"The Two"

Written by J.J. Abrams
Directed by Ken Olin


In which Sydney discovers that her entire world has changed during the past two years of her disappearance, forcing her to make desperate choices to begin putting the pieces back together...

Status Report - 60 Minute Drill - Final Analysis







Status Report

Despite being written by J.J. Abrams, this season premiere is easily one of the least satisfying episodes in some time. Perhaps it’s just the need to completely redefine the series in the wake of the shock ending for “The Telling”, or just the pressure of coming up with something exciting when the real drama is far more cerebral. Whatever the case, this episode has enough logical flaws to drag down whatever innovations are being introduced.

The thrust of this episode is to demonstrate how Sloane’s use of the Rambaldi device changed the world in the two years since Sydney was attacked. While that is a bit of an interpretation of the events depicted, it’s not an unfair guess. It’s clear that Sloane was lying through his teeth when he said that the Rambaldi device simply delivered a message saying “Peace”, especially in light of the Rambaldi artifacts of the past.

More realistically, Sloane knew that Syndey was driving the forces aligned against him. Sloane was stunned at the potential effects of the Rambaldi device, and it was clear from “The Telling” that he wanted to test that potential. If this episode is any indication, the Rambaldi device introduces some kind of perfected mind control.

Sloane, having built the Rambaldi device and discovered its potential, saw a way to use his most fervent enemy to further his goals. It’s relatively certain that Sloane would have had Sydney under observation, so he would have been aware of Francie’s failure to kill Sydney. As an alternative, Sloane tested the Rambaldi device on Syndey, wiping out her memory and placing her under his strict control.

There are few other alternatives to explain how Sloane could have gained such a sterling reputation among his enemies in so short a time. As persuasive as Irina could be, few people actually trusted her during her tenure as a detainee. Without the subtle control of the Rambaldi device, Sloane simply could not have accomplished such a task.

But using a perfected method of mind control, it makes sense that Sloane could have turned his fortunes around, gaining the confidence and support of his former enemies. Certainly that process would have been tempered by Sloane’s own control of the process, requiring some intractable enemies to be eliminated. This was apparently Sydney’s role: Sloane’s assassin. Once the task was completed, Sydney was returned.

What’s not clear is how Sydney could return with her memories and suspicions intact. One simple explanation is that the imperfect use of the Rambaldi device allowed for that eventual awakening. Whatever the case, Sydney becomes the means through which the audience pieces together the puzzle, which is interesting yet ultimately frustrating.

Part of the frustration is the inevitable result of starting over with a vastly different playing field. But there’s also a level of frustration that comes with Sydney’s odd reaction to Vaughn’s marriage and the fact that her ploy to have her father released actually works.

While it’s understandable that Sydney would be upset with Vaughn, it is completely unrealistic for her to think that Vaughn would wait for Sydney to return. After all, he mentioned the fact that a charred body with her DNA was discovered in her burned-out apartment. Sydney is completely wrong to blame Vaughn for some lack of faith, when there was no reason for Vaughn to think that Sydney could come back.

Just as unbelievable is the idea that Sydney would be able to blackmail the NSC and CIA into not only releasing her father, but reinstating him as well! Sydney should have been tossed into a cell next to her father as soon as she “went rogue”. Indeed, this is even more evidence to suggest that the officials in question are not thinking straight. There is a hope, however small, that Sloane is pulling those strings, giving Sydney enough room to place herself in a highly visible and easily monitored position.

At this point, it also seems probable that the Covenant is actually a Sloane operation. They obviously have some inside information on the CIA/NSC operations, because the Paris ambush was too perfect. The main suspect is the NSC contact himself, which would play into the theory that Sloane is controlling him. However, it’s not clear what the Covenant wants, though one could assume that there is some connection to the overall Rambaldi theme.

This episode had the unfortunate task of making a ton of exposition and character re-introduction interesting, while also giving the audience a sense that things were moving forward at the usual rapid pace. No matter how hard Abrams tried, the result stretched even the usual willing suspension of disbelief to its limits. The entire episode is summed up by the scene in which Sydney causes a car to explode with one shot of her very large gun. It was visually satisfying, yet almost laughable in its disregard for reality.


60 Minute Drill

00:51 - You know, just watching the recap at the beginning, I realize that Sydney shot Francie in the shoulders. Neither shot should have been fatal, and if it was the intent to remind us that Francie was dead, why not make that clear? I’m thinking that Francie was still in the apartment when it was torched...

01:05 - Obviously Sydney’s arrival in Hong Kong was faked...that live cat is definite evidence!

01:49 – Almost two minutes of recap...and yet, there’s so much more they should’ve mentioned...

01:50 – Nice match between old scene and new scene, though!

02:20 – OK, so if the DNA of the charred corpse matched Sydney, but we haven’t heard what really happened to Francie...what are the chances that the evidence was altered by Sloane’s people, after they took Sydney? Could Francie have been used to produce a corpse with Sydney’s DNA?

03:34 – So Vaughn’s a teacher. How cute, since that’s what Sydney always wanted to be...

04:30 – It was about at this point that I noticed that the sound was really off in this episode. The dialogue is incredibly quiet compared to the incidental sound effects, and the music is overpowering, especially in the bass. Now this was using 5.1 equipment...that shouldn’t have been happening!

05:20 – There’s another great example...listen to how loud that tranquilizer dart is when it smacks into her back...with that kind of sound, you’d expect it to pass right through her chest...

06:17 – This little distorted perception sequence seems a little deceptive to me. I’m almost certain that this is actually Sydney’s memories from sometime during her “lost time”, but I could be wrong. There’s just something about it that seems important...

