Alias

Ahh, season four: the marmite season, if you will. Fans either hated this season or loved it. While I dislike Marmite a great deal, I really love this season. And although this is a confident first part, it's undermined by many gaping wounds left by the 3rd season. See, ABC demanded a more viewer-friendly approach this year, since last year met great criticism from fans and critics alike, crying out it was too convoluted. Personally, I felt it was a compact year with many great stories, but, of course, it paled in comparison to ALIAS' first two seasons. So, while I appreciate the writers' need to call it "bridge under the water" and move on, for long-time fans, it's a bit of a cheat.



In fact, it appears as though JJ wasn't too keen on season three either, as there are a few jabs at it throughout the episode ("Last year sucked" being a subtle one. Ahem). Still, as a reboot season premiere, there are quite a few changes. And, of course, a few questionable rethreads of previous years. Presumably it wasn't Abrams running out of ideas, but more so revisiting elements that made the show an instant hit in the first place - Syd working for Sloane etc.



I have to say, Jennifer Garner looks amazing this year. I'm not sure what she did, but she just looks absolutely stunning in this episode, and for the rest of the season. Maybe it's something that inevitably comes with a shows fourth season, as Sarah Michelle Gellar never looked so good as she did in her fourth year. Food for thought...or not :P



The new headquarters is a nice change of scenery from season three's drab backdrop, and it actually makes the cast look great. Now, you'll have to excuse the ludicrous development of how Sloane managed his position at APO, but once you do, the episode is a thrilling ride. And, yes, I can see why JJ opted to have him there, it's adding some nice tension-filled moments and, as Syd puts it, it's great having her work alongside Dixon again.



So, as a follow up to the finale of last season, it doesn't quite gel - yet. We still have the second half, of course. But as a means of showcasing the layout of the series, it works great and covers most of the important ground without falling into laborious exposition for newcomers. Fave quote:



Chase: Are you opting to terminate your association with the CIA?

Sydney: I will say it in English for you: I quit.

Under the pressure of ABC, the writers had to make a hard decision. They had to temporarly drop the serialised nature of the show, and concencrate on the standalone concept.



So, everything that was set up in the previous season had to be either cancelled or suspended. Unfortunately, while most things are handled well by the writers, there are major plto threads which are simply too big to ignore - although we are forced to do so.



One of those things is that Sloane is in control again, in this new "secret CIA branch" which is called APO. I don't know why didn't they name it SD6? It would fit perfectly.



Dixon, Vaughn, Sydney, Jack... all working for Sloane. Makes no sense, especially after Sloane was basically sentenced for death. He commited so many crimes, even with suspending my disbelief, this is totally silly. But once you get past this, there's another major issue. Namely, the fact that Rambaldi has to be ignored for a good amount of time, because Rambaldi just doesn't fit well with standalone episodes. So once again, we're kept in dark about what Nadia and Sloane found...



The episode itself is okay. The first 20 minutes were great, confusing, but great. But the last 20 minutes were forced, and just didn't feel right. I didn't understand the need for an actual mission in this episode. There should have been much more character exploration...

Coming off of, what I felt was one of the strongest episodes in series history, I think this episode left everyone feeling more confused and frustrated then satisfied. What I liked about episode 3x01 was that it was almost like "The Telling" part 2, meaning that they picked up exactly where they left off in season 2 and kept the ball rolling. This episode felt more like its own episode and it jumped around way more then I would have liked it too.



The main cliffhanger of season 3 was addressed but not yet answered, as we still dont know exactly what was on the paper that Sydney read at the end of the season. With JJ Abrams writing the next episode, Im sure he will tell us the answer soon enough because it clearly is enough to be driving a wedge in the middle of Sydney and her father right now.



Vaughn and Sydney getting back together early was a good thing from JJ I think. Rather then fill episodes with pointless fillers I thought it best to do exactly what he did. The beginning mission where she fails and is fake fired from the CIA was not needed, it was another one of those confusing and pointless touches I think. Overall, liking the idea of Authorized Personal Only as the new "SD-6", I think Ill like seeing Arvin in charge of everyone again. Overall though, not exactly the episode I had in mind coming off of Resurrection.

What an unexcepted way to start the 4th season.



Ignoring S3 finale, and basically the whole 3rd season, Alias starts... very... interesting-ly.



Syd quits CIA after a mission that didn't go as planned... however, it was all staged. Syd joined a secret divison of the CIA, the APO.



But the funny thing is, not only did Syd, but so did Jack, Vaughn Dixon and Sloane join. Ah, SD 6 reunion?



This is, as cool as it sounds, very unreal. What's even worse is making Sloane the leader of the pack.



What's wrong with the writers? Have they forgotten what Sloane has done?



