SYDNEY BRISTOW
Crossings – Episode 12
“I’m Moving On.”

What an episode! WOW! Not only that, but Irina was back, well, not in person, but there in spirit and on the computer. So many MORE questions started flying in my mind that last week’s episode definitely was not a full disclosure. Jack was superb and little by little, we seem to be learning more of his secrets and this one was a surprise. He has not one but two sister-in-laws.

Our episode opens with Sydney and Vaughn dragged out to stand against a wall and a firing squad opposite. The officer raises his sword, shouts and a gun erupts. Oops, I forgot, they kissed in the cell before that occurred.

Scene dissolves before we see their bloody bodies, and we are taken back 72 hours earlier. Dixon is briefing his staff. A defector from the Covenant wants to come in, but he’s in North Korea. Sydney and Vaughn go to get him. They have only a fifteen-minute window, that’s all he will give them to pick him up. They will leave in four hours. Lauren stops Sydney and asks her to join Vaughn and herself for dinner on Tuesday.

Next, we see a man who looks Covenant talking to Lauren as she rides in his taxi. He wants to know which airfield they will be taking off from as Sydney and Vaughn are to die. Now we see Lauren’s slight consternation, but he wants to know the airfield’s name. She tells him she can find out in a half hour. When she returns to the CIA, she sees Vaughn’s desk has the folder on North Korea. She is about to open it when Vaughn accosts her and demands

“What were you doing?”

Oops, caught? No, just that he wanted to know why she invited Sydney to go out to dinner. Lauren says she thought getting together would give her a chance to know Sydney better and maybe they could be friends. She says she will drive him home, but he refuses saying he has to leave from Dover, which is only five minutes from there. He leaves and she takes out the cell phone and tells the Covenant man which airfield. It is there, another Covenant operative shoots darts into the pilot and co-pilot.

Meanwhile somewhere in L.A. Sark get orders from the first Covenant agent to go to North Korea to pick up the defector. Sark is a little peeved that demands are being made without respect. He reminds the agent it was his money (8 hundred mil) that was funding the Covenant. I suspect he also is beginning to think of himself as a Romanoff with rank and privileges accorded to royalty and not getting it. Tough buns, kid.

The CIA plane is on its way when Sydney and Vaughn have an argument about how he was treating her the past few weeks. Sydney is upset and Vaughn, operating as Jack asked him to, is being cold.

Finally, Sydney says, “This isn’t working. When we get back, one of us has to go.”

At that moment, the plane lurches then starts down. The two look at each other and rush to the cockpit only to find the two men dead. Vaughn drags their bodies out while Sydney levels off the plane. He joins her and they are in trouble as the radar screen blips. They realize a missile is headed their way. They know they are in North Korean airspace and Vaughn, piloting the plane, dodges the missile. Sydney sees another coming. She turns off the engines and the two rockets collide in a nice explosion.

A brief scene reveals soldiers on guard when the plane screams by at a low altitude. They jump into trucks to chase it down. Meanwhile back in L.A., Jack tells Lauren that the Covenant was responsible for bringing down the plan and that what Vaughn and Sydney need is their strength. Dixon tells everyone that he has word from the Pentagon via Langley that the CIA is to stand down. Because of the tenuous relationship between North Korea and the U. S., nothing is to be done regarding Sydney and Vaughn. Jack looks at him then leaves. After he does, Dixon tells the agents that “screw them, we don’t rest until Sydney and Vaughn are back in our hands.”

Next, we see Jack in his car on his computer. I do love the music they play here, because it means he is going to connect with Irina.

“I need help.” He types and then waits.
“Long time, Jack. What brings you to my door?”
“Our daughter,” he responds.
“Trouble?”
“Downed in Q-cong province.”
“Alive?”
“?”
“How can I help?”
“Need allies in North Korea.”
“I may know someone who can help. I’ll be in touch.”


The scene shifts briefly to the crash site. Sydney is not able to get a message through to the CIA. She does note they are about 45 minutes from their destination at a market place. Jeep trucks are heard in the distance. They have to get out and leave nothing for the North Koreans. Working together, they strip papers and dump them close to a fuel tank line. They run to a hill where Vaughn tosses a flare into the plane as the soldiers arrive. The plane explodes.

Back at the garage, Jack receives an email, origin unknown. We would all know that.

“Sydney’s apartment. 8:00 p.m.”

As Jack is about to leave he receives a call from Sloane wanting to know about Sydney. He says he knows the Premiere of China. Jack tells him he’ll let him know. Yeah, sure.

Sydney and Vaughn are running along a dirt road. They stop to catch their breath. Sydney sees his arm is bleeding. She wraps it and ties it off hard. He says ouch and she tells him “that’s for being a jerk on the plane.”

