Alias 4.16, Another Mr. Sloane
Apr. 23rd, 2005 03:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakAfter excercising incredible will power, I managed to remain unspoiled until I had seen the most recent Alias episode, Another Mr. Sloane. And am I ever happy about this. Arvin, I'm more yours than ever.
I wasn't even disgruntled we only got the one Jack/Sloane scene, because there was so much other goodness as well. Not that said scene, brief as it was, didn't rock. Victor Garber acted his heart out (and swung the pendulum towards Jack at least sincerely believing that Irina is dead), and Ron Rifkin was wonderful as well. From season 1's The Box onwards, we knew that Sloane has nerves of steel in a life-threatening crisis, but he managed to get some compassion for Jack across as well, and hit upon the right way of dissuading Jack from killing him. No protestations of "I'd never do such a thing" but "that doesn't make sense, and it would have been a very bad strategy". Just among ourselves, though, I think that if this had been, say, Sark or Random Bad Guy X, or the late and not so lamented Sasha, Jack still would have shot first and asked questions later. But not with Arvin Sloane. Theirloveisointerdependent.
Garber's sublimeness notwithstanding, this was Ron Rifkin's episode. He got to run the full scale of Sloane, from cool crisis manager to obsessed believer, and got important scenes for each of Sloane's relationships - with Jack, with Sydney, with Nadia. While I still wish we'd have seen a bit more of the Sloane and Nadia relationship develop earlier this season, I'm very happy with what we got since The Index, and Another Mr. Sloane finally revealed some of what happened after the season 3 finale and before APO. Incidentally, I might be wrong about this, but I think Siena is where the villa Sloane bought for Emily was and where she died, which might or might not have something to do with the Rambaldi quest he and Nadia were on between seasons leading them there as well. In any case, Sloane's two main traits (beyond the ruthless evil genius thing) were his obsession with Rambaldi on the one hand, and the ability to love people deeply and completely on the other (Emily, and now it seems Nadia; of course Jack and Sydney, too, but not in a competing with Rambaldi way). In the past, he always tried to have his cake and eat it in this regard; the one time where he had to chose one over the other, in season 2's Truth Takes Time, and chose love in the form of Emily, she died immediately after, and thus his ability to stick with his choice was never tested. Seems as if this season approaches the scenario again, except this time there is a long-term test.
Also? The Rambaldi as addiction metaphor was never so open since Irina got all glassy-eyed when touching a manuscript in A Darker Turn. Sloane entering the collection, and later the hall with the Red Ball device - yup, that was the alcoholic falling from the wagon, or the former drug addict getting a great shot of heroin. That it's Sydney who tells him to do this is all the more delicious irony. I'm sticking to my Merlin and Nimue comparison. An am maintaining that J.J. Abrams, for all the Syd/Vaughn canon, is a not so secret Syd/Sloane subtexter and loves the Bad Wrongness of it. "He even looked at me the same way you look at me." "And what way is that, Sydney?" and "For all of our years together, this is the first time we're in action together - up close". (Not true, Uncle Arvin - you were ondates field missions with her in season 3, twice. But I suppose since she was doing the action stuff while you were separated, it's technically true. Nice metaphor anyway.)
The final scene was of course the pinnacle of sublime creepiness. And I love that there are several interpretations possible here. On the one hand, it's the High Priest of Rambaldism taking it out on someone profaning the temple. On the other hand, you could also assume a Buffy and Faith in Who Are You interpretation, because Sloane doesn't lose it until Carter says that Rambaldi promises eternal life. If you recall, Sloane believed that too in season 2 before Emily died ("What I'm pursuing will allow you to live cancer free, forever"). So who is the unworthy dilettante who never ever will understand all the mysteries of Rambaldi - the hapless Carter, or Sloane himself? Is this the fury of the faithful or an explosion of self-loathing? Or both?
Other tidbits:
- Joel Grey continues to do a great Ron Rifkin impersonation, but when we get to the inevitable showdown, my money is on Original Sloane - Cloane
might be good, but nobody does it scariness better than Our Arvin
- and they call him "Cloane" officially! Alias writers, that is Mutant Enemy style humour, and I love you for it
- poor Ensign Ro
- Jacquelyn: my money is on stillborn or dead child of Emily and Sloane, and named after Jack
- which really begs the question: who gave Cloane all the intel? I know there is a theory out there about Sloane and Cloane working together, but while I won't rule that out completly, I'd like a storyline where he actually was falling of the wagon (as opposed to never having been up there to begin with) better, because it's more tragic
- so what will they do with the Red Ball Of Doom now?
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yahtzee63 wrote a wonderful Sloane drabble in connection with this episode.
I wasn't even disgruntled we only got the one Jack/Sloane scene, because there was so much other goodness as well. Not that said scene, brief as it was, didn't rock. Victor Garber acted his heart out (and swung the pendulum towards Jack at least sincerely believing that Irina is dead), and Ron Rifkin was wonderful as well. From season 1's The Box onwards, we knew that Sloane has nerves of steel in a life-threatening crisis, but he managed to get some compassion for Jack across as well, and hit upon the right way of dissuading Jack from killing him. No protestations of "I'd never do such a thing" but "that doesn't make sense, and it would have been a very bad strategy". Just among ourselves, though, I think that if this had been, say, Sark or Random Bad Guy X, or the late and not so lamented Sasha, Jack still would have shot first and asked questions later. But not with Arvin Sloane. Theirloveisointerdependent.
