V
verdantheart
Guest
[I apologize for the lateness of this column . . . this is what happens when I unexpectedly have to go out to dinner on Thursday night . . . a friend in town . . . 
]
“Ice” opens as Weiss sends an incompetent “agent,” Derrick Modell Sydney’s way. He complains that he’s cold, and it turns out that he’s swallowed the weapon that he’s delivering. Meanwhile, Vaughn and Dixon spot enemy agents closing in and Sydney must escape with Modell. They are stunned as his leg snaps off and he is finally shattered when shot.
In LA, Sydney tells Vaughn that he looks terrible--a bad night? It turns out that Modell was killed by the weapon he swallowed, a substance that freeze-dries--crystallizes--tissues. The container was never meant to be swallowed and began leaking almost immediately. Apparently the weapon, “Ice 5,” is the latest baby of “evil genius” Fenton Keane, who has moved to Montenegro to pretend legitimacy. Sloane assigns Sydney to pretend to be a relief worker from the UK branch of Omnifam to infiltrate his hospital cover there.
Vaughn trails Jack and tells him he’s not sleeping. He mentions that he sees Lauren sometimes and that it happened at the market. He asks if that happened to Jack--with Irina. Jack says tersely that “It did. Now it doesn’t.”
Back at Sydney’s house, Nadia is looking at Sydney’s pictures of Irina, replacements from Jack. She finds one of Irina holding a baby, but Sydney can’t tell her much about it.
In Montenegro, Sydney is oriented by a woman named Kiera MacLane.
Back in LA, Nadia, Marshall, and Weiss speculate about what people would want to do with Ice 5 and Nadia proposes coming up a list of potential buyers.
Sydney is investigating a supply closet when Kiera spots her. But as she is trotting out her cover story, an emergency breaks out--it’s an accident involving Ice 5. Sydney gets curious, but Kiera shuts her out. Meanwhile, Sydney reads the code to a security door. Now all they need is the swipe card.
Jack refines Nadia’s list of potential clients for Ice 5, and Nadia shows him the picture of Irina and the baby, asking if he knows who the baby is. Jack asks where she got the photo, and says “There’s nothing to tell.”
Vaughn has Dixon work him over so that he can visit the emergency room, posing as a priest. Sydney lifts the swipe card, which Dixon duplicates. Meanwhile, Vaughn flirts with Kiera, telling her that he hears “confession” every afternoon at Tavern Nikolai. As they are talking, Kiera’s brother shows up--and it’s Fenton Keane.
As they’re talking, Sydney enters the secured area and collects her samples. She hides as Keane comes through and discovers that there are canisters of Ice 5 as well as vials. Through a window she sees that they are experimenting with aerosols.
They report back to APO, where they are naturally concerned with the potential of the weapon. They have re-identified Kiera MacLane as Megan Keane, but Vaughn is confident that he can turn her.
He meets Kiera in Tavern Nikolai, where she admits that she feels trapped. She tells him that she’s never been able to say no to her brother--that it’s her shame. Vaughn tells her the story of Lauren, of his rage for her, what he did, how his actions haunt him. But he tells her that there’s another way for her--to make him go away--that night.
Nadia stops by Sloane’s office to deliver a file and show him the photo. Sloane tells her how private Irina was and how brief their time was together--but he is reluctant to return the photo.
Vaughn and Kiera meet that night, but Kiera has told her brother about the meeting and Vaughn is taken prisoner. Fenton suggests injecting Ice 5 into Vaughn’s brain (something he’s never tried), but settles on having Kiera inject it into Vaughn’s eye. As Kiera hesitates and Vaughn tries to convince her to change her mind, Sydney breaks and stops her. She fights off Fenton. As she frees Vaughn, he grabs the syringe, but he injects Kiera.
“Forgive . . .” she says to Vaughn. Vaughn reminds her that he’s not a real priest. “No--I forgive--I forgive you,” she gasps.