At 8:00 p.m., Jack is in Sydney’s apartment reading. There is a knock on the door. He opens it to see a close-cropped dark-haired woman standing there. She tells Jack that Sydney is alive. Jack wants to know what her name is, but she continues into the room stating that for Sydney’s safe return he will have to do something for her.

“Of course,” is his answer. He knows one doesn’t get this kind of favor for nothing.
“I need you to kill Arvin Sloane.” Oops, now who is she?

Next scene shows Weiss telling Lauren that Sydney and Vaughn are alive. Now she’s worried. Oh, oh, somebody’s goofed. Meanwhile our heroes spot a truck abandoned beside the road. Vaughn sets about to repair it. As he does, he tells Sydney that their relationship is crazy and he is having problems.

Sydney then blurts out, “I slept with Will.” She goes on to tell him she’s moving on, not with Will, but generally.” Now here is the stupid part about this whole conversation. He looks HURT and makes her feel GUILTY! Waaah, what is going on with this wuss? (Sorry shippers, but come on now…he’s married and she isn’t! She can sleep with whomever she wants at this point. He left her first.) Sometimes I wonder about the writers on the show. More about them later.

They drive into the town of Gah-Li where they are to meet the defector. There he is sitting at a table with three sugar cubes at the edge.

At CIA headquarters, Lauren calls the Covenant man and tells him that Sydney and Vaughn are still alive. She snaps that she’s put her life on the line to send him the news.

In Koreatown Jack and the mystery woman enter an establishment. She tells the outside bodyguard that Black Sparrow wants to see the boss. She pushes her way inside with Jack following. Jack watches her approach the man eating with a lovely companion. The Korean is surprised. She tells him she is here because he owes her a debt. She needs an extraction from North Korea. He shakes his head saying it’s too dangerous. She picks up two chopsticks and jams them with extraordinary force into his hands pinning him. (Good grief, I just finished writing a chapter in the Di Regno Effect where Irina does something similar.) He naturally screams and the bodyguards rush to his defense. Jack puts them both onto the floor, but one cuts him on the right side.

The woman puts an envelope down between the pinned hands, saying, “Don’t fail me.”

In North Korea, Vaughn is about to leave the truck when Sydney holds him back. Sark approaches the defector, telling him he is the CIA agent he expects. They have a short conversation as Sark says he’s from the Portland office. He certainly lost the British accent. Sydney holds Sark hostage with a knife to his Mr. Johnson and Vaughn tells him to be careful and he would live to have children. He tells the defector that they are the real CIA and “to trust us.” (There’s that word again!) That doesn’t stop Sark when the North Koreans show up searching for the two people from the plane. He runs. The North Koreans capture the three.

Back in Sydney’s apartment, Jack’s wound is being tended to by the woman. He looks at her, then asks which of Irina’s sisters is she: Elena or Ekaterina. She tells him she hasn’t been called that by her sisters since she was a child. They call her Katya. She knows Irina didn’t tell him about them.

He says, “finding out you are married to a KGB agent drives you to find out all you can about her true identity.”
Katya replies, “You were married to her for 5 years without suspecting. Her love must have been intoxicating.”
“What have you to gain by Arvin Sloane’s death?”
“Call it a preventative measure.”

Sydney, Vaughn, and the defector who are in the same jail cell. The North Korean officer comes in to question them. Vaughn doesn’t answer and is pistol whipped. The officer screams at Sydney who tells him with flair she speaks only English. She too is pistol-whipped. The defector, fearful, tells the officer the other two are CIA agents. He is removed from the cell and a soldier strikes Vaughn with his rifle twice and then Sydney.

Jack is in Zurich. He has a three o’clock appointment with Sloane.
Just as Sloane is about to let Jack into his office, he receives a phone call from a familiar voice, Katya’s. She warns Sloane about friends who might turn on him, including the one waiting to see him. Jack then receives a call from her, telling him to abort the assassination. Jack and Sloane have a few uncomfortable moments dancing around the reason Jack was there to see him. Jack tells him he found someone inside North Korea who will help to find them. It’s obvious Sloane now does not trust Jack.

Sydney and Vaughn look at one another. It’s obvious to them they will not make it out of North Korea. They kiss briefly. The soldiers come in and pull them outside. They stand them in front of a wall. The officer gives an order. A machine gun fires and the other soldiers as well as the officer go down in a hail of bullets. Sorry about the cliché, but it works well here. The soldier who killed the others runs up to tell them.
”My name is Quan and I’m here to help you.”

