Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Episode 5.14 "I See Dead People"

Update: SRG has updated Let's Get LOST with a recap of last night's eppy. Head on over for a double dose of JJ. www.letsgetlost2.blogspot.com


I have no patience for a greeting- let's get to the good stuff shall we?

The Chip and Vaughn
The chip was implanted in Renee. The chip had an incomplete code embedded in it, along with Vaughn's real name, Andre Michaux. Speaking of Vaughn: the man looked good for being in the middle of nowhere still half shot up. And how happy was I that he knew it was Sydspinoza once she kissed him? VERY HAPPY! So, inside that gorgeous chest of his was the other half of Renee's chip. Together the chips revealed a map, of Hamburg, Germany and the location of a bunker.

But before we go there- let's talk about Little Miss I Wear Eye Make-up, Sydspinoza. Sloane and Peyton learn through APO wiretaps that Sydney is headed to Napal to meet an asset *wink* Vaughn, who might be able to read the chip. Sloane is then introduced to the P5 agent who will take Sydney's place. How absolutely fabulous was Jennifer Garner as Ana Espinoza? She was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed Sloane's toss in about how Sydney continues to foil Ana and how Ana must have been lacking for attention as a child. She got Evil Sloane BUUURRRNN!! Ha!

PS. Speaking of burn- I was in no way worried about the little car accident and fiery crash- as Sydney always finds a way to find Vaughn. They always find each other. Aaahhh.

Sloane
So, Sloane joins forces with P5 only to become their decipher gopher. They lock him in a room (with water! Why does the man always want water? I thought we were over that!!) and they expect results. Little do they know that Sloane already knows what the page says and is stalling. I don't know if it's too much 15th century reading under bad lighting, but as he paces the room, he begins to see the ghost of his dead daughter, Nadia. Nadia- with some extra sass- paws at her father with the evil of his past.

Sloane later tells Peyton that he needs access to works by Joseph Penara in order to finish deciphering the Rambaldi page. When Peyton recovers the material- she unknowingly sends a communication to... SARK! Gawd, I love that little British baddie and I am sooo happy that he is back!! (My friend literally screamed when David Anders' name appeared in the credits!) Sloane leaves little Sarky a message- in a Catholic church no less. Catholic church-Cardinal...I think you might be on to something Uncle!!

So, Sloane is working with Sark again. The last time Sloane worked with Sark they were working with...IRINA!! I see a SpyMom come back in our future.

What is Sloane up to? Starbucks Mom and I conversed and circled around the idea that perhaps Rambaldi is some sort of myth that Sloane is using to bring about his own end. This man has been manipulating since day one. He has worked for every organization; the Alliance, the CIA, the Covenant, APO and now P5. He has used every group to gather the materials he needs for this end game. Hell- he even used Omni-Fam way back in the day. This, people, is why I love baddie Sloane! He is his own best friend. No alliances, no loyalties.

Grace
Grace, while in APO, decodes a message from an unknown contact (perhaps Korman, the wife killer) inside a technology magazine. Rachel interrupts with some speal about not being able to get over Nadia's death or being able to handle the pressure. At first the scene seemed pointless- but like my best friend, Starbucks Mom, always says, "Nothing is pointless on Alias." She then carefully explained the point to me-Rachel said something very, very foreshadowing. She said something about Gordon Dean and Sloane being right in front of her and her not being able to see their evil and their ulterior motives. HELLO!! Grace is right in front of you and he's got something sneaky going on!!!

After the conversation with Rachel- Grace makes a phone call. He needs to place a classified ad and I doubt he's got an old couch to sell. Hmmm.

Junker Bunker
Sydspinoza and Vaughn make their way to Hamburg, to the bunker. Once there, Vaughn breaks into a secret room- packed with information about P5 and all their cells. Perfect! Vaughn serves his purpose and Sydspinoza attempts to cap him. NOPE, sorry, your game is up Ana. You are a horrible kisser. A fight ensues and who saves the day? The real Syd with a kiss to make it all better. "REUNITED and it feels so good..."
I love, love, love our gal Syd! ANA ESPINOZA is now on the DEAD list!! I could not be happier!
Callback-Syd and Vaughn stumble on information that can bring down P5 and then they can be together. Sounds a lot like the take down of SD-6.

