Alias 4.4: "Ice"
Written by Jeffrey Bell
Directed by Jeffrey Bell
In which Vaughn is forced to deal with his inner demons regarding Lauren when a mission requires him to make a connection with a woman with a dangerous past…
Status Report
This is the first episode featuring the talents of one of the expatriated writers from “Angel”, and the result is a character-based episode with just enough action to stay within the expectations of the audience. Some fans might not like the emphasis on character exploration this early in the season, but after a year devoted to plot excess, this is the direction the series needed to take. If the previous episode used a wide concept of “truth” to place each character in context, then this is a very narrow look at Vaughn and his mental state post-Lauren.
Hopefully, this is going to be an early trend. While the focus of the series has always been Sydney, the seasons have been dominated by her relationships with those in her world. The first episode of the season was mostly about her coming to terms with the changes in her universe, or rather, the complete lack of change. The previous episode pertained largely to her father, and how his continued reliance on deception continues to poison their relationship.
The next order of business must necessarily be Vaughn, especially now that Sydney doesn’t have to feel guilty for wanting him. That doesn’t mean that Vaughn is ready to move on quite so easily, of course, so the theme of this episode is forgiveness. Vaughn is still struggling to regain some sense of moral order, and one very good question is whether or not he can do his job while wearing sackcloth and dining on ashes.
The writers don’t make it simple. Everyone wants to have faith in Vaughn, especially since their job requires a certain amount of underlying dependence. They might not always get along, but in the field, none of them can worry about the ulterior motives of their boss or the emotional state of their partner. When the mission is on, everything else is secondary.
Except Vaughn is too eager to find forgiveness for his own actions to adequately gauge his ability to turn Kiera, and she’s an expert at hiding her true emotions. There’s no lack of warmth and honesty in her expression, even after he begins to show her the truth. But she’s also a creature of terrible duty, as her scenes with Sydney communicate very well. Kiera is damned good at compartmentalizing her emotions, and in his tormented state, Vaughn doesn’t catch it, even when he intellectually knows that she’s very loyal to her brother.
Placing so much focus on one mission and a handful of one-time characters is something of a change of pace for “Alias”. The usual pacing was far more kinetic, never stopping in one place for too long, keeping the story driving forward. There’s little doubt that many fans will react negatively to this episode because of the slower pacing, but this is ground that needs to be covered. JJ Abrams understood that, which is why he gathered writers with experience in character exploration.
The slower pacing, however, means that less happens in this episode than one would normally expect. In essence, the team gets a mission, they go on the mission, there’s a complication, Vaughn gets emotionally involved, and the mission is completed. Beyond the subplot about the picture of Irina, there’s precious little else to the episode. It’s mostly about humanizing Kiera so that Vaughn has sufficient psychological reason to open up and vent about killing Lauren.
Sydney is caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to Vaughn. She wants to start over, despite the occasional protest to the contrary, and they’ve already taken the first steps on that path. But Vaughn isn’t quite ready to move on from his marriage. Sydney doesn’t want to push, because she’s rightfully concerned that moving too fast and too soon could drive Vaughn in the opposite direction. Her need for some kind of emotional grounding, however, is making it hard for her to exercise patience.
One thing that the writers failed to capitalize on at the end of the third season was the parallel between Jack and Vaughn. Even though the topic was addressed, Vaughn never went as far as Jack would have, given the chance to do it all over again. This episode goes a long way towards giving Vaughn the dark journey that he should have had from the moment that Lauren’s deception was revealed. It would have been better had the writers actually shown the depths of Vaughn’s dark side, but as it stands the message is delivered.
For Jack’s part, he seems to have little or no patience for Vaughn’s hand-wringing. Perhaps it’s because Jack sees too much of his own moral breakdown following Irina’s deception, and he doesn’t like to think that he might have made different choices. Somehow, it’s hard to think of Jack as the introspective type, though. Whatever the case, from Jack’s perspective, Vaughn’s situation was rather simple.
It’s more complicated for Jack to logically punish Nadia for having the least moral parents on the planet, and he is starting to understand that his reluctance to discuss his knowledge of Irina is suspect. Still, he seems to be falling into the same trap that Sydney has strung. Neither of them have any reason to trust Nadia, and in fact, there are reasons to be wary of her very presence. They could both fall prey to “what might have been”, if they aren’t careful.
Nadia is operating out of a genuine desire to understand her mother and the family she has never gotten a chance to know, but one has to wonder if she’s hiding her true motivations. Is she beginning to suspect that the events of the previous episode were a cover-up, or is it more of a suspicion that Irina was running around with all kinds of people, having several children in the hopes of bringing about Rambaldi’s grand vision?
