![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vaznettiSix episodes in, and it's time for me to think about the Covenant, who might be behind it, and what Sark's relation to it may be.
The Covenant seems to be set up as the new Big Bad at this stage. But what is it? A mixture of former Russian intelligence and organized crime, according to the CIA, but judging from what we've seen it's a very loose organization. There's a core of operatives (of whom San'ko appears to be the chief representative, although Bomani may fall into this category as well). Some of its lower-status operatives seem to be on an exclusive contract, for instance Sark and perhaps Allison Doren. Others, like Julia Thorne, are the products of Covenant experimentation. Still others, like Simon and his crew, are hired mission by mission. And there's some overlap--if Julia Thorne was working full-time for the Covenant, that didn't stop her from joining Simon's group for a single mission here and there. The full extent of the Covenant isn't clear to most of the people who work for it, I suspect: Sark certainly didn't know that Allison was connected to it. It also seems that Simon wasn't aware of Julia's position within it.
Why the loose organization? In undercover work, it's a way of protecting the larger organization. That doesn't seem to be what the Covenant is doing, although they certainly have secrets which they're determined to keep. It may also be the case that the loose organization means that individual Covenant cells can react quickly to changed circumstances on the ground, without the need for approval from on high.
What is the Covenant after, anyway? Not money--or not money except as a means for a larger end. They're in the business of acquiring very powerful weapons, but it's not clear to me that they intend to sell them. The biological weapon stolen by Simon is used to break Bomani out of jail, for instance. In fact at the moment the Covenant seems to be most concerned with manpower issues: bringing people like Sark and Bomani into the organization. Why? Or more precisely, why now? Because my impression (perhaps unfounded) is that the Covenant has stepped up their activities since Sydney Bristow regained her identity.
Why now may be driven by the short-term goal: getting back whatever information is hidden in Sydney's cute little head. The long-term goal may depend on who's in charge of the organization, but my bet is that it involves either political power or the Rambaldi material.
My guess is that the real reason for the loose organization of the Covenant is to conceal the identity of the person in charge. I see three possibilities at the moment: Irina Derevko, Arvin Sloane or Jack Bristow.
If it's Irina, it would mean that she only appeared to be working with Jack; she would have known exactly where Sydney was and what she was doing. It would also imply that the Covenant exists to gain control of Rambaldi material, which would tie in with the information provided by Allison that her life was saved by some kind of Rambaldi formula. Irina has the necessary ties with Russian intelligence to set up an organization of this nature, although one might wonder why she would bother setting up yet another criminal organization. One might also wonder why she decided to bring Sloane in, even in an advisory capacity, unless she sees Sloane as a way to get access to Sydney. But Jack would be a better conduit for that, particularly since he now appears to trust her.
To be honest, I don't really buy Irina Derevko as the leader of the Covenant--it requires a few too many mental contortions: if the goal is Rambaldi, it's easier for her to face Sydney directly. Despite those contortions, this might be a useful plot-device for Irina's re-emergence, should Lena Olin return to the show, although it would be a little too reminiscent of the end of Season 1.
I rather like the idea of Sloane, though, and here's why. When questioned about his new interest in philanthropy, Sloane tells Jack to have faith in the consistency of [Sloane's] obsessions. But we haven't seen Sloane do anything concerned with Rambaldi yet--sure, he claims to be following the instructions he was given by Il Dire, but I'd expect Sloane to go looking for more, and more detailed, instructions. I would expect Sloane to be running some kind of behind-the-scenes operation to keep tabs on the other Rambaldi players--not just Irina Derevko, but also the various intelligence services who took an interest in the Rambaldi material in S1 and S2. True, the Covenant's devotion to non-violence leaves a little to be desired, but they haven't been engaging in proliferation--they steal weapons for themselves and use them, but don't sell them on.
