Review of Episode 4: Ice
1/19/2005
Vaughn: "So the mission was a bust."
Weiss: "So to speak."
Way too gross-out horror movie for me. Limbs breaking off,
exploding frozen people, needles in the eyeballs? I think
they just hit an all-time low. Although I'll admit it was
also edge-of-your-seat, particularly that final
fight scene with the needle... but maybe it was just the nausea
kicking in.
Were they going for black humor, perhaps? Did they not pull
it off,
perhaps?
There were things I liked. The whole Vaughn/forgiveness subplot
was
definitely okay; Vaughn went to a dark place last season,
continuity is a
good thing, and confession is good for the soul. It makes
sense that Vaughn felt that he needed punishment; why else
would he encourage Dixon to keep hitting him? I thought that
telling Kiera that he'd actually killed Lauren was taking
it too far, though. I sure wouldn't trust a stranger who told
me something like that, no matter how desperate I was or how
cute he looked in a turned-around collar.
The Jack/Nadia photograph thing was intriguing. It felt like
either a lie
-- Jack knew who the baby really was and chose not to say
for some reason of his own -- and/or a possible set-up for
a future plot twist. Maybe we're going to get a new Spy Family
cousin. If the baby really belonged to Irina's sister, which
sister was it? Katya or (pause to check an old review for
her name) the as-yet unseen Yelena?
The final scene on the cargo plane was endearing. Most men
getting an
invitation like that from Jennifer Garner would probably wake
up instantly
and jump out of their seat.
Bits and pieces:
-- Ice-5 may be a tribute to the very similarly behaving
Ice-9 in Kurt
Vonnegut's end-of-the-world novel, "Cat's Cradle."
-- People kept holding frozen people in their arms. I think
I'd be worried
about freezing up, too.
-- I thought Keene would get the needle in that final fight
scene. Although
it worked better dramatically with Kiera.
-- Sloane continues to make an effective leader. Sydney continues
to needle him whenever she has the opportunity, this time
with that remark about "evil geniuses."
-- That photo didn't look much like Lena Olin. I wonder why.
Oh my ... do
you think Irina is still alive, and they re-cast her???
-- This episode was written and directed by "Angel"
alum Jeffrey Bell, which might explain attempt at black humor.
-- Weiss: "Killed? He exploded like a frozen pinata."
-- Kiera: "From time to time, they send me a squeamish
one. It never ends well."
-- This week's itinerary: A nasty market in Algeria, and
a nasty hospital in
Montenegro.
-- This week's hot look: Vaughn as a sexy, drunken priest.
He had that
naughty, flirty vibe down pat. Vartan is such a cutie pie.
-- Bonus hot look: I've noticed that Sydney has started wearing
glasses this season. They look terrific on her. And it's good
to remind people that men *do* make passes at girls who wear
glasses. :)
This one wasn't as unpleasant the second time I watched it,
when I was ready for the exploding bodies, but still... three
out of five stars,
Billie
- Review by Billie Doux
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