After all, Nadia is the only other person, beyond Sloane, who knows the full story about the Rambaldi device. It’s hard to imagine that the nature of Irina’s activities over the past 30+ years would have escaped Nadia, and she was willing to see the quest through to the bitter end, even if it meant dealing with Sloane. Nadia has to have a reason for joining APO beyond working with her family, so what is her expectation? Is she using this association to some personal end?
As usual, Dixon, Marshall, and Weiss have very little to do in this episode. At least Dixon seems a lot happier in the field than he ever was in a suit. It always helps to have variety as a supporting player, and this particular format plays to the need for engaging material. It’s interesting to see Sloane sending the team into a situation where OmniFam is acting out of order; it must be galling for someone else to be using his previous resources for the same faux-legitimate purposes.
As Kiera, Kelly McDonald is a revelation. She more than held her ground; in fact, her role was critical to the success of the episode. Had Kiera’s portrayal been substandard, even by a slim margin, the episode wouldn’t have been convincing. Instead, Kiera’s fractured and manipulative personality shone through, and that gave Michael Vartan exactly what he needed to give a powerful performance of his own. Beyond the acting ability, of course, she’s an incredibly gorgeous woman!
Beyond the character work, the concept of the Ice-5 was damned interesting, if somewhat derivative. Jeff Bell worked on “X-Files”, where a similar concept was used in an episode written by David Greenwalt, one of the original guiding forces of “Angel”. There’s plenty of reason to think that Ice-5 was additionally inspired by “Cat’s Cradle” by Kurt Vonnegut. Whatever the case, it was a concept that worked very well for the episode. The visual itself, especially in the teaser, was worth every penny.
There’s every reason to believe that the character-driven aspect of the season thus far is part of the rebuilding process, rather than an indication of the series’ future as a whole. But if it is what Abrams wants the series to become, that may not be a bad thing. After all, many fans have already said that the restoration of the original character dynamic is too contrived. Wouldn’t adding the same old style and format simply add to that contrivance? A familiar dynamic, mated with a fresh approach, could be what the doctor ordered.
Final Analysis
Overall, this episode is a strong example of the new emphasis on character, finally giving Vaughn a chance to express his emotions regarding Lauren and his role in her death. As strong as Vaughn’s character exploration is, the episode wouldn’t work without an equally convincing performance by the guest cast. All around, a much better episode than one would expect under the circumstances.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 8/10
Season Average (as of 4.4): 7.8
Directed by Jeffrey Bell
In which Vaughn is forced to deal with his inner demons regarding Lauren when a mission requires him to make a connection with a woman with a dangerous past…
Status Report
This is the first episode featuring the talents of one of the expatriated writers from “Angel”, and the result is a character-based episode with just enough action to stay within the expectations of the audience. Some fans might not like the emphasis on character exploration this early in the season, but after a year devoted to plot excess, this is the direction the series needed to take. If the previous episode used a wide concept of “truth” to place each character in context, then this is a very narrow look at Vaughn and his mental state post-Lauren.
Hopefully, this is going to be an early trend. While the focus of the series has always been Sydney, the seasons have been dominated by her relationships with those in her world. The first episode of the season was mostly about her coming to terms with the changes in her universe, or rather, the complete lack of change. The previous episode pertained largely to her father, and how his continued reliance on deception continues to poison their relationship.
The next order of business must necessarily be Vaughn, especially now that Sydney doesn’t have to feel guilty for wanting him. That doesn’t mean that Vaughn is ready to move on quite so easily, of course, so the theme of this episode is forgiveness. Vaughn is still struggling to regain some sense of moral order, and one very good question is whether or not he can do his job while wearing sackcloth and dining on ashes.
The writers don’t make it simple. Everyone wants to have faith in Vaughn, especially since their job requires a certain amount of underlying dependence. They might not always get along, but in the field, none of them can worry about the ulterior motives of their boss or the emotional state of their partner. When the mission is on, everything else is secondary.
Except Vaughn is too eager to find forgiveness for his own actions to adequately gauge his ability to turn Kiera, and she’s an expert at hiding her true emotions. There’s no lack of warmth and honesty in her expression, even after he begins to show her the truth. But she’s also a creature of terrible duty, as her scenes with Sydney communicate very well. Kiera is damned good at compartmentalizing her emotions, and in his tormented state, Vaughn doesn’t catch it, even when he intellectually knows that she’s very loyal to her brother.
Placing so much focus on one mission and a handful of one-time characters is something of a change of pace for “Alias”. The usual pacing was far more kinetic, never stopping in one place for too long, keeping the story driving forward. There’s little doubt that many fans will react negatively to this episode because of the slower pacing, but this is ground that needs to be covered. JJ Abrams understood that, which is why he gathered writers with experience in character exploration.
