SPOILER ALERT!! Episode plot points will be discussed in the following article. If you don't want to know, read no further.
Some ups, some downs. But on the whole I enjoyed this week's episode.
For the first time in a while I actually laughed out loud at some of the scenes. It was a welcome break to the pall of doom that hung over most of the episodes last season.
Syd and Marshall enter a bank in the Bahamas, passing Vaughn arguing with a bad accent (was he French, British, confused?), on their way to a private meeting. Dixon, in full Rastafarian guise, and Vaughn have a good, old, knock-down brawl. During the distraction Syd and Marshal work their magic, breaking into a vault and accessing something.
Party time! Weiss' birthday party sees the gang actually having fun and hanging out. Weiss puts the moves on Nadia and it appears to be paying off. Finally Weiss is going to get some loving. He has long been one of my favorite characters. His sarcastic attitude and no-crap demeanor have always helped to balance Vaughn's bipolar whining. I continue to hope that Weiss will get more screen time, and this episode appeared to answer that.
Jack, of course, crashes the party, trying to find out if Sydney has told Nadia that Jack is the one who killed Irina. She hasn't, obviously, but insists that she needs to, that Nadia will find out somehow and it would be better to come from her. Jack isn't convinced.
The mission unfolds. Some thief has the VALTA computer. Ooh, scary. Of course, this is just an excuse for some butt-kicking. The team decides that they won't break into a thief's house, rather they need to be invited. So Sydney ends up in a rolled car (on fire too!). Bishop (he is the thief) finds her, comforts her and takes her home with plans to care for her, and devious hints of something else (remember folks, he brutally killed his wife three years ago). Creepy stalker man, he peeps on Syd while she is in the shower and hints at things to come afterward.
He leaves, Syd gets what she needs and on the way out he shows back up. Meanwhile the CIA finds the VALTA thanks to Syd and destroy it, Weiss in the lead. But the team falls, and no one knows what has happened. Bishop gets the call and Syd ends up tied up next to Weiss. I suppose he doesn't buy into the "Load Officer" cover anymore, eh?
Meanwhile Jack has been giving Nadia her psych profile, attempting to discover how she will react to the news regarding her mother's death. On their way to help rescue Syd, Jack gives Nadia a file containing the identity of Irina's killer. Right. We believe you Jack.
Sydney and Weiss escape from their bonds amidst Weiss' cries of "This is black ops, isn't it?" Even in the tight spots the excitement on Weiss' face cracked me up. Good work. In the end, as Sydney is on the ground, Bishop's gun pointing right at her we hear shots and gouts of blood pour from his chest. He falls to the ground and Nadia cooly walks up and unloads another half dozen or so rounds into him. Sydney looks shocked, "This is how you treat the bad guys?" she asks. That is when we find out what Jack told her. Bishop was Irina's killer.
I enjoyed the moments of lightness in this episode. They were a welcome relief and proved that the writers are working to get back on track. It was also refreshing to see Sydney having fun with friends and not be worried that one of them was a psychopathic killer (we know Jack is, so no surprise there). Jack frustrates me in his incessant need to run from truth, but I think this is an inherent weakness that JJ Abrams has built into the character, one that could, if used correctly, flesh out his character more. Vaughn continues to be a bit too whiney and overprotective of Sydney. Funny since we all know she could kick his butt six wasy 'til Sunday if she wanted. Hopefully he will grow a pair soon. And while some fans may be frustrated at the lack of a cliffhanger ending, I think it was the smart idea to make at least the first few episodes of the season more self-contained and accessible. I doubt this will be a season long issue, and fully expect some great tense endings coming up.
Of note, for the first time I decided to glance at the "Official" Alias forums on ABC.com. Nightmare of viewing and organization aside, there appear to be a lot of frustrated fans. Interesting. I am easy to please, I admit it. But I have enjoyed the first two episodes of this season, and while there are still things I think need to be addressed from the past, I fully expect we will still catch glimpses of them along the way.