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Alias
Episode 1.19, "Snowman"
Written by Jesse Alexander and Jeff Pinkner
Directed by Barnet Kellman
What was with all the musical montages in this episode? Notes from the net: "J.J., we still love your show, and thank god you did that clip episode so we know what's going on, but you know what there's just not enough of? Musical montages! Throw us some of that shiz-nizzy so we can put in some extra promos at the end like those kids at The WB!" (OK, so there were no extra promos. Just go with it.)
Anyway, there's a montage of the reflective (Daddy B. watches worriedly as Syd giggles with Agent Peter Berg and Marshall — wheeeee! The fun never stops here at Sloane's Den of Conspiracies!) and a montage of the pulse pounding (Syd and Agent PB go on a mission and Syd almost eats it). Both basically work to compress several plot points into a couple of minutes, but we don't have a whole lotta time with the season ending soon, so I guess you gotta do what you gotta do.
As to the show's actual plot this week...oy, where to start? After their passionate night together, Agent PB tells Syd that he's got a bunch of money stashed in secret bank accounts, and asks her to run away with him. She eventually refuses, despite the temptation of 24-hour Agent PB-lovin'. Also, Syd and Daddy B. both view a grainy video file of Mommy B...which was taken after she supposedly died in the car crash. Mommy B., sadly, does not appear to be played by Jennifer Garner in "old Jennifer Garner" make-up. Meanwhile, K-Directorate hires a mysterious assassin to kill Khasinau (The Man), Francie and Pill play videogames and take up space, and Vaughn has some pointless sub-plot that even I couldn't pay attention to.
Really, though, all the chaos and convoluted storylines lead up to one big revelation: The Snowman is...Agent PB! And Sydney sort of kills him! Oh, the agony! Oh, the tears! Oh, the anguish on PB's face as he realizes he's not going to be a recurring character!
Now, I am all for Alias' schtick of pulling the rug out from under us, but this particular plot point just feels dumb — it's not well explained, and is essentially just designed to make us go, "Whoa!" I mean, will we ever learn what Agent PB's motivation was for all this? Or where his true loyalties lie? Or what he planned on doing if Sydney had actually accepted his offer to run away? This show's best twists come from carefully calibrated tension, built up over time — all the stuff we've learned about Mommy B. is a prime example. But this is basically a "good, no, he's bad!" character shoved in our faces for two episodes. Whatever.
On the brighter side of things, Daddy B. continues to steal scenes left and right as he grapples with his newfound paternal role and his residual feelings for Mommy B. The scene wherein he watches the tape of her coldly recounting how she fooled him is heartbreaking — his face subtly contorts, fully conveying his long-suppressed pain.
Also, I must note that the high-speed motorcycle escape scene in the very beginning of this ep is a fine sight to behold. I hate using dumb-ass "extreme" phrases like "high octane," but it's definitely akin to that. It doesn't totally make up for the lameness of what was done with Agent PB's character, but it's still fun to watch.
Episode Rating: 5 out of 10.
Sarah Kuhn says, "Recycle...to the extreeeeeeme!" You can read more of her nerd-centric insights over at Entertainment Geekly
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