While this episode gives maximum effect when watched together with part 2, on the DVD it's a seperate episode. And I can't help noticing that this episode had NOTHING to DO with the 3rd season on a whole - as i said - but it's especially annoying because the characters act irrationally: especially Sloane. No resolution, nothing. Just... a new plot thread. No Rambaldi. No secret-documet-explaination. Overally, despite all the negativity, it was still enjoyable and definitely makes you want more.

The biggest problem I had with this episode was the changes made to the cliffhanger at the end of season three.



In the final episode [of season three], we see Sydney looking through several classified documents, with the first page refering to Sydney as the \"active\" subject of a \"project\" that began on the 17th April 1975, a possible reference to Project Christmas.



However, in \"Authorized Personnel Only\", we discover that in fact the document apparently gave Jack Bristow authorization to execute Sydney\'s mother, who had mysteriously placed a contract on Sydney\'s life.



Erm, no, it didn\'t say that.



It\'s possible that writers needed a way to remove Lena Olin [Irina Derevko] from the main story, so were forced to change the story.



To add insult to injury, we must now buy that everybody is willingly working for Sloane again, as part of a covert ops unit with the lamest of names, APO (get it? Authorized Personnel Only).



Bland new character Nadia Santos [Mia Maestro] is the final nail in the coffin.



After season three, pretend that Alias finished and just watch the final few minutes of the last ever episode, \"All the Time in the World\" to see a nice glimpse of the future.

I read somewhere that this episode was changed from the one that was originally shot; I suspect that they added in the opening segment on the train. If so, that was a smart move, because an action sequence is sure to reel in more viewers than, say, the agents sitting around, looking serious. True, they could have used the running-in-Shanghai incident, but the train scene allowed them to begin this long-awaited season with the very fitting \\\"At last . . .\\\" song. To further remind us what we\\\'ve been missing, the scene was filled with Alias trademarks: accents, skimpy outfits, and deception.



Naturally, the deception is not limited to the target of their mission. The relationships on the show remain as complicated as ever, but that\\\'s to be expected, since - as Sydney pointed out - they can\\\'t just pretend like the bad years didn\\\'t happen. In any event, I\\\'m glad that things between Sydney and Vaughn are progressing, despite their attempt to take things slowly. I\\\'d much rather see them together than apart and wishing they were together.



In case you haven\\\'t heard, JJ has said that they\\\'re trying to take the show back to the way it was in season one. From what we\\\'ve seen so far, I\\\'d say they\\\'re off to a great start, plus they\\\'ve thrown in a few twists to keep it interesting. For example, Syd is again working for a \\\"black ops\\\" division of the CIA, but un-like with SD-6, this one is actually part of the CIA. Sloane is once again Sydney\\\'s boss, but now she isn\\\'t forced to disguise her distrust of him. At first, it\\\'s hard to believe that the CIA would ever allow him to have such a position, but his explanation that they want their own SD-6 is very logical. Still, you have to wonder whether the CIA ever second-guesses their decision, since Sloane - very much returning to his season one self - can\\\'t seem to help looking sinister.

Some people disliked it but i thought APO part 1 was brilliant. Having Sloane as the new boss was a twist i never would have seen coming. I really thought the next time we saw him he'd be either shooting at them or in prison. Due to Lena Olin's other commitments her character Irina Derevko had to be killed off, which caused a fan outrage but the story put a spin on everything and caused tensions between the spy sisters as it was Sydney's father Jack Bristow who pulled the trigger. With Isabella Roselini due to return along with David Anders and Gina Torres this promises to be a brilliant season.

Eh.



It just didn't feel like the same show. The characters were the same, but it seemed like one of those special episodes of an ABC sitcom where the family goes to Disney World for vacation: same characters thrown into a new plot. It's like a spinoff!



It's not even shot the same. Alias of old felt like a movie, and although we used to joke about the yellow filters and dark lighting, this was too...light. The whole thing seemed too staged, seemed like it took place on a set, seemed so 'made for tv'.



And must they all be thrown together constantly? It seemed like they all went on every mission, like they were thrown together in unlikely partnerships just to put them all in the same place.



But I did like:



- All of the references to last season, like "Last year sucked" and Robot!Dixon



- Nadia was fabulous, like Syd circa season 1.



- Syd: "And now I'm going to ask you the most obvious question since the beginning of time."



- Marshall, saved the day as usual. "Uh, Syd...SLOANE is here..."



- "Hi, I'm Eric Weiss, 38, single..."



- And Vaughn was hot. Like...he was just hot.



And I will never buy Irina is dead without seeing her being killed myself. Ever.



Not enough Jack, not enough Weiss, too much Team Alias World Police.



And the opener? I was prepared to do my Alias Dance but instead folded my arms in disgust. I guess we all need to get used to change?