I don't see any problem with the idea of Sloane posing as an unwilling operative within his own organization to find out what the CIA knows about the Covenant and to keep tabs on Sydney Bristow--I would assume that he's been forced into a more active role because of Sydney's re-emergence. And it's precisely the kind of double-cross that he would delight in. Crazy Uncle Arvin is having too much fun this season not to be in charge.
Finally, Jack Bristow. Bear with me here, because I know you're all scratching your heads at this. Jack, as he himself admits, is perfectly capable of throwing morality to the winds when Sydney's safety is at stake. He has never approved of her growing attachment to her mother. What if he made Sydney Bristow disappear in order to keep her away from Irina? And having spent much of his life working against Arvin Sloane and Irina Derevko, I can imagine Jack deciding to create an organization of his own, something that wouldn't be subject to the rules of the CIA.
OK, I admit I don't really buy this: it wouldn't make sense for him to have shown Sydney the videotape (unless he was hoping to trigger her memories). And I can't see Jack saving Allison's life, or allowing Sloane to work for him in any way. In other words, although I think that Jack is perfectly capable of creating and running an organization like the Covenant, I don't think he's running the Covenant itself--there are too many people working for it that he'd like to kill. Unless, of course, his plan is to betray them all to the US government at some point in the future, once he's gotten what he wanted and killed anyone who can ID him. And the timing is suspicious: Jack gets out of jail, and the Covenant starts accumulating manpower.
I just can't shake the sense that something is up with Jack Bristow. He knows more about Sydney's missing time than he's willing to say.
And as for Sark...
He's working for the Covenant, clearly enough. The Covenant operatives we've seen feel confident enough to push him around a bit, which implies that they're holding some kind of threat over him. But they also seem to have an interest in keeping him happy--the wine, the reunion with Allison--and they give him quite a lot of room to maneuver. My suspicion is that they need him as much as he needs them. The question is, what for? Not his money, certainly: if it was just the money, he'd be dead by now. After two years in jail, it's difficult to believe that Sark has any organization left worth holding on to. I've theorized that it's his connection to Irina (which would work whether or not she's in charge of the Covenant); it's also possible that the Covenant are simply short-handed, now that Sydney's no longer with them, and need an all-purpose operative like Sark. Given that in this universe the CIA seems to have no more than five active members at any given time, there's no reason to think that the Covenant has all that many resources. Sark is not entirely incompetent--at any rate, he's no more incompetent than Sydney is.
Is Sark also working against the Covenant? He certainly has reason to do so. 800 million in gold worth of reason. If he is, he isn't doing it on his own: he's working for someone else. (Yes, I know. I like the notion of Sark's independence myself, but as long as we've known him, he's been playing second-fiddle to someone else--Khasinau, Irina, Sloane. His one try at independence landed him in CIA custody for two years. He's not actively opposing the Covenant on his own now.) The possibilities are relatively few: Irina, Jack or Sloane. Irina is the old alliance, of course, and I expect that Sark would work for her again, even though she handed him over to the CIA. I could make a Sark/Jack alliance work in fanfic, although I think it's highly unlikely on the show--but it might be one way of opening up some moral complexity for Jack without making him really evil. Sloane is the most likely candidate, I think, since he has the opportunity to contact Sark without suspicion and he's almost certainly playing some kind of complex game with the Covenant and the CIA. I wonder whether Sark was wearing a wire himself at that dinner with Sloane and Allison--he certainly did a quick turnaround on the issue of trusting Sloane.
If he were working against the Covenant, he would not tell Allison about it--he'd have no way of knowing how loyal she is to them. Sark may well love Allison deeply, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he tells her everything.
I wanted to work "Money is the usual thing" in here somewhere, but couldn't. The Dunnett quotes are of course entirely gratuitous.
