Lots of balances. Illyria/Angel. Spike/Gunn. Irina/Jack. Bush/Kerry. Speaking of the last one, I walked into the local newsagent yesterday to be greeted by the shock headline 'Kerry's secret lover', or somesuch. The Sunday Mirror obviously thought there was no ambiguity in referring to Kerry McFadden under her first name only. It's a sad reflection on the state of tabloid journalism when they don't even notice how ironic their front page splash headline is; how perfectly it encapsulates their obsession with the wrong things.

End grumble.

In these episodes, Irina, given a little freedom, starts to gain herself a position where she becomes a worthy Yan to Jack's ying. The scene halfway through the latter episode where all three have their backs to us, and we see Sydney walking between the two of them, her alleigance in constant question is lovely.

2.7- 'The Counteragent'

And so we begin where we left off, with Vaughn bleeding at the fingertips and in imminent danger from the virus.

The episode has one of those fun parallel lines that I always get so worked up about; they give an intimation that a writer is thinking about how two characters fit together. At the beginning of the episode, Irina thanks Vaughn for saving her from execution, and Vaughn snaps back, still angry at the woman and her deeds, 'I didn't do it for you'. At the end of the episode, when Vaughn offers his own thanks for Irina's intelligence to Sydney, which ended in his recovery from an illness that might otherwise have killed him, Irina retorts, with a smile of malicious glee 'I didn't do it for you'. And it stings, because Vaughn has been so magnanimous in admitting his debt to her, only to have his grace thrown back in his face, and for it to feel like he was the person being ungracious all along.

Another element of Vaughn's lack of grace in this episode is contained in his non-reveal to Sydney of Alice until she says she has met him. Again, he was too pained by his love for Syd to say anything about it, despite the fact he knows the strict agent/handler protocol in the CIA. Again, he comes off not looking as good as he is. And again, he's forgiven in his hospital bed by doe-eyed Sydney, still trying to comprehend this whole new rabbit-hole.

On the positive side, it appears that Vaughn has genuinely won Jack's respect, rather than Jack just claiming it as some kind of useful fact for manipulation of his daughter later. He immediately agrees that 'We can't lose Vaughn', in an act of brotherhood not usual from this lone wolf. Do we suspect Jack makes this unusual statement because of his recognition of Vaughn's exceptional ability as a CIA man, or because Sydney loves him?

And, the most obvious of opposites, the dark to Jack's, um, shady, is Irina. She has also realised what Vaughn means to Sydney. It is truly fascinating, though clearly dangerously likely to end up in complete disaster, to speculate on why exactly Irina keeps telling Sydney to go for it, and on why she keeps coming up with proclamations such as 'To the one person who matters, you've said nothing'. Does she see elements of the real love that she felt in her relationship, now shattered like a vase on a cream-coloured carpet, with her erstwhile husband, and wish that Sydney could transmute her failure into latter day success? Do we see her eagerness as a weapon to annoy Jack, getting Sydney to practice the same feminine wiles of Vaughn she practised on him? Or is there some other espionage-based reasons we're steering clear of? Surely it's not as simple as her desire for her daughter's happiness?

And so Vaughn recovers, and says nothing to Sydney about how much she still means to him. Chastened for a second, he hurries through CIA corridors trying to catch up with her and set the equilibrium back to where it should be, at their mutual non-consummation for reasons of shyness and protocol alone. But Syd, the mayfly, the spy with a thousand faces and several dozen wigs, is disappeared into the aether.

So this is a Vaughn-based episode; but also nudged into the periphery of the Goya:

-Will and Syd discuss 1982, the year the standardised test was rigged and, it appears, Sydney was identified. It would fit, with Jennifer Garner playing Sydney as a few years younger than she is, as so many characters are played, (outside fantasy, where everyone plays characters scores of times their age).

-Sloane is getting desperate- his torture of the man who gives only the name of his wife lacks his usual icy discretion. He's worried about what Christophe will do, but he gets away with it in the end because of Sydney's desperation to save Vaughn, and Sark's devilish, sartorial fudging.