In LA, Jack tells Nadia that Fenton Keane has been taken into custody. He asks to see the photo again, and tells Nadia that Irina showed him this picture and told him that it was her niece, and expressed her own “longing and hope to have children of her own.” Jack says the next day he proposed marriage. Jack says, “So, for me, I choose to believe. But then, I suppose each of use needs to find our own sense of closure.”
On the plane back from Montenegro, Sydney reminds Vaughn, “You can talk to me.” Vaughn falls asleep.
Analysis . . .
Ice . . . now what is frozen here? There’s always Jack, whose first reaction to something that challenges the emotions is almost always to freeze over. But “ice” might refer to the stasis of feeling trapped:
Kiera: Love the sinner, hate the sin, isn’t that what they say? . . . A long time ago, he saved me. I owe him.
Vaughn: But he scares you.
K: You don’t know Fenton. He’s done some awful things.
V: I know what it’s like to fell trapped . . . (He goes on to talk about Lauren) She betrayed me. She betrayed a lot of people. And when I found out what she had done, I let my hate for her consume me. And I began to wish the woman I loved was dead . . . . That woman was evil . . . and deserved to be punished, so I killed her. And although that woman was the worst kind of evil, I also know that killing her was wrong. I don’t sleep much. I can’t even close my eyes without seeing it--that moment, that look on her face. She never leaves me. She won’t.
K: Forgiveness is a tricky thing, isn’t it? Even God won’t do it if you won’t let him. I’ve never been able to say no too--to my brother. I’m not alone in that, but it’s my shame. It’s the one thing I can’t forgive myself for. I understand what it feels like to wish someone was-- I just wish there was a way out.
Both Kiera and Vaughn are trapped in different ways. Both feel a need for forgiveness, but Kiera is trapped inside, Vaughn outside. By this, I mean that Kiera has linked herself to someone who continually demands terrible things of her--she is inside a situation that never ends. Fenton is her cage. Vaughn, on the other hand, has put an end to his tormentor (Lauren), but that has not ended his torment. The guilt of the wrong action of killing her remains with him. His guilt becomes a wall that springs up between him and life, cutting him off from the warmth and comfort of sleep, companionship, perhaps eventually love. Kiera points out that you have to accept forgiveness--how can you ever be forgiven, if you do not accept it?
Kiera gives Vaughn his forgiveness--whether he accepts it or not. And Vaughn, at last, can find some moments of sleep. Can he at last let Lauren go?
Sydney realizes that Vaughn is telling a complete stranger the things that he felt unable (too frozen?) to tell her. What was it? The admission that he loved Lauren? That he felt guilt over killing her, no matter how he might be able to justify it? Vaughn burnt his house down, but that gesture could not erase the reality of the past. Vaughn attempted to simply move on after Sydney’s apparent death found only the disaster of Lauren; moving on from Lauren has proved even more problematic. The thought of discussing it with a woman so intimately involved with his emotional dilemmas perhaps has contributed to a sense of stalemate.
In any case, Kiera, a woman who can’t forgive herself for her devotion to her unforgivable brother, grants forgiveness to Vaughn--is it for Vaughn’s attempt to turn her against her brother, or for his crime--or both? In any case, her forgiveness grants Vaughn enough peace to relax and rest--at least for a little while.
On to the baby in Irina’s arms. Who is it? Well, good question--certainly one that isn’t answered, and one for which we have insufficient information for reasonable speculation. Jack at first rebuffs Nadia with a quick “There’s nothing to tell,” which is basically what Sloane gives her. Finally Jack returns with the tale that Irina showed him the picture claiming that it was her niece, leading Jack to propose the next day.
Jack says “I choose to believe,” which, as a sort of metatextual comment on the scene, can be said for all of us. In the limited context of facts that we have available to us, we can choose to believe what we want. We can believe Jack’s story or not--and if we believe his story, by extension, we can choose to believe Irina’s story or not.