The Covenant seems to be set up as the new Big Bad at this stage. But what is it? A mixture of former Russian intelligence and organized crime, according to the CIA, but judging from what we've seen it's a very loose organization. There's a core of operatives (of whom San'ko appears to be the chief representative, although Bomani may fall into this category as well). Some of its lower-status operatives seem to be on an exclusive contract, for instance Sark and perhaps Allison Doren. Others, like Julia Thorne, are the products of Covenant experimentation. Still others, like Simon and his crew, are hired mission by mission. And there's some overlap--if Julia Thorne was working full-time for the Covenant, that didn't stop her from joining Simon's group for a single mission here and there. The full extent of the Covenant isn't clear to most of the people who work for it, I suspect: Sark certainly didn't know that Allison was connected to it. It also seems that Simon wasn't aware of Julia's position within it.
Why the loose organization? In undercover work, it's a way of protecting the larger organization. That doesn't seem to be what the Covenant is doing, although they certainly have secrets which they're determined to keep. It may also be the case that the loose organization means that individual Covenant cells can react quickly to changed circumstances on the ground, without the need for approval from on high.
What is the Covenant after, anyway? Not money--or not money except as a means for a larger end. They're in the business of acquiring very powerful weapons, but it's not clear to me that they intend to sell them. The biological weapon stolen by Simon is used to break Bomani out of jail, for instance. In fact at the moment the Covenant seems to be most concerned with manpower issues: bringing people like Sark and Bomani into the organization. Why? Or more precisely, why now? Because my impression (perhaps unfounded) is that the Covenant has stepped up their activities since Sydney Bristow regained her identity.
Why now may be driven by the short-term goal: getting back whatever information is hidden in Sydney's cute little head. The long-term goal may depend on who's in charge of the organization, but my bet is that it involves either political power or the Rambaldi material.
My guess is that the real reason for the loose organization of the Covenant is to conceal the identity of the person in charge. I see three possibilities at the moment: Irina Derevko, Arvin Sloane or Jack Bristow.
If it's Irina, it would mean that she only appeared to be working with Jack; she would have known exactly where Sydney was and what she was doing. It would also imply that the Covenant exists to gain control of Rambaldi material, which would tie in with the information provided by Allison that her life was saved by some kind of Rambaldi formula. Irina has the necessary ties with Russian intelligence to set up an organization of this nature, although one might wonder why she would bother setting up yet another criminal organization. One might also wonder why she decided to bring Sloane in, even in an advisory capacity, unless she sees Sloane as a way to get access to Sydney. But Jack would be a better conduit for that, particularly since he now appears to trust her.
To be honest, I don't really buy Irina Derevko as the leader of the Covenant--it requires a few too many mental contortions: if the goal is Rambaldi, it's easier for her to face Sydney directly. Despite those contortions, this might be a useful plot-device for Irina's re-emergence, should Lena Olin return to the show, although it would be a little too reminiscent of the end of Season 1.
I rather like the idea of Sloane, though, and here's why. When questioned about his new interest in philanthropy, Sloane tells Jack to have faith in the consistency of [Sloane's] obsessions. But we haven't seen Sloane do anything concerned with Rambaldi yet--sure, he claims to be following the instructions he was given by Il Dire, but I'd expect Sloane to go looking for more, and more detailed, instructions. I would expect Sloane to be running some kind of behind-the-scenes operation to keep tabs on the other Rambaldi players--not just Irina Derevko, but also the various intelligence services who took an interest in the Rambaldi material in S1 and S2. True, the Covenant's devotion to non-violence leaves a little to be desired, but they haven't been engaging in proliferation--they steal weapons for themselves and use them, but don't sell them on.
I don't see any problem with the idea of Sloane posing as an unwilling operative within his own organization to find out what the CIA knows about the Covenant and to keep tabs on Sydney Bristow--I would assume that he's been forced into a more active role because of Sydney's re-emergence. And it's precisely the kind of double-cross that he would delight in. Crazy Uncle Arvin is having too much fun this season not to be in charge.
