vaznetti | (no subject)

And yet another thought about Arvin Sloane: he's an effective leader. I'd be tempted to say, "organizational genius," in fact. In the very first episode, Jack tells Sydney that the Alliance was formed "about ten years ago"; Sydney was recruited to SD-6 seven years ago. Which means that in three years, or even less if he wasn't one of the founding members of the Alliance, Sloane built an organization which could deceive some very intelligent people. Most of the original recruiting must have been done personally, by him, which also indicates that he's very good at spotting talent and putting it to use.

If this time-scale is correct, it also indicates that Sloane's interest in Rambaldi pre-dates his departure from the CIA. I think I had assumed that in any case, but I wonder if it was his interest in Rambaldi which brought him into contact with the Alliance; the fact that he's not on the "inner council" indicates to me that Sloane wasn't a founding member of the Alliance.

This may all be blindingly obvious to everyone but me.

Threaded | Flat

Here's a dialogue snippet from "A Dark Turn:"

IRINA: I did not see that fourth man. If you hadn't fired... I remember the first time you introduced me to Sloane. You were both working at the CIA, he came to the house for dinner. You were true friends.

JACK: Yes. We shared a similar unsentimental patriotism... and a devotion to our wives. But Sloane changed and... it was Rambaldi that did it. I'm not sure what it is -- he never told me -- but Sloane has a personal connection to Rambaldi.

IRINA: I lived for years with the same obsession, to find a higher meaning in Rambaldi's work. I never understood how you managed to avoid getting caught up in it.

JACK: I had something neither of you did.

IRINA: (nods) Sydney.

Anything Irina says to Jack is suspect, of course. I guess I assumed from "you were both working at the CIA" that it was about this time when both Rambaldi and Irina came into the picture for Sloane, and that this juxtaposition is maybe not fortuitous. Could it be Irina who introduced Sloane to Rambaldi's work?