But let’s look at the possibilities. The baby could be unrelated, a fabrication, a nice tale told by Irina to induce Jack to propose--his reluctance to tell the story simply based on his reluctance to expose his emotions to anyone, let alone someone who might have reason to dig into him at a later date. Or, the baby could indeed be a niece, just as Irina said. Or, what if the baby is Nadia herself (it somehow felt to me that Nadia was fishing around for just such an answer)? How would Jack have come into possession of such a photo? Wasn’t Irina supposed to be in prison at the time? Hm. And then there’s always the possibility that it’s Irina’s--but not Nadia or Sydney. If so, what has become of the baby?
OK, let’s assume that it is a relative and Jack knows something. What was he doing giving the photo to Sydney? That was uncharacteristically careless of him, wouldn’t you say? Sloane’s behavior was a bit suspicious in that he seemed reluctant to give up the photo.
What do I choose to believe? At this point (having avoided spoilers), that there was a baby in Irina’s arms at some point when a photo was taken. We don’t have enough to point any particular direction so far.
Random thoughts . . .
Forgiveness . . . now there’s a theme that ports beautifully from Angel to Alias.
Hm . . . relatively short column . . . guess there wasn't too much to write about.
Discuss . . .
Why do you think it’s so much easier for Vaughn to talk to Kiera about Lauren that to Sydney?
Do you think Kiera’s forgiveness helped Vaughn?
Do you think that Vaughn and Sydney were naïve in thinking that Vaughn could turn Kiera? Why or why not?
Do you think that Vaughn could have turned Kiera if he’d had more time? Or was it hopeless?
Sydney knows what it is like to be in a family in which some members do terrible things. Think of what her mother has done--and what her father has felt compelled to do in response to what her mother has done. Do you think that she is capable of considering Vaughn’s need for forgiveness and then broadening that to apply to her family? (I know, but I’m asking anyway.)
Who do you think the baby in the photo is?
Do you think Jack knows who the baby is? If so, why do you think Jack gave the photo to Sydney? Is that careless of him?
Do you believe Jack’s story about the photo (that could be true even if he found out who the baby is later on)? Why?
Do you think Sloane knows who the baby in the photo is? Why do you think he wanted to keep the photo?
Next:
The couple that slays together stays together?
Modifications: Rephrased discussion question regarding Sydney her ability to forgive her family.
]“Ice” opens as Weiss sends an incompetent “agent,” Derrick Modell Sydney’s way. He complains that he’s cold, and it turns out that he’s swallowed the weapon that he’s delivering. Meanwhile, Vaughn and Dixon spot enemy agents closing in and Sydney must escape with Modell. They are stunned as his leg snaps off and he is finally shattered when shot.
In LA, Sydney tells Vaughn that he looks terrible--a bad night? It turns out that Modell was killed by the weapon he swallowed, a substance that freeze-dries--crystallizes--tissues. The container was never meant to be swallowed and began leaking almost immediately. Apparently the weapon, “Ice 5,” is the latest baby of “evil genius” Fenton Keane, who has moved to Montenegro to pretend legitimacy. Sloane assigns Sydney to pretend to be a relief worker from the UK branch of Omnifam to infiltrate his hospital cover there.
Vaughn trails Jack and tells him he’s not sleeping. He mentions that he sees Lauren sometimes and that it happened at the market. He asks if that happened to Jack--with Irina. Jack says tersely that “It did. Now it doesn’t.”
Back at Sydney’s house, Nadia is looking at Sydney’s pictures of Irina, replacements from Jack. She finds one of Irina holding a baby, but Sydney can’t tell her much about it.
In Montenegro, Sydney is oriented by a woman named Kiera MacLane.
Back in LA, Nadia, Marshall, and Weiss speculate about what people would want to do with Ice 5 and Nadia proposes coming up a list of potential buyers.
Sydney is investigating a supply closet when Kiera spots her. But as she is trotting out her cover story, an emergency breaks out--it’s an accident involving Ice 5. Sydney gets curious, but Kiera shuts her out. Meanwhile, Sydney reads the code to a security door. Now all they need is the swipe card.
Jack refines Nadia’s list of potential clients for Ice 5, and Nadia shows him the picture of Irina and the baby, asking if he knows who the baby is. Jack asks where she got the photo, and says “There’s nothing to tell.”