Finally, Jack Bristow. Bear with me here, because I know you're all scratching your heads at this. Jack, as he himself admits, is perfectly capable of throwing morality to the winds when Sydney's safety is at stake. He has never approved of her growing attachment to her mother. What if he made Sydney Bristow disappear in order to keep her away from Irina? And having spent much of his life working against Arvin Sloane and Irina Derevko, I can imagine Jack deciding to create an organization of his own, something that wouldn't be subject to the rules of the CIA.
OK, I admit I don't really buy this: it wouldn't make sense for him to have shown Sydney the videotape (unless he was hoping to trigger her memories). And I can't see Jack saving Allison's life, or allowing Sloane to work for him in any way. In other words, although I think that Jack is perfectly capable of creating and running an organization like the Covenant, I don't think he's running the Covenant itself--there are too many people working for it that he'd like to kill. Unless, of course, his plan is to betray them all to the US government at some point in the future, once he's gotten what he wanted and killed anyone who can ID him. And the timing is suspicious: Jack gets out of jail, and the Covenant starts accumulating manpower.
I just can't shake the sense that something is up with Jack Bristow. He knows more about Sydney's missing time than he's willing to say.
And as for Sark...
He's working for the Covenant, clearly enough. The Covenant operatives we've seen feel confident enough to push him around a bit, which implies that they're holding some kind of threat over him. But they also seem to have an interest in keeping him happy--the wine, the reunion with Allison--and they give him quite a lot of room to maneuver. My suspicion is that they need him as much as he needs them. The question is, what for? Not his money, certainly: if it was just the money, he'd be dead by now. After two years in jail, it's difficult to believe that Sark has any organization left worth holding on to. I've theorized that it's his connection to Irina (which would work whether or not she's in charge of the Covenant); it's also possible that the Covenant are simply short-handed, now that Sydney's no longer with them, and need an all-purpose operative like Sark. Given that in this universe the CIA seems to have no more than five active members at any given time, there's no reason to think that the Covenant has all that many resources. Sark is not entirely incompetent--at any rate, he's no more incompetent than Sydney is.
Is Sark also working against the Covenant? He certainly has reason to do so. 800 million in gold worth of reason. If he is, he isn't doing it on his own: he's working for someone else. (Yes, I know. I like the notion of Sark's independence myself, but as long as we've known him, he's been playing second-fiddle to someone else--Khasinau, Irina, Sloane. His one try at independence landed him in CIA custody for two years. He's not actively opposing the Covenant on his own now.) The possibilities are relatively few: Irina, Jack or Sloane. Irina is the old alliance, of course, and I expect that Sark would work for her again, even though she handed him over to the CIA. I could make a Sark/Jack alliance work in fanfic, although I think it's highly unlikely on the show--but it might be one way of opening up some moral complexity for Jack without making him really evil. Sloane is the most likely candidate, I think, since he has the opportunity to contact Sark without suspicion and he's almost certainly playing some kind of complex game with the Covenant and the CIA. I wonder whether Sark was wearing a wire himself at that dinner with Sloane and Allison--he certainly did a quick turnaround on the issue of trusting Sloane.
If he were working against the Covenant, he would not tell Allison about it--he'd have no way of knowing how loyal she is to them. Sark may well love Allison deeply, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he tells her everything.
I wanted to work "Money is the usual thing" in here somewhere, but couldn't. The Dunnett quotes are of course entirely gratuitous.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-11-03 08:36 pm (UTC)Jack Bristow. Bear with me here, because I know you're all scratching your heads at this.
You got that right, but you know what was the first thought that popped into my mind? It would be a VERY JJ thing to do.
