Saturday, July 27, 2013

S2 E3 – Cipher



The first part of this season we will see a lot of scenes where Sydney is running thru the park on her way to the covert entry of the CIA command center.  I’m not sure that it is said every time that she is coming in that way, but I love how when they recognize that she is requesting entry, an agent says that he will contact Agent Vaughn.   I don’t know how far in the tunnel system he goes to meet with her, but it is nice to know that he does go to meet her when she enters the building.

On that note, Sydney has come to the command center to tell Kendall that even though they got the camera last week, it was only a prototype.  They continue to discuss what SD-6 has planned and what they will do, however Kendall wants Sydney to go to her mother and get more info on it.  Sydney is very quick to tell Kendall to stop referring to Irina as her mother. As well as telling him that she spoke to her mother last time because it was necessary, she does not intend to make it a habit.  Kendall then tells Vaughn that he assumes that he has an opinion on the matter.  Vaughn plays this very diplomatically I think.  He tells Kendall that he doesn’t have an easy answer, but Kendall will take the complicated one.  For to paraphrase what is said is a little hard, so I’ll place in the quote, because I think Vaughn is very careful about his words now.  He knows that Kendall is manipulative enough to use his words against him, and also he wants to make sure that Sydney knows that he is on her side, always. “I can’t pretend to hide my bias here; Irina Derevko betrayed this country and killed my father in the process. On the other hand she is a certifiable Rambaldi expert and probably knows more about the inner workings of global organized crime than any other person in US custody. Having said that, I believe Agent Bristow and I were effectively countering SD-6 before Derevko turned herself in, and I stand behind whatever she decides.”  Upon hearing Vaughn speech to Kendall Sydney is very appreciative, you could see that she was going to get upset, when he was towing the company line, but she was definitely happy with how he defended her and their work together.  Kendall than made his final play, telling her that the sooner they know what she knows, the soon Sydney won’t have to see her ever again; which definitely gets Sydney thinking.

After discussing Sydney’s counter mission, Vaughn changes the subject and lets Sydney know that they want to talk to Will again.  Sydney is curious as to why they would need him. Apparently when Will was on his way to Taipei he was in and out of consciousness, and the CIA believes that with some regression therapy, he may be able to remember seeing Sark working on his computer.  Vaughn tells Sydney that if there was a way to do this without Will to access some of the information that they need, they would avoid bringing Will on, but they need him.

Sydney goes home and tells Will that the CIA wants to meet with him again, she gives him his SOP, standard operating procedure, so he will know how to get in contact with them, and then she tells him that he will be meeting with her handler, he asks if it’s Vaughn.  She tells Will that Vaughn is smart, professional, and that he won’t waste his time.  Sydney also tells him that he deserves to move on, but before she can finish Francie walks in and they end their conversation.

So I have to admit that even though Sydney is not in this scene, I get a huge grin whenever I even think of the first time Will meets Vaughn.  I love Will, and in the beginning I thought that Will would be a good match for Sydney, but then I met Vaughn and immediately changed my mind.  But Will is so in love with Sydney and the jealousy upon seeing that Vaughn is not an older agent kinda gets him down.  The moment when Will walks into the elevator and realizes that this other good looking man is Vaughn and eyes him up and down and then says, “So you’re Vaughn.”   You can tell immediately that he now knows why Sydney was so intent on going back to find him in Taipei.   Vaughn is quite happy though, he knows that this is Sydney’s best friend who she is now at liberty to talk to about her life and the fact that Will knows his name makes him smile. Then later when Will tells him that he has to help a friend get ready for her restaurant opening and Vaughn knows that it is Francie, it throws Will off a little.  Will is not thrilled that Vaughn knows so much about Sydney and her friends; he probably wonders what Vaughn knows about him.  Vaughn tells Will how they will contact him tomorrow, and Will suddenly realized that every time that Sydney would get a call that was a wrong number that she was on her way to see Vaughn and something clicked in his head.  Was there some times when she was overly excited to leave or something else that we didn’t see?  Vaughn tells him yes, that she was going to meet with him and why they do it that way.  Then Will asks about the picture frame, remembering when she opened the present. Will assumed that it must have been just another way to contact her, but Vaughn tells him that it was just a gift form him to her.  They say their goodbyes and part ways, but as they leave, I think that Will has realized that even though he’s closer with Sydney than ever now that he knows about her secret life, he has some big competition.  Vaughn isn’t completely confident, but seeing how jealous Will was, definitely lifted his spirits.