Vaughn has Dixon work him over so that he can visit the emergency room, posing as a priest. Sydney lifts the swipe card, which Dixon duplicates. Meanwhile, Vaughn flirts with Kiera, telling her that he hears “confession” every afternoon at Tavern Nikolai. As they are talking, Kiera’s brother shows up--and it’s Fenton Keane.
As they’re talking, Sydney enters the secured area and collects her samples. She hides as Keane comes through and discovers that there are canisters of Ice 5 as well as vials. Through a window she sees that they are experimenting with aerosols.
They report back to APO, where they are naturally concerned with the potential of the weapon. They have re-identified Kiera MacLane as Megan Keane, but Vaughn is confident that he can turn her.
He meets Kiera in Tavern Nikolai, where she admits that she feels trapped. She tells him that she’s never been able to say no to her brother--that it’s her shame. Vaughn tells her the story of Lauren, of his rage for her, what he did, how his actions haunt him. But he tells her that there’s another way for her--to make him go away--that night.
Nadia stops by Sloane’s office to deliver a file and show him the photo. Sloane tells her how private Irina was and how brief their time was together--but he is reluctant to return the photo.
Vaughn and Kiera meet that night, but Kiera has told her brother about the meeting and Vaughn is taken prisoner. Fenton suggests injecting Ice 5 into Vaughn’s brain (something he’s never tried), but settles on having Kiera inject it into Vaughn’s eye. As Kiera hesitates and Vaughn tries to convince her to change her mind, Sydney breaks and stops her. She fights off Fenton. As she frees Vaughn, he grabs the syringe, but he injects Kiera.
“Forgive . . .” she says to Vaughn. Vaughn reminds her that he’s not a real priest. “No--I forgive--I forgive you,” she gasps.
In LA, Jack tells Nadia that Fenton Keane has been taken into custody. He asks to see the photo again, and tells Nadia that Irina showed him this picture and told him that it was her niece, and expressed her own “longing and hope to have children of her own.” Jack says the next day he proposed marriage. Jack says, “So, for me, I choose to believe. But then, I suppose each of use needs to find our own sense of closure.”
On the plane back from Montenegro, Sydney reminds Vaughn, “You can talk to me.” Vaughn falls asleep.
Analysis . . .
Ice . . . now what is frozen here? There’s always Jack, whose first reaction to something that challenges the emotions is almost always to freeze over. But “ice” might refer to the stasis of feeling trapped:
Kiera: Love the sinner, hate the sin, isn’t that what they say? . . . A long time ago, he saved me. I owe him.
Vaughn: But he scares you.
K: You don’t know Fenton. He’s done some awful things.
V: I know what it’s like to fell trapped . . . (He goes on to talk about Lauren) She betrayed me. She betrayed a lot of people. And when I found out what she had done, I let my hate for her consume me. And I began to wish the woman I loved was dead . . . . That woman was evil . . . and deserved to be punished, so I killed her. And although that woman was the worst kind of evil, I also know that killing her was wrong. I don’t sleep much. I can’t even close my eyes without seeing it--that moment, that look on her face. She never leaves me. She won’t.
K: Forgiveness is a tricky thing, isn’t it? Even God won’t do it if you won’t let him. I’ve never been able to say no too--to my brother. I’m not alone in that, but it’s my shame. It’s the one thing I can’t forgive myself for. I understand what it feels like to wish someone was-- I just wish there was a way out.
Both Kiera and Vaughn are trapped in different ways. Both feel a need for forgiveness, but Kiera is trapped inside, Vaughn outside. By this, I mean that Kiera has linked herself to someone who continually demands terrible things of her--she is inside a situation that never ends. Fenton is her cage. Vaughn, on the other hand, has put an end to his tormentor (Lauren), but that has not ended his torment. The guilt of the wrong action of killing her remains with him. His guilt becomes a wall that springs up between him and life, cutting him off from the warmth and comfort of sleep, companionship, perhaps eventually love. Kiera points out that you have to accept forgiveness--how can you ever be forgiven, if you do not accept it?
