tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post6998951825048963840..comments2024-03-29T06:56:12.797-04:00Comments on Doux Reviews: Alias: Almost Thirty YearsBillie Douxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141769005175631213noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-69675073910800142602023-11-08T22:47:44.400-05:002023-11-08T22:47:44.400-05:00If I made a Best Alias Bad Guys list the Cowardly ...If I made a Best Alias Bad Guys list the Cowardly Torture Guy would definitely get a honorable mention. Poor Jack. I mean, his wife turned out to be evil and a few years later his closest friend too. No wonder he doesn’t have any close friends. Sydney hurt his feelings with her question. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-49937830436636635192017-03-28T15:59:18.095-04:002017-03-28T15:59:18.095-04:00Oh yeah, a perfect end to a perfect first season. ...Oh yeah, a perfect end to a perfect first season. Run faster, Vaughn, what's the matter with you, don't just stand there. One of my favorite moments in the whole first season is when Will hugs Jack. Mama Bristow is coming. I love her, such a complicated lady.Mallenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11368492098724611717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-72276173956349337112017-01-26T09:04:29.211-05:002017-01-26T09:04:29.211-05:00well, it is 3+ years after the last comment about ...well, it is 3+ years after the last comment about this episode. in this 3rd (or is it my 4th?) re-watch of the series the thing that really got me wasn't Will hugging Jack, but Jack hugging Will back.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-71745705897098949542013-10-12T09:26:49.406-04:002013-10-12T09:26:49.406-04:00A great series opener and an equally great season ...A great series opener and an equally great season finale!<br /><br />First, Sloane and Emily. I absolutely love the scene at the beach house. We don't hear anything they are saying, but it was such important scene. Kudos to Ron Rifkin and Amy Irving (who is just lovely) on the amazing acting! I'm sure that Sloane loves Emily, but that he (and she) must have realized that if he didn't kill her, then there would be worse things for them in the future.<br /><br />Second, Jack and Vaughn both prove their love for Sydney. And, Jack is finally starting to respect Vaughn. There is a difference between doing what's right and what is acceptable. Vaughn has finally learned that doing what is right may include deceiving the CIA. I love the train station scene, especially when the camera pans back and you see Sydney and Vaughn facing away from each other, but clearly on the same side. He cannot possibly be dead. I think Vaughn has become too important to the storyline. If he were to die, Sydney would fall apart, which is not acceptable for this show. But, what happened to him?<br /><br />Third, poor Will. He definitely got more than he bargained for. Tooth guy was back, but I was so glad to see Will fight back, despite being scared out of his mind. Hilarious that he hugs Jack, of all people!!!<br /><br />Fourth, Mom is the "Man"??? Wow!! This is a great example of how well-written this show is/was. I don't remember a better season-ending cliffhanger than this one! This actually made me forget about Vaughn's current dilemma, it was so shocking!Karen Swifthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17292379033800154820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-3878230295426461082012-12-28T14:32:00.927-05:002012-12-28T14:32:00.927-05:00Really interesting comment, Josie. Love the Lewis...Really interesting comment, Josie. Love the Lewis book.<br /><br />This show had an incredible first season. A plot that is convoluted, but followable (if that is even a word); and, characters that are flawed, but whom we can root for.<br /><br />But, of course, if Sydney was not a character that we cared about, the show would fade into nothing. Gardner is fantastic in the role and makes this young woman one I wanted to follow for a long, long time.ChrisBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10843864158239536750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-89806869504115075582012-12-11T21:57:05.979-05:002012-12-11T21:57:05.979-05:00The thing that drives me absolutely INSANE about t...The thing that drives me absolutely INSANE about this episode is that Vaughn is supposed to have driven from Griffith Park out to Santa Monica, over to the bluffs and then to downtown to find Sydney. All at peak traffic time and during Lakers season! I'm sorry there is no way that trip could possibly take less than two hours. It might even take three depending on traffic.<br /><br />I do have to give the show kudos for actually hauling their cookies down to Union Station and not just redressing a random part of the Disney lot as they usually do.<br /><br />I'd forgotten they hadn't cast Irina yet when they shot this. Her voice sounds so un-Lena Olin-y.sunbunnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08553429350476841139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-24992089194272921872012-03-18T13:37:50.792-04:002012-03-18T13:37:50.792-04:00I am enjoying this rewatch far more than I thought...I am enjoying this rewatch far more than I thought I would. <br /><br />I got into <i>Buffy</i> and <i>Angel</i> in 2003-2004 after years and years without television. The next show I watched was <i>Alias</i>. I'm starting to think that's why I'm so picky about standalones, lack of development, etc. <i>Buffy, Angel</i>, and <i>Alias</i> is a fairly awesome group of shows. My reintroduction to the genre of TV might have set the bar too high.Josie Kafkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17892717530356699008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-81168875896507817952012-03-18T09:14:59.348-04:002012-03-18T09:14:59.348-04:00Very interesting insights, Josie. Glad you are en...Very interesting insights, Josie. Glad you are enjoying the rewatch so very much!<br /><br />Plus, it gives me great peace of mind to know I'm not the only one who occasionally ends up writing their own review in the comments. :)Jess Lyndehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14165015932507376656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-75959884290496670222012-03-18T00:04:24.856-04:002012-03-18T00:04:24.856-04:00Yes, outstanding.
