Whoosh!


ALIAS

HOURGLASS


EPISODE NO. 63
Season 3, episode 19
Series 319
1st release: 04/18/04
2nd release:
Last update: 04/24/04


Previous Episode |Alias Guide |Episode Guide |Next Episode

Season 1 |Season 2 |Season 3


REGULAR CAST, GUEST CAST & CREDITS
TV GUIDE PROMO
SYNOPSIS by Sally Dye
COMMENTARY 1 by Adriane Saunders
LINKS



REGULAR CAST
Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow
Ron Rifkin as Sloane
Michael Vartan as Vaughn
Carl Lumbly as Dixon
Kevin Weisman as Marshall
Melissa George (Lauren Reed)
Greg Grunberg (Eric Weiss)
David Anders as Mr. Sark
Victor Garber as Jack Bristow



GUEST CAST
Peggy Lipton (Olivia Reed)
Glenn Morshower (Agent Bell)
David Carridine (Conrad)
Patricia Wettig (Dr. Barnett)
James D. Bridges (DOJ Agent)
Rico McClinton (Door Guy)



CREDITS
Written by Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec
Directed by Ken Olin



Broadcast on ABC, 9-10pm, Sunday nights.

TV GUIDE PROMO

DEAD SLOANE WALKING -- So, a couple of people die in this episode and only one of them comes back. No, it's not David Carradine. Syd and the kids get another millimeter closer to The Passenger when they discover that she's actually Syd's sister and Sloane's daughter. Moronen and Vaughn have sex, and it's really icky. Sloane gets executed, but luckily, Jack feeds him some drugged-up wine that allows Sloane to be resurrected at the end of the episode. Maybe I should get some of that wine so that I'll wake up before noon on a Wednesday like I always do. Hm. TWoP

Sloane's Dead! Long Live Sloane! Hourglass - Sloane dies. Sort of. Everyone gets closer to The Passenger. Kind of. Moronen gets caught. Almost. And this episode kicked *ss. There's no "maybe" about it. TWoP




SYNOPSIS:

This synopsis is by Sally Dye.

Teaser

Jack sends an e-mail to Irina. She acknowledges it. He asks about the Passenger. Irina does not reply, and suddenly the account is terminated.........

In Nepal, Sark holds a gun to the monk Conrad's head and asks where the Passenger is. Conrad takes his gun with apparently no effort. Sark tries to fight him, but Conrad is defeating him when suddenly a tranquilizer dart strikes him in the neck. It's Olivia. She tells Sark to get the documents and bring Conrad with him.........

Vaughn meets with Jack and Sydney and says they were right -- Lauren is Covenant. Jack says he must act as though nothing has happened. Vaughn is angry and doesn't want to do that. Jack says he has no choice: "You're the one who married her."....................

Lauren comes to Vaughn at his desk and says she has missed him. She suggests they go to counseling. Vaughn agrees.......

Dixon reports that the Covenant has kidnapped someone who can help them find the Passenger. Sydney and Vaughn are to intercept them in the Thar desert and get whoever it is away from the Covenant............

In the desert, Sydney and Vaughn, on horseback, chase the caravan of trucks. Sydney jumps onto one of them and gets inside. She unties Conrad. She jumps back onto her horse and tries to help Conrad do the same, but Sark sees them and shoots Conrad, who falls to the ground. Sark says to drive on, that they have everything they need. Sydney and Vaughn ride back to Conrad. With his dying breath, he tells Sydney that the Passenger "is your sister."...........

Act One

Sydney tells Jack what Conrad said. Jack says he doesn't know of any sister. But he tells Sydney about Sloane and Irina's affair, and says a child might have resulted from it.........

Sydney goes to see Sloane. He tells Sydney about the Trust. She tells him she knows about the affair. Sloane says he didn't find out about the child until Conrad told him in Nepal. Il Dire confirmed the DNA and proved that it was his child. He spent the next few years searching for his daughter but never found her. But he knows that she is the Passenger, and he wants to protect her. He asks Sydney to talk to Jack and see if he has evidence that could exonerate him..........

Weiss reports that Marshall has discovered the code to interpreting the Rambaldi documents that the Covenant now possesses. They plan to discuss the code in front of Lauren to get her to copy the code and perhaps lead them to the documents.........

Lauren takes the bait and comes to Marshall's office. She pretends to chat and gets his thumbprint. She goes to Image Processing to duplicate the code key, but Marshall is tracking her every move. They plan to follow Lauren to her contact and trace the documents........

Sydney tells Jack he must use any evidence he has to keep Sloane from being executed. He says he has no evidence........

Vaughn and Sydney follow Lauren to a cafe and surveil her from a distance. To their surprise, she meets her mother, Olivia. They realize Olivia must be Covenant, too. They hear Olivia say that the documents are at her home in Richmond.........

Act Two

Lauren and Vaughn go to Dr. Barnett for counseling . Vaughn says Lauren doesn't trust him. Lauren says he is still in love with Sydney. He says obviously they have history. Dr. Barnett suggests they go away together. They agree........