I am sold on the notion that there is something bigger behind the Covenant than we are shown, namely that someone we know very well might be pulling strings from behind. My bet is Sloane, or the JJ solution - Jack. But not Irina. As weird as it sounds I don't see her doing this to Sydney. I know, I know...
no subject
Date: 2003-11-04 09:34 am (UTC)As for Jack... maybe. If he was planning to burn the whole organization, once he was done. Otherwise, there are too many people he wants dead involved in it.
no subject
Date: 2003-11-04 12:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-11-04 09:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-11-04 09:25 am (UTC)posted a link at
no subject
Date: 2003-11-04 09:28 am (UTC)Thanks, by the way! I agree thatt Sloane's a bit obvious, but he's just got to be up to something...
no subject
Date: 2003-11-04 10:27 am (UTC)Oh yeah, Sloane is definitely up to something. Just not sure what..
no subject
Date: 2003-11-04 10:50 am (UTC)::Squeeeee::
Hmm, maybe I should bring King Hereafter on my vacation...
no subject
Date: 2003-11-04 10:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-11-04 11:01 am (UTC)And you could work in John Dee, too...
no subject
Date: 2003-11-04 11:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-11-04 05:45 pm (UTC)Oh, all right. If you insist. I still think it'd be brilliant, despite my entirely inconsistent distaste for literary fanfic.
no subject
Date: 2003-11-04 11:51 am (UTC)The main thing I want to argue is Jack and Irina. It'd tear me up to see either of them as the person behind the Covenant but that's because I'm always entirely desperate to think the best of both of them, so that's just my issues. ;) Which is why most of me is so unwilling to buy into your idea that there's something up with Jack Bristow this series. What's making you say that? Cuz I'm really curious.
no subject
Date: 2003-11-04 03:12 pm (UTC)I think that Jack Bristow believes that so long as he is acting to protect Sydney, anything he does is acceptable. That belief encourages him to do things which are, in themselves, morally questionable. Like concealing evidence about a murder from the CIA by hacking into their computer systems. Or like shooting a prisoner and potential informant in cold blood. I worry about Jack, because there's very little that he won't do. The fact that he's more emotionally accessible to Sydney this season doesn't make him less likely to act violently--in my opinion it represents a loosening of the self-control that may lead him to unrestrained action in other contexts.
So Jack's potential to do Very Bad Things indeed is pretty clear to me. Add to that his desire to protect Sydney from herself: I get the sense that he knows a little more about her missing time than he's telling her. Even if he doesn't, he does want her to give up the search: at the moment, I'm waiting to see just how actively he'll oppose her. He may choose not to, of course.
And finally, there's the apparent alliance with Irina. That's quite a turnaround for Jack, and I wonder what it's done to his self-image to be working with a woman he spent so many years hating. I think that the new Jack is, at best, a very unstable man.
Obviously, this is all my opinion, and highly speculative. Other people may see things differently.
no subject
Date: 2003-11-06 09:19 am (UTC)Word. I couldn't agree more.
The fact that he's more emotionally accessible to Sydney this season doesn't make him less likely to act violently
Again, agreed, and his murdering Simon backs this up. I also think you could be right on this actually making him -more- likely to act violently due to a loosening of self-control.
As for his wanting her to give up the search, I'm going to assume that here you're referring to his actions at the beginning of "A Missing Link", telling her to stop looking at the video, and his repeatedly telling her not to go the NSC with the brain picking. Because I don't read that as his wanting her to give up the search, I read that as his caring about her mental health. But that comes down to a difference of opinion and I have to admit yours'll make for more interesting TV. ;)
Finally, I didn't see the alliance with Irina as such a big turn around, because he has worked with her before, when Ariana Kane (keep wanting to call her Face Donaway, damn you, TWoP recaps!). I think that knowing she would betray the CIA in "A Dark Turn", predicting that and planting the passive tracking device the way he did proved his claims of that season that when she's lying to him, he does in fact, know. I totally bought that Irina is the one he'd go to for help on this, that helping Sydney would be what would make these two work together.