I'm going to go out on a l...Yes, outstanding. <br /><br />I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the theme of this episode is friendship. Sydney asked Jack about it, Jack got defensive but later asked Devlin if they were friends, and of course friendship and the trust we have in our friends is what got all the pieces moving.<br /><br />It makes sense that Sydney would plan an off-book mission to save Will. And how far we've come in understanding Jack! It makes sense <i>he</i> would help save Will, and possibly learn something about his own ability to form emotional ties in the bargain. That wouldn't have made any sense even 10 episodes ago.<br /><br />CS Lewis talks about friendship in his book <i>The Four Loves</i>, and he distinguishes between friendship like Will and Sydney have, and the comradeship of organizations like the Alliance. He characterizes the alliances we form in difficult situations (like war-time) as two or more people standing side by side, staring not at each other but at a common goal. That is what an alliance is, after all. A friendship manufactured out of the needs of the moment. An agreement to be a team rather than a deeper, less intellectual fondness for others.<br /><br />It actually makes sense to me that the Alliance would ask its members to sacrifice so much, because that is how they 1) make sure that eventually the members have no one but the Alliance to rely on, and 2) determine who can make the grade. It's a fairly standard practice in cults, I think. <br /><br />But if we look at Sloane and Emily as a particular kind of friendship, that's the great tragedy. He's killing her, as far as we can tell, in order to stay in the Alliance, and she's willing to die in order to help him realize his dreams. He's participating in, and choosing, the wrong kind of friendship.<br /><br />Dixon's in an equally sticky situation. He and Sydney must have started as comrades: that's how most work partnerships begin. But obviously their relationship has moved onto real friendship, and Sydney asks Dixon to remember that when he asks her for a reason not to report her. But just as Sloane prioritized the Alliance over Emily, so does it look like Dixon will prioritize country over Sydney.<br /><br />Weiss made the same choice when he decided to report Vaughn to Haladki and Devlin. And I can certainly see where he's coming from: unless you knew Sydney like we do and like Vaughn does, this would seem like a terrible idea. And, let's be frank, it didn't end well. <br /><br />Vaughn and Sydney haven't had much success on their missions together, have they? The Vatican--they almost got caught. Denpasar--they lost Sark, and the vial, and Sydney almost got discovered by Dixon. And now it appears that Vaughn has gone to his watery grave. "It's the size of a shoe"? Not so much.<br /><br />On the Evil side of things, the trifecta-plus-one (quadrecta?) of Mama "The Man" Bristow, Khasinau, Sark, and Haladki (may he rest in uneasy peace) is a strange mirror of the family dynamics among the non-evil Bristows. Khasinau sounded bittersweet when he talked about "The Man." How did he go from being her handler to her employee? If her daughter is any indication, Mama Bristow must be a forced to be reckoned with. And Sark clearly answers to her--how like him to rub Jack's face in it.<br /><br />All in all, this was an incredible season. With the minor exception of the Noah episodes, it was note-perfect every time. So much of the credit for that goes to Jennifer Garner, who has such an expressive face and such a winning smile that it's impossible not to root for her. And Vaughn. He's okay, I guess. :-)Josie Kafkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17892717530356699008noreply@blogger.com