SYDNEY BRISTOW
Facade – Episode 15
“I Hate It When You Do That!”

Well fans, I loved this episode. After last week’s debacle, this one was pure wonderful unadulterated fun and excitement, even funny at times. Definitely, a much better episode than last week’s.

The first act opens when an Irish bomb squad attempting to disarm a rather nasty little bomb situated in a national bank building somewhere in Belfast, Ireland. Unfortunately, for the bomb squad, they were vaporized when they cut the wrong cord. Back in Los Angeles, the bomb’s inventor is revealed to be a Daniel Ryan, disenchanted explosives expert with the Royal Navy. Intercepted communications has revealed Ryan wants to sell his bomb to the Covenant. The CIA now must decide whether to be the Covenant or to be the CIA in order to find out where the second bomb is planted, which according to the information they have, is somewhere in the U. S.

Sydney goes to see Lysanker, the man who defected from the Covenant, in order to find out if he knows Ryan and what contacts if any he has with the Covenant. He reveals that Ryan has a Covenant contact by the name of Vladamir Indroshnov (excuse the spelling, but I do it mostly by phonetics). He also says that Ryan stays at Room 305 at the Commodore Hotel in Moscow.

Plan A: They kidnap Ryan from a Belfast bar, setting up a con. Weiss goes in as the CIA agent who takes Ryan into custody, supposedly, before the Covenant arrives. The police and Weiss are then “killed” in the alley. Wahoo, it’s Syd and Vaughn, disguised as Covenant agents. Sydney finishes off Weiss. Ryan is scared, impressed…what?

At the beginning of Act 2, we see the CIA building the Commodore Hotel’s room 305, the hall, and an elevator. Everything is in place so they bring in the unconscious Ryan and put him on the bed. Marshall wakes him up with authentic sounds of Moscow. Dixon, Syd in disguise and Jack watch the monitor as he comes too. He checks the papers, the television. He calls to the desk where Jack, as the Russian clerk, tells him that Vladamir called to say he was sending an envoy to confirm the deal and that he could be trusted.

Just then, Sydney, as Eva, walks into the room holding a manila envelope. She tells him the Covenant will deal, but they want him to call off the next demonstration since they want no more attention called to the bombings. He still will not deal until he talks with his other contact, Ivana Paneche. Lysanker who is with Jack and the others watching on the television tells Sydney on the Com link that Ivana is dead. That Ryan is testing her. Sydney responds correctly. He still won’t deal and leaves the room even after Sydney as Eva tells him she will kill him. He tells her she’s bluffing and he’s calling the bluff.

At the elevator with Sydney pointing a gun at him, Ryan waits for the doors to open. When they do, Lysanker is there to greet him. Sydney is surprised but manages to keep a grip on herself. Lysanker convinces Ryan that the highest official in the Covenant has approved the purchase. Ryan agrees to the contract, but he now wants Julian Sark, the North American Co-chair of the Covenant to be involved. Oh, oh, problems for the CIA. He tells Sydney that since he agreed, he has terms too.

In the rotunda, Jack, Syd, and Dixon ask Lysanker if Ryan ever interacted with Sark. He is ambiguous, but tells them he’s pretty sure he hasn’t. Now it is up to the CIA to get him to give the information to Sark.

In the hotel room, Ryan opens his door to Julian Sark, aka Michael Vaughn. I think Vaughn looked even more handsome in his dark clothes.

Act 3 opens with Ryan telling “Sark” that the disk is on the Rome to Paris flight. He will have an associate known to him meet him with the information he can bring to the Covenant. Oh, oh another problem. We know, however, that Jack and the rest of them will quickly figure how to get this worked out.

Now we’re on board the plane. Vaughn is there. Sark kills a couple of passengers, assumes the man’s name and ticket. He is in first class when Vaughn spots him and tells L.A. They are trying to find what connection he has to Ryan.

Sydney has called Arvin Sloane who tells her about Ryan. It seems that Christopher Ryan, Daniel’s brother, was the more political of the two, but a bad customer also. He was linked to several bombings, but nothing has been heard from him for two years. As Sloane hangs up, we see that he has bedded Judy Barnett. Oh my God!

Back in L. A., Marshall brings up a picture of Christopher Ryan. Sydney is horrified. She killed the man for the Covenant. It had been the test they put her through after she had convinced them she had been brainwashed. They now decide that there must be a bomb on the plane. Vaughn is told to take Sark into custody and they will extradite him from the French when the dust is settled. Sark is locked into one of the plane’s bathrooms. Vaughn asks Sydney to check on any maintenance done. They find that the back-up electronic box was serviced two days prior. Vaughn tells the pilot to start to land. Then he finds the box and taking off the cover, sees the bomb and tells them to get Marshall.

This act was fast paced and exciting. The bomb is on the plane and Vaughn and Marshall try to decide what to do. Meanwhile the CIA has to decide whether to expose the façade they have been perpetrating on Ryan in order to elicit his help on getting the bomb defused.

As Vaughn looks at it, he sees something that is liquid and seems to be rising. Marshall correctly ascertains that the plane will blow at a certain altitude. Vaughn races to the cockpit and tells the Captain that he’d better bring the plane up. That the bomb is programmed to go off at a certain altitude. They have only two possibly two and a half hours left of fuel. Oh oui, oui!

Okay, so go to Plan B. “The walls come tumbling down” to paraphrase a song. Sydney appears as herself and tells Ryan that he is in the hands of the CIA. He watches as the walls part, ceiling rolls back and then Weiss and Lysanker appear. Weiss obviously is very much alive and Lysanker tells him he defected from the Covenant two months previously.

