"You don't need to be scared of me." : A deconstruct on the relationship between Cole and Sark.

[certainproclivity]

"YOU DON'T NEED TO BE SCARED OF ME."

A deconstruct on the relationship between Julian Sark and McKenas Cole

There is only a short, roughly six minute scene between Cole and Sark that occurs onscreen, however, we know that this is not the first time they've met and, more importantly, we know that they have, in fact worked together before. Back during Cole's first appearance in Season One, Cole's raid on SD-6 occurred simultanaeous to Sark's raid on FTL. The fact that Sark's raid was successful and Cole's raid wasn't is telling- Sark later reveals himself as Irina's director operations. As no one had ever heard of Sark prior to this moment and he's extremely young, you can draw one conclusion from this- Sark was promoted due to his success and the meeting with K-Directorate was his first operation post-promotion. The fact that he and Cole were likely up for the same position and their congruent missions were a test to see who was worthy of it can easily be implied.


Now over four years have passed since Cole's arrest and the scene in After Six that this essay is primarily based around. Bear in mind two things- Cole has been the visible mastermind behind everything the Covenant has done in S3 (we see his silhouette during Sydney's conditioning process when she's being tortured into becoming Julia Thorne) and Sark has been treated like dog shit by the Covenant since he was freed. As a valuable resource only in his money (which they have access to), they could have killed him for the audacity he's shown to them, because he has no real value to them beyond financial backer. Nothing he does for the Covenant couldn't have been done just as well by someone who would have given them less entitled lip about it. So why keep him alive?



Simple. Cole's behind everything. Cole was arrested, lost the chance of getting revenge on Sloane (all while Sark goes on to suck Sloane's dick like the dog he is), and lost the advancement in Irina's operation and was essentially left behind again (and we all know what started Cole's trauma), and, meanwhile, who gets everything? Julian Fucking Sark. Cole is not a rational human being. We've seen this. He doesn't believe in casual vengeance. He likes people to feel what he felt, even if it makes no real sense.



Prior to his release in S3, Sark has been abandoned by Irina, treated like nothing more than a useless bargaining chip, and then brought into Covenant custody and treated like a workhorse, when he's accustomed to being someone in a position of power. Cole was calling the shots- Cole had his men treating Sark like this. If there was anything other than bad blood between the two of them, Cole would have probably delighted in partnering up with him again and revealed himself beforehand, rather than working behind people like San'ko.




Cut to the scene in After Six. Sark is extremely confident that his plan will succeed. He's pulled off a successful coup of all the Covenant cell leaders and he's going to make an offer, comforted in the fact that Lauren has the watches and that his bargaining chips are well in play. This is the kind of deal he's been trained to make his entire life and he's prepared for everything. You see him just casually insppecting the glasses and bottles on the table like someone incredibly bored with the whole affair- he's the very picture of someone with the upper hand.



And then Cole walks in.




Let's take a moment to examine the look on Sark's face here. No emotion is meaningless with Sark. He is tightly controlled and if any emotion slips past his poker face, then it's because he was caught off-guard before he had time to correct it. There is nothing but shock and uncertainty in this expression, and there's two likely reasons.




(1. Sark knows that he cannot expect this to go well when a man he has likely been rivals with is the one calling the shots. You can't reason, argue with, or otherwise manipulate and manhandle a crazy man, especially one who has every reason to despise you.




(2. Cole has champagne.




Now, if you think back to S1, Cole mentions his relationship with champagne. He brings one on every mission and it's heavily implied he doesn't crack it open until he's positive he's won. Cole's probably made mention of this enough times that Sark knows this. Seeing Cole with a bottle of champagne is the equivelent of seeing your enemy walk out with the head of your general slung over his shoulder. He's won and you're trapped and you're going to have to hope he's feeling merciful.




Cole is nothing but pleasant during this conversation, which is all the scarier. You can see the uncertainty on Sark's face through the entire conversation. He lets Cole speak, does little more than answer Cole's questions, and his mask slips. Look at the way Sark reacts to Bomani later in this season- even when the man is threatening him, he never loses his ground and is fine with talking down and talking back to the man, and Bomani is twice as threatening as McKenas Cole (but Sark and Bomani have no history between them). Everything about Sark conveys terror, right down to the fact that he won't leave his back turned to Cole. He knows he's walked into a trap before it's even sprung and when Cole reveals what Sark likely already suspects, well... Sark's still surprised, and it gets even worse when he realizes that his last gambit- the watches- are not in his possession and that Lauren betrayed him.




And then Sark does something he very rarely does. He backtracks. He stumbles. Yes, Sark has a tendency to change tactics when one tactic might get him killed, but never like this. Sark actually doubles back on himself right then. His lies have no weight. He ends up complimenting Cole's intelligence, trying to buy favor out of this conversation, which is not something Sark typically does. Even with people he suspects might kill him, he doesn't sit there and idly suck their dick (this is a man who has basically called Arvin Sloane an idiot to his face multiple times). He has other means of proving his worth, so why do it with Cole? Because Cole knows he just tried to arrange a coup, that he has basically presented himself as a liability to the Covenant, and that no matter what he can offer, Cole is just vengeful enough to kill him outright for the audacity and not give a shit about it. Sark can't barter with Cole and there are very few people Sark absolutely can't barter with.




And then Cole tells him FLAT OUT not to bullshit him and also calls him by his first name. Note that this is the first time Sark's name has been said onscreen, except for briefly by his father in Remnants (and even then, it's barely comprehensible- even the DVD subtitles think he says "Julia" and not "Julian"). This implies a certain degree of closeness- a history, if you will, especially since only one other person calls him by his first name in the series and that's Sloane and Sark is none too pleased by the familiarity when Sloane uses it. Cole may or may not have intentionally brought Sark to this by having him degraded by the Covenant, but you can't deny in that moment that there's a connection here. Sark shuts up without argument- something he pointedly does not do for anyone he does not respect or fear (again, he is a dick to Bomani). Sark is terrified of Cole. That's the important thing that comes out of this. Julian Sark who does not show fear except in the most dire of circumstances is absolutely terrified for his life in the face of this man, and this is before Cole reveals that he has the watches, so Sark still had a chance to salvage the situation- just barely, but he wouldn't normally overlook something like that.




And Cole knows it. "I can see right now you're scared, but you don't need to be scared of me." In fact, Cole has been reveling in this entire conversation, being polite, congenial, friendly, catching up like an old friend... And then when the point comes out, he's all menace. Cole might be unstable, but he knows what he's doing. He's a dog that knows how to bully weaker animals, because the man he is now was born of torture. He has absolutely zero fear and it's something he's probably impressed upon Sark. This entire scene is a mind game for Cole- he knows what's happened. He knows where this scenario is going to go, so why torture Sark like this? It all goes back to everything else- Cole lost when he failed to bring down SD-6 and Sark was raised up. Cole is putting him in his place.




Nothing else about the scene matters- yes, Cole eventually sees that Sark has been punished enough and gives him precisely what he wants, but that's because Cole has all the cards and Sark has nothing but a better parking place and the knowledge that his coup was actually a decent plan. Keep in mind, that all Lauren had to do was have Sark brought in before the cell leaders were even murdered. None of this would have had to have happened and Sark and Lauren could have taken out the cell leaders with Cole's blessing, but, no, Cole was making a point. And now Sark is aware now that Lauren is a better liar than he is, that he let personal feelings force his hand in making a stupid decision, and, most importantly, that Cole is his handler and that he won't try to usurp control again.




Now try to tell me that this is not the most understated subtextual relationship in all of Alias. I dare you.