Alias (TV Series) The Box: Part 1 (2002) User Reviews

Guest starring Quentin Tarantino

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 4 March 2012]

After hearing the revelations about her mother Sydney decides she has had enough of living a double life so tells Vaughn that she is going to go to Sloane and resign from SD-6. Both Vaughn and her father try to persuade her otherwise arguing that trying to resign would be tantamount to suicide. Still trying to talk her out of it Jack and Sydney enter the lift to SD-6; what they don't realise is that SD-6 has been overrun by an armed group and everybody inside has been captured or killed. When the lift stops Jack realises what must have happened so they climb out through the roof before the doors open and reveal them to the attackers. Once out Jack hacks into the building's internal cameras to learn what has happened. He discovers that the gang's leader is a former SD-6 agent called McKenas Cole and he wants something from the vault. While he sets about torturing Sloane for the code Sydney must rush to get a code scrambler from Marshall's office as it is assumed Sloane has set the building's self destruct system to detonate the moment the vault opens!

This opening episode of a two part story set things up nicely; the capture of the SD-6 offices was surprisingly quick but was believable when we learn the group's leader was a former member of SD-6. I liked the fact that it was hard to know who to sympathise with; after all we know that SD-6 is an enemy organisation and Cole has every reason to want revenge after he was captured in Chechnya and disowned by the CIA... presumably up until then he had believed he was working for the CIA in the same way Sydney did. Fans of Quentin Tarantino will love this episode as he guest stars as McKenas Cole; a role that gives him the opportunity to engage in his trademark banter; mostly when threatening Sloane with the contents of 'The Box'. There was plenty of excitement as Jack and Sydney attempted to thwart Cole's plans and I'm certainly looking forward to seeing how they will sort everything out.

The Worst Plot Ever!

[meridian_satyagraha · 1/10 · 27 April 2016]

Episode 12 is the first part of a two-part episode. In this episode, SD-6 is under attack from an unknown organization, lead by Quentin Tarantino. The beginning starts off great, with a team breaking in to SD-6 headquarters, tension is great -- even better when we find out the leader is none other than Tarantino! We're in for a ride. As the episode rounds out, we find out this team is after something in the SD-6 Vault - which as an audience we've never heard about or seen. Unfortunately, however, because the unit is in lockdown, if the Vault is open, not one, but FOUR payloads of C4 will detonate, blowing the entire HQ and all the team members to bits! So Sydney and her dad (both were in the parking garage when this happen) are going to SAVE THE DAY! There are a number of things wrong with this premise.

1. Sydney and her dad aren't SD-4 operatives. They're CIA. What the hell do they care about the people in SD-4?

2. Sydney and her dad are totally capable of LEAVING HQ and getting help from their good old CIA buddies -- or even other SD HQs around the world. But no, they're gonna do it themselves.

3. Not one of the SD-4 members have told this new motley crew that if they open the vault everyone is going to die. I highly doubt they'd continue opening said vault if they knew this fact. But nope, not one of these idiots says "hey, btw, if you actually succeed in opening that vault, the whole place is going to blow up, and yes, that includes YOU!"

In episode 13, which is part 2 of this horribly written episode, the inanity continues.

I just started watching Alias on Netflix, and was rather taken with the idea until these episodes. I'm really hoping this lazy writing doesn't continue.