Alias
The Counteragent
original air-date: 11-17-02

Be Kind. Rewind: Well, if you ask me, nothing much happened last week. Sloane thought he saw Emily walking down the street so he, naturally, dug up her gave and nobody was home. Surprise, surprise. Sydney saved both her parents' behinds by lying to a senator. And poor Mr. Vaughn started showing symptoms of that weird virus that kills people in a really painful and gross way.

This week on Alias Sydney raced against time to save Vaughn's life! Vaughn almost told Syd how he feels about her! Spy girl not only wore another amazing outfit, she was also nearly naked! And Francie did… absolutely nothing.

Okay, so this could describe nearly half of episodes of this super cool spy drama. And while "The Counteragent" does rely on some tried and true tricks that have worked for the show in the past, this episode seems to stand out with some twists and turns that that make the hour fast-paced and enjoyable.

The episode picks up where "Salvation" left off, with Vaughn staring at his now bleeding fingernails, the first sign that someone has been infected by the dreaded virus. Vaughn informs the doctors, but when they tell him to stay put he hangs up and goes to see Irina.

She thanks him for helping to save her life by uncovering Jack's treachery and tells him that she owes him her life. He angrily tells her that she owes him his father's life. Boy Scout then asks her to tell him where the antidote is, and Derevko tells him only after he promises to tell her how he feels about Sydney.

Now, this is a plot line that has potential. Irina and Vaughn's interaction is limited, but they already have a built-in history and a connection in the form of Sydney. Learning more about Vaughn's father and the circumstances surrounding his death, and possibly having Irina be the one to tell the tale, would be extremely interesting. It hasn't happened yet, but maybe there is an Alias writer out there somewhere reading this who will give this idea a go round.

Moving on, Vaughn collapses and Syd and Jack learn that they only have three days to get the antidote before Vaughn ends up six feet under. The catch is that it is a blood derivate serum, so Syd has to go to her love's bedside and take a sample with her to Estonia in order to save his life.

But at the hospital whom should she run into? Vaughn's girlfriend! She thought that they'd broken up and frankly so did we, but it makes it more dramatic to have the heroine go off on a dangerous mission to save the man she loves even though he is with someone else. Personally, it seemed very Soap Opera and contrived.

So Spy Girl goes off to Estonia and who should she find running the facility where the antidote is located but the illustrious Mr. Sark. He claims that he will let Sydney live and let her keep the antidote if she agrees to work with him on a mission to kill the man everyone loves to hate, Arvin Sloane.

Sydney almost immediately agrees and, after the completely unnecessary shot of her standing in decontamination room naked and wet (she's hot, we get it already), we see her discussing the plan to take Arvin out with Kendall and Jack. Kendall, of course, tells her that CIA agents do not murder people and that they do not fraternize with people like Sark (Hello? Has he met Jack Bristow?).

Jack tells Syd to forget Kendall and that they will complete this mission on their own. Sloane is in Japan for an Alliance meeting and while he is getting a massage by some Geisha girls, Syd sneaks in dressed like one and stabs Sloane in the back, literally. He is carted away by Sark in an ambulance where Syd assumes Sark will do away with him.

For his part, Sark is thoroughly impressed by Sydney's work and he tells her how good she is at being a spy while she tells him to go to hell.

Those two are going to hook up someday, you can just tell. They hate each other too much and writers like to throw people who hate each other together (for points of reference see Moonlighting, Dawson's Creek, Pride and Prejudice, etc).

So, Vaughn's better and everyone thinks that Sloane has finally bit the big one, but, alas, it is not so. He is alive and well and has a new alliance…that just happens to be Sark, who staged the entire assassination so he could get on the inside.

David Anders just plays bad so very well. He makes Sark someone you'd like to slap for being so God damn smug, but, like any good villain, he has this quality that makes him extremely charismatic and intriguing at the same time. It's wonderful to watch and the writers need to do more with this character next season, assuming he's around in whatever bizarre world we find our beloved characters in. And please give him a first name for crying out loud.

Obviously, Vaughn lives another day to almost claim his undying love for Sydney and all ends well. Unless you're Francie. With about a total of two lines in the entire episode, one about Sauce and another containing a reference to Duran Duran (excuse me while I shudder), is it any wonder that J.J. felt the need to give this character the axe?

Rebecca Sparling