Alias (TV Series) Detente (2005) User Reviews

Sydney and Nadia work well together

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 3 September 2010]

When a vial of 'Black Thorine' is stolen from a Russian laboratory the trail leads to Boris Tambor, an arms dealer who will happily sell it to the highest bidder. To find out where the deal will take place Sydney and Nadia must break into his hotel room and copy his computer's hard drive; the problem is that rather than going out as usual he is staying in to watch the football. They gain access by befriending his girlfriend and get the data they need. This leads them to the location of the deal: a luxury boat in the Mediterranean. They go in to retrieve the Thorine but find that rather than having a vial he has several flasks of it; clearly he knows how to manufacture it. While Sydney and Nadia are busy with the safe the deal goes wrong, Leo Orissa, somebody Sloane knows from his SD6 days kills Tambor in order to take over his operation, surprisingly he had more than a little help from Tambor's girlfriend. While Nadia attempts to get the flasks Sydney confronts Orissa telling him she is working for Sloane and that he want half of the operation; clearly Orissa knows what Sloane is capable of as he agrees and after a few more words from Sydney he gives them the location of their lab too. While Sydney may be doing well with her job she still has a poor relationship with her boss Sloane; clearly she still doesn't trust him and hasn't got over the fact that he has been the cause of the deaths of people she loved.

This was an entertaining episode with some great fight scenes, as well as more than one tense moment. The highlight for be was watching Sydney and Nadia acquiring the data from Tambor's computer and PDA while talking to him Jennifer Garner and Mía Maestro are great in the roles. While Sydney's dislike of Sloane is understandable it is a little overstated now she is working for him again… although I suspect she might be right about him still being bad, Sloane, as played by Ron Rifkin, is a great villain.

Satisfying

[gridoon2024 · 8/10 · 3 January 2010]

The Russians have secretly developed a powerful new explosive (officially denying its existence), and now it's been stolen. On their first mission, Sydney and Nadia have to find out when and where its sale will take place; on their second mission, they have to stop the sale and retrieve the canisters with the explosive. This is the best season 4 episode since the premiere, and I think it's not a coincidence that it was the first of this season written by Monica Breen and Allison Schapker: they often had good ideas in the past, like the way Lauren and Sark decided to team up in "After Six" or the way Nadia was introduced in "Blood Ties". And Nadia is, in fact, one the main reasons "Detente" hits the mark: she finally gets a larger part of the action, and she even gets to save the day at the end. This episode captures (particularly on the first mission) the fun of early season 1, combined with the attention to the characters and their relationships (particularly Sydney, Sloane, Nadia, and Dixon) that was at its strongest in season 2. And although it's never really explained how that seemingly airheaded girlfriend (Olga Vilner, who is quite the looker) is able to hold her own in a fight against Sydney, it is still a cool surprise to see. *** out of 4.

The Secret of Sloane's Smile at The End !

[elshikh4 · 24 October 2007]

This is one episode from the lousy days of (Alias), and I just mean the days of season 4 when (Sydney) works under the authority of Mr. (Sloane) himself???!!! Well, who's got the sane brain on earth to believe anything like this?! Putting in mind not only the old hatred of (Sydney) for (Sloane), but also that he was once the most dangerous man alive, and the most wanted mastermind terrorist as for all the world's nations, who is now working for world's peace!!! So you'll find yourself asking powerfully during all of that season: "WHAT IS THAT?!". Actually there are too many reasons to say that, only if you caught yourself thinking while watching, and believe me, you would for the sake of the first 2 seasons which had the original greatness.

But anyway, the producers wanted this to be on air with the commercials of the big companies, so unfortunately it became the same silly situation of that successful show which lost its own power of logical flow, and broke a lot of its fictional world's cornerstones, just to be on air for more and more desperate years. And the sadness would be more torturing knowing how that show was a real adorable and distinguished. But HEY, I lived to see 9 seasons of (The X Files) of which at least 3 of them were unnecessary, and it was up and running ordinarily without the main hero of it!

Here, that formula, which they pushed the show by, made it like a cross between (Mission: Impossible) and (Dallas). As the adventures of the intelligence's team continue, and the melodramatic relationships pull out all the stops to make the series as sequenced as they wanted. However, you can't fight the feeling about those episodes as separate ones!

So, the mix included some of (James Bond)'s tricks, nice plots for every single episode as the real good thing that you'll ever have from those days of (Alias), added strangely to the main old conflict and unfinished business between (Sydney) and (Sloane), which we observe in this episode as an answer for the "WHAT IS THAT?!" question. But, regrettably, it ended up so weak, like the whole scripts of (Alias) since the beginning of season 3.

Just look at this weird case: we have (Sloane) as the criminal who killed (Sydney)'s fiancé, (Sydney)'s friend and (Dixon)'s wife, though both of them, (Sydney) and (Dixon), are working for him as part of the American government (!!) in the same time that they could work for others, but that's not the producer's point of view.. isn't it? And honestly, what kind of intelligence which hired a girl, her father, half-sister, and boyfriend all together?!! Well, I keep telling myself: Don't think, or you'll ruin the enjoyment for yourself. They designed it as not to be taken seriously. It's good pastime about nothing but pastime. However, after season 2, it became only foolish pastime about nothing!

Also, part of the silliness comes from that kind of the must succeed-mission in every episode. Think of it, why they didn't ever fail once? Just for the fun of it, to experience that missing anxiety about our beloved characters. There was always that cold wall between us and those very heroes who became not human. (Alias), from the very start, was the complicated emotional feminine copy of (James Bond), but she, and all of the leads, turned into (Bond)'s non-bleeding condition, like a not thrilling video game. Btw, (Alias) became one already, which was released in 2004!

In (Detente), there are a yacht full of bad guys, a new wicked sci-fi devise that must be destroyed by the good guys, the old hatred for (Sloane), and the assured ride of action. Although I just forgot all about it after watching, except the scene where (Sydney) talked with the main bad guy about the evils of (Sloane) as a true thing that she had suffered from herself; it was well written as well as performed, so that old jazzy music in the background as if to confirm the 1960s original (Bond)'s atmosphere.

But there was that feeling about the season's main plot as shoddy, that stupid cinematography of the action in close-ups; which is a typical Bad TV work!, plus I didn't understand the scene in which (Nadia) was talking about her past on the yacht!!!, and the last smile of (Sloane) which ended the episode after (Sydney)'s confrontation whereas she declared openly her eternal disgust of him yet nonetheless her acceptance to work with him in the same time. However, after some thinking, I discovered the secret of that brief mysterious smile; despite everything, (Sloane) is glad to have the magnificent (Sydney Bristow) in his team, working under his fatherly control. But on second thought, I supposed that he was smiling because by this decision there would be more episodes ahead, which means more money for him as all the actors, so more fabrication, fatuity, and balderdash for the poor us!

PS: I've written a comment about the whole show entitled (The Crisis of This Great Show!). You can find it at the user comments of (Alias)'s first episode or simply by visiting my own pages. It's cool to have the ability to comment about every episode, but maybe it'll get its own share of effect after years from now.