Episode Report Card Manimal: B- | 306 USERS: C+ YOU GRADE IT Color-Blind
By Manimal | Season 1 | Episode 7 | Aired on 2001.11.25
Shepard tells her that she was right; he doesn't want to die in the hospital. Sydney searches Dr. Ratched for the keys and asks how Shepard got out of his room. Shepard is quite proud -- he pretended to swallow his tongue, and when the attendant came in, Shepard grabbed his keys.
Generic chase music mates with generic techno as Sydney and Shepard try the dual-key lock. Shepard freaks out. Sydney tells him they'll get out, and it's going to be okay, and that she wouldn't help him get out if she thought he'd killed someone. What? That makes no sense! He's an assassin! They both know he's an assassin. Oh, Christ. Anyways. Shepard swallows, looks fearful, and says, "Unless you're planning on killing me." Sydney looks puzzled and asks why she would do that. Then, in the worst job of music editing ever -- and I mean, ever, only to be topped by tapes I made as a kid when my family was stink-ass poor and I had to hold up the tape machine to the radio -- the generic techno/action music changes to the opening chords of a great Pretenders song as Sydney and Shepard turn the lock. It's truly bizarre. Did no one listen to how bad it sounded?
The song carries over as Sydney and Shepard steal a car and escape, and the scene cuts to SD-6 and to Marshall, listening to abovementioned song so loudly that it's seeping through his headphones. Sloane enters. Marshall whips his headphones off, and the music is even louder. Sloane looks indulgent. Marshall says, "Whoa, company," and immediately offers Sloane a seat in his blow-up plastic chair. He mumbles something about plastic furniture being good for him, since he has a mild case of scoliosis and the air "ergonomically" hugs him. Marshall offers to blow up the plastic sofa if Sloane wants to stretch out. Sloane looks askance at the plastic furniture and says he'll stand.
Marshall says he's scanned the system, and it's virus free. Sloane lies to him and tells him that the virus was a drill, and that he's the only one who caught it, and good job. Marshall points out that the leak was transmitted over an unsecured connection. Sloane tells him that Security was watching it the entire time. Something in Sloane's bearing says that he's not so happy that Marshall freaked out and cut the switch so soon.
Romania. Forest. To differentiate from the L.A. sets, they have owls hooting in the background instead of crickets. Sydney pulls up a loose section of the floor and yanks out a Nokia phone. She dials a special code, only to get hooked up to her father. Sydney asks where Vaughn is. Jack says he had the number forwarded. Man. Whatever long-distance plan the CIA has, I want it. He asks if Shepard's with her. She glances at Shepard, who, in his ever-present hooded sweatshirt, is huddled morosely by the fire. She says yes. Jack tells her where to go to pick up a flight out of the country.