In the sixth episode of the first season of Alias, Sydney deals with the ramifications of the secrets in her life. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Alias.Â
OH, SECRETS ARE TERRIBLE, AND EVERYONE’S LIFE IS A MESS BECAUSE OF THEM. Let’s discuss!
Dixon
I know that I addressed this a bit at the end of the last review, but y’all: they committed to it. Because Vaughn wouldn’t let Sydney tell Dixon the truth, he killed four CIA agents, and he DOESN’T EVEN KNOW. Look, at this point, I’m theorizing that he’s gonna find out the truth, and IT’S GOING TO BE SO UGLY. This character so clearly thinks he’s being moral and good and protecting his country, and he has no clue that he’s doing the exact opposite. So is the cost of keeping this secret worth it? And that’s the primary struggle at the start of this! Sydney doesn’t think so, and look… I get that this is a long con, and I get that there are a lot of moving parts in this horrible machine.
I suspect, though, that Dixon is not going to be happy that this was kept from him. Given the choice? I’m guessing he’d be willing to risk his own happiness to be on the right side. Vaughn is too detached from this, so I get why he doesn’t think it’s as immediately important. So what do the writers do? FORCE HIM TO GO TO THE FUNERALS FOR THESE AGENTS. Holy shit, yes. Make him see the ill effects of this decision! Make him confront the awful reality himself! And look, no one could have known what Dixon was going to do with that second detonator, so I’m not blaming Vaughn for that. I do find it to be an interesting twist of storytelling to have Vaughn face his own complicity, though. YES. MORE OF THIS.
Jack
It’s going to take a lot for me to like Sydney’s character, y’all. He’s just… ugh, he’s such a pompous asshole! He can see his daughter hurting, and instead of trying to console her over her grief and anger, he treats her like an ignorant child. We are watching the cost of Jack’s secret-keeping IN REAL TIME. His daughter despises him, first of all. She doesn’t even have all the information she could have on the death of her mother, and she’s ALREADY prepared to throw Jack under the bus. It’s a flawed approach, of course, and the show makes it clear that Sydney is prematurely trying to “solve†this issue without knowing what really happened.
But what was so telling to me was the scene where Sydney confronted Jack with the fact that she knew the FBI agent tracking him was the one who allegedly “killed†her mother. Yes, she still has no clue what really happened. But what’s Jack’s response? To condescend down to her. To pretty much tease her that she doesn’t know what she’s doing. TO MAKE THINGS WORSE. Oh my god, he’s an awful father, isn’t he? It feels like he’s ACTIVELY pushing problems into EVEN BIGGER PROBLEMS THAN THEY WERE BEFORE.
Will
There’s a parallel between Will’s pursuit of the truth and Sydney’s, both in that they are so, so, so far from the truth, and yet! AND YET! They don’t stop. At all. What matters to them is integrity. What really happened? Who was involved? Why was this information kept from others? The means by which these characters pursue this truth is different, but I do adore that Will and Sydney are reckless at times. Here, will tracks down the “fake†Kate Jones and is promptly pepper-sprayed. It’s kind of funny in hindsight because Will can be kind of bumbling at times. But he overextends himself here, at least in the sense that he makes bad decisions to get to the truth. Did he really think that the Fake Kate was going to give him information? DID HE REALLY JUST WALK INTO THAT WOMAN’S APARTMENT WHEN HE KNOCKED AND THE DOOR WAS AJAR? Oh my god, why didn’t he take someone with him???
Will, stop making bad decisions!!!
Sydney
I’m so fascinated by the story structures in this show, especially since it’s clear that a plot is resolved early in an episode, and a new one is introduced much later than I expect. Despite that, this episode still has a strong thematic link in regards to secrets. Francie finally confronts Charlie, who reveals that his secretive behavior was due to shame over what he’d really like to do with his life.
But there’s a logistical, practical application of secrets within Sydney’s life. Alias deals with complex heists and operations that deal in the act of keeping EVERYTHING a secret. That’s why the entire sequence at the art show is monstrously clever and tense. (THE SCENE WITH THE STEAM PIPES HURT ME PERSONALLY BECAUSE DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I HAVE BURNT MYSELF ON OUR RADIATOR PIPES SINCE I MOVED TO NEW YORK? I HAVE NEVER LIVED IN A PLACE WITH THEM BEFORE, DON’T JUDGE, I AM TRYING TO ADJUST.) Sydney’s literal job is to assume identities and BE a secret.
But that’s this whole industry! She’s involved in a complex and global nightmare here, and that’s readily apparent from her disastrous mission in Bucharest. There are plenty of people devoted to the same obfuscation and subterfuge as she is, and she discovers this the hard way, after her handler is murdered and the man she’s after violently attacks her once he realizes what she’s trying to do. Which makes me realize that the K-Directorate agent must not have tried to access the assassin’s “powers,†so to speak. HOW IS SHE GOING TO GET OUT OF THIS, HOW MANY MORE CLIFFHANGERS WILL I HAVE TO DO DEAL WITH.
The video for “Reckoning†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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