Back on the plane, Vaughn and Marshall try to figure out how to deactivate the bomb. It’s obvious that Marshall speaks an alien language and Vaughn is frustrated. So Vaughn finds the doo-hickey with four wires leading from it.(I have no wish to go into the techno gibberish I heard, so the doo-hickey stays.) Marshall tells him to cut the red one. Wire cutters in hand, Vaughn reaches in, when Marshall yells for him to stop.

“I hate it when you do that!” cries Vaughn. (I chuckled at that line.)

Of course, Marshall knows what the bomb squad in Belfast didn’t realize…the red wire would blow the bomb. Vaughn understandably is upset, but gamely continues to work under Marshall’s instructions. “Speak English!” he says finally. Marshall tells him he has to find someone on the plane that can tell him what he’s looking at…

Back in Los Angeles, Sydney tells Ryan she understands the hatred he has for the Covenant. They killed his brother. She tells him how they held her for two years after brainwashing her and here we see flashbacks. The man she loves is on the plane she begs him to save him and they will see to it that Sark is punished.

In the final act, Vaughn has brought Sark into the belly of the plane where the bomb is located. He can tell Marshall what he sees and between the two of them, they find the correct suppressor. Vaughn cuts the wire. Now they have to find a container that will convince the bomb it is still at 19,000 feet. Searching for the container, Sark finds a knife and secretes it in his pocket. Vaughn finds the container and they put the bomb inside “verrrrrrry carefully!”

Meanwhile in LA, Ryan gives them a code to deactivate the bombs. This can be phoned to the plane. As they punch it in, Vaughn removes the casing from bomb. It is supposed to turn green. Instead, he stares in horror as the bomb is activated when they punch in the phone code: the last four numbers, 11/24, the date of Chris Ryan’s birthday. Suddenly in op tech, Marshall is frightened. Racing into the room, he tells them that his bomb has been activated also.

Ryan grins triumphantly, “My contact Ivana told me my brother was killed by Julia Thorne.”

Now Dixon gives orders. They got three minutes to get sensitive material out of the headquarters and the people gone. Sydney is watches Marshall try to deactivate the bomb. In the debriefing room, Jack walks in saying he will take care of the prisoner personally and that they should help moving people out. They leave. Jack pulls Ryan out of his chair and getting a hold on him that cuts off his breath, tells him he’s going to die. In Marshall’s office, Sydney sees this on his monitor screen. She races into the briefing room as Ryan falls ‘dead’. Jack tells her to get the defibrillator, which he left outside the door. He takes a syringe filled with adrenaline…humm…same stuff Syd used on Vaughn when she found him in Cap Ferrat in France –and jams it into Ryan’s heart. Sydney uses 200 jewels on the paddles, twice, and he rises up gasping. Jack leans in and tells him if he doesn’t give him the deactivation codes for both bombs, they’re going to do it all over again. Oui, oui, let’s do it again! I think not, decides Ryan.

The codes are transmitted and both bombs are deactivated with a second left on the clock. (I heave a sigh of relief).

Back on the plane, Vaughn starts out with handcuffs to put on Sark, who slashes at him with the knife. Vaughn subdues Sark with a few wonderful moves. Hooray for Vaughn, the slippery guy won’t be free for at least an episode, we hope. In Los Angeles, Ryan is led off and he is not happy and stares at Sydney with hatred. Oh dear, does this mean he might be back?

Sydney is exhausted and goes to her car, crying with relief as Vaughn drives up and he pulls her into his arms and hugs her tightly.

Now I have a few remarks.

Richie Guerin who played Ryan was terrific. He won the Golden Globe for his comedy. This Alias gig was wonderful. I hope he will be back. He made a delightful villain, who in the future could chase Sydney around the world bent on revenge.

I also enjoyed the Lysanker character. I hope we see him some more.

I know some think this episode was a soap opera. I thought it was more horse opera. A western brought up to date with all the ingredients to make it exciting. They really packed in a lot of action. I thought it extremely well done with suspense in almost every scene.



DISCUSS

Sloane and Judy Barnett? Holy Communion! Okay readers, what do you think? Are they playing each other or will they become partners? Don’t be shy. Let me know what you think.

Sark is in the CIA’s hands. Will he land back in prison?

Do you think Jack did the right thing to Ryan?

Was Vaughn telling Weiss the truth when he told him his marriage was fantastic? His wife, Lauren is in Washington DC, visiting her parents and doing what else? Any thoughts about where this is headed?


Not many questions this week because we weren’t left with many to ask. It was a well-done, straight forward action/adventure.

Where did all your readers go for this column? Oh well, I'm catching up, so I'm reading it now :D

Honestly, this frightened me...I don't know what is going on with them, nor do I care to...I think Sloane may have charmed her, trying for intel, but I don't think she is without her own plan...

Probably not. I think somebody somewhere will come up with something...Like Lauren, who wasn't in the episode at all, but seems to have become Fuck buddies with Sark.

The right thing? Most definitely not. The thing that got the desired results...oh yeah! High fives to Jack for doing what needed to be done! (even if it did save sodding Vaughn's life)

I seemed to have missed this part, but I'm actually wondering on the sidelines what Lauren's parents think she does!

A great column for a good episode. But it needed more Sark, more stabbing of Vaughn *woohoo* and I've started to like Lauren in her new capacity as a baddy, so I've missed her.

hat hug at the end was so cute though...I can't stand Vaughn, but he is so right for Sydney it makes me ill.