Review of Episode 10: The Index
3/9/2005
Dixon: "He's using us. Again."
Spies spying on spies. We're revisiting SD-6 in a big way,
and that's just fine with me.
As much as I loved the arrest and helicopter sequence in
Paris, the big moment here was Nadia crashing her car into
a building, shooting the bad guys, and rescuing Jack. Nadia
proved herself (this time) to be a better person than Sydney:
as Nadia asked, would Sydney rescue Sloane under similar circumstances
for Nadia's sake? I wonder if Nadia would have rescued Jack
if she knew that Jack killed Irina? If, in fact, he did. The
jury's still out on that one.
Nadia has no emotional foundation; her loyalties are built
on shifting sands, and there's no one she can truly trust.
She certainly can't trust Sloane if she has a brain in her
head, and she keeps finding good reasons not to trust Sydney.
It's odd, seeing Sydney on the wrong side of an issue like
this.
Sloane: "I take it you'll have no problem bringing Nadia
up to speed?"
Weiss: "Yeah, I already did, last night."
Sloane: (pause) "Excuse me?"
and
Weiss: "What do you think, Arvin?"
Sloane looks at him.
Weiss: "... Mr. Sloane?"
The strained faux birthday party for Nadia was my favorite
scene. :) Gee, do I detect some Nadia-induced tension between
Arvin Sloane and Eric Weiss? I sure wouldn't want to be Sloane's
prospective son-in-law. Ouch.
I expected Sloane to be innocent, this time; I suspected
he was secretly bringing down the old Alliance, and son of
a gun, he was. But I still don't think Sloane is on the side
of the angels. Why do Jack and Sloane want the blackmail list?
Did Sloane (and possibly Jack) have anything to do with those
three dead agents in Sarajevo? Is Jack playing along with
Sloane for some reason of his own?
Vaughn got a new subplot: he discovered (via the mysterious,
disappearing Rosemary) that his father may not have died in
1979 after all. Lest we forget, Bill Vaughn was supposedly
killed by Irina Derevko. If he wasn't, that raises some interesting
questions.
The wonderful Angela Bassett was back as Director Chase,
and did several intense scenes with Dixon. They're both African
American and of an age; they make an extremely attractive
couple. And they were flirting; I saw it! ("If anything
else comes up, be sure to call me." "Anything?")
I'd love to see Dixon happy again. Although no one ends up
happy on "Alias."
Bits and pieces:
-- This was the second time Sydney pulled a job in Sloane's
study. We really are revisiting SD-6.
-- Safe to say that Jack and Sloane are *not* party animals.
Interesting that they chose to have Jack bring the party down
with talk about the grim future of energy crisis and global
conflict. Just social commentary? Or does Ford have a hybrid
now, or something? (I tend not to absorb commercials.)
-- I did notice that Nadia was driving a bright, red Ford
Mustang when she rescued Jack. I don't know cars, but I know
a horse when I see one.
-- Will we ever meet Vaughn's mother? Do you suppose she
was a Russian double agent, too?
-- Sloane: "Sydney, figure out a way to get yourself
arrested." And she did, very funny. I liked Dixon's stuffy
lawyer pose, too.
-- That helicopter jump made me cringe: very scary.
-- Sydney: "Je ne parlais francais *pas*!"
-- Nadia: "I'm so glad you didn't listen." Sydney:
"I usually don't."
-- Sloane to Nadia: "Because of you, I am a changed
man." Time will tell. Truth takes time.
-- This week's itinerary: Paris, Brussels, and Mesa, Arizona.
-- This week's hot look: Nadia in that yummy red party dress.
I also loved Sydney with fishnet stockings and pixie stix
in her hair, although I bet those stix drove them nuts while
they were filming.
Another very good "Alias" episode, and the standard
four out of five spies,
Billie
- Review by Billie Doux
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