Kiera gives Vaughn his forgiveness--whether he accepts it or not. And Vaughn, at last, can find some moments of sleep. Can he at last let Lauren go?
Sydney realizes that Vaughn is telling a complete stranger the things that he felt unable (too frozen?) to tell her. What was it? The admission that he loved Lauren? That he felt guilt over killing her, no matter how he might be able to justify it? Vaughn burnt his house down, but that gesture could not erase the reality of the past. Vaughn attempted to simply move on after Sydney’s apparent death found only the disaster of Lauren; moving on from Lauren has proved even more problematic. The thought of discussing it with a woman so intimately involved with his emotional dilemmas perhaps has contributed to a sense of stalemate.
In any case, Kiera, a woman who can’t forgive herself for her devotion to her unforgivable brother, grants forgiveness to Vaughn--is it for Vaughn’s attempt to turn her against her brother, or for his crime--or both? In any case, her forgiveness grants Vaughn enough peace to relax and rest--at least for a little while.
On to the baby in Irina’s arms. Who is it? Well, good question--certainly one that isn’t answered, and one for which we have insufficient information for reasonable speculation. Jack at first rebuffs Nadia with a quick “There’s nothing to tell,” which is basically what Sloane gives her. Finally Jack returns with the tale that Irina showed him the picture claiming that it was her niece, leading Jack to propose the next day.
Jack says “I choose to believe,” which, as a sort of metatextual comment on the scene, can be said for all of us. In the limited context of facts that we have available to us, we can choose to believe what we want. We can believe Jack’s story or not--and if we believe his story, by extension, we can choose to believe Irina’s story or not.
But let’s look at the possibilities. The baby could be unrelated, a fabrication, a nice tale told by Irina to induce Jack to propose--his reluctance to tell the story simply based on his reluctance to expose his emotions to anyone, let alone someone who might have reason to dig into him at a later date. Or, the baby could indeed be a niece, just as Irina said. Or, what if the baby is Nadia herself (it somehow felt to me that Nadia was fishing around for just such an answer)? How would Jack have come into possession of such a photo? Wasn’t Irina supposed to be in prison at the time? Hm. And then there’s always the possibility that it’s Irina’s--but not Nadia or Sydney. If so, what has become of the baby?
OK, let’s assume that it is a relative and Jack knows something. What was he doing giving the photo to Sydney? That was uncharacteristically careless of him, wouldn’t you say? Sloane’s behavior was a bit suspicious in that he seemed reluctant to give up the photo.
What do I choose to believe? At this point (having avoided spoilers), that there was a baby in Irina’s arms at some point when a photo was taken. We don’t have enough to point any particular direction so far.
Random thoughts . . .
Forgiveness . . . now there’s a theme that ports beautifully from Angel to Alias.
Hm . . . relatively short column . . . guess there wasn't too much to write about.
Discuss . . .
Why do you think it’s so much easier for Vaughn to talk to Kiera about Lauren that to Sydney?
Do you think Kiera’s forgiveness helped Vaughn?
Do you think that Vaughn and Sydney were naïve in thinking that Vaughn could turn Kiera? Why or why not?
Do you think that Vaughn could have turned Kiera if he’d had more time? Or was it hopeless?
Sydney knows what it is like to be in a family in which some members do terrible things. Think of what her mother has done--and what her father has felt compelled to do in response to what her mother has done. Do you think that she is capable of considering Vaughn’s need for forgiveness and then broadening that to apply to her family? (I know, but I’m asking anyway.
)Who do you think the baby in the photo is?
Do you think Jack knows who the baby is? If so, why do you think Jack gave the photo to Sydney? Is that careless of him?
Do you believe Jack’s story about the photo (that could be true even if he found out who the baby is later on)? Why?
Do you think Sloane knows who the baby in the photo is? Why do you think he wanted to keep the photo?
Next:
The couple that slays together stays together?
Modifications: Rephrased discussion question regarding Sydney her ability to forgive her family.
