"Succession"

Written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman-Counter
Directed by Daniel Attias


In which Sydney gets involved in a hostage negotiation with the Covenant, and learns that Sark is somehow connected to her activities during her disappearance...

Status Report - 60 Minute Drill - Final Analysis







Status Report

After the exposition-heavy season premiere, there were a number of intriguing questions left unanswered. This episode wastes no time answering some of the more obvious questions, while deepening the mystery surrounding the others. It’s absolutely clear that the premiere was meant to get the setup completed as efficiently as possible, so that the season could move forward in a more leisurely fashion.

It’s confirmed in this episode that the Covenant was behind Sydney’s disappearance, and that they did something to her to convert her into some kind of assassin. The fact that the Covenant is comprised of the remnants of Russian intelligence suggests a link to Irina’s operations against the Alliance. That link points once again at Sloane, who had been working with Irina to complete the Rambaldi device.

Jack and Irina’s “conversation” is quite interesting, since it would appear that Irina had no idea that Sydney was alive. This would seem to validate the theory that the real application of the Rambaldi device is some kind of mind control or memory wipe. From this episode, of course, it is just as likely that the Covenant has developed an alternative means of erasing memories; however, it seems hard to believe that Sloane’s rise to power is unrelated.

When even the characters mention that the explanation for the Rambaldi device is laughable, it’s definitely going to turn out to be something sinister. As Jack points out, it’s too anticlimactic. However, Sloane may not be completely untruthful. After all, the Rambaldi device might have given Sloane the means to conquer and control his enemies through peaceful means. Sloane still goes out of his way to not directly answer the question of where Sydney has been; he simply denies being involved. He could very well be saying that he wasn’t directly involved!

Just as interesting is the revelation that other agents have experienced “lost time”. It would be interesting to know whether or not those other agents experienced “lost time” after Sydney’s disappearance. One would think that Sydney would recognize that meeting with the other agents is a potential source of intelligence, not to mention a very convenient pool of agents willing to work on the eventual solution.

It seems that the possibility that Lindsey is working with Sloane, or is operating under Sloane’s control, might turn out to be wrong. However, he’s certainly playing games, and considering that he’s the Director of the NSC, his stupidity is alarming. There’s a very good chance that Lindsey was trying to make the operation against the Covenant fail, and it’s clear that he knew that assigning Vaughn’s wife to work with the CIA would cause problems. The fact that it could complicate operations against the Covenant suggests that Lindsey might be helping them.

The goals of the Covenant are still poorly defined, and they would seem to be aimed at covering for much larger and more sinister operations. Once again, the suggestion is that Sloane is using his resources as an apparent ally of the government to achieve something as yet unrevealed. His work on cures for cancer and treatments against disease, however, would fit well with the ultimate goal that Rambaldi was pursuing. It might be that the Rambaldi device not only gave Sloane the ability to control and influence, but also provided direction towards immortality.

Most of the weaknesses of this episode are confined to the more unbelievable elements introduced in “The Two”. It strains credibility to the breaking point for Jack to be working for the CIA again. One would think that Sydney and Jack would be kept to low-level analysis for a provisional period, if one manages to get past the fact that they were re-instated in the first place. As if to highlight the absurdity, the stipulations for Vaughn’s return to the CIA requires him to stay out of the field!

The fact that Sydney was assigned to assassinate Sark’s father so that the Covenant could acquire Sark’s vast inheritance adds to the evidence that Irina’s assets have become the Covenant. Irina should have known about Sark’s ancestry, and as an extension, Sloane probably had that information as well. The timing, however, is highly suspect. Sydney returns from her two-year disappearance, and in a matter of days, the plan to acquire Sark and his fortune, a result of one of Sydney’s assassinations, goes into effect. There has to be a connection; perhaps Sloane is moving to fund his Covenant operations, now that Sydney is likely to expose his ruse?

It was good to see that Vaughn wasn’t about to let Sydney walk all over him, after her unjustified rant over his lack of faith. At least in this episode, Sydney was being a little more reasonable. At the same time, the mystery is deepening. Not only was there a charred body with Sydney’s DNA, but those remains were buried. That begs the question: if there was a double of some kind involved, which is the original Sydney?

Perhaps the most impressive accomplishment of this episode was how easily the worst excesses of the season premiere were turned into seriously interesting plot threads.


