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Alias
Episode 1.13; The Box, Part 2
Written by Jesse Alexander and John Eisendrath
Directed by Jack Bender
You know, I like QT as much as the next movie nerd (or at least, the next movie nerd who came of age when QT was still considered moderately cool, and before the post-post-ironic, inevitable QT backlash), but some of his scenes really strain credibility here. Beating Sydney in a fight? Making out with the stone-faced fox on his team? These feel like sequences set up specifically to entice QT into appearing on the show in the first place. He's better off when he's just playing Cole as a pissed off nerd with too many toys.
Luckily the snappy conclusion to "The Box" gives him ample opportunity to do that, too. When we return, SD-6 is still under attack and Syd's stuck in the air vent. Luckily, Daddy B. bails her out yet again by giving himself up to QT's minions. Before Syd can get to into her tough girl martyr act, Vaughn shows up to bail her out and furrow his cute little brow in consternation. While QT is merrily injecting a put-out Sloane with tiny needles, Syd and Vaughn run around attempting to keep the building from blowing up. Of course, Syd is eventually caught and verbally tormented by QT, but she escapes just in time to save the day and knock QT out in the parking lot. Go Sydney! It's your birthday!
Syd doesn't get to sport any wigs this time out, but in a way that's nice - it strips Alias down to its barest element, which is basically this whipsmart girl getting out of sticky situations via wits, kicks and punches. Watching her scurry through vents, deactivate explosive devices and deliver icy one-liners to QT is great fun, and gives no-nonsense Syd a nice edge over her whiny teen TV counterparts. I'd love to see Sydney take on their problems. My guess is that she'd kick the asses of Joey Potter's lame professor love interest, Gilmore Girls' mumbly Jess and all those deadbeat Camden kids within twenty minutes.
As it is, she's mostly left to cope with motormouth QT, and she does so very well. For his part, QT is mean to Sloane, shoots his foxy lady love interest, and backwashes in champagne. Even though his finger snappin', trash talkin' persona gets kinda old after this much exposure, his scenes with Sydney are fun - he's not terribly threatening, but he delivers decent banter.
Over in Sub-Plot Land, Pill takes a little time to interrupt the stellar action this week by barging in on Francie (yay, Francie!) all drunk and regaling her with the details of his SD-6 "investigation." Pill annoyingly bemoans the fact that his life is so crazy, unlike dull as dishwater Francie and Sydney. Francie is like, "Thanks, jerk. Now leave me alone, I'm busy with my tiny pretend wedding tables!" This is why we love Francie.
Anyway, Pill finally uses that mysterious key that was sent to him. It leads to a locker (which is, I swear, down by "the docks" or some such nonsense), which contains the autopsy report for the wife of that jailbird Pill visited the other week. Are you getting all of this? Her death was supposedly a suicide, but naturally, this autopsy suggests otherwise. Dum dum DUM. OK, Pill, you're done for the week - go away, now.
Also, Vaughn is tormented over at the CIA by his nemesis... er, that irritating, buggy-eyed actor from The Single Guy. Remember The Single Guy? Lame sitcom starring the guy from Weekend at Bernie's? No, not Andrew McCarthy. The other guy. Anyway, Vaughn's nemesis was on that show, too. He's making problems for poor Vaughn, and nearly gets SD-6 all blown to hell. I am not sure what else to say about him, except that he seems to be a general tool. Let's hope he and Pill don't have any scenes together.
Finally, I must comment on the awesome final "Save SD-6" moment, wherein Daddy B. actually has to sever Sloane's finger in order to keep the building from blowing up. That just rocks. It's like the Krycek on X-Files or Lindsey on Angel hook hand scenarios taken to a whole 'nother level.
I guess I should also say that Syd decides not to quit, but you knew that, right? No matter. Another bang-up ep from these good folks - let's hope they continue to deliver.
Episode Rating: 9 out of 10
Sarah Kuhn used to have a strange obsession with Andrew McCarthy. Not so much in a "he's cute," way - more of a "he's such a quintessential '80s star" kind of way. You getting all this?
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