it seems like after a half season of treading water, things are finally getting done - characters finally have something to do, or a signifigant inner conflict. Last night everything just seemed to be in place and working - and the result was a well done hour of Alias.

Only two things still really bothering me. First is this Francie thing - its just stupid. We're talking bottom of the barrel daily soap opera stupid. Its not enough that we know Francie isn't really herself - on top of that we have to get the obligatory behind the back sinister smile every episode. Not to mention the trouble explaining how Francie was the victim of the DNA thing - what about the couple weeks recovery? If Francie willingly did this she must have been tricked - so why didnt she tell Syd or Will about going in for some medical thing for a few weeks? You just can't pull this Francie thing off without it ending up with more holes then your average piece of swiss cheese.

The last thing bothering me is the uselessness of the two elder bristows. Jack seems to be confined to his usual "disgruntled / pensive" face every episode. Do something with him besides his usual "hate mom - protect Syd" crap - and not something lame and predictable like a Spy Family mission (complete with inter-family conflicts!). Spy Mom is doing just as much - luckily we're not having her shoved down our throats 10 times every episode. Kick her arc into motion - we know its coming - just start developing it (ANYTHING but having her analize credit reports).

But - like I said - these two things didnt keep Alias from being good this week. A well done episode that actually has me looking forward to the next episode (instead of just watching because nothing else is on). Lets hope this marks the beginning of an upward trend.

JQ

 

[Jason Seaver]

Not to mention the trouble explaining how Francie was the victim of the DNA thing - what about the couple weeks recovery?

Well, why would the "template" need that? Once they've got a DNA sample (blood, urine, hair, skin cells, saliva... How complete a genome does the magic machine need?), along with some surveilance work - even if you've got the DNA, you'll probably need to make some adjustments to the physical appearance and maybe even alter Anna's larynx - why would they need the original Francie?

 

[Michael Martin]

The last thing bothering me is the uselessness of the two elder bristows

I think a little Irina goes a long way . Seriously, she had a good scene with Syd, one that held a lot of impact, and kept you wondering about Irina's ultimate intentions.

You are right in that Jack had little to do in this ep. That will change. I would think it's very hard to write a quality episode where ALL of the supporting characters have significant screen time and events.

However, I would like to see Jack kick some more ass. The couple of times we've seen him in action have been very cool. Maybe some missions apart from Syd - develop a separate storyline away from Sloane, etc.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I think it's hilarious how easily Sydney gave up her "real" name to the woman that she and Vaughn saved. Why doesn't Sydney have a real "alias" handy for such situations?

 

[Jeff Kohn]

I think it's hilarious how easily Sydney gave up her "real" name to the woman that she and Vaughn saved. Why doesn't Sydney have a real "alias" handy for such situations?

Yeah, they never really seem to take security very seriously; just like all the stuff Sydney was talking to Will about, that he totally didn't need to know and that could put him in danger's way (target for interrogation/torture). She may not be a double agent infiltrating SD6 anymore, but she's still a field agent...

Still, this was one of the better episodes in a while.

 

[Jason Quillen]

The Alias equivalent to Giles very pointedly not touching something.

Good call. And hey, I'll even give the advantage to Alias - at least we got the impression that Syd thought something was up with Francie in last nights ep.

 

[Adam Horak]

Well, admittedly I was only half watching last weeks episode because it just wasn't doing anything for me. But I thought Hawke said that, because the donor was giving up his / her cells, there was a 4 week (maybe 2?) recovery period that the donor had to go through because he / she was too weak. I don't remember hearing about hair / skin / etc DNA samples. I thought he said the machine using cells inside the donor as the source? But, like I said, I was only half watching - Hawke couldn't even salvage last weeks episode in my eyes.

If I remember correctly, it is the person who is changed that must go through a long recovey period, not the source. They are the ones having their face completely altered afterall

 

[Micheal]

I think it's hilarious how easily Sydney gave up her "real" name to the woman that she and Vaughn saved. Why doesn't Sydney have a real "alias" handy for such situations?

I couldn't agree more. I turned to my wife and said WTF!? She could have at least said "Bristow, Sydney Bristow"

 

[Joel C]

I think the point was that she didn't need to lie anymore, since she was regular CIA and not deep undercover.

Though it did strike me as a little odd.

 

[Jodee]

Isn't amazing how the streets of Europe look absolutely nothing like Southern California?

 

[Michael Martin]

Isn't amazing how the streets of Europe look absolutely nothing like Southern California?

I noticed that too - especially in the scene where Syd and Vaughn pulled into an alley. Can't pin it down, but the alley looked distinctly American and very non-European.

 

[Jon Mercer]

Does anyone have a guess as to what the "Rambaldi Device" is? Sloane is making a big assumption that it is a weapon, don't you think...
What if it's a 300 year old design for a HD-DVD player?
Does anyone remember what all the pieces are?