Authorised Personnel Only, Part 1&2 - At Last



The first thing we heard upon the return of Alias was the song “At Last” which made me think… It’s been months since Alias ended and we’ve had to wait longer than usual for the return of our favourite show but at last it’s here!

My running theme for this episode is just that, At Last. There are so many things in the episode that I love to watch each week but for the last 6 months or so I’ve had to go without. So at last the return of my favourite show and everything that makes it so great.



One thing I did notice was the abrupt change in story direction. On the Alias official site (www.abc.com/alias) the synopsis for 3x22 – Resurrection, or the Season 3 finale said that what Sydney found out at the bank was that “She cries as she peruses files documenting her life, each one bearing Jack Bristow's signature” I also read somewhere there were also pages documenting Nadia’s life as well.

But after reading that you can imagine I found it weird when they totally abandoned that story because to be honest with you it sounded damn interesting. I guess that didn’t want to change Jack’s loyalty totally and JJ needed a way to conveniently kill of Irina seeing as (until now) they have been unable to negotiate her return. We can’t change what never happened though, so on with the review.



At Last Another Fight Scene



After knocking out some poor scientist we get to see Sydney in a full-blown fight, boy was it great to see Alias at it’s full again. The first time through we didn’t know who Sydney was running from and why so we may not have got the full impact and the second time through it was intertwined with Vaughn’s fight scene, this gave us a chance not only to compare the two fights but it increased the action and the tension.

One comment I did have about Vaughn’s scene was that it made him look a bit like a sissy… He was the underdog the entire time with the thug always having the upper hand and then when he finally gained some ground Vaughn knocked the guy out by whacking him over the head with a teapot, funny, yes and ironic…



At Last Another Close Escape



It’s one of the things that Alias is famous for, putting the characters in a position of grave danger and then having them escape just in the nick of time.

If Vaughn took any longer taking out the thug Sydney would have fallen hundreds of feet from a moving train… splat. When I think about it I liked this close escape because after saving her “just in the nick of time” Vaughn got a cuddle and a *look*, a look that meant “aww J”



At Last Another Episode In Media Res



No show I was can manage to create the suspense I love apart from Alias. Starting an episode halfway through the action then cutting back is an excellent technique to get people interested… worked well here.





At Last Another Club



Okay, so eventually I might complain about the overuse of clubs in Alias but seeing one again brought back happy memories.



We didn’t exactly get to see the club for long, with Sydney and her contact making a beeline for the bathroom as soon as they got in, but the essence was still there.

To be totally honest the idea of a club seemed kinda unnecessary, but still, memories!



At Last The Opening Credits



I’m not sure how I didn’t go insane without hearing that familiar tune every week but I was very happy to heat the strains of the Alias theme once again. I love the new credits with all the clips of Sydney in her many disguises, well done!



At Last SYDNEY AND VAUGHN!!



Okay so I’m a major S/V shipper but the fact that they can finally recognise that Alias just doesn’t work without these two together makes my day.

Despite Sydney’s “taking it slow” talk, I was just happy at that point to see them together, I didn’t care whether things were going to be slow or not.

One thing I did find was that if Sydney wanted to take it slow, what followed her first APO mission wasn’t exactly… well slow, but apart from her contradiction I was overjoyed to see the couple together again.



At Last Another Mission



Alias wouldn’t be Alias without the missions, that’s a fact and just to see the APO team kicking but made me happy. All the missions in this ep were all awesome, well acted and great to watch, that’s all that needs to be said. It may just be that I’m so happy to see the return of Alias that I’m blocking out any flaws, which I know there were, yet I don’t care… Alias is back and is beginning to straighten out the mess that is referred to as Season 3.



At Last More Family Trauma



In Alias it’s unavoidable and in this episode it’s more present than ever. The family trauma’s are not just between Sydney and Jack but also between Nadia and Sloane and Nadia and Sydney.



Sydney and Jack



So you think your father killed your mother just to satisfy his own peace of mind, wouldn’t you be angry? At first I didn’t understand why Jack wouldn’t tell Sydney the reason he assassinated Irina but then later on in the episode he explained it al for me. The fact that he not only killed the woman (I’m sure) he loved for her, but then allowed himself to look bad in order to protect his daughter from the emotional harm it could cause proves, however much we may be lead to doubt it, Jack is the ultimate father. I don’t feel sorry that once again their relationship has been harmed because the healing is the best part to watch, lets just hope it’s a speedy recovery.



Sydney and Nadia



Neither knows where they stand really, they both have the same mother but at this point it’s one of the only connections they see.

I do see many things about Nadia that are also traits of Sydney’s, but of course that’s to be expected seeing as they’re sisters.

