Sliders Season 2 Episode 5: El Sid

Once again Fox puts episodes backwards in order. This episode was written by Jon Povill is one of my favorites for this season and show as a whole. We start off on a war torn world where the sliders are counting down the clock trying not to get shot. A man named Sid is beating his girlfriend in front of the sliders and Quinn goes to help, all the while Arturo tells him not to. The man gets knocked down and the sliders run off with his girlfriend. They jump throw the vortex, Quinn throws her through it while Arturo tells him not to. Sid follows them just before it closes.

Now I have issue with this. At the end of last season they said adding a 5th person would be a problem for the vortex but they add a 6th person and nothing happens. Was Quinn just off about how much the vortex can hold or is this a mistake? I'm guessing Quinn and Arturo were just off a bit with their math.

Now we have another episode out of a movie, well kind of. They got the idea for this out of Escape from LA but it is nothing like that movie. The idea of being stuck in a city wide jail is such a cool idea. The sliders have 26 hours on this world. Sid attacks Quinn and a man breaks up the fight. Sid calls him LJ, it turns out he knows his double on the last world. Arturo explains to the man about the other worlds. LJ gives them bracelets that everyone in this city is supposed to be wearing.

They show a guard the bracelet as an aftershock happens. LJ asks about how they are going to escape. He wants to get off world with them, but he hasn't come out and asked yet. They get to a room and Sid demands that they take them home today, Quinn tells them they can't control when they slide or where they go. Arturo bluffs Sid into letting go of Quinn and then yells at Quinn for causing this problem to begin with. Wade jumps to Quinn's defense but Quinn takes off to get some air. It's too much for him right now.

The girlfriend kisses Quinn to thank him. LJ shows up to give them all the firms they have to fill out. The guard is not happy that Sid is missing. We learn about the buddy system. It seems that if one person does something wrong their buddy pays the price. Just our luck, Quinn is matched up with Sid. What is the price you ask? It's death. This slide can't come soon enough!

Arturo and Remy are attacked while walking the street by someone trying to prove how tough they are. Arturo puts the man in his place and he backs down. Arturo is good with his words and acting like a hard ass. Wade and the girlfriend are at girls counseling meeting, Wade tries to explain to her why they can't get her home. The conversation turns to why she is dating Sid but she doesn't want to hear it. She loves the way people look at Sid. Quinn and LJ are looking for Sid and talking about what happens when they slide. LJ is liking the idea more and more. They catch up to Sid just as he is robbing an ATM. Sid freaks out when the paper is red and his bracelet lights up. Sid takes a hostage as the guards come to surround him.

Quinn's bracelet lights up and LJ kicks him out of the cart. He has to walk home and make it there before anyone notices. An aftershock knocks him down and lets everyone see it. They try to shoot him but the aftershock has everyone running around and it hides him.

Quinn gets Wade and they go looking for Remy and Arturo. The girlfriend thinks Sid will be fine but goes with them. The sliders all find each other and go to where LJ told them to go. The girlfriend tells Quinn that her LJ wasn't trustworthy. It is a little late for that now. LJ leads them into a underground tunnel.

LJ tries to sell the timer to an underground black market. Arturo gives it to them but tells them that it doesn't work with them. They took out a part. LJ takes Wade hostage. The guards show up to arrest them all. Someone shoots out the lights and all hell breaks out. Quinn goes back for the timer.

Quinn gets a hold of the timer and runs back to the others. They run down the tunnel as the cops and bad guys fight it out. They head back up to the surface but cops are waiting for them with Sid. He made a deal and sold them out. Arturo keeps blaming Quinn for everything while Remy defends him. It is a nice change from season 1 when Remy blamed Quinn for everything.

The head guard tells the sliders that he will take one of them with him to another world. Whichever one of them flipped first would get to leave alive while the rest die. One of the sliders have flipped and are willing to help them. The guards come to collect Arturo who it seems is the one who sold them out. He even tells Quinn that when he gets home he will work out all of the bugs and call Sliding his own. Quinn tells him he will get him for his betrayal.

Arturo tells him the timer has been messed with and he can't fix it without Quinn. Sid doesn't believe him but the girlfriend saves Arturo. The three other sliders are worried their plan didn't work. With 20 seconds left on the timer Arturo makes it back to the cell. Sid breaks free and rushes to them just as the vortex opens up. Sid gets there and starts to fight them but the girlfriend holds him at gun point telling him to back off, he says she doesn't have the guts and she proves him wrong. Shooting him dead. Wade reminds them they don't have much time. She tries to get the girlfriend to go with them as Remy runs into the vortex. Quinn hops in and Wade and the girlfriend make it in just as it closes.

Seconds later the aftershock brings the whole room down. Now that is an ending!