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Alias
Episode 1.14, "The Coup"
Written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci
Directed by Tom Wright
Despite a side trip to Vegas, the enhanced presence of Francie, and Dixon's Rasta wig, this ep feels kinda ho-hum, especially on the heels of the sparkly, Tarantinofied two-parter.
So the leader of some other SD-6-esque organization has been assassinated, presumably by the folks who work for QT's mysterious employer, The Man. These guys are about to set up a meeting with K-Directorate, so Syd and Dixon are sent to Vegas to plant a bug on a K-Directorate agent. Meanwhile, Syd contemplates quitting the graduate program (like she ever goes), and Pill gets closer to unraveling the mystery of SD-6. Oh, and as I mentioned, there's more Francie. Syd finds out that Charlie has been cheating on Francie, and then they show up in Vegas and nearly blow Syd's cover and blah, blah, blah. This is kind of a lame sub-plot, even if it does get Francie more screen-time.
I guess one of the annoying things about this ep is that the big issue is supposed to be that Syd's lives almost cross when she spots Francie and Charlie in Vegas... but then it ends up being a non-issue. I realize that Syd's friends can't find out who she is right away, but why build up the tension if you're not going to use it? Syd neatly solves this dilemma just like she solves everything.
And speaking of that, though I sympathize with Syd often enough, she is in danger of becoming one of those saintly lead characters who excels at absolutely everything - you know, gets straight As, saves puppies, campaigns for ferret rights, wins Olympic gold medals. Characters of this long and lame tradition have previously included Nancy Drew and Donna Martin in the later years of 90210. I mean, did they have to make Syd one of the best graduate students Anonymous Professor Man has ever had? Couldn't she just be top of her class or something? And isn't the whole thing kind of implausible considering that she is never seen going to class and studiously trudges the path that millions upon millions of grad students have trudged before by writing term papers about F. Scott Fitzgerald?
Let's see, how does everyone else fare this week? Well, Sloane is downright cuddly, which is always creepy. I swear he almost calls Sydney "cookie," just like he did to Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City. Daddy B. is also unaccountably cuddly, giving Syd advice about life and stuff. Pill is his usual annoying self, interrupting all the action with his irritating sub-plot. Vaughn is cute.
Francie is sunny and sweet, but the whole Charlie sub-plot is just weird. Basically, Syd finds out Charlie cheated on Francie and then Francie finds out it's true and it's a big huge deal. Buh? I know there was that whole fake-out thing where it appeared he was cheating when he wasn't. Since then, he's seemed like a fairly decent guy, though, so what gives? We can't even really hate him, because he hasn't had enough screen time. Is he on another show or something? That's the only thing I can figure, 'cause this whole storyline has a weird falseness to it, kind of like when they had to come up with decent reasons for Giles to leave Buffy and Tracy to leave Elena on Felicity. Well, whatever. Bye, Charlie.
Anyway, despite the fairly flat quality of this episode, the ending does deliver with a bang, leaving Syd hanging perilously from a harness while The Man's minion assassinates one of the K-Directorate agents. Where's Daddy B. when ya need him?
Episode Rating: 6 out of 10
Sarah Kuhn lives for cheesy Vegas floor shows.
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