Over time a bond between them will form although there is a possibility of their relationship being hindered by Sydney holding back the secret of who’s behind their mother’s death, I’m sure eventually all the secrets will come out and I can’t imagine what effects this may have just yet.

Both the characters Sydney and Nadia are well acted, which adds to this on-screen relationship, I’m glad that the writers are now exploring new family ties and I hope that it will offer good story opportunities in the future.



Sloane and Nadia



To me they seem a little like the old Jack and Sydney, their problems may be different but their motives are the same. Both want to be closer to their respective relative, yet there are always (generally spy-related) problems holding them back.

To see this relationship prosper might be a bit strange, we’ve seen Sloane trying to be a father figure to Sydney before and that was creepy, hopefully with Nadia we won’t allow our judgement of Sloane’s fatherhood to be clouded by past experiences.



At Last, Marshall



This guy is just… well there’s something about this character that makes everyone love him. I was surprised there was no mention towards the bullet he took last season in the finale but I’m just glad he’s alive.



I was surprised he was not recruited right at the start of APO, seeing as he was part of the SD-6 team 5 years ago, I can only assume the reason they kept him out for a little while was so they could bring him in in the way that they did, with a bag over his head, no less. Either that or they forgot about him and couldn’t be bothered rewriting some of the scripts.



At Last Another Father/Daughter High Speed Rescue



This one’s been gone longer than the rest, the part where Jack pulls up in a car just in time to save Sydney from the goons that are chasing her.

The fact that at this point Sydney was still mad at Jack added to the dynamic of the scene, it was just good to see it again.



At Last Another Torture



No, I’m not sadistic but getting to see Sydney hold her own against some guy was just the way Alias should be. The scene was well done, I’m just glad there was no dentists in this one.





At Last Some Answers About Irina



After about a season of being in the dark, we finally find out a little bit about the illusive Irina Derevko. So she’s dead, I don’t think so! On Alias those who are dead are rarely ever dead.

Apart from being a name on a computer screen, a person in a chat room, Irina Derevko has not graced our screens for a year and to finally have the story taken somewhere is good, now we just have to sit tight and wait for what really happened…



Thinking about it I realised that actress Lena Olin has had a chance to greatly alter the Alias storyline, had she come back in season 3 it may not have been so much of a waste of time, to be brutally honest, looking back season 3 achieved nothing apart from introducing Nadia. I now know that Olin has signed on to come and do 2 eps at the very end of this season, can’t wait for that!



Quote-ables



“Last year sucked” – Vaughn

(Well said, the perfect way to describe the past year…)



“I just want you to know that I’m there for you, if you need me, If you need to stay with me for a while because your house is… ashes.” – Weiss

(At a loss for words, the ever-comical Weiss offers Vaughn his support after burning his house down)



“Then allow me to ask the most obvious question in the history of time; How can the CIA let that man, who ran what amounts to a terrorist cell within the borders of this country, run anything?” – Sydney

(The question we all wanted to ask)



“You sure she’s really out? Fake quitting’s seems to be all the rage.” – Sydney

(Apparently that was glib, what’s glib?? Questioning Nadia’s alliance… that’s not sisterly)



“We had eggs.” – Marshall

(So Marshall ate eggs with Sark…)



“Am I dead?” – Marshall

(So APO is heaven then? That’s surprising)



“Ahh Syd? {*whispers*} Sloane is here.”

(And nobody noticed???)



“Get in! You can be stubborn later!” – Jack

(Sydney take’s after her mother, doesn’t she?)









Note-ables



No one got suspicious when Sydney, Vaughn, Jack and Dixon all quit at the same time??

Vaughn burnt his house down

APO is located at a train station where SD-6 was located at a bank which allowed for it’s agents a cover… why not make APO agents train drivers?

Why did Sloane pick Vaughn as an APO agent? They’ve never worked together.

Director Chase had scary eyelashes

Jack recognised Vaughn as the person Sydney loves and trusts most

In the flash back to the bank Sydney starts crying before she knows what she’s reading about… weird (It was later explained that she guessed… but I felt that was a bit farfetched)

How did Vaughn get an idea to what Sydney might have found in Wittenberg??

When stealing the sword how can the APO agents here the guard’s radio transmission through their own radios when the guards can’t hear theirs?

A coke bottle triggered the alarms, there was a bit of product placement…

New code names are: Sydney – Phoenix

Vaughn – Shotgun

Marshall – Merlin

Jack – Raptor

Dixon - Outrigger







What’s In A Name?

The episode name was straight forward, a reference to the new agency’s name.



Loathed

The death of Irina!!

Liked

Having Alias Back

Loved

Vaughn and Sydney!!!



Scene of the Ep

Ohhh, it’s gotta be the scene where Jack and Sydney talk about Irina’s death after Syd finds out the real reason Irina was killed