Vaughn and Lauren go to Richmond. Olivia pretends to be happy to see them, but tells Lauren when they're alone that it's unacceptable -- they are supposed to be decoding the Rambaldi documents. Lauren says she had no choice. They go out on the patio to have a drink. Sydney calls Vaughn and he says it's Weiss. Vaughn excuses himself and goes inside. He goes to the study and Marshall unlocks the safe remotely. Vaughn gets the documents and begins scanning them. Lauren wonders where Vaughn is and goes inside to look for him. Marshall picks up a reading and Sydney radios Vaughn that someone is coming. When Lauren comes into the room, Vaughn is just looking at their wedding pictures. Lauren says that was the happiest day of her life. Vaughn: "Mine, too." She kisses him and asks what she can do to make him that happy again. Sydney and Marshall realize what is happening, and Sydney says to turn off the connection.....

Act Three

Marshall decodes the documents, which detail an artifact called the Hourglass. They have traced it to a club in Little Tokyo. Marshall says the Hourglass will reveal the Passenger's location only to her father, and Sloane is to be executed in six hours......

Sydney asks Jack if he would sacrifice her sister to get payback for a 25-year-old affair. Sydney: "She might be an innocent victim." Jack: "With Irina Derevko and Arvin Sloane as her parents? I doubt it." Sydney tells him she looked through Senator Reed's effects and found a reference to the Trust. Jack gives in and says he will give the evidence to the Department of Justice rep when he comes for Sloane's execution. He asks Sydney what she really found in Senator Reed's things, and she says she hasn't seen them yet........

Sydney and Vaughn go to Little Tokyo. Vaughn apologizes for what happened in Richmond. Sydney: "You were doing your job. And she is still your wife." Vaughn: "Not for long."...........

The DOJ official arrives and Dixon introduces him to Jack. Jack puts the evidence of the Trust in a drawer......

Jack goes to see Sloane. He remembers that Sloane had used a particular wine to toast Sydney's birth, and he felt it only right to return the gesture. They both drink. Jack: "What you have done to my daughter is nothing compared to what I will do when I find yours."............

Act Four

Sloane is brought in chains to the site of the execution. Dixon and Jack are waiting for him. They take him into the chamber............

Sydney gets into the area where the Hourglass is kept. She sees a motion sensor and radios Marshall. He tries to deactivate it. He mentions that everyone there has gone down to watch Sloane's execution. Sydney says she can't wait and goes into the room. She kills several guards and gets the Hourglass.......

Sloane is asked if he has any last words. He says he hopes when his daughter is found she will know that he did everything he could to find her. He is given the lethal injection. Jack and Dixon watch impassively. Lauren comes in to watch, also. Sloane is declared dead. Sydney arrives just in time to see his body removed from the room. She looks accusingly at Jack. He starts to speak, but she stops him: "There's nothing you can say.".............

Lauren calls Olivia to tell her that Sloane is dead. Olivia says that the code key is false, and Vaughn must have played them: "But that will be his last mistake.".............

In the morgue, Jack unzips Sloane's body bag and injects with a solution that revives him. He says he is surpeised that Sloane didn't recognize the drug he gave him in the wine, which counteracted the poison in the lethal injection. But he tells Sloane that he only did it because he needs him.



COMMENTARY 1

This commentary is by Adriane Saunders.

Rambo lives! Enter Syd Bristol, machine guns blazing, one in each hand. Countertops and glass explode everywhere as she strafes the interior of a laser protected room. Armed guards rush forward. Syd guns them down indiscriminately. Count 'em. Two, three (twice), now four are splayed against the walls with the force of her bullets. Now, here comes six, now seven, eight! What is this?! Who is this?! What is with all the blood and guts for our hero?

Since when has Syd become so heartless she enters rooms killing everyone in sight? Simply to retrieve a Rimbaldi artifact! Bizarre. For a single Rimbaldi artifact--an hourglass, Syd kills eight people! I am not sure I like this Syd much. Though the hourglass is a clue to finding her long lost sister, that she would go to such lengths is farfetched--and certainly out of character. Syd is not Rambo, a cartoon, or video game character. Besides, Syd didn't even know she had a sister before this week.

PLOT:

A sister is added, likely to fill the gap left by Lena Olin's (Syd's mother Irina) departure from the series. This week that same Irina blinks off Jack's Internet screen. Connection terminated. No more communication. Is Irina protecting "The Passenger"? The search for the bio-weapon that can kill millions, but which turns out to be a person continues. That bio-weapon, "The Passenger", was last week believed to be Irina. Now, this week Syd's sister, actually stepsister, attaches to the label. Vaughan and Syd and Marshall trick Lauren into showing herself the mole, but in the process Lauren finds out she is played. The next trap (next week) will be for Vaughan. Sloane, father of Syd's stepsister, is meanwhile executed by lethal injection. Temporarily. Jack revives him for his own purposes. Ever the pragmatist, Jack. So, the plot continues.

