selenak

The Awful Truth, last week's episode, arrived at my place yesterday afternoon.

The adventure of the week A-plot was solid routine, of the kind we had in all the seasons. I didn't mind the villain's bad accent when he's talking German since Sloane said he's a British ex-pat.*g* The two German sentences actually spoken by Germans (on the phone - "Wir wollen keine Agenten, wir wollen die Vata. Du bist tot, Bishop" - were pronounced correctly.)

The true meat of the episode were the Jack and Nadia scenes. Or rather Jack/Nadia. Methinks it's pretty obvious they're build as a parallel to Sloane and Sydney, and remember what Jack said to Sloane last season, re: Sydney's recruitment back in the day? "Whatever you did to my daughter, I'm going to do worse to yours." Nadia's "why is my partner a man?" was perfect. And Jack's "how sad for you" was definitely a double entendre.

So what is Jack up to with Nadia, other than handing her over a patsy for Irina's death? Subtext aside, I think he's going to continue to manipulate her, so he can use her as a weapon. Whether against her father or against someone else remains to be seen.

In other news: Sydney is truly screwed now. I was glad to see early in the ep that she was planning to tell Nadia, both who killed Irina and the reason why Jack did it - because she was right - it would have been better if Nadia had heard it from her. Now, though? Jack would look even worse.

Weiss' birthday party was great, and I'm glad good old Eric joined the team afterwards in a way that made sense (given what he had seen).

Marshall and Vaughn: you know, me liking Marshall is nothing unusual, but I also liked Vaughn in these scenes. Him acknowledging Marshall was right to explode was a nice touch.

And now two almost-drabbles, for

monanotlisa who knows why. The first has 125 words, and gives me hope one of these days I'll manage that 100 words thing after all. Both are Sydney povs. Only vague spoilers for the first two eps of season 4.

The worst thing about Sloane was that she can't wish him dead anymore. She remembers the time when she thought she had delivered him to his death at Sark's hands, and the time her father had him executed for adultery. There had been no peace then, no relief. Just emptiness, and the nagging suspicion that the universe would never make sense anymore. What shocked her most about each time she saw Sloane alive afterwards was the sharp, dizzying relief. Her hatred for him is a polar star, and she needs it to guide her. She can't do without it anymore. When he smiles at her and compliments her in his soft, precise voice, and they both wait for her sharp reply, she suspects he knows.
***

The SD-6 office had been high above the ground, but the blue colours inside had always given her the sense of entering a cave. APO is located in a tunnel, but the stark white makes her flinch from the light a little each time she enters. It makes her head hurt, like the spectre of Vaughn and Sloane sitting at the same table. Two parts of her life that should not ever have come together. She has gone through the mirror; nothing on the other side makes sense anymore, and yet nothing is unfamiliar.

There is a young woman here, with a first trial by fire behind her and yet so many ahead. Her middle-aged superior watches her, never stops watching her. There is blood between them, and she doesn't know yet it connects them deeper than affection ever could.

Sydney watches her father touching Nadia's shoulder in passing, and for a moment, it takes everything she has not to scream.