Will is back at the CIA in the medical area hooked up to all kinds of machines so that they can perform the memory regression on him to see if they can find out if Will did see anything while with Sark.  While Will is under he admits to being afraid that they are going kill him and get to Sydney.  The hypnotist reminds him that everything he sees has already happened, and that he doesn’t need to be afraid.  Sydney and Vaughn watch him from the room with the hypnotist.  From what I can see, Vaughn is concerned about Will, but he is more concerned about the way that Sydney is looking at Will.  Vaughn tells the hypnotist about Will debrief mentioning being carried out of the plane and wonders if he saw anything when he exited the plane. The Hypnotist takes this path and directs him to remember leaving the plane, but Will gets scared and Sydney sees something that in his demeanor in the present that causes her to be alarmed and tells the hypnotist to wake him. Sydney is assured that he is alright.  They are able to get him to read Sark’s computer as he is leaving the plane in his memory.  Once he reads off what is on the computer they wake him up.  When he wakes up, he is very happy to see Sydney watching him from the other room.  Vaughn and Sydney discuss why Sark was typing out the names of Russian authors, and decide that it must be a Cipher text.  Vaughn tells Sydney that he doesn’t like mentioning it, but with the time frame that they have, her mother may be the only way they could decipher the text before she leaves.   Sydney agrees, and then Vaughn tells her what the counter mission will be.  Right then Sydney is called into the room with Will, so she leaves Vaughn to be with Will and comfort him after what he just went through.  We see a little of Sydney holding on to Will’s arm and them just being close.  But then the camera turns to Vaughn, and I love the way the way that they shot this scene.  Because as we watch Vaughn watching Sydney and Will, and you can tell that he is jealous and he knows that he shouldn’t be.  But we can see the reflection of Sydney and Will in the window.  Personally it shows me the relationship that Vaughn wants to have with Sydney, he wants to be that person that she is concerned for, and rushes to his side.  Then I think that Vaughn even has a moment of guilt for being jealous and has possibly decided that he can’t just wait around for her since they can’t even be seen together in public, he may need to move on. – Trust me this is not a response that I like, but it makes sense that this could be the moment that leads to some future moments.

Sydney is on her mission in Siberia, and it is cold.  Dixon reminds her to stay sharp and watch her step, because if the ice breaks, it only takes four seconds for the ice to reform.  Sydney makes her way into an ice cave and sees the music box that they are after.  She tells Dixon that the ground is a little shaky, so she is going to go radio silent, but really she will need to transmit the music from the box to the CIA.  She contacts base ops/Vaughn to let him know that she has the music box and that she is getting ready to transmit.  While this is happening Dixon is getting a reading of other people making their way towards them, he tries calling to Sydney, but she is radio silent.  The other two agents that Sydney and Dixon brought along were killed from underneath.   Sydney asks for verification that they got the recording before she destroys the music box.  Vaughn tells her that they got it, and she sprays something on the box to disintegrate it.  Once she goes off radio silent, she hears Dixon yelling, and she asks him what is happening.  She finds out that Sark is here, she turns around and he is behind her.  Sark forces her to hand over the box and they chat a little, bitterly for Sydney.  Once she can, she throws an ice pick at Sark and it goes into his leg, and he starts shooting all over, including the ice below him.  Sydney tries to escape and go for the music box, but ends up falling thru the ice, she swims back to the surface, but the ice has already formed.

10 comments:

  1. I actually squealed when Will finally saw Vaughn! He was like, oh man.. he is not only young but he's good-looking and seems nice and can replace Danny in my bestfriend' Sydney's life. I like his jealousy b/c it shows Vaughn will be good in his friend's life.

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  2. Will almost lost his life pursuing something Sydney told him to drop, because he wanted Sydney to see him as a potenital lover instead of a good friend. Then he took one look at Sydney's tall and handsome handler and finally backed off, he knew he couldnt stand a chance.

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  4. Ann I love your opening para above ... I also love the fact the agents know how they need to contact Vaughn when she is arriving ... do you think he gave them standing instructions?

    And of course we would love that he goes out to meet her along the way ...

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  5. Vaughn missed a calling to work in the United Nations! Wow he is really clever at being diplomatic and saying the exact correct thing to say!

    I was amazed at his response to Kendall ... thank you Ann for transposing it ... yes I agree with you ... at one point Sydney looked ready to explode and then was quickly calmed down by Vaughn's next words.

    He kept casting her concerned looks as he was talking ... so sweet!

    Then he ends with emphatically saying "I stand behind whatever she decides" and gives Sydney a very satisfied look. And the look Sydney gives him back ... oooh ...

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  6. Haha I so totally agree with all you ladies! I also squealed watching Vaughn and Will meet! I was like omg omg omg ...

    And I love the conversation with Sydney and Will about Vaughn. She tells him that he will meet with her handler. Look at Will's face when he says "Vaughn." Classic!

    And she is really trying to repress a grin as she describes Vaughn - smart, professional and won't waste his time.

    Haha I recall she had other words to describe Vaughn to Francie - funny and hot like hot hot hee heeee ...

    I wonder how Sydney feels about the two men in her life meeting up?

    I really almost fainted when Will met with Vaughn. Who is with me in wanting to be in that lift? Two gorgeous guys in one lift ... are you kidding me?!

    Ann, I love your description of their meeting. Spot on!

    But I am so excited about their meeting that I hope you won't mind me adding on.

    So the doors open and Vaughn looks very serious and Will walks in. Then when Vaughn jams the lift, he turns around and I think he intentionally gives Will a very professional handshake and introduction overflowing with confidence (even if he may be wondering if he can really measure up with Sydney against Will) so that Will will know exactly what he's up against. hee hee

    I mean we can't blame Vaughn for trying to do a one up on Will right? How much does Vaughn love Sydney so it is natural for him to fight for her and great for us to watch!