Syd as Ana as Syd
I LOVE THE ALIAS WRITERS!! LOVE THEM!! How fantastic is it that Syd now has to go deep undercover as Ana, as Sydney?? This all led me to one idea- I believe that Ana's purpose was to get the real Sydney to work with P5. Sydney has only ever wanted to rid the world of Ana Espinoza. P5 had to know that she would want to take her down, even more so since she stole her face and kissed her man. They must have known that Sydney would want to get inside P5 in order to discover it's end game and the double was the perfect opportunity- not only for Syd, but for P5. Now, P5 has the real Chosen One- they have the real link and they just needed the double to lead her in. GENIUS!

I love that the real Syd was able to save Vaughn, but angry that Sydspinoza was the first he saw of Syd since the day he "died." I am sad that little Izzy was introduced by that retched woman and I am sad that the Alias writers weren't given ample time to give them a true reunion.

Conclusion-
So, what did Renee's father and Bill Vaughn discover about P5? How will the information help in the smack down on P5? Why did Renee's father and Bill Vaughn implant chips inside their children?
What does P5 want with Syd?
What is Sark's role in all this?
Why is Sloane contacting him?
Who is Grace contacting?

I loved Vaughn's return! I loved JG and her acting! I loved the twist-Syd as Ana as Syd! Next week can only be better, so... what did you think? What did I miss?

PS. SpyChat tonight at 6pm PDT. Just log in to MSN Messenger and add girlscout35@hotmail.com To all my European Bloggies- let me know what times work for you and we can schedule a chat.

54 comments:

Andrew said...

I, too, loved seeing Jennifer Garner portray Anna Espinoza. I could almost picture Sloane talking to Gina Torres. Superb acting.

I feel slightly jipped that we didn't get a very epic final battle between Syd and Sydspinoza. I was expecting a lot more than a shot to the head.

It's tough to imagine Syd going undercover into P5 leaving Isabelle with babysitters... (even if they are CIA agents)
Vaughn's return was satisfying, it was good to see him and Syd work together again at the end. I was a little surprised at how minor Sark's role was tonight. I'm sure he'll play a larger role later on.

All in all this was a great episode and I can't wait for next week's. Although, it'd be nice to wait a litle longer so the show wouldn't have to end so soon.

Every episode is getting to be very bittersweet with the finale approaching.

It's gonna be good.

Girlscout said...

Good catch Steph- I will add that to the post.

Okay Slingshot- I think I did enough Vaughn gushing in my post for everyone!

uncle111 said...

Great article GS.
I know I had suggested earlier that Renee's father may have planted the chip in her, but how did the fathers know the kids would ever find each other, the chips and know what to do with them. It's almost like they knew they would end up being spies, working together and that at least one of them would know what to do with them.

I think Jennifer Garner is a VERY good actress. She has done so many different things on Alias and done them extremely well. I really think I've been objective in analyzing her acting and I am impressed. Tonight was an excellent example of what she can do.

Oh, the action, the story, the twists!! Can't believe what's going on...and where is it going?!!
This is going to take another 4-5 viewings this week.

uncle111 said...

We've wondered if Irina faked BV's death to help him get further away from P5. But, she has been so ruthless that you have to wonder how good she could actually be.

Jess said...

I wonder how Irina will react when she finds out that Nadia is dead and at who's hands her death was. Remember back in Season 2 on the plane after Irina's extraction from the CIA Irina threatened Sloane about talking about his love for Syd...imagine her reaction when she learns that Nadia is dead b/c of Sloane

Sarafu said...

I, like everyone else, REALLY enjoyed seeing Jen playing opposing roles!!! I love watching actors do that, it truly shows how diverse they are! Jen was Fabulous!!! OF COurse, Vaughn was perfect, as always....I just wish that Syd had passed him a pic of little izzie before she had to flee, but oh well. :)
I CAN NOT wait to see the whole story unfold with Grace. I am SOOO curious as to what his involvment is. I loved the forshadowing that GS or starbucks mom brought our attention to when Grace was talking to Rachel! Very Interesting!!!!
Did anyone else notice on the preview for next week that Sloane says that HE has to be the one to kill her.....I am assuming HER is syd but just wondering your thoughts on that??