Garber's sublimeness notwithstanding, this was Ron Rifkin's episode. He got to run the full scale of Sloane, from cool crisis manager to obsessed believer, and got important scenes for each of Sloane's relationships - with Jack, with Sydney, with Nadia. While I still wish we'd have seen a bit more of the Sloane and Nadia relationship develop earlier this season, I'm very happy with what we got since The Index, and Another Mr. Sloane finally revealed some of what happened after the season 3 finale and before APO. Incidentally, I might be wrong about this, but I think Siena is where the villa Sloane bought for Emily was and where she died, which might or might not have something to do with the Rambaldi quest he and Nadia were on between seasons leading them there as well. In any case, Sloane's two main traits (beyond the ruthless evil genius thing) were his obsession with Rambaldi on the one hand, and the ability to love people deeply and completely on the other (Emily, and now it seems Nadia; of course Jack and Sydney, too, but not in a competing with Rambaldi way). In the past, he always tried to have his cake and eat it in this regard; the one time where he had to chose one over the other, in season 2's Truth Takes Time, and chose love in the form of Emily, she died immediately after, and thus his ability to stick with his choice was never tested. Seems as if this season approaches the scenario again, except this time there is a long-term test.
Also? The Rambaldi as addiction metaphor was never so open since Irina got all glassy-eyed when touching a manuscript in A Darker Turn. Sloane entering the collection, and later the hall with the Red Ball device - yup, that was the alcoholic falling from the wagon, or the former drug addict getting a great shot of heroin. That it's Sydney who tells him to do this is all the more delicious irony. I'm sticking to my Merlin and Nimue comparison. An am maintaining that J.J. Abrams, for all the Syd/Vaughn canon, is a not so secret Syd/Sloane subtexter and loves the Bad Wrongness of it. "He even looked at me the same way you look at me." "And what way is that, Sydney?" and "For all of our years together, this is the first time we're in action together - up close". (Not true, Uncle Arvin - you were on
The final scene was of course the pinnacle of sublime creepiness. And I love that there are several interpretations possible here. On the one hand, it's the High Priest of Rambaldism taking it out on someone profaning the temple. On the other hand, you could also assume a Buffy and Faith in Who Are You interpretation, because Sloane doesn't lose it until Carter says that Rambaldi promises eternal life. If you recall, Sloane believed that too in season 2 before Emily died ("What I'm pursuing will allow you to live cancer free, forever"). So who is the unworthy dilettante who never ever will understand all the mysteries of Rambaldi - the hapless Carter, or Sloane himself? Is this the fury of the faithful or an explosion of self-loathing? Or both?
Other tidbits:
- Joel Grey continues to do a great Ron Rifkin impersonation, but when we get to the inevitable showdown, my money is on Original Sloane - Cloane
might be good, but nobody does it scariness better than Our Arvin
- and they call him "Cloane" officially! Alias writers, that is Mutant Enemy style humour, and I love you for it
- poor Ensign Ro
- Jacquelyn: my money is on stillborn or dead child of Emily and Sloane, and named after Jack
- which really begs the question: who gave Cloane all the intel? I know there is a theory out there about Sloane and Cloane working together, but while I won't rule that out completly, I'd like a storyline where he actually was falling of the wagon (as opposed to never having been up there to begin with) better, because it's more tragic
- so what will they do with the Red Ball Of Doom now?
yahtzee63 wrote a wonderful Sloane drabble in connection with this episode.
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no subject
Date: 2005-04-24 02:23 pm (UTC)As you may have seen, we were totally on the same page with this episode. Brilliant stuff, and completely owned by Ron Rifkin.
As for the immortality question, I think that the Ultimate Rambaldi Secret does involve the power to cheat/reverse/beat death, but perhaps that's only part of something greater. What's greater than that? Don't know yet.
And I agree that I want Sloane to be falling off the wagon, to have genuinely been dedicated to nothing more than Jack, Sydney, Nadia and redemption all this time. I think it's possible that he hired Cloane -- but long ago, i.e., in Season 2 as part of the whole "gaslighting" thing. He would've needed a double for the Alliance to go after, as he didn't know how long it would be before Syd and Jack brought down SD-6. So he hired this guy, gave him all the information he'd ever need to BE him, introduced him to Rambaldi -- and then realized too late he'd created a monster.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-24 02:44 pm (UTC)Now that's a brilliant idea and would be such a Sloane-ish thing to do. It would also explain why he doesn't seem to be really surprised there is a doppelganger out there on the one hand, but genuinenly disquieted on the other in the scene when Sydney comes to him after having seen the guy.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 08:39 am (UTC)Agreed. That "up close" comment to Sydney was definitely JJ playing into that creepy dynamic.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 08:56 am (UTC)