Succession
Episode Summary
Jack tests Syd and is confident that she hasn't been brainwashed. He advises her not to tell the CIA that she murdered Lazarey, a Russian diplomat, during her missing two years. The CIA learns that The Covenant has kidnapped two of their agents; one of the agents is murdered and the kidnappers want Sark in exchange for the other one. Syd objects, but Lindsey agrees, saying that Sark has told them all he knows. Syd moves into a beach house near Weiss; she visits Vaughn, who is teaching French, and says she could cope with his return to the Agency. Vaughn tells her that he loved her so much that losing her almost destroyed him, but he doesn't regret moving on with his life. He returns to work at the CIA. Jack confronts Sloane about Sydney's disappearance; Sloane denies any involvement and gives Jack the info he found while investigating Syd's disappearance. Syd questions Sark about what happened the night she disappeared, but he claims not to know, acting surprised to learn that she's alive. When the CIA meets to trade Sark, under Lindsey's orders a separate team attacks the men from the Covenant, one of whom escapes with Sark and the CIA hostage. Later, Jack discovers that The Covenant used Sark to withdraw $800 million in gold bullion from a bank; the gold belonged to Lazarey and after his death, it went to his son: Sark! Following a lead, Syd finds the missing CIA agent and shoots the man who was torturing him. As the torturer dies, he remembers that Syd had vowed to kill him, adding that she was his favorite because she never broke. At Dixon's request, Syd meets with a support group for people who have lost their memory. Syd goes to tell Dixon that although she still has feelings for Vaughn, she won't be part of that group. Dixon introduces her to Lauren Reed, who is the new NSC contact. Lauren also explains that she's Vaughn's wife.
Quotes
Weiss (helping Syd move): You're sure you're okay with this? I mean, are you going to be all right? By yourself?
Sydney: I just can't wrap my head around it. I mean, Francie's been dead for two years, but I feel like I saw her a few days ago. And now that Will is in the witness protection, I can't even contact him. All my friends are just . . . gone.
Weiss: Not all your friends.
Sydney: Without even knowing why these people want Sark, how can we even consider this?
Lindsey: We think we know why they want him. They want him so they can kill him.
Sydney: Where was I buried?
Jack: You were cremated. Vaughn spread your ashes at sea.
Jack: A world relief organization. The sheer audacity of your alleged turnaround would be laughable, if you weren't so dangerous.
Sloane: I was wondering when you'd come to see me, Jack.
Jack: Personally I would have found it anti-climactic that after expecting to assemble a weapon of ultimate power you found a revelation you could have acquired from a fortune cookie.
Sloane: Jack, don't go digging. You won't find anything. I know that you were imprisoned for making contact with your ex-wife. You went to Irina Derevko for help to find Sydney. Now I wouldn't have believed that you would ally yourself with a woman you vowed you'd never trust again. So, if you're capable of having such a change of heart, why is it so hard to believe that I am as well?
Jack: Because every morally questionable thing I have done has been to protect Sydney. You don't have the same excuse.
Sloane: Really?
Sark (to Syd): If it wasn't your body they removed from the ashes, whose was it?
Sark: If I'm to understand what you're saying, you have no idea where you've been for the last two years. . . . None? . . . Unbelievable! I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh, it's just . . . I'm speechless. Sydney, if Sloane had intended to abduct you, I wasn't privy to it.
Sydney: What if I said I still don't believe you?
Sark: I'd say it'd make no difference. In twenty-four hours I'll be free, and . . . you'll remain in the dark.
Lindsey: Who the hell do you think you are!?
Sydney: I'm the person who's going to hold you accountable if they kill him!
Lindsey: Oh, you're going to hold me responsible!?
Sydney: Did I stutter?
Lindsey: If you're finished, this is the men's room.
Sydney: Who let you in?
A Covenant agent brings Sark wine.
Covenant Agent: Chateau Patreuse, 1982 - your favorite, no?
Sark (surprised): Have we met?
Sark: Eight hundred million dollars? I have nowhere near that amount in my nest egg.
Covenant Agent: That, Mr. Sark, you do.
Man at Group Meeting: How long you been back?
Sydney: A little over a week.
Man at Group Meeting: The dreams start yet? Nightmares?
Sydney: Nope.
Man at Group Meeting: They will.
Review
Does anyone else feel that they overidentify with Syd's situation of her true love marrying someone else? If I had a dollar for every time I liked someone I couldn't have . . . but that's not really the point here, is it. In the previous episode we saw how tough it is for Syd, resurfacing after all that time to find that everything has changed. This time, we were shown how tough it was for those she left behind. I think the scene where Vaughn speaks of how hard it was for him was designed to make us sympathize with him. At first it seemed harsh of him to say that he wasn't sorry that he moved on; that simple statement reveals the whole painful point of their current situation, which is that he fell in love with someone else. However, if he regretted it, I would question the depth of his love for the woman he married. Plus, why should he be sorry? He had evidence that Syd was dead; he even thought he had spread her ashes at sea.
Sloane pointed out that Jack must have had a big change of heart to work with Irina again. That's true, although that logic doesn't necessarily prove that Sloane has changed. Jack has admitted before that although Irina isn't altogether trustworthy, she genuinely cares for Syd. He and Irina must have bonded quite a bit during their time together to now be ending their on-line chats with "Miss you."
I'm surprised that Director Lindsey apparently believed that Sark had told them all he knew; how did such a pompous moron wind up in a position of power? Because of things like that, I always suspect the CIA higher-ups of being moles that are working for Sloane. In any event, I'm sure that Sark knows more than he's telling, although he seemed genuinely surprised to learn that he was the heir to all that gold. Then again, he seemed pretty smug as he told Syd how she would remain in the dark, as if taunting her that he knew something she didn't.
Comments
* Having Jack IM Irina was a clever way to include her in the episode, but was that computerized voice really necessary?
* I'm expecting the Rambaldi device to figure somehow into Syd's missing years; maybe Jack not recognizing the source of her memory loss is leading up to that.
* The torture-guy's disturbing line about Syd being his favorite is further proof that The Covenant is behind her disappearance.
* Although, did anyone not know The Covenant would be involved? Why would the writers introduce a new powerful secret organization only to have the ultimate bad guys be someone else?
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