Review of Episode 9: The Horizon
12/14/05
Vaughn: "I'm back."
Sydney: "What took you so long?"
Vaughn: "Traffic light out on Venice."
That was it? Is that all the Vaughn we're getting? Mutated
flashbacks?
This episode was more frustrating than romantic for me, sort
of like a surreal clip show. Recreating all of those Sydney/Vaughn
scenes couldn't have been easy. I remember all of them, of
course: Vaughn proposing, Vaughn dying, the Santa Monica Pier,
the prison cell in North Korea. I don't remember anything
related to the opener with the tea kettle. Did I forget it,
or was it supposed to be new?
The bad guys want Sydney's baby. Why? What does it have to
do with Irina, Vaughn, and SD-6? Was all this a confusing
glimpse of the big mystery that will make sense by the end
of the season? That map that they were trying to get Sydney
to remember was from very early in season one, and Desantis
said they have been searching for "the Horizon"
for thirty years. Does all this, the baby and "the Horizon,"
sound like Rambaldi, or am I just projecting?
Sydney knew on a basic level that what she was seeing wasn't
real, certainly enough to give them the wrong name from the
map. Vaughn constantly told Sydney that she needed to let
him go. Was this just Sydney's own subconscious telling her
that they were using the memory of Vaughn against her? Vaughn
also said, "We'll find each other. We always find each
other." Maybe they will bring him back, after all. Nah.
They're not giving me anything I want this season. So far,
anyway. (Okay, I take that back. We did get a great Sark episode.
So maybe there's hope.)
Leaving aside my complete disappointment with the Vaughn
situation, I'm glad that Irina is back -- even though I don't
like her role in what they were doing to Sydney. (Although
it explains the constant discussion of not hurting the baby.
But what about hurting her pregnant daughter?) Jack and Irina
are the most interesting and romantic couple on the show.
And the fact that I'm saying this during a romantic Sydney/Vaughn
episode is sort of sad. I could see them trying hard for the
tragic romance, but I was too ticked to enjoy it.
In case I haven't made it clear enough, let me reiterate.
I don't want Vaughn flashbacks. I want Vaughn.
Bits and pieces:
-- Tom Grace was married seven years ago. The marriage lasted
three years, and didn't work out. The fact that it was mentioned
may be an indication that we're going to be meeting his ex
at some point. Let's hope she's not another double-crossing
spy wife, because we've gone way past our quota.
-- Sloane lied to Dixon about his contacts, even though he
did make a serious attempt to find Sydney, and showed sincere
concern for her.
-- It was good to have Amy Acker (Peyton) back, and working
with Irina. Did Sydney kill her with that needle? I hope not.
-- The one-eared Patrick Bauchau is dead already, and we
don't even know what he was really up to. Did they have to
throw away a perfectly good character actor like that? And
why wasn't Desantis afraid to die, after all those years in
suspended animation? It didn't make sense.
-- Renee was Wonder Woman again. That two blade thing was
very cool. And it was fun seeing her work with Jack.
-- Please. No more ear torture a la "Reservoir Dogs."
-- The little desert island fantasy felt like an homage to
"Lost."
-- Sydney: "My mom wasn't the best role model, you know."
She said this very early in the episode, a hint that this
was all about Irina.
-- Jack: "You're right. The suit shouldn't scare you.
What should scare you is, I'm a very concerned father."
-- This week's itinerary: San Francisco, Madrid, Hungary,
Sydney's brain, an oil tanker in the middle of an ocean.
Sigh. Two out of four spies,
Billie
- Review by Billie Doux
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