Vaughn and Sydney kill the other soldiers while pulling out the defector. It’s obvious that since he was their objective, they were not leaving without him. They continue pulling him into the CIA center much to the delight of Dixon and Marshall. Lauren comes into sight and Vaughn rushes over to her. Sydney watches it sadly. Then she sees her father. She runs into his arms, hugging him tightly.

“How did you find me?”
“Your mother found you.” We can see Sydney is startled and maybe a little bit confused.

The final scene is my favorite. I am so the romantic. This scene, for me, really rocked. Jack meets Katya in front of the fountain at the Natural Science Building in L. A. He tells her he knows she warned Sloane and that any trust he had built with the man was now gone.

“What I can’t figure out is how will this play to Irina’s advantage, or to your own.”
She answers, “One day when you least expect it, Irina’s intentions will present themselves to you and when that day comes, they will be unmistakable.”

Jack thanks her for helping Sydney. She kisses him lightly, saying that was from Irina. Then she kisses him again, hard and long. He asks her whom that was from and she walks off, waving her hand, saying “Too many questions.”

ANALYSIS
That is what I love about this show. Every week something different and another set of questions. It is interesting that we still hear nothing about Lindsey’s murder. There is Lauren sitting at the briefing, obviously still working for the NSC and the Covenant. Why hasn’t anything been said about that! Wasn’t anyone in government circles curious about why he was killed or was he universally disliked?

Then Irina in her computer conversation with Jack says it’s been a long time. Heck he was talking with her during Reunion via computer. He didn’t have time during the next eight weeks. Moreover, we never did know if she had the scoop on Lazeray. She promised to download the information she had to Jack. Did he get it? Damn, I hate loose strings in a story and there are far too many in Alias. Naturally, we writers pounce on anything to use for a new story.

Lauren is a puzzle. Last week, based on what had gone on before, I thought she had been brainwashed. This week, unnh uh, don’t think so. Still though, who is the intermediary contact?

DISCUSS
How does Irina know where Sydney’s apartment is?” Ah ha, that darn mole at CIA, that’s who told her. She supposedly has gone into hiding because of Sloane. That does bring up more questions. Did Sloane name her when he negotiated his pardon?

How does Sloane know about Sydney? All of a sudden, he calls Jack to tell him he can help Sydney in her plight. After all, he states, he knows the Premiere of China.s this another way for him to put Jack in the palm of his hand?

Is it just me or didn’t we all know from the beginning that Jack was married to Irina for ten years 1972-1982 when she fled? Why all of a sudden did the writers change the time frame. After all, Sydney was six when her mother left and again, according to the time frame set up at the beginning of Alias, she was born in 1975. It drives me bananas when they screw up. It is possible they did not catch it, but most of the people on the production staff have been there from the start and should know better. After all, there was the dialogue at the beginning of Enemy Walks In wherein Irina she’d been waiting thirty years for this. Sooo? Your thoughts on this?

Irina sent Katya to Jack. Do you think she knew he’d figure out the relationship and if so, why hadn’t she told him before? What do you think her motives are? How about the intentions that will be unmistakable?

What about Sydney and Vaughn? Do you think she’ll move on, generally? Let’s face it, they are going to have a difficult time working together. Will she work with Weiss or some other agent, leaving Vaughn behind to stew. Ah well, more problems and questions.

Did Jack ever tell Sydney he still loved Irina? Should he tell her? I ask this because of the look Sydney gave him when he told her her mother had found her.

Lenafan
Lots of good questions

In a nutshell I too wondered about teh whole five years marreid comment

it has alwaus been said it was 10 years before jack learned the rtruth so

why would this line be put in if not for a specific purpose?

something is a foot and perhaps Jack knew more than he was ever telling

we never knew that he knew he had sister inlaws etc

maybe he was brainwashed maybe Irina and Jack worked together for a while

I think Sydney knows that Jack and Irina had and have something going on- but its not something they actually talk about- I think it is strange to both Jack and Syd tha t they care about the woman who left them and also normal for a daughter to not want all the details about a parents relationship


all will be revealed as this season progresses I am sure

brenda_wood Posted on Jan 20 2004, 04:14 PM

The other thing could be that she said it by mistake and they didn't catch it until she was gone OR the writers simply goofed. I hate that they are careless. We fans are cognizant of their histories. They should not try to think we don't care.

Ah remember though Jack has secrets. He's said that a couple of times. It looks like those sisters might not be the best relatives to have. Looks like Katya is as bad as Irina when she wants to be.

