Truth takes time? That’s all Irina could tell Sydney after all of this. This woman is more insincere and cold than I first thought. She’s ruthless, murderous psychopath, but she’s still Sydney’s mom. That played a huge part in the episode. Sydney couldn’t shoot her. She couldn’t kill her.

          This scenario was foreshadowed by Vaughn at the shooting range. He knew what he was talking about. A daughter can’t shoot her mother the way the CIA was demanding it. Sydney would definitely hesitate; that’s what happened. What drove Sydney to not pull the trigger? Was it the fact that her mother saved her? Did she feel grateful? Probably not. Was it just because Irina is her mother? Probably. It’s hard to say. We know one thing is clear though: a daughter cannot chase her mother.

          We know for a fact that Irina loves her daughter and I’m proud to say that I respect her for loving her. A daughter is not a daughter if you don’t get to know her. Irina really made the effort to get to know Sydney in the CIA cell. We know she loves her. When Sloane says he’s always thought of Sydney as his daughter, Irina changed faces. She didn’t play the part of a threatened partner; she played the part of a threatened mother. She knows that she hasn’t been there for Sydney. She also knows she would die before letting Sloane get to Sydney.

          Now I have to give Irina props for just loving Sydney. Which criminal do you know of that would signal her daughter to follow her because the building was going to explode? Irina is complex. She’s multi-layered. She risked her freedom in order to assure Sydney a way to get out. Jack definitely caught on. He knows Irina better than most of us think. Wife? She isn’t. Mother? She is.

          I should have known that Jack wouldn’t have let that whole romantic night go to waste. In this case, he thought this was a perfect opportunity to inject Irina with a passive transmitter. How did he do it without Irina knowing? Jack’s got some moves. How about the promotion too? Kendall is deeply pissed about this. We all know that he’s better in the field than he is in the office. I just love watching Jack though aggravate Kendall. I’m having fun with this.

          I never really thought that Irina would die, but the opening scene was really effective. I love this tool the writers use. Backflashing back to show us how our characters got to that moment was a great aspect of the episode. Our poor Emily is gone for good. No Emily! Dixon is not going to have an easy time with this. He had a clear shot of Sloane. Somehow, he just lost it.

          The most interesting character of the night though was definitely Sloane. For him to consider giving up his religion (that’s what it is) for his wife…wow. That’s something. Irina herself said she underestimated Sloane’s love for his wife. To give up on his search for immortality as well as what he called “truth,” it truly is commendable. He didn’t even seem angered when Emily told him about the wire she was wearing. I think inside him, he would have expected her to do that. He knows she’s a good person and he knows he probably doesn’t deserve her. He was going to try anyway to get her back.

Syd’s Tips

-          If your mother is your opponent, don’t ever hesitate. She’s still the enemy.

Mission Files

MAIN OBJECTIVE: Learn what Sloane and Derevko are planning.

CIA MISSION

ALIAS: None

LOCATION: Stuttgart, Germany

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS: None

MARSHALL’S GADGETS: None

OBJECTIVE: Get Derevko and Sloane.

CIA MISSION

ALIAS: None

LOCATION: Tuscan Countryside, Italy

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS: None

MARSHALL’S GADGETS: None

OBJECTIVE: Get Derevko and Sloane.

Quotable Quotes

-          Vaughn: “If you don’t see me again, it was fun.”

-          Sydney: “I wished that she had been killed.” Wow.

-          Irina (to Sloane): “Never talk to me about your love for Sydney again.”

-          Kendall: “We confirmed Derevko and Sark. That’s good enough for me.”

Jack: “Noted.” Nice.

-          Sydney (to Emily): “I spoke at your funeral.”

Some Final Notes

-          So Vaughn just got his clearance revoked but he’s still a field agent. That turned out to be a waste of a plotline.

-          Irina said she wanted her daughter to have her earrings. The devil’s earrings.

-          Emily was just shocked when she saw Irina on the plane. I don’t blame the woman for wanting to bring in her husband.

-          I loved when Marshall didn’t know who to address: Kendall or Bristow.” He always makes it hard on himself.

-          Irina is a hell of a woman. She just let Sark zap her to kill the bug. Unbelievable.

-          Marshall asked Will if his suit was suede.

-          Sloane was pursuing immortality to let Emily go cancer-free for the rest of her life.

-          Emily didn’t want her husband to get the death penalty.

-          Sydney told Emily that she didn’t lie when she said Emily was her real mother.

-          How did Syd and Vaughn know the earrings were Morse code? Please.

Excellent episode. 5 stars

-          Next episode

-          Alias season 2

-          Alias main