This is my equally speculative opinion and I think I've just proven how very very easy it is for me to trust people. ;) Just watch, by the end of season 3 no do
no subject
Date: 2003-11-06 12:20 pm (UTC)that last sentence:
no doubt I'll be crying over Jack and Irina's actions.
(And the italics should end after "act violently".
no subject
Date: 2003-11-06 02:26 pm (UTC)I think yours is the majority view here. And you're probably right that what Jack really doesn't want is Sydney to undergo unnecessary brain surgery. It could go either way, I think, unless she comes up with some less-invasive way to get at her memories.
I totally bought that Irina is the one he'd go to for help on this, that helping Sydney would be what would make these two work together.
I buy it too, but I'm left wondering what Jack had to do during that year when they were working together. He's always been careful to hide his darker side from his daughter, but I wonder what he might have done in her name, especially while working with Irina's organization rather than the CIA.
But this is what I like about this season--all this speculation, and no way of knowing what will turn out to be the case!
no subject
Date: 2003-11-10 08:59 am (UTC)Loving this season so far, too!
no subject
Date: 2003-11-04 04:48 pm (UTC)Anyway, I'm back... And I read... And you definitely got me thinking.
I have this knee-jerk reaction against Irina being behind everything -- but that is because I have an over-romanticized view of her and her relationship with Sydney. I mean, she really could be a cold manipulative bitch who kidnapped her child to get Rambaldi secrets out of her head and to make her into TrainedAssasinForMommy. The other thought is that she got to Sydney after the Sydney/Allison fight and tried to protect her against some "associates" who ended up threatening her with her daughter's death unless... Anyway, an intriguing option...
Given that, I have exactly the same knee-jerk reaction that the big bad *is* Uncle Arvin. It is just so perfect and so Uncle Arvin-esque as you pointed out. He is damn smart as we know, and I definitely think he hasn't left Rambaldi by the wayside. Also -- whatever happened to the money he got from the dude in Afghanistan last season? Remember it sounded like he was setting up a new world order or something? And given my belief that it *has* to be Arvin, I can try to disprove it also!! lol... Perhaps he really did turn over a new leaf? Perhaps he and Jack are working together and that is what Jack is hiding? Perhaps it is too obvious that he is the most evil one of the bunch?
On the Jack front. ITA on the fact that he knows more than he is letting on. I think this has something to do with either: (a) his time with Irina pre-solitary confinement; or (b) some deal he made to protect Sydney with Sloane or someone -- a deal Sydney wouldn't understand.
Now I feel like I need to give all of this a good think!
no subject
Date: 2003-11-04 07:37 pm (UTC)I like the idea that Jack made some kind of deal that Sydney wouldn't understand, though. (Or maybe he came face-to-face with Julia during his investigation and she tried to kill him--I could see Jack trying to protect Sydney from that knowledge.)
As for Sloane... I agree that it's almost too obvious. (But the idea of Jack and Sloane working together is very interesting, isn't it?)
no subject
Date: 2003-11-05 08:25 pm (UTC)...my bet is that it involves either political power or the Rambaldi material.
...or both, since "Peace" implies a lot of political power, on a very practical level. At least, I assume it does if you're Arvin Sloane.
It would also imply that the Covenant exists to gain control of Rambaldi material, which would tie in with the information provided by Allison that her life was saved by some kind of Rambaldi formula.
I had a fairly wild thought here, actually. Allison's reference to "a Covenant-run hospital" made me wonder if there weren't a program running to implement Rambaldi's techniques on human subjects. Which led to two other thoughts: one, that Lazarey is actually not dead (oooh! Left field!) and two, that the NSC and the Covenant are in some sort of Rambaldi race, in fact. Because I'm really bugged about the disposition of all the Rambaldi material that was presumably Arvin Sloane's dowry when he cozied up to the US gov. You can't tell me that the DoJ/NSC would have hold of all that stuff and not try to use it. But in any case it's clear that we're beyond acquisition and into implementation, where Rambaldi's concerned. And the NSC does not investigate the murders of diplomats, yo.
