Episode Report Card Manimal: C | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Mea Culpa
By Manimal | Season 1 | Episode 9 | Aired on 12.08.2001
Sydney's Apartment. Francie tells Sydney that she should complain about her boss sending her off on another trip. Then she non-sequiturs and asks Sydney her opinion on a wedding dress. Sydney says they should go shopping for one. In the middle of their plans, the phone rings. It's Joey's Pizza.
Outdoor café. Vaughn. He tells her that SD-6 wants revenge on Hassan for something Sydney did. Remember Episode Three? Well, he wants revenge for that, since afterward he sold SD-6 some Stinger aircraft missiles, but just took the money and ran instead of delivering. The CIA wants to bring Hassan to justice, but SD-6 wants his cash to send a "don't fuck with daddy" message to everyone else they work with. But apparently they want SD-6 to have the money so they can track its progress. Vaughn notices the huge, plough-carved furrows in Sydney's forehead and asks what's wrong. Which cues another pointless flashback.
Sydney's getting briefed by Marshall. I'm in a horrible mood, because Marshall's little mannerisms and whatnot are just grating on my nerves. He hands her some device that "sucks" the information out of whatever computer it's placed on. Marshall offers her candy, since he's trying to make his place more homey. Then Marshall's face falls. Sydney turns. Sloane is behind her and asks to see her in his office. Her hair looks great in these scenes, by the way.
Sloane's office. He's reviewing Sydney's test results with her. What follows is a creepy monologue by Sloane about how he views her as a daughter, and how he doesn't blame her for hating him after what happened to Danny. There's also a bizarre close-up of Sloane pouring a glass of water. It's extremely creepy, and in the course of it we discover that Sloane and Sydney's dad have known each other since Langley -- since 1971, in fact -- and that he was at her parents' wedding. God. If this show rips off Star Wars, that's it. Sloane better not be related to her or have been "in love" with her mother, or the suck factor of this show is going to get so dangerously high that it may rip a hole in the fabric of the space-time continuum itself and take us all with it. Anyway, Sloane says he wanted her to know all this before she went away.
Back to Vaughn and Sydney. Sydney murmurs that it was almost like he was saying goodbye. Vaughn tells her they'll be okay, and to contact him as soon as she gets back. She says she will. Vaughn says to contact him just to let him know she's all right, even without the account numbers.