06:45 – Why the hell is that monitor beeping like that? It doesn’t match her heartbeat at all!

07:45 – Will’s survival is indeed a very puzzling item, especially since it seems obvious that Sloane was behind the destruction of Sydney’s apartment and her subsequent disappearance...

07:53 – “I have a lot more than a million questions! I wish I only had a million questions!”

08:44 – Leave it to Weiss to come up with something that actually makes Sydney laugh...

09:05 – Sloppy work, Dixon! You ought to know better than to have a classified conversation behind a door completely within Sydney’s view!

10:33 – Hey, she’s kinda cute...

10:45 – So of course, they kill her...

11:06 – I have to say, I’m impressed already. The Covenant obviously knows who Kingsley is, but they kill everyone else just to avoid witnesses. Or just to have a little fun...

12:38 – I’d be more impressed by the fake coin if it wasn’t so obvious that it was a fake coin!

12:53 – I find it amusing how blueprints and schematics are always shown on TV and in movies as these rapidly changing screens that can’t be read...

13:44 – Credits this far into the episode...yep, it’s definitely “Alias”!

17:55 – “I’ve lost my keys...where are they?”

18:00 – I can’t believe Connie slept with Marshall...but I can believe why she didn’t marry him...

18:25 – “I’ve lost my keys...where are they?”

19:00 – As soon as he referred to Sydney as “our girl”, it was obvious to me that Lindsey was Evil. Or controlled by Evil. Really doesn’t matter!

19:33 – Interesting that the CIA and NSC know almost nothing about the Covenant, and yet, the Covenant clearly knows detailed information about them...

20:27 – There’s absolutely no reason why Sydney should have been given one thing for her involvement. Nor should Lindsey have been so stupid as to involve Sydney at all. She should have been detained and thoroughly debriefed with a full psychological evaluation before they even thought about putting her in the field!

21:45 – Is it me, or does Jack look like Castro?

22:37 – I’ve just realized that Victor Garber has enormous ears...

22:47 – Why would Marshall have given Sydney something to prevent electronic surveillance, when she was missing for two years with no explanation of her whereabouts? And why didn’t anyone ask about the sudden gap in whatever recordings were made?

29:33 – Nice to know they remember Sydney’s codename!

29:40 – Weiss specifically tells everyone to watch for tripwires...so of course, not one person actually looks down as they rush into the building...

30:22 – At this point, all of the Covenant hostiles are still gathered outside the building, clustered together on one side...

30:27 – Yet it only takes 5 seconds for them to suddenly surround Weiss’ squad inside the building!

30:38 – “Quadrant 6”? Why would there be more than 4 quadrants?

32:27 – The Russian could have easily slit Weiss’ throat and still escaped...very convenient that he didn’t...

33:00 – Good to know Sydney still doesn’t listen to her father very well!

33:50 – If Sydney figured out that the Covenant ambushed them, why didn’t she suspect that the Covenant must have some asset within the CIA or NSC?

34:05 – You would think that Weiss would tell Dixon or Lindsey what Sydney was planning, since he shouldn’t trust Sydney at this point either...

35:12 – I swear, that statue makes me think of Sydney...I wonder if Sloane had it made on purpose?

39:35 – Why would Sloane be expecting Sydney? Are we to assume Weiss told Dixon what Sydney was doing, or was Sloane well aware of Sydney’s reappearance, because he was behind it?

39:50 – Everything Sloane “knows” is almost exactly what Sydney told Weiss. Could Weiss be working for Sloane, without knowing it?

40:16 – Note that Sloane doesn’t answer Sydney’s question about where she’s been the last two years...or deny that he knows...

41:09 – I don’t buy that “peace” explanation for one second!

41:34 – Well, Sydney, your mother convinced an awful lot of people that she was trustworthy, so it’s been done...

44:02 – As much as they’re highlighting that stomach scar, it has to be something vitally important to the overall plot arc!

44:14 – Could they have chosen more annoying music?

49:25 – It’s funny that even Sexy!Sydney has trouble with those heels...

50:05 – Oh, give me a frelling break. Exactly how does something the size of a handgun produce a round explosive enough to flip over a car yet leave Sydney standing not 20 yards away?

50:20 – And why throw something like that away, when it’s so much fun?

51:41 – Damn, does she look good in that leather jacket...

51:51 – There’s no way in hell that Sydney’s little threat should have worked, especially since just the threat should have landed Sydney in a call next to her father’s. Wouldn’t internal blackmail threats be more pressing a problem than a relatively minor remote drone schematic?

53:30 – “Don’t use rational thought as a defense with me...” (Yeah, guys, how many times has this been proven out?)

54:55 – At this point, Vaughn should be wondering whether Sydney could ever be more of a complete bitch, because I don’t see how it could be possible!

55:14 – Now, this is when the episode just completely lost all credibility. Not only should Sydney be in prison by now, but there is no reason why Jack should have been re-instated. Sydney only blackmailed Lindsey into releasing Jack. There’s absolutely no reason why the CIA should have given him, or her, anything remotely resembling a job!

56:20 – If Jack had evidence that Sydney, and his records were confiscated, then why didn’t anyone review his data? Could it be that there were people who were purposefully blocking the investigation that Jack was conducting?

59:27 – Nice of them to tell us exactly what’s going to happen at the end of the next episode, isn’t it?


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode was almost doomed to failure. There were so many things that had to be covered during the hour, let alone matching the expectations of action and suspense. It might have worked, but too many massive gaps in logic were present in the final product. Hopefully, with this over and done, the season can move forward with something a little more consistent.

I give it a 5/10.


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