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Alias
Prelude
original air-date: 11-09-03
Be
Kind. Rewind: Allison resurfaced in the previous episode
and, curiously, she is neither seen nor mentioned this week.
It's amazing
the way network television works. After suffering through
a string of mediocre episodes for the past six weeks, loyal
fans finally get a standout hour and what does ABC do? Forces
us to wait two weeks to find out what happens next so they
can air a lame music awards show in an attempt for ratings
gold. The world is not a fair place, fanboys and girls, so
we will have to take what we can get. Lucky for us, what we
got this week was the best episode of our beloved spy drama
so far this season.
The creepy
beginning was not only great foreshadowing, it was one of
the coolest, scariest sequences this show has ever had. The
flashes, the blood and the tubing Spy girl pulled out of that
gash all added up to a scene that not only left Sydney gasping
for breath, but one that is sure to haunt the dreams of Alias
fans.
With the
Covenant intent on using Sloane to get their hands on a weapon
that can fry a person's insides from space, Syd gets forced
into going with Arvin on a mission to some uppity social function
in China. Watching Syd roll her eyes and turn her nose up
in disgust when Arvin asked her to dance was priceless. As
usual, Ron Rifkin made Sloane such a terrific bastard in these
scenes that whether you love him or hate him, you can't help
having fun watching him torture and annoy Sydney with his
niceties.
Thankfully,
Marshall was used sparingly this week. His scenes were brief
yet amusing, allowing Kevin Weissman screen time without seeming
like a needless attempt at comic relief. Also, his little
destructo-Matchbox car was hands down the neatest spy-gadget
yet and proved that all those hours young people spend playing
video games really can pay off in the long run.
Jack Bristow
was the man of the hour with his fantastically extreme attempts
at keeping Lauren from learning the truth about Lazarey's
murder. Having Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn taken hostage while he
kills the man who could expose the truth about Sydney was
just business as usual for Jack and I'd be willing to bet
that he told that rebel to smack Vaughn around a bit just
for some added fun. Victor Garber is always a joy to watch
and his comment about moral compromises to an enraged Vaughn
was the best line in the entire episode.
Speaking
of Boy Scout, Michael Vartan really stepped up in this episode.
Instead of looking like a lost little puppy, Vartan displayed
a full range of emotions, often with just a look, making the
usually flat Vaughn appear multidimensional. The anger he
exhibits in his scenes with Jack is actually believable and
well done. If playing off Mr. Garber can have this effect
on Vartan, I say give them a scene or two together every week,
because this performance was impressive and proved that Vaughn
can be so much more than mere eye candy for female viewers.
Amazingly
enough, the only semi-mushy scene between Sydney and Vaughn
was actually well placed and not just some lame excuse for
the two of them to stare longingly into each other's eyes.
Of course, it did hint that Vaughn may still be in love with
his former flame, but that's not exactly an earth-shattering
revelation. Besides, the obvious love and affection that Vaughn
displayed for his wife in this episode, coupled with the fact
that he's already in the dog house with her, will most likely
keep the golden boy from acting on these feelings for Spy
Girl any time soon.
Those
wondering why Lauren isn't a field rated agent got their answer
while watching "Prelude." You'd think that someone
who works in intelligence would be a tad cleverer than Mrs.
Vaughn was in this episode. You don't have to be a spy to
realize that seeing a piece of your engine just sitting there
disconnected probably means that danger is lurking close by.
Of course, it might have been the writers' intention to make
her look helpless and inept, in which case they did a very
good job.
All in
all, this episode was wonderful. It was scary, funny, emotional
and ended with the first genuine cliffhanger of the season.
Everything just gelled this week. The directing, the dialogue,
and the acting all came together to make this the best hour
of Alias we've seen in a long time. Because of all this, I'm
willing to overlook them throwing the sais into the fight
scene for no good reason at all.
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