Episode Report Card Manimal: B | 1 USERS: A YOU GRADE IT Spirit
By Manimal | Season 1 | Episode 10 | Aired on 12.15.2001
Vaughn's VO. "That's impossible." Cut to a flower stand on an L.A. street. Sydney's selecting flowers as Vaughn sits with his back to her at an outdoor café table. They go over the Geneva transmission for the three thousand and first time. Kill. Me. Now. Apparently, the story that Sydney got from Sloane was that Russek was transmitting to K-Directorate. Vaughn once again expresses disbelief that he was doing so at the exact same time as Sydney was transmitting to the CIA, and that Russek's was the signal they picked up. You know, if they want to keep hitting us on the head with large, blunt objects, could they at least NOT pick the same exact spot with which to do it?
Vaughn tells Sydney that the CIA has no record of Russek talking with Russian intelligence. Sydney says that when she questioned him about his interrogation, he was "blinking in erratic intervals," and that's a classic sign of lying and that's why she refused to talk. "Blinking in erratic intervals"? Who the hell talks like that? Sydney says that maybe Sloane still thinks she's the mole and is using her somehow, or that Russek actually was K-Directorate. Vaughn says that there's a third option, and Sydney finishes for him -- Russek "was a sacrificial lamb." Aw, how cute. They're completing each other's sentences. Now can they just hump already and go off to their honeymoon of wooden faces and forehead crinkles?
Sydney asks if it was the CIA. Vaughn says no, but that Russek could've been working for K-Directorate, and that's what they should assume until they know more. Sydney apologizes for contacting him, but says they needed to talk. Vaughn tells her to never apologize for that. He gets up and drops a little Christmas-y gift bag near her feet. He mutters that he bought her a little something when he was shopping at an antique store. Sydney asks what he was doing at an antique store. Vaughn says he doesn't know, and that if she doesn't like it, not to tell him. They wish each other a merry Christmas.
Sydney's Apartment Of Good, Clean, Wholesome Fun. Francie, Sydney, and Will are playing Boggle and arguing over vocabulary. Will's sister is there, too. There's repartee to show how cute and bonded the group is. It centers around the validity of the word "numbst," which apparently is a real word and means something similar to "numbskull."
Sydney's beeper goes off. She apologizes, and says it's work. Will says it's ridiculous and that her job is interfering with her life, and that she works ridiculously hard, and that it's not exactly like she's a brain surgeon, and he's going to call and quit for her right now. Sydney says she can't quit. Will asks why. Sydney gets irritated and says sharply, "Will, it's my job. I want to do it well." Would someone please kick Will in the nuts? He's Sydney's friend, not her analyst, for chrissakes. Will continues to needle her, and concludes by saying that he thinks she's acting like a "numbst." Sydney loses it a little bit and says that while her job may seem pointless and stupid to him, it's not, and that if he knew what she did and how well, he might even thank her. Would someone please get a nice big cross for Sydney so she can climb right up on it? Will is understandably confused and asks what the hell she's talking about. Sydney gets herself under control and says she's going to work. She gives Will a dirty look on her way out.
SD-6. Sloane is telling them about Anini Hassan, who's looking to partner with a rogue nation. He shows them a recent photo, and says that they can't find him, but adds that, thanks to Sydney, they seized the majority of Hassan's private assets. He passes the conversational ball to Jack. Jack tells them about a hideout island where extraditions are notoriously lax and anyone can buy entry for a price. They don't take Discover, but they do take American Express. Haw! I kill me. Sloane says it's not likely Hassan's there, but there is a lead: Severan Driscoll -- who the hell is coming up with these names, by the way? Is there some sort of Sydney Sheldon-esque name generator on the Web that I don't know about? -- is a master forger and document-maker whose base is on "Simba Island." Or it's "Asimba Island." I can't hear it. Let this be a lesson to you, kids: you can only go to so many concerts sans earplugs before it takes a toll. Anyway, the point is that Sydney's going undercover as Victoria King to find out what identity Driscoll created for Hassan.