Alias

For the first episode of a season in which a main character is killed off there should have been more to it. I have always been an Alias fan but Syd did not show much emotion when the father of her child is gunned down and later dies in the hospital. I guess I expected more in an episode that has something major like this develop. I still love this show and will keep watching it but Im gonna miss Vaughn or whoever he is. It looks like there will be a new character revealed so that will be interesting. I just thought it would be more emotional than it was.

After the season 4 finale, I expected there to be a huge fallout in season 5, a long story with a lot of explanations about Vaughn. I thought they'd have time to talk, explore their past and their future.

But what do those writers come up with? A storyline for probably most of this final season that evolves all around Vaughn and they just kill him off... I can't believe it. And then it was a rather weak exit. When he was shot, I expected