Agreed on all points! I have a real frustration with the treatment of Lauren right now. I liked what they had done with the set up, and the idea of Lauren being someone that Sydney could respect and like was a good one. It made it believable that Vaughn could have fallen in love with her, and that Sydney would be torn up about it on several levels. Making her a double agent and evil seems like a cop-out. Now Sydney doesn't have to struggle with being "the other woman" -- right about the time it gets too hard, they'll reveal that Lauren is evil, evil, evil, and all will be well for our heroine. Until next season.

I wonder if they changed the character based on the intense fan dismay when she was introduced?