60 Minute Drill

01:05 – OK, much shorter recap this time around, but I suppose that there was less ground that needed coverage...

02:00 – Apparently those two CIA agents could defy the laws of physics, because in a free fall like that, they should have risen off the floor!

02:06 – And then smacked back into the floor...

02:24 – Cool shot with the helicopter!

04:20 – At least we have an answer about Will now...

05:42 – I swear, Weiss has the hots for Sydney in such a bad way!

06:21 – If what the Covenant wants is to be heard, then how can what they represent be unimportant? Or is their goal simply to mess with the heads of the CIA to deflect investigations into other matters?

06:55 – If the CIA has been dealing with the Covenant for a while, why does Jack need to tell everyone who they are?

07:10 – “If anybody cares, I have the times...”

09:15 – With the music, lighting, and surreal foreign porn in the background, the theatre scene was like something out of a David Lynch film...very well done...

09:33 – Of course, it was obvious that a head was in the box!

10:12 – Opening credits time...

14:30 – Whatever else he might be, Lindsey is definitely one of the most incredibly inept NSC directors in the history of the agency! Or, working for the enemy...

14:56 – Interesting piece of information...if Sloane claims that Sark killed a high-ranking member of the Covenant, then the Covenant has to have been around for more than two years, since Sark was captured shortly before Sydney disappeared. That supports the theory that the Covenant could be linked to Irina’s old organization, given the Russian intelligence connections...

16:01 – So...the executive producers and writing staff are all CIA agents “killed in action”?

18:23 – “Although rationally I knew that I was a guy who stayed up nights, drinking and talking to his dead girlfriend...” (This is a lot funnier that I think the writers intended!)

18:56 – You know, Sydney looks a lot more bothered by Vaughn recitation of living through several months of hell than Vaughn did after Sydney’s self-serving rant last episode...

19:42 – Ever notice how Jack uses big words when he’s trying to be civil and pissed at the same time?

20:10 – “Personally, I would have found it anticlimactic, that after expecting to assemble the weapon of ultimate power, you ended up with a revelation that you could have acquired from a fortune cookie.”

21:06 – You know, Sloane has a damned good point about Jack and Irina!

21:35 – “Mostly dead ends.” What the heck is that supposed to mean? That some of the leads were good ones?

25:48 – What the hell happened to Sark’s head?

26:15 – Yes, whose body was it?

27:37 – Why does every series that writes an episode with a Mexico scene has to use “Traffic” as a tonal reference...

29:41 – Sark is so intriguing...note the look of concern for the released CIA agent when the unknown third party shows up. He could be totally concerned for himself, but he actually alerts the other man that something’s not right. That’s such a subtle character detail!

30:27 – I wonder...could Lindsey have hoped that Sydney would be killed during the operation?

36:15 – Why yes, Sydney, that’s exactly what Lindsey’s action were...

36:32 – “Who let you in?” (Great comeback!)

38:54 – How could the vault have required Sark’s thumbprint, if he had no idea that the vault existed?

39:04 – I love the look on Sark’s face when he sees what he has to give away to the Covenant!

41:06 – Why would Jack need to use a voice synthesizer? It’s not like there’s a lot to read...

42:10 – Totally hate Sydney’s hair...

42:42 – Nice dress on the woman on the couch, though!

49:26 – Could Blue Team look more conspicuous?

50:00 – How convenient that Vaughn makes a critical contribution to Sydney’s mission just after rejoining the CIA...

51:47 – Gee, Sydney, you might have gotten some answers if you hadn’t killed the bad Covenant man!

53:14 – They really know how to make people feel welcome at the Lost Time Support Group...

53:41 – Of course, the first thing that Mrs. Vaughn hears out of Sydney is a confession of lingering feelings for her husband!

54:01 – I like Lauren, from what we’ve seen, but she really needs to get a better hair stylist...

54:19 – Interesting that Lindsey would order Vaughn’s wife to investigate the murder of a man that Sydney just happens to have killed while playing Elektra...

57:35 – Here’s hoping that none of those previews spoiled the end of the episode, like last week’s did!

57:45 – OK...why is the entire episode, with credits and all those damned commercials, clocking in at more than two minutes short?


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode was a lot more credible than the season premiere. There was definite attempt to advance interesting plot threads, and there are enough revelations throughout the episode to make the whole things interesting. The final twist was a little too telegraphed, but overall, this was an improvement.

I give it a 7/10.




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