Unknown said...

Well, what an episode. I, personally, find it quite funny that all our theories keep getting chucked out the window. Nadia--Dead. Sydspinoza, who we thought would fulfill the Rambaldi prophecy--Dead. Renee, who we had many questions about--Dead. This is going to be one interesting ending.

I was wondering if anyone else would pick up on the whole Rachel/Grace speech. "Right in front of me." Yep. But I don't think that means that Grace is a baddie like Dean and Sloane. I just think he's not who Rachel (or we) thinks he is.

Loved seeing Jen play both sides. She was great at it. Loved Sloane's comments to evil Syd. He burned her, eh!!

Was thinking of our APO Angels kicking Sydspinoza's butt when she was kissing Vaughn and cringing when she was the one to tell him about Isabelle. But I loved how he knew all along. It was great to see him back in action.

Wow, Syd going undercover... This is crazy. Speculations... Syd is going to be in a lot of trouble. Jack will contact Irina and tell her that it's the real Syd, not Anna who has infiltrated P5 and Irina is going to come save her. Sloane might die at the hands of Syd... I like that theory. And Peyton... She really needs to die. Also thought of all you Sark lovers when I saw David Anders name in the credits. I, of course, was looking anxiously for Lena Olin, but alas... Maybe next week?

Only 11 days of Alias left. :( How sad is this.

Anonymous said...

did anyone happen to notice that JG was listed on the credits as one of the producer on last nights eppy??

Anonymous said...

Grace seemed to decypher a message from several ads in a magazine or paper. He wrote "Contact made. Awaiting response." I think it was a message from Korman letting Grace know that he had delivered his message to the Cardinal and was waiting for a reply. Then, Grace picks up the phone and makes a call to place a classified ad. It's his reply to Korman - the next step in whatever his plan is.

Unknown said...

Good call mommer! I too, thought he was writing extremely slow, like he was decoding something. So yeah, good call! I didn't even think of that!!

Tammy said...

Wow - I can't keep up with you guys! Just wanted to chime in - GS - great article. I think you covered the episode very well - and it was a packed full episode.

I thought Grace was decoding something too - I'm interested to find out what his role in all of this is.

I was surprised to learn that Nadia and Renee are really dead. I truly thought one or both had faked...

And Syd shooting Ana as Syd was a great moment in my mind. I thought Sydney would take Ana down, but I didn't expect it so soon! I told my BF after the show (he doesn't watch - can you believe it!?!) that Sydney shot herself - and he was all confused! :)

I can't wait for the next episode - even though that means we're closer to the end. The writers are doing a great job so far in my mind!!

Tammy

Girlscout said...

YAHOO! Some great discussions going on!! Nice pick up Jenn on Jack and Irina's communication call back. It was killing me not remembering who it was.

I forgot to mention who cute Syd and Izzy were when she was rocking her on the dryer! SOOO cute! Made me think of you Starbucks Mom! Loveyoumissyoubye

SRM said...

Well I don't really have anything to add that everyone didn't already say, but I also have to give major props to JG. I could also see Anna's expressions and mannerisms under Syd's face when she was talking to Sloane, extremely well done. I absolutely loved the fight between Sydspinosa and Vaughn, I laughed so hard when he said she was a bad kisser and was cheering him on when he was kicking her a**. I actually really liked how Syd killed her. The direction of that shot was phenominal, I don't know how they were able to focus on Sydspinosa getting shot in the head, falling, then focus directly on the real Syd behind her, that was amazing, kudos special effects people! :)

I also noticed the emphasis on Sloane requesting a pitcher of water, that is one well-hydrated man. I'm a little curious now about Peyton...she said "I realize you've made some harsh sacrifices...we all have" or something like that. What has she sacrificed? She doesn't seem like a women of faith, why would she care so much about Rambaldi?