Our Jack brainwashed? I don't think so. :angry:

-
Yeah, like most young people, the idea that parents are actually having sex is ugh! :reallyexcited:

B)

Wow lenafan...those are some VERY good Q's for this eppy!!
First off..THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for the mentioning of the years that Jack and Irina/Laura were together, married, before he knew the truth about her....I was just boggling my mind because it was TEN years..not five that she decieved him....I asked a few different people what that was all about and they were just as clueless.....I don't believe that it was a mixup...I think it was on purpose....the purpose..I don't know...but BOY it's got me thinkin' now!!!
Okay...as for Irina knowing where Sydney lives...HELLO? It's her only precious daughter...she'll find out no matter what where she is living!! I do believe that there is a mole on the inside though, like you said....and watch it be someone you'd least expect...like Marshall or something!! :lol: And for Sloane naming Irina for his pardon DOES make a whole lotta sense!! But BOY is Sloane asking for it by messing with Irina!! Now that we know about not one but TWO sisters and have SEEN one in action...they tend to stick together, it looks like to me, and we don't even KNOW what the third sister is like!! :P
On the question that Irina sent her sister to help Jack out with Sydney....I think that Irina would know that Jack would figure it out...I think she did it cause she knew she herself couldn't come to help Sydney, be it cause of the US gov't or her leaving Jack and Sydney again for a second time...but she knew that the next best step in helping her daughter would be to send someone who she knew and trusted to do the job right..her own sister.....I'm just wondering, where's this third sister and what is she like?? :blink:
The Vaughn and Sydney relationship...sheesh..I can't even say anything on that...cause I'm a big S/V'r and what Sydney said to Vaughn about "I'm moving on"...I think is a load of bull so that Vaughn could stop feeling so bad....but that was BEFORE he said what he said in the cell!! So...I think they'll be able to work together...but Sydney's going to get the short end of the stick....and there HAS to be more Lauren/Sydney confrontations...cause THOSE are fun to watch!!!
Ohh! She just HAS to be the one to catch Lauren though!! That would put the icing on the cake!! :reallyexcited:
And on the fact of if Sydney knows if Jack loves Irina and if he should tell her.....shooooot! I think she already knows...if not KNOWS knows....I think she suspects and can see something of it in the way her father talked to her about Irina saving her.....They're her parents...she has to be able to believe that she came to be from love...not as just an accident....she's too much of a great person!!! :wub:
k...till next time!!! I loved your Q's on this eppy lenafan....they were great to eat up...chew on a bit....and spit back at ya!! :P
ttyl!! :hi:
Colly E. :bunny:

Colly E. Posted on Jan 21 2004, 09:56 PM

I thought I was hearing things! Wait, wait what's with "I've waited almost 30 years for this." Words that Irina says to Sydney when she enters the room Sydney is in -- "Enemy Walks In." AND the title of the last show of the first season "Almost 30 Years!" Dialogue etc during that year: Sydney is six when her mother leaves...
Married ten years, I know, at least two or three times. Then I thot are they trying to keep Sydney younger, Irina and Jack younger. Did they not know we are fanatics, so don't mess with our characters. Geeesh!

B)

Yay! My turn :D

*barf* You had to remind me.

Itch-bay!!! And I used to like her. *sigh*

Arnold Vosloo! He's South African also :D

Actually, somewhere in here, I think that JJ was also showing us that it wasn't Sark who turned Lauren, as I originally thought it was. But that tie makes me suspicious...he knows she is in the CIA, he calls her to 'handle things', and yet he doesn't piece together that maybe sh is the intel in the CIA? I dunno about that...

I KNOW! Like, I'm sorry, but he lost faith first, and now he acts like she's commited adultery! Um, not bloody likely.

Hehehe...and I think Katya has heard way to many stories about Jack...I think she is intoxicated by him!!! :lol:

I totally dig that phrase! And hopefully that means that we see Irina again. I swear, we had better find out more about her by the end of this season or JJ is a dead man...

I agree, but also...how did he know sloanes end game, and was Rambaldi really the end game he was reffering to???

I just try and breathe deep and ignore it. It just bugs me so much< i pretend it doesn't exist, and make up my own timeline. That's how Jack and Irina can both be 47 in ADUaNtG. Because of all the inconsistencies. ANd there are a LOT of them. *sighs* *cough*eggs*cough*

I dunno if he's evr told anyone things like that. I mean, wouldn't that be weird enough for poor Syd?

Another great column! Hope Alias gets better still!!!

Oh and a little off-topic tid-bit from Television Without Pity on episode 4 from this season:
"A Missing Link - An episode that sucks is what's missing. For the first time this season, JJ and crew came up with a plot that involved Justin Theroux, Syd diving nineteen floors into a pool without being pulverized, Super Bad Spy Daddy, Elephant marital spats, angry pregnant women, Satan Sloane, a Vaughn stabbing, and the tiniest bit of Sark action. And Justin Theroux. Shirtless. Vaughn who?"

Here here!