Alias - 4x07 "Détente"

I'm boring myself with endless iterations of why the show sucks now, so just for a change of pace: I liked this episode. It started off dreadfully, though, with none of the principle cast looking like they were having fun, with the exception of newbie Mia Maestro. Fortunately, Sydney and Nadia got to go on a mission where they could get trashy and sexy, and most importantly, what was at stake was not their lives but the success of the mission. (Nevertheless, that the show feels that they have to use a sledgehammer to make points obvious to us still drives me batty.)

More interesting than "good season 4 episode" is the homoeroticism developing or hinted at between Nadia and Sydney (observation courtesy of fellow Alias watcher Em). While I'm fairly convinced that they are genuine half-sisters and therefore the show will not open the can of incest worms, I did notice that their relationship in this episode recalled how Von and Syd's relationship developed. Antagonism between Syd and the Other is created (e.g. Nadia letting Sloane into Syd's crib), which is later mitigated when Syd and Other both admit that the other was right and they overreacted. (Granted, this sort of development happens with Syd and Jack, too, i.e. it doesn't necessarily mean that this antagonism is rooted in erotic desire -- but I'm afreud that that only points towards Oedipal hoo-hah.) And at the end of the mission, they were both alone on the boat sharing a bottle of champagne, and the inevitable backwash suggests their making out by proxy -- remember Tarantino/Cole in The Box?

And I suppose I could would approve of Sydia (that's Syd & Nadia for those of you who don't know the shipping lingo).

Indie rating: Tegan and Sara - "You Wouldn't Like Me"