Highlights and lowlights are about equal in this episode. Start first with the LOWLIGHTS.

LOWLIGHTS:

1--Lawrence of Arabia or Indiana Jones? Where is the desert sequence with the huge sand dunes filmed? Looks like an amazing locale, but how come no one in either of Sark's getaway trucks notices two horses and riders coming out of nowhere on so wide and empty an expanse of sand and desert? No one looks in rear view mirrors, or hears any sounds! That stretches credibility, particularly for Sark who is usually on top of his game

2--What is the big deal about the affair (twenty-five years ago) between Irina and Sloane? Why would Jack care now? When Jack takes wine to Sloane (just before the execution), he swears vengence on Sloane's daughter. Huh? Tight-lipped, cards close to the chest, just do it without explanation Jack is not given to tirades. Even those delivered through his teeth in a quiet voice. This script is the pits. Yo, Appelbaum and Nemec (scriptwriters), this is not Jack.

3--Sloane is not Sloane either, for his execution. He shuffles to death with his shoulders slouched and head hung low, a very unlikely pose for Sloane. This is followed by a soppy, over-the-top monologue about his never met daughter. He wants to find her so he can "love her." Who wrote this tripe?! Tsk, tsk, Applebaum and Nemec. Laughter and head shaking are my reactions to his monologue--and his body language. Even the lead up to the execution is pure Soap Opera 101. As Sloane makes his "long walk" down the hallway to the death chamber, Dixon approaches. He tells Sloane, "I will pray for you, that your soul can find peace in the next world." Jeez, Dixon, why not just thumb your nose and say, "nah, nah, de, nah, nah." Show Sloane how you really feel. Cut the corn. Mercifully, Jack (also present) says nothing. This is a pathetic execution (with the medieval touch of a roomful of people "witnessing" Sloane's death thrown in for good measure).

4--Segue overkill. The "set up" to entrap Lauren is all talk. That talk is back to back, overlapping (sort of, loosely), explaining the plan (Dixon, Jack, Marshall), carrying out the plan (Vaughan, Marshall), explaining the plan, carrying out the plan. Which is what, when? All this is to trick Lauren into stealing a fake code key. Talk, talk, talk. I get the idea, but these back to back pieces do not fit tightly enough. Too loose. More cuts please. Editor, editor. Hello, Maryanne Brandon.

Now screech to a halt and shift gears for the HIGHLIGHTS.

HIGHLIGHTS:

1--Marshall is his usual charming, dithering, humorous self. As "the plan" to trap Lauren goes ahead, Jack tells Marshall just to "act normal" when he interacts with Lauren. A near hysterical reaction is the result as Lauren comes to see him. Ratchet up "normal" to abnormally "normal".

2--Lots of foot-in-mouth from Marshall. After successfully tricking Lauren, marshall excitedly reports, saying to Vaughan: "She's good, she's really good. If you had to fall in love with someone who's evil--" He continues to back talk his way out of his words by only compounding them. Syd looks on straightfaced.

3--Marshall says, "Oops," while he monitors Vaughan's theft in Lauren's parents' house. "What do you mean 'oops'?" Syd says. The sensor has picked up another EMI reading. Lauren is in the house and approaching the study when Vaughan is photographing documents as fast as he can. Suspense mounts. Lauren comes ever closer. The door to the study opens wide. Lauren is there. "What are you doing in here?" Lauren asks Vaughan. His back is to the door. When he turns, he calmly says, "looking at these," (pictures from their wedding). No "gotcha!" this time. Marshall, though, bites his nails as he listens on the communication system.

4--More hilarity from Marshall as the "com" system is left on while Lauren seduces Vaughan. The sounds are broadcast loud and clear, much to Syd's discomfort. She is also monitoring the theft. Marshall says, "I'm sure that's not what it sounds like." Yeah, right. Syd tells him to turn it off and walks away. Marshall mutters on. "I should have turned it off sooner.," he says to no one in particular. Nah, Marshall, never do that. Stay as endearingly hilarious as you are. Dither on.

5--Jack's retort to Syd, when she worries about her newly discovered stepsister being a possible "victim" of circumstance: "That she could be an innocent victim with Irina Derevko and Arvin Sloane as her parents?!" he says incredulously, "I don't think so." Kudos for that.

6--Syd mousetraps her father Jack. Like father, like daughter. She bluffs Jack into revealing he has proof of the existence of "The Trust". This she does by claiming to have seen Senator Reed's effects. After Jack gives himself away, he asks,"What exactly did you find in the Senator's effects?" "Nothing," she tells him. Apparently he request to see those effects had not yet been delivered. "Now I don't need to look," Syd says. Gotcha!

ENDING:

Jack zaps Sloane alive again with an injection. No altruism here. Jack has an as-yet-undisclosed use for Sloane. What that may be, who knows? Time will tell.



LINKS:

Television without Pity treatment




Previous Episode |Alias Guide |Episode Guide |Next Episode

Season 1 |Season 2 |Season 3


Episode
Guide Table of ContentsBack to Whoosh!