Episode Report Card Manimal: C+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT The Confession
By Manimal | Season 1 | Episode 11 | Aired on 01.05.2002
Hassan approaches Jack from behind and says that they had a way for him to get out of Cuba. Jack says offhandedly, "Oh, we do," and punches him with his elbow. Hassan goes down. Sydney looks -- well, she looks outstandingly wooden, as usual, but I'm going to interpret it as "mildly startled."
Jack starts to tie up Hassan as he tells Sydney that two years ago he'd heard she would have to deal with Hassan, and it turned his stomach that she had to deal with people like him. Wow. Is there anything more fluid and beautiful than the sound of completely gratuitous exposition? Sydney tells him to let her clean his wound(s). Sydney asks him why he didn't tell her what SD-6 was when she joined, since he already knew. Jack replies that revealing the truth about what she was doing would've required revealing the truth about what he was doing. When I first saw this episode, I thought this answer was beyond lame because, duh, wouldn't Sydney know that he couldn't afford to blow his cover? But now, after re-watching it, I think it's dumb for different reasons -- her question is totally legit, since Jack could've stopped her before she even joined.
Sepia-tinted skyline of mountain roads, et cetera. A big black helicopter approaches a flat piece of terrain. The African dictator sedan pulls up, and Jack loads Sydney and Hassan inside. Sydney's wearing very retro-looking cop sunglasses. Jack says, "See you," and Sydney says, "Okay." Long shot of helicopter pulling away and Jack standing, alone, by the car.
CIA Warehouse. Sydney tells Vaughn that Jack called SD-6 and told them the original mission was a success. Sydney says that everything worked -- SD-6 never knew she was in Cuba, and everyone has what they wanted, and her dad's okay. She thanks Vaughn for getting her into Cuba, and that he was right, she would've done anything to save her father. Except it's a lot longer and more boring than that. Sydney says that Vaughn should've seen her dad -- that she could see his reputation in action, how good he is at his job. Vaughn looks pained. Actually, the shot is mostly of his enormous forehead and there are some major furrows going on, so I'm assuming he's in pain. For all I know, he could have gas or be concerned that he left his car lights on; I have the feeling that, in almost all those cases, his expression would be the same. He says that he has the deciphered codes from the books that Sydney found -- the codes she found in her mother's books that Jack had brought as gifts over the years. Apparently they're Cyrillic codes from the KGB, and they were orders to kill several CIA agents. Except (say it with me now) it's a lot more boring and drawn-out than that. Also, did I mention poorly acted? Apparently, twenty-five years ago, several agents were killed by an unknown operative and the murders have remained unsolved, and now the evidence all points to Syd's father. Sydney rises to his defense, but Vaughn is relentless. Sydney looks -- well, Sydney looks about as expressive as a cigar-store Indian, but I'm going to interpret it as shock.
Credit Dauphine. Sloane tells Jack that he's glad he's back safely, and that he was worried. Jack said everything worked out. Sloane looks the closest to "chipper" I've ever seen him.