Tuesday, December 13, 2005

The Man in the Box

He was frozen and now he’s not, but where is Dr. Aldo Desantis and what is he up to? There was much speculation and theory over who exactly was thawing in the box. Is is Bill Vaughn? Is it Rambaldi? In episode 5.05 “Out of the Box” we come to believe that Renee Rienne’s father is the man in the box, a doctor kidnapped by P5, leaving Renee an orphan. However, by episodes end, be learn that the man is not Renee’s father, but Aldo Desantis, the doctor who created the box in the first place. For 20 years he lay frozen in his own experiment, to be thawed and to join forces with Gordon Dean.

As shown on previews for this week’s episode, Sydney is kidnapped, held captive and tortured by Peyton and yes, long lost Dr. Desantis. I suppose this is the familiar face the previews speak of and that Dr. Desantis is the man interested in Sydney’s future and that of her baby’s. But, who is Dr. Desantis, aside from a mad scientist and an expert on brain transplants and cryogenics? What is his connection to P5? What is his connection to Sydney? If he is vested in the future of Sydney’s baby, then why torture her? What could Sydney possibly be holding deep in her psyche that could be of value to Dr. Desantis or P5? What is the significance or importance of Vaughn’s return? As mentioned in the previews, Vaughn states, “They are using me against you.” In regards to this statement, it is my understanding that Peyton and Desantis are using Sydney’s memories of Vaughn to unearth any information that maybe of worth to them. Contradictory of being a torture tool against Sydney, is Vaughn’s return meant to ease our (the audience’s) pain? Is his return meant to be a blanket of hope for not only Sydney, but for the masses that criticized his departure in the first place?

Let us explore what we do know about Dr. Desantis. What are your thoughts on the man from the box and what are your predictions?

* PS. I know we discussed Desantis and Renee’s father early on. Did we ever reach a conclusion on whether it is Renee’s father’s body and Desantis’ brain? That issue is still fuzzy for me.

6 comments:

SRM said...

yeah a little jenn. I still think the whole package is Desantis, he's just used a form of doubling technology to look like Renee's dad. My question, though, is why would he do that? What's the point in looking like her dad, especially when she already knows he's a fraud? When it comes to the "familiar face" mentioned in the eppy description, I have a feeling it's not referring to Desantis. It seems like that will be part of a surprise, and I don't think they would have revealed it in the eppy preview. Just my opinion, though, I could definitely be wrong about that.

Paul Kremer said...

Well, we wouldn't necessarily need a 'brain transplant.' Don't forget Arvin Clone, who simply had Sloane's brain waves recorded over his own, and he then became Sloane. They wouldn't need to transplant the organ itself...not in the world of ALIAS, anyway! hehe! :)

Here's the thing though...we see a picture of Renee in the closet when Renee's father is kidnapped...he looks young in that shot. If he were cryogenically frozen at that point, he would STILL look like that, wouldn't he? You don't age in a cryogenic chamber...I'll have to think more about this, but something is not clicking here...

Anonymous said...

I don't think the man in the box was completely frozen. Didn't they say there was a tube feeding him or something? I got the impression that he was more in a state of stasis, with all of his organs and everything functioning at the most minimally possible levels. This might explain his aging.

uncle111 said...

Putting all the pieces togehter we have about it my theory is that Renee's father didn't know that the clinical trials he was paid a lot of money to participate in involved having someone else's brain transplanted into his body. The box was built to keep the transplant experimentee alive for some unknown reason that could take decades. Maybe there was a technology they were waiting on, maybe a time that was prophesied. I'm certain it had to do with P5, which ultimately means Rambaldi.

Renee thought it was her father because she recognized him, even though he had aged- not unusual. He aged because he was in a life sustaining coma, not frozen.

The rest is an exciting mystery that will keep us on the edge of our seats through the long 2 month break.

Paul Kremer said...

Very interesting, uncle111...that idea has serious potential. I hope we will learn more tonight!

You are right, if there was tube feeding going on, he must not have been frozen solid, but I'm curious what the purpose of the nuridium was then? Why such a powerful chemical, and why was it necessary? And if he was simply in a medically induced coma, why the need for the atropine ZX to wake him up?

uncle111 said...

pkrm- Coma is an understatement. It was a supercoma, next gen. cryo; cryo without freezing. I think that's what Marshall's comments hinted at.