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Alias
Episode 1.10, "Spirit"
Written by J.J. Abrams & Vanessa Taylor
Directed by Jack Bender
One of the niftiest things about Alias is that every week it leaves us with a conundrum -- how the hell is Sydney gonna save her pretty little neck this time? Thing is, it's usually not that difficult for her. She climbs out of holes. She calls up the CIA. Wham, bam, onto the next Ridiculously Exotic Locale, ma'am. This week, though, Syd's bailed out by Daddy Bristow. Sloane, suspecting that Syd's the mole, has ordered her tortured and executed. Good thing dear ol' Daddy B's standing by -- he whips out his hidden laptop and pulls some computer mumbo jumbo so that it appears SD-6's betrayer is actually the seedy-looking Russek. Whew!
Well, OK, not exactly whew, not just yet. Methinks Daddy's not gonna get off too lightly for that bit of high-tech trickery.
Anyway, once Syd's safe again (for a second there, I thought Sloane was gonna hug her...ew!), it's off to Semba Island, right off the coast of Kenya, to find Ineni Hassan, a rogue arms dealer who has taken on a new identity. Indeed, the man has a brand new life thanks to the miracles of plastic surgery (which apparently can be done right in your own hotel room! Convenient!), and Sloane orders Daddy B. to track Hassan down in Cuba (where he is now hiding) and execute him.
The CIA's counter-mission: fake Hassan's death in exchange for his client list. Unfortunately, Daddy B. is captured by Hassan's minions, and, like a true-blue idiot, Syd goes barreling after him. Of course, she's captured just as Daddy B. is cleverly finagling his way out of the trap by convincing Hassan that he has no loyalty to SD-6. Hassan demands he prove it by killing the SD-6 agent they've just caught prowling around: our girl Syd.
As usual, the plotting is tight, the Ridiculously Exotic Locales pretty. Syd's costume o' choice this week is...I think she's supposed to be some sort of Southern belle. The accent is questionable. This ep also offers the best, most emotional entanglement involving the ever-tortured relationship between Syd and Daddy B. First, he gets all maudlin and saves her. Go, Daddy B! But then it looks like he's pretty willing to shoot her. Boo! Hiss!
Of course, he wouldn't be in this position if it weren't for Syd's head-scratching actions. Now, the need to do something when a loved one is in danger, this I understand. But dashing in with no plan whatsoever? It doesn't quite jive with Sydney's character, and she's captured incredibly easily. Also, wouldn't going after Daddy B. like that somehow blow her cover with SD-6? And shouldn't she trust Daddy B. to cleverly get himself out of this, since he saved her ass in the nick of time at the beginning of the episode? I understand that she didn't want to just sit around and wait, but it seems like there are other, more wily options she could have employed.
Also in this episode: Will the Pill continues his "investigation" into the death of Eloise Kurtz and manages to get his random electronics dude pal to decipher some of that mysterious garbled tape for him. There's also some blah-de-blah with a lawyer and an inmate who may have past dealings with SD-6, but I find Will, er, Pill so annoying that I pretty much tuned out during that part. Pill is also now sleeping with his assistant Jenny, who is, like, 12. Pill, you could go to jail for this...actually, that might not be such a bad thing. Never mind. Give me less Pill and more Francie. We want Francie!
The final thing of note is that Daddy B. is very mean to Vaughn this week. I love me some Vaughn. I am so into his perpetual look of befuddled wisdom. And he got Sydney a Christmas present! Anyway, Daddy B. is mad because Vaughn keeps poking into his past. Methinks Daddy B. doth protest too much.
Anyway, overall, plenty of goodies for Alias-heads in here, and one of the best cliffhangers to date. Minus points for all the Pill stuff and for a lackluster costume o' the week, but this one's still a solid outing.
Episode Rating: 8 out of 10
Sarah Kuhn still thinks the best wig is the one in the premiere.
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