Arvin's clearly playing a deep game and if he isn't running the Covenant he's manipulating it to his own ends and will no doubt set it up to blow when he's finished with it, a la SD-6 and the Alliance. I can't rid myself of the thought that all of the CIA/Covenant running-around-after-weapons-technology is part of Arvin's plan for Peace. He's letting others do most of the work, as usual. And if they all think they're pursuing their own agendas, why, of course! It's a win-win-win situation, up to a point.
I'm sorry, but with the Russian connection, Irina's got to be here somewhere. Doesn't she?
Jack. I find it quite plausible that he'd work with Sark, and that Sark would work with him if he were persuaded that Jack could help him recover the gold. In fact, speaking of timing, Jack's release and the events that led to Sark's escape were very suggestively consecutive, weren't they? And I certainly believe it's within Jack's power to instigate an NSC balls-up. But if Sark were working with Jack wouldn't he be working with Irina, by extension? And how does that play out?
I just can't shake the sense that something is up with Jack Bristow.
I wonder if Dixon is in on whatever Jack's doing? But you're right, Jack's doing something and it ain't pretty.
Your speculation that Sark was also wearing a wire during that meeting was really cool. I certainly had the impression, on rewatching the ep, that he was baiting Sydney when he said "Oh, she's a very good judge of character" and "We're going to Bulgaria." He had that Sark gleam in his eye. I think he and Allison both knew Sloane was wired because Sloane had done or said something deliberately to make that clear, and I think Sark knew or guessed who'd be on the other end, listening. The notion that Sark might also be feeding information to another control just makes the whole thing tastier.
Speaking of Sark, I was also struck by the contrast between his reaction to Sydney and his reaction to Allison, both of whom he'd believed dead, at first seeing each again. I'm coming around to the notion that he's playing it safe with Allison. That reunion after he was shoved out of the van struck me as odd. He reacted as though he considered her an immediate threat--that sort of frozen guardedness--but not one he could neutralize in the usual way. Perhaps I've been lingering too long by the banks of that river in Egypt, however.
The big hole at the center of all of this is Sydney, and I'm getting tired of her simply because I'm getting tired of endlessly recomplicated plots and never any resolutions. Poor girl. I hope she at least gets laid soon.
no subject
Date: 2003-11-06 02:49 pm (UTC)Allison's reference to "a Covenant-run hospital" made me wonder if there weren't a program running to implement Rambaldi's techniques on human subjects. Which led to two other thoughts: one, that Lazarey is actually not dead (oooh! Left field!) and two, that the NSC and the Covenant are in some sort of Rambaldi race, in fact.
ooh! So you'd be looking out for Lazarus Lazarey? (I can't be the only person whose brain went there, can I?)
I like the idea of a Rambaldi arms race (although you know I would have liked to see some evidence for it, but that's just me grumbling about the total disappearance of the Rambaldi plot). Do you think that what happened to Sydney might be related to Rambaldi techniques as well? Could the Covenant had had Syney all that time and not known that she was the woman in the prophecy? I'm getting frustrated by the lack of information about the Covenant, to be honest--theorizing that Sloane or some other known entity is actually in charge fo it at least allows me to make guesses about its goals.
I can't rid myself of the thought that all of the CIA/Covenant running-around-after-weapons-technology is part of Arvin's plan for Peace.
Except that the weapons haven't all been neutralized: they killed a lot of people to get Bomani out of jail. (And as for peace, someone cleverer than I remarked back around the opener that "Irina" means peace. At least it does in Greek. Maybe Arvin heard the wrong thing.)
But if Sark were working with Jack wouldn't he be working with Irina, by extension? And how does that play out?
Given that we don't know anything about Sark's opinion of Irina at this point, it's hard to say. It's also possible that Jack is not being entirely honest with Irina: he might consider Sark a useful ally or tool in that case. This is a point at which the lack of hard information is particularly frustrating: if only Sark had mentioned Irina at some point. If only we knew where she was and what she's doing.