    Yup Will really looks him up and down ... up and down Vaughn's very sharp suit and almost cannot believe his eyes and says "so you're Vaughn" haha it is really bewildering for Will but yup Ann, you are spot on, now he knows exactly why Sydney was going to risk her life in Taipei to find Vaughn and why she doesn't seem able to commit emotionally to him (Will).

    Love Vaughn's smile when he says "You sound surprised" and Will says "no I just thought you'd be errr (struggling for the word here! less handsome, less virile, less confident, a less dapper dresser ... haha) but he settles on the word "older". Vaughn's expression at this stage says it all! Yup! C'est moi - gorgeous and young!

    I think Will was hoping this Vaughn person was the age of Sydney's dad!

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  7. And I am very sure it is all part of the peacock act for Vaughn to name Francie with great satisfaction and he gives a cocky smile to show Will how he (Vaughn) is not just Sydney's work handler but how much of her personal life he knows.

    He gets the exact effect he wanted from Will - a disconcerted look! eeeeeeeeee (more squealing!)

    and I love the part when Vaughn tells Will about the SOP for contacting him and yes! You can see a bit of a Eureka moment for Will when he asks - "so every time that Sydney ran out the door after she got a wrong number, she was going to meet you?

    Noticed Will used the words "ran out" ... hmmm rushed off very eagerly?

    Vaughn explains the protocol but you can see his very satisfied smile which he is barely concealing which is at variance with the operating procedure he is talking about (nobody would smile that way about SOP). Oho ... what a great reveal for Vaughn that Sydney would rush to meet him!

    And it is all coming together for Will now ... why even with Danny dead, he doesn't quite seem to stand a chance with Sydney .... here is her secret life (and love) standing so gorgeous in his blue suit in front of him (yeoch i am getting light headed!)

    I think if Will was wearing his suit when he met with Vaughn, we'd get a lot more male hormones in battle!

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  8. And how can we forget about the photo frame ... Will's journalistic skills really kick in now ... and he wants to know about the photo frame.

    I did notice that Vaughn's face initially falls when asked about the photo frame and personally I think it is because he still remembers the fracas that Halakdi raised with Dr Barnett over the photo frame.

    But he regains composure and almost cheekily grins at Will and says - "Actually, no that was just a gift." Boooyah! (is that how you spell that?)

    Okay so time to end the conversation and leave us ladies still squealing ... Vaughn gives Will a most charming smile almost to indicate he wins or will win and it is symbolic that he leaves Will behind in the lift. And poor Will is looking most crestfallen!

    Isn't it interesting that it seems that in verbal and non verbal terms, maybe 20% of this conversation is about what Will is needed for and the rest of the 80% of the conversation is about Sydney with these two chaps?

    Haha they are really both so in love with her. But who wouldn't be huh? (I mean if you are a guy)

    And it is grrrreat TV production - as the lift doors close, we hear Sloane say "Congratulations are in order to both of you". hahahaha so appropriate ... congrats you have now met your competition ... hahaaaa

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  9. I'm conflicted about the scene with the 3 of them.

    So the elevator encounter should put Vaughn in pretty good standing but he has the same crestfallen look that Will had in the lift after the hypnotherapy session.

    Actually, it makes some sense I suppose.

    I think I mentioned in another episode that Sydney never touches Vaughn but she is very tactile with Will.

    I'm sure Vaughn has noticed her lack of touch with him (Vaughn). I think the only times she touched him were when she grabbed his hand at the pier, when they held hands to escape Kasinau in France (and when she slapped him silly to get him to wake up a bit earlier) and in the nightclub in Taipei but there is no stroking, no comforting touches.

    And now Vaughn has to see for himself how Sydney is with Will. Vaughn already knows how concerned Sydney is about Will but now Will is saying under hypnotherapy that his concern is about Sydney getting hurt - this would sound familiar to Vaughn as Sydney is also always his number 1 concern.

    And then Vaughn sees her hands resting in such a familiar way on Will's arm, clearly not the first time she has done that - and Vaughn probably thinks, she never touches me that way!

    The confidence from the lift incident is slowly slipping away and I agree with you Ann, probably the reason Vaughn goes back to Alice - yucks.

    But just as an aside, it's Will undergoing therapy but Vaughn knows how much Sydney cares about Will's well being so he asks her - "are you okay?" Haha bet he won't bother to ask that question of Will ;p But even under such circumstances, her well being is still of top priority to him.

    I've decided ... if I ever meet a guy who asks me - are you okay on a regular basis, I'll marry him. hahaha ... I'm so low maintenance!

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    1. We all know that Sydney can’t touch Vaughn that way due to the handler/asset rules. Once SD6 is destroyed we will see plenty of affection going Vaughn’s way. Maybe this is when Vaughn decides he should have somebody in his life and gets back with Alice. I wonder what their big fight was about?

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