It might be because I've had an exceptionally long, busy day, or that I used my job interview as an excuse to watch Alias in the evening for the first time this Season, or that I'm contrary by nature and seeing ponygirl rate the episode as 'dreary', I was determined to be non-endreared. But I rather liked this episode...

4.9- 'A Man Of His Word'

I want to put in a really good word for Angel and Buffy veteran, (she directed 'End of Days' reall beautifully; con fere Whedon's cumbersome 'Chosen'), Marita Grabiak, who does excellent work with the visuals in this episode, and wrings every inch of suspense out of character machinations which are nothing new or fresh. If one looks at the episode on paper, the main plot becomes turgid after the first act, and the Sloane/Jack thing can only be prologue, so from a purely plot perspective, it's not the greatest. But there were thoughtful moments within this not-least-boggy of mires.

-I liked Syd's calculated, almost pain-inducing 'I'm sorry' to Sloane at the hospital. As with Emily, it's fun, (in a sadistic, but at least only with imaginary characters, way), to see Nadia in danger or pain, just to watch Sloane and be confronted with the eternal question as to whether he's using these two cardinal relationships to his advantage, milking the sympathy for tactical gain, or whether he really has a big, weasel heart. Here, Syd can't help but register Sloane's pain and join it to her own- one of the many delights in Nadia as a character to interplay with. Other combinations of characters brought together by Nadia are showcased through the episode.

-As, surprisingly, are characters related to Sark, who is a much more well-utilised slipofaman in this episode than in the last one, where he was entirely pointless. "Incarceration has given me a sense of perspective", he intones to Sloane, before bludgeoning every byte of submission he can from Vaughn, of whom he is originally merely jealous, but shortly, quietly, hurt that he would kill Lauren. One of the myriad failings of late Season Three was the way that Lauren turned out to be a drone in Sark's wasp factory all along, rather than an equal alliance of evolity going on, and this weakened Lauren's character further and further. This scene is strengthened by it though- since at the time we weren't certain Sark had invested in Lauren at all, and now it's left ambiguous.

-Sark is to Lauren as Vaughn is to Sydney. Fish is to scales as Jekyll is to Hyde. Or should that Jekyll be Raw? For anyone not confused yet, please ring TCH for a symbolic logic assignment sheet.

-The triangle in Lauren's skin, later repeated, apparently, in Nadia's, starts off a whole raft of triangles, just waiting to be drawn attention to. We have the triangle of 'strong' women in this episode, all centring on Sydney- Lauren, who she impersonates, Anna, who she captures, and Nadia, who ends the episode mentioning the prophecy with. Also, we have a triangle from each vertex of our central triangle around Syd- Lauren/Vaughn/Sark; Anna/Sark/French guy; Nadia/Jack/Sloane. It's interesting how in each case here, it's the woman who has two men squabbling over her, and not the other way round. In Nadia's case, I omit to mention the wonderful but thematically irrelevant Weiss. And while we're talking of omissions, if Dixon had been played by Jamie Foxx or Morgan Freeman this week in celebration of their historic Oscar victories, I'm not sure anyone would have noticed. I have a picture of Carl Lumbly leafing through the script going- 'I knew I should have been recurring; much more screen time', and then blanking David Anders.

-It's tedious, it's a bone of mine, it's obvious. But Ron Rifkin. The man. The beard. The level of intensity he gets in his forehead and cheeks without trying.

-'What else do I have but my faith?', says Sloane. Rather inexplicably, everyone else's, it seems.

-Massive applause to Kevin Weisman for taking the line, 'You don't really care about it' and turning into 'Yadownreal, Ly. Care. ab. out. it_. Fantastic work. Also, I found this quote of his apropos 'The Sopranos' being on opposite 'Alias': "The Sopranos rocks, even though it's on the same time as Alias. I guess that's what TiVo's for. I love my TiVo. In fact, I would marry TiVo if President Bush would allow it." Good work.

-Syd as Lauren is remarkably good because we know that Vaughn has pretty much left Lauren as a fraud by this point, but his nighmare must be that Sydney turns out to be just as illusory as Ms Reed's was, and her dressing in the blond wig and devouring Sark's face can't be easy for him. Agree with ponygirl on Vaughn's surprising watchability so far this season, especially now they've eased of on the cloying end-episode Syd and Vaughn scenes.

-Before we get to Grabiak's stained-glass windows, (did I see triangles), and swirly gates, and pretty nicely done fight scenes, (the camera seems in two minds as to whether to show Syd's violence towards Anna- as if the shot has some kind of confused conscience, which I thought was excellent), we get the very lovely scene of Jack in the background and lowering the camera to Sloane in the background. It was ever thus. Sloane's apparent emotions, the range of his face, front and centre; Jack's submerged desires out back somewhere.

-Was Jennifer Garner doing an impression of an Australian doing a bad English accent, cos I thought she did a rather good job approximating Melissa George's, erm, characteristic, erm, brogue.

-Pretty Venetian bridges. I never forgot where I was this week, whereas usually the locations stick in my head for about two seconds before doing a Chamber of Secrets type anagram-tango into 'Somewhere Which Sounds Exotic But Is Actually Back Street LA'.

-Sloane and Jack mention the pact, which presumably is connected with the various Derevkos and so forth, but it seems we'll find out soon enough.

So, despite all expectations, really didn't hate this one. Though I still find it emotionally uninvolving, but that's nothing new. Good night everyone, and thanks for reading.