-Little to no Dixon so far this season. I hope they don't think they've said everything about Old Faithful. He's such a stalwart. Meanwhile, Marshall needs a character twist. Without an arc, he's slowly becoming one note, despite his charm. Francie could also do with something meaty. There are a lot of regular characters on the books at the moment, (10?), and it takes a genius to handle them all well, but it's got to be done a touch better, like Abrams managed in his first season finale.

-More Jack grumpiness about Irina. It is her who caused the virus that has immobilised Vaughn. "Murdering a man is something you never came close to considering before getting to know your mother." The fact that it never comes to that, while a good piece of plotting, is a bit of a wimp-out on the 'Always take the worst case scenario' rule book I work from.

Gentle. I was puzzled as to why Herc gave this one 4 stars, considering a couple of the previous episodes, which are much, much superior, got three and a half. But then I simply don't understand Herc's ratings.

2.8- 'Passage- Part One'

Here I commit a cardinal sin, and review the first half of a two-parter only. This turned out to be a mistake in reviewing 'A Hole in the World' before I'd seen 'Shells', and I can only hope this occasion doesn't have the same effect. The episode seemed fairly self-contained as it was- the main motif being our first opportunity to see Irina, Jack and Syd posted on a mission together. Irina's Judas' kiss when they check into the train is worth the entrance fee on its own, but what other flour comes from the wheat? [I'm aware these sentences are becoming set-pieces a little like Anne Robinson's insults of people in 'The Weakest Link', but I'm keeping them, cos they're fun, so tough luck]

-We've finally lost the recap, which allows more time for the new stuff, post 'Previously'. I for one am glad.

-The scene where Sydney hunts down Sark in her car, driving him off the road, is a long-overdue reaching of equilibrium in response to the Bond film where it's made clear that, despite the fact there might be a female spy, there is no question that Bond, the male, is a much better driver. I really enjoyed these few seconds. Capped by Syd's deliberately morewitheringthanusual: 'You're a dog looking for a new master'. Girl power!

-I liked the fact that Dixon objected to Sark's joining, even though it was a transparent ploy to get him to do something in the episode. It just reminds us how upstanding he is.

-There is absolutely no doubt in Syd's, hence our eyes, when Derevko tells her that she never told Sark she is a double agent. Lena Olin has a fine showcase in this episode- what I love about her acting is how extremely still and balanced she always is: measured tone, balanced body, slow, genuine expressions. Alluring but dangerous.

-I love the way that Jack explains to Sydney how Kendall loves to overrule people, and hence why he chose to argue for Irina's release. Nice little reveal on Kendall's ego and Jack's sneakiness, as well as adding interest to what would otherwise just be another Jack throws a spanner in t'works scene.

-Despite the fact that Will and Vaughn are still friends, the completely cheery goodwill lasted two episodes until Vaughn tells Will he can no longer pay him. Will continues to show his worth by outfoxing the FBI though, which is wish-fulfillment on the part of the writers to the audience, but sucked me right in.

-If you're going to do a corny romance scene, do it in the middle of an action show so buzzing that it seems of a different texture. I can't take the whole, "My watch stopped, my watch is my heart" stuff very seriously, to be honest, but I suppose it's pretty in a really saccharine way. I did however like the tricksy, 'Me too', when Syd appears to be talking about a mission but is actually also requiting the message behind Vaughn's story.

-Sloane's miscalculation hits fever pitch here, where he tells Sark "Sydney will believe what I tell her to". Either Sloane's playing cards so close to his chest he's chafing against his vest, or this is a comment of supreme hubris, and full of dramatic irony. Meanwhile, Sloane receives the finger of his wife. Oh, the charm. This plot-line is becoming pat and needs some resolution pretty soon, before the mystery is yanked up to the 'I don't really care any more' phase.

Yes, so this episode isn't one of my favourites, and is the Season starting to imperceptibly lose some momentum? I'll leave such a sweeping statement until I've seen the conclusion of what is, after all, a two-part episode yet to reach its final equilibrium.

TCH