But I don't see Irina's involvement as a deal-breaker.
Your speculation that Sark was also wearing a wire during that meeting was really cool.
And in my ideal world, Jack Bristow was on the other end of that wire, giving the instructions. (Well, he wasn't around much in the episode. He might have been!)
That reunion after he was shoved out of the van struck me as odd. He reacted as though he considered her an immediate threat--that sort of frozen guardedness--but not one he could neutralize in the usual way.
This is fascinating, and I think correct. But after two years she would have to be an unknown quantity to him, wouldn't she? No matter how strongly he felt, or had felt, toward her, when he meets her then he has no idea how she'll react. I guess I just don't see Sark having a problem with deceiving someone he loves. Perhpas he'd like to trust her, but he's not an idiot--think of how many questions he asks during their bedroom scene. He wants to know more before he does anything irrevocable. (As for Sydney--she's no threat when she comes to see him. He's already been through whatever the CIA could throw at him. He can afford to react around her, because their relationship is a known quantity to him. She's not, at that stage, a potential ally.)
Jack, though. Jack's hiding something bad. I really want to be right about this.
no subject
Date: 2003-11-09 08:14 am (UTC)No, and it's the only argument I can think of against the theory that he's not really dead, it's so big and juicy. It must be a red herring. But as someone else pointed out, JJ's not known for subtlety.
Do you think that what happened to Sydney might be related to Rambaldi techniques as well? Could the Covenant had had Syney all that time and not known that she was the woman in the prophecy?
How about another wild pitch: the NSC, or some part of it, is implicated, complicit, or culpable in Sydney's missing time. It may or may not be Rambald-related but my guess is yes, it is. And maybe what was done to her was done to prevent her from bringing the prophecy to pass? Bleah. I hate Rambaldi.
I'm getting frustrated by the lack of information about the Covenant, to be honest--theorizing that Sloane or some other known entity is actually in charge fo it at least allows me to make guesses about its goals.
I think it's all Rambaldi-centered. The word "covenant" is too loaded. All the other bad-guy organization names have been so determinedly generic.
Except that the weapons haven't all been neutralized: they killed a lot of people to get Bomani out of jail.
I don't think "Peace" as Arvin sees it has anything to do with a few hundred people getting killed in the service of his great quest. It was necessary to get Bomani out of jail in order for Arvin to "double" himself into the Covenant in the eyes of the CIA. The deaths of several hundred prisoners are trivial, or at least an acceptable price for ultimate peace on a global scale. And I LOVE it that Irene means "Peace." Again with the name hints, JJ.
And in my ideal world, Jack Bristow was on the other end of that wire, giving the instructions. (Well, he wasn't around much in the episode. He might have been!)
I will be the happiest fangirl alive if this is true.
But after two years she would have to be an unknown quantity to him, wouldn't she? No matter how strongly he felt, or had felt, toward her, when he meets her then he has no idea how she'll react. I guess I just don't see Sark having a problem with deceiving someone he loves. Perhpas he'd like to trust her, but he's not an idiot--think of how many questions he asks during their bedroom scene.
I think that shove out of the van tells us definitely that Sark and Allison aren't on the same side, strangely enough. And the bedroom scene, like almost every other scene in the whole damned season, left me with no idea of how much of anything I could treat as actual information about what was going on. But you're right, he asks a lot of questions and I don't believe he trusts Allison at all, frankly, regardless of how he feels about her. It's not even his first impulse, trusting her. My sense was that he absolutely knows that she's dangerous, and maybe to him. I take the "werewolf" and "ghost" references seriously as textual clues. Allison's a monster. I just want her to be a human monster.
And Jack is going to be the shocker this season. Oh, how I hope so. I know you're right. There's something big he's trying to deal with, and he's cracking.