They did it again. They took the entire Alias universe and turned it on its ear. I love this show.
I loved that they went back to page 47, and that it really was Sydney, and not Irina, after all. I loved that they brought Kendall (Terry O'Quinn) back in a big way. I loved getting to actually see Sydney's funeral. (And how about Vaughn crying on Weiss's shoulder? Wow.)
There's something very telling about Sydney's character in that (1) she had her own memory erased, but (2) she was compelled afterward to find out what she had forgotten. Sydney should have known her own nature. How could a naturally inquisitive and brilliant spy leave a two-year memory gap alone? I also thought it was fascinating but perhaps a bit too convenient that Jack's "Project Christmas" indoctrination kept Sydney from breaking.
Sydney being the Virgin Mary is an odd concept, though. (Pun intended.) They took her eggs, hence the mysterious scar, but I wasn't clear about whether she was to be a host mother, or if baby Rambaldi was going to be genetically half Sydney. (Did I miss that? Please let me know.) Which would make Jack and Irina the grandparents of the Second Coming.
I never cared much for Lauren, so the fact that she killed Lazarey on Sark's orders doesn't upset me at all. But what a shocker! I thought they'd keep us on the fence about Lauren for a lot longer. Maybe they decided the character wasn't going to work out on a permanent basis, huh?
And poor Lazarey. First, he loses his hand during his and Julia's quest for the Rambaldi DNA, and then he gets tortured by his own son, and killed. But was Lazarey really Sark's father? I still think that Sark has something to do, biologically at least, with Jack or Irina, because it just seems so like an Alias plot line to have Sark turn out to be Sydney's brother.
Observations, unanswered questions, and bits and pieces:
— I'm a little perturbed that Vaughn was already with Lauren nine months after Sydney's death.
— Speaking of which, there were several references to time periods lasting nine months. I think these were intentional, because of the Rambaldi baby thing. There was also a reference by Marshall to the fact that he and Carrie were about to become parents. Is this pregnancy a coincidence?
— Maybe I missed something, because a lot happened and I couldn't tape this episode because I was at a conference in a hotel room ... but what exactly did Sloane have to do with Sydney's two-year disappearance? He seems to have set Sydney up to investigate her own disappearance with that key to her apartment in Rome, but why?
— I'm now glad that Sydney killed Oleg, as she promised. It's too bad they made her kill that other guy.
— Kendall and Sydney are truly friends now? Hmmm. I can't wait to see "Project Black Hole" in Nevada. Maybe it's in Area 51.
— Did they take all of Sydney's eggs? Is she sterile now?
— Lazarey's last words were, "You know about the passenger?" What the heck did that mean?
This week's...
... itinerary: There were a lot of places in flashback, but in present time there was a plane plus everyone in the cast parachuting into Patagonia, and that was it.
... hot look: I liked Jennifer Garner as Julia blonde.
Five out of four spies. This was a jaw-dropper,
Billie
---
Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
The first time I watched Alias, I was incredibly disappointed by this episode, which felt like a painfully simple way of accounting for 2 years and giving the heroine even more tragic backstory without making her a mumbling drooling headcase. Knowing you've been tortured and remembering the torture are two different things.
ReplyDeleteNow, though, I really like it, in part because I'm seeing Sydney's choice differently. Her decision to have her memories removed show just how awful it was, and it seems that present-day Sydney trusts her own previous instincts: knowing is better than remembering.
The Sloane thing is still ambiguous, isn't it? I wonder if it fits into Sloane's endgame, whatever that is now, if he even has one, which I'm sure he does, since he's Sloane.
I like this episode because it shows that Sydney was not a victim for the past two years - she couldn't be brainwashed and she outsmarted the Covenant.
ReplyDeleteI'm still bothere by the timing of Vaughn/Lauren, but I'm going to chalk it up to poor writing rather than Vaughn being a total ass.
“I'm a little perturbed that Vaughn was already with Lauren nine months after Sydney's death.”
ReplyDeleteI agree! 9 months! Vaughn doesn't know how to be alone. He jumps from one relationship to another. He did the same with Alice. I really want to excuse him but there are no excuses left. Has Lauren hypnotized him? Brainwashing? Drugs? Very improbable...
No, it seems to me that if Sydney wants a reliable and solid man (not a boy) she is going to have to start looking for another...