The slower pacing, however, means that less happens in this episode than one would normally expect. In essence, the team gets a mission, they go on the mission, there’s a complication, Vaughn gets emotionally involved, and the mission is completed. Beyond the subplot about the picture of Irina, there’s precious little else to the episode. It’s mostly about humanizing Kiera so that Vaughn has sufficient psychological reason to open up and vent about killing Lauren.
Sydney is caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to Vaughn. She wants to start over, despite the occasional protest to the contrary, and they’ve already taken the first steps on that path. But Vaughn isn’t quite ready to move on from his marriage. Sydney doesn’t want to push, because she’s rightfully concerned that moving too fast and too soon could drive Vaughn in the opposite direction. Her need for some kind of emotional grounding, however, is making it hard for her to exercise patience.
One thing that the writers failed to capitalize on at the end of the third season was the parallel between Jack and Vaughn. Even though the topic was addressed, Vaughn never went as far as Jack would have, given the chance to do it all over again. This episode goes a long way towards giving Vaughn the dark journey that he should have had from the moment that Lauren’s deception was revealed. It would have been better had the writers actually shown the depths of Vaughn’s dark side, but as it stands the message is delivered.
For Jack’s part, he seems to have little or no patience for Vaughn’s hand-wringing. Perhaps it’s because Jack sees too much of his own moral breakdown following Irina’s deception, and he doesn’t like to think that he might have made different choices. Somehow, it’s hard to think of Jack as the introspective type, though. Whatever the case, from Jack’s perspective, Vaughn’s situation was rather simple.
It’s more complicated for Jack to logically punish Nadia for having the least moral parents on the planet, and he is starting to understand that his reluctance to discuss his knowledge of Irina is suspect. Still, he seems to be falling into the same trap that Sydney has strung. Neither of them have any reason to trust Nadia, and in fact, there are reasons to be wary of her very presence. They could both fall prey to “what might have been”, if they aren’t careful.
Nadia is operating out of a genuine desire to understand her mother and the family she has never gotten a chance to know, but one has to wonder if she’s hiding her true motivations. Is she beginning to suspect that the events of the previous episode were a cover-up, or is it more of a suspicion that Irina was running around with all kinds of people, having several children in the hopes of bringing about Rambaldi’s grand vision?
After all, Nadia is the only other person, beyond Sloane, who knows the full story about the Rambaldi device. It’s hard to imagine that the nature of Irina’s activities over the past 30+ years would have escaped Nadia, and she was willing to see the quest through to the bitter end, even if it meant dealing with Sloane. Nadia has to have a reason for joining APO beyond working with her family, so what is her expectation? Is she using this association to some personal end?
As usual, Dixon, Marshall, and Weiss have very little to do in this episode. At least Dixon seems a lot happier in the field than he ever was in a suit. It always helps to have variety as a supporting player, and this particular format plays to the need for engaging material. It’s interesting to see Sloane sending the team into a situation where OmniFam is acting out of order; it must be galling for someone else to be using his previous resources for the same faux-legitimate purposes.
As Kiera, Kelly McDonald is a revelation. She more than held her ground; in fact, her role was critical to the success of the episode. Had Kiera’s portrayal been substandard, even by a slim margin, the episode wouldn’t have been convincing. Instead, Kiera’s fractured and manipulative personality shone through, and that gave Michael Vartan exactly what he needed to give a powerful performance of his own. Beyond the acting ability, of course, she’s an incredibly gorgeous woman!
Beyond the character work, the concept of the Ice-5 was damned interesting, if somewhat derivative. Jeff Bell worked on “X-Files”, where a similar concept was used in an episode written by David Greenwalt, one of the original guiding forces of “Angel”. There’s plenty of reason to think that Ice-5 was additionally inspired by “Cat’s Cradle” by Kurt Vonnegut. Whatever the case, it was a concept that worked very well for the episode. The visual itself, especially in the teaser, was worth every penny.
There’s every reason to believe that the character-driven aspect of the season thus far is part of the rebuilding process, rather than an indication of the series’ future as a whole. But if it is what Abrams wants the series to become, that may not be a bad thing. After all, many fans have already said that the restoration of the original character dynamic is too contrived. Wouldn’t adding the same old style and format simply add to that contrivance? A familiar dynamic, mated with a fresh approach, could be what the doctor ordered.
Final Analysis
Overall, this episode is a strong example of the new emphasis on character, finally giving Vaughn a chance to express his emotions regarding Lauren and his role in her death. As strong as Vaughn’s character exploration is, the episode wouldn’t work without an equally convincing performance by the guest cast. All around, a much better episode than one would expect under the circumstances.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 8/10
Season Average (as of 4.4): 7.8
posted by John Keegan | 18:06
1 Comments:
This is a very nice post about the Alias 4.4: , Entil try to keep it up to date because it seems one of the few interesting blogs on the internet! I would like to tell you to visit my website that is about scommesse online . Only the best informations about scommesse online !
Post a Comment
<< Home