GS - I also cheered when I saw David Anders' name in the credits...sort of spoiled the surprise of seeing him at the end but oh well, SARK'S BACK! VAUGHN'S BACK! Man I love this show...

Oh BTW for my fellow Lost fans, last night's episode recap is now posted at http://letsgetlost2.blogspot.com/ :)

Anonymous said...

This is my first time to join in on the blogging, but I am a dedicated reader!

I have been trying to figure out who the mole is over the past few weeks. Everyone knows that it is going to be someone that we would never expect. At first I thought it would be Dixon, then maybe Marshall, maybe even SpyDaddy, but this morning it hit me... Rachel! She is sweet and innocent and absolutely one of the last people you would expect to be evil. What if she was placed in APO? What if she really isn't that innocent? What if the conversation that she had with Grace was to make her appear more innocent and to make Grace appear more guilty?

Unknown said...

Hmmm... Maybe the sacrifice that Peyton made is that she too is a double? Maybe she's Elena. Who would ever suspect that mousey little Peyton would be ruthless mastermind Elena? Is that theory totally off the charts???

Girlscout said...

Nope Birdie, Starbucks Mom and I thought the same thing! Peyton as Elena. How funny would that be?

Oh, and Grace was deciphering a code, not sending one- now that makes sense.

Hello to our new bloggers!

SRM said...

Someone before suggested Peyton might actually be Elena, which is a theory I love, but I don't think the timeline works. I got the impression Peyton and Rachel had worked together at the Shed for a couple years, but there was no time lapse between seasons 4 and 5 where Elena drummed up the crazy Svogda incident.

Welcome lellani, glad to see you posting! :) I think you're right that the conversation between Rachel and Grace was to make Tom look more guilty, but I honestly would be a bit disappointed if Rachel (or he) was the mole. It just seems a bit too obvious with them being the newbies, I wouldn't be shocked at all and I want to be, the Alias writers are usually pretty good at that. Saying that, your theory could very well be valid, they've certainly made her look like little miss sweetie-pie. :)

SRM said...

and I agree, Grace deciphering a code in the magazine (possibly from Korman) makes much more sense, good thinking mommer!

RUDY said...

When Peyton was talking to Sloane about losing someone, she said herself that they all had to make sacrafices. I wonder who she sacraficed? Anyone got any guesses?

Girlscout said...

SRG- I think in regards to Elena being Peyton. I am saying, the Elena in Svogda was not Elena- but a double. Remember she said she accounted for every possibility. So, the real Elena was working with the Shed, with Rachel and Dean, doubled as Kelly Peyton. Someone mentioned- what has Kelly sacrificed, she doesn't seem spiritual or into Rambaldi- but if she is Elena, it makes perfect sense. hmmm.

RUDY said...

If Peyton is Elena, she lost Nadia. And we all know that she felt something for Nadia. She even wanted Nadia to join her.

Anonymous said...

what do you guys think about peyton's comment to sloane: "you've had to sacrifice things to be here. we all have."

what has peyton sacrificed?

Unknown said...

Hey anon-- we're not sure but we've been speculating (see above comments) that Peyton is really Elena and that is her "sacrifice."

Anonymous said...

I think that some of the things that have happened such as Nadia & Renée really being dead, and Sydspinsoa being revealed and eliminated so quickly are because there's not time to develop/unravel any more of the story. so sad! : (

Plus, what is Sloane up to? He's still trying to manipulate P5 and execute his own plan. Who's in it with him besides Sark? It seems like they already had a plan in place, ready to go and Sloane set it in motion by having Peyton retrieve that manuscript in Zurich.

And, what if Kelly Peyton is really Grace's wife in disguise (or doubled) and what she sacrificed is her marriage? I don't know what her motivation would be except power, but maybe Grace knows his wife was evil (á la Irina), but thinks she's dead and he joined APO to use their resources to find out what she was into and stop it? APO would give him "under the radar" opportunities he probably wouldn't have in the more bureaucratic, political CIA. He definitely has an agenda on the side. I hope this theory is wrong because one more double is just too much, but if Peyton's appearance is radically changed it would explain why Grace didn't recognize her earlier in Season 5. Maybe Kelly isn't his wife, but just sacrificed whatever her life was to hook up with Gordon Dean and The Shed. The weird thing is she doesn't seem to be committed to anything or anyone. She mocks Sloane for his "faith" in Rambaldi, and she doesn't seem to have any idealogical connection or passion. What's her deal?

Angela said...

Hi, everybody:

Loved last night's eppy, and (tee hee), I just KNEW Vaughn had a matching chip in him even though I think it's hardly plausible that no one would have seen it after him getting shot in the chest about a zillion times.

I'm not sure there is a mole within the tight APO circle. I think they're trying to make us think Grace is a mole, but I think he's a good guy. I think all the "leaks" so far can be attributed to Sloane, right?

So--with Sydspinosa out of the way, we are pretty much boiling the story down to Jack/Irina, Syd/Vaugh/and Prophet Five. Hmmm.

And that gunshot to the forehead--well, if it came from behind, no way it was credible, but they couldn't show what it would really look like on TV. :-) Bullets leave lots bigger holes coming out than they do going IN.

Ick.

Angie

Anonymous said...

One thought about Vaughn & Renée's dads implanting the chips in them. Perhaps they didn't think Renée & Vaughn would have to find each other - perhaps they thought at least one dad would be around to retrieve the chips when & if they were necessary and they hid part of their message regarding their most important work in the ones they most cherished – their children. It's actually kind of sad when you think about it - just like Sydspinosa said to Sloane, "The children always suffer the most." All of the adults in Alias (except Marshall! : ) ) have used and manipulated their children: Jack & Irina, Sloane, Bill Vaughn, Elena, Senator Reed, Lazaray - all of them. Talk about dysfunctional families!

Girlscout said...

He tricked her in the car when they got to Hamburg, but I think he had suspicions, like the kiss and the naming of Izzy. She asked in the car "How do you wanna do this?" He said, "Like we did in blah blah." (I don't remember where he said). Later he said, "Sydney and I never went to blah blah." He called her out!

SRM said...

just a quick suggestion, I know some of the comments are long, but try to at least skim over them so we don't have so many repeat questions and such, thanks! :)

SKlaft said...

To answer an above question:

Vaughn was eight when he attended his Dad's funeral and the agent who represented the CIA had been "admonished" not to make any displays of emotion. (Remember the scene with Vaughn and Syd at the Driving Range when he gave her the "bug".)

The chip could have been implanted much, much earlier.

-R.

SKlaft said...

From the article:
"How will the information help in the smack down on P5?"

There was a subtle little line by Vaughn just as they were coming back from a break , and as they were going through some of the info posted in that room... it was something to the effect that "Many of these organizations are still in existence."
Syd replies something like, "I know, this should allow us to bring them to their knees."

I won't speculate as to exactly what information will lead them to make thier move or what that move will be. I have no idea.

-R.

Anonymous said...

SRG, one reason why there might be repeat questions or repeat speculations is because while you're thinking and typing out your comment someone else is publishing and by the time you publish your comment it seems like a duplicate, but really you were both writing at the same time.

I agree we should all read everything though. Thanks for the suggestion.

SRM said...

yes mommer I can see that being the case, especially on a day like today when we're all alias-blog-happy! :)

Anonymous said...

I know, SRG. It's such fun to think about all that has happened and how it's all going to come together - the bad part is remembering that the writers have to pull it all together in three more hours. What will we do without Alias?!

SRM said...

ahhh, don't remind me! that's seriously going to put a downer on my birthday (the day after the finale). :( I'm rewatching the ABC stream of last night's episode, I'll let you guys know if anything else pops out at me.

SRM said...

ok Tom was definitely decoding someone else's message to him, you can see as he's writing on the magazine that he's underlined certain letters in the classified ads, some sort of pattern I'm sure he arranged w/ his contact (possibly Korman).

Eliza said...

help! how did Syd know that Sydspin.Vaughn were in the bunker?

Anonymous said...

Freelancer, I don't know exactly how Syd knew Vaughn & Sydspinosa were there, but remember Jack told the APO team that they had picked them up on surveillance video in Hamburg? How they found their specific destination in unclear, but they probably were able to follow them from the airport. Another thing we just have to "go with," I guess.

SRM said...

that's a really good question freelancer, maybe vaughn had some sort of tracker w/ him (how Jack got in touch w/ him, maybe a phone or something) that they were able to locate...

Anonymous said...

Here's a new thought: do you think we've seen all the deaths now that 3 have died: Nadia, Renée, and Ana? Or do you think there's still another main character or more who will go before Alias ends?

ry said...

Quick question related to the IMDB page for this episode-- It lists Bradley Cooper as "Seth Hatfield".

Did I miss something?

-ry

PS. Did anyone else think it was sort of funny when Sydspinoza was talking to Vaughn about the baby and she was like, "She has the same... uh... blue green eyes as you do." Of course the real Syd would know what color eyes her man has! :)

Girlscout said...

Apparenly IMDB has a habit of publishing faulty intel. HAHAHA

PS. I hope you all join SpyChat this evening, we have some great stuff going on here!

Anonymous said...

Regarding deaths issue:
From eonline April 24th chat:
Q: Who is dying on Alias?
A: So far, I know of three: One person very close to Sydney, one person who is a main character but not close to Syd and one person who is neither close to Syd nor a main character.

If Kristin is right, then I bet we have at least one more because I don't know that either Renée or Ana could be considered main characters. Nadia would fit the very close person and Ana would fit the "neither close to Syd nor a main character" death.

Paul Kremer said...

Sorry I don't have time to read all the posts! If any of my ideas were mentioned above, I do apologize for pretending to be original! :)

I was just going to say that I don't believe for a second that Sloane was seeing Nadia's ghost. Although Rambaldi is not exactly "normal," we've never delved into the true paranormal. I believe Sloane is losing his grip on reality. He has now gone completely over the edge, and his own mind is fighting with itself now. He did love Nadia, and a part of him DOES regret killing her, and now his mind is playing with itself. He has gone from being obsessed to being truly mad!

Next point, did anyone notice Nadia's speech pattern was different? She usually has a very deliberate manner of speaking, and last night she was sassy and her speech was different. Yet another point to make me believe it is all in Sloane's mind.

Sloane is contacting Sark because he wants P5 toasted! When Nadia told him he was dispensible, it was really SLOANE telling himself he was dispensible. He knows that P5 is using him, and now by contacting Sark, he will destroy P5 like he did the Alliance so he can be in control again! CLASSIC SLOANE!!!

SRM said...

ya know what's odd though is how Anna said to Vaughn while they were fighting "ya know I always said Sydney was too good for you". Why would she give props to Syd like that?

a belated response to aliasismyantidrug, yes Jennifer Garner has been a producer most if not all of this season, I don't know about last season though.

Anonymous said...

I think you're totally on target about Sloane, pkrm! Choosing Rambaldi over Nadia and then losing Nadia pushed him over the edge from obsession to insanity. He's like a cultist who has so totally bought into the teachings of the cult that they've lost touch with reality and are willing to sacrifice anything to obey "the prophet." If love can't restrain us and save us then we are truly lost. Sloane chose Rambaldi instead of love over and over and it has cost him big-time and may cost him everything.

Anonymous said...

SRG, I thought Ana told Vaughn she always thought he was too good for Syd? I guess I'll have to re-watch. I thought it was a dig at Sydney, but maybe she was reacting to his "bad kisser" comment.

Paul Kremer said...

Yes, lhaaheim, Sloane did know that Syd conspired with Sark to have him killed.

Remember just a few episodes after the Alliance fell when Sloane was in the bank, Syd and Vaughn confront him, and Sloane says, "So you're the man Sydney was willing to kill me for." And great line by Vaughn, "She would have killed you for a lot less."

hehe!
Paul

Anonymous said...

thanks SRG... i guess i never really paid any attention.

SRM said...

haha no prob, sometimes I notice the credits and sometimes I'm completely oblivious...like last week when they listed the actress who plays Renee (Edie something) as a guest star and she wasn't in the opening credits anymore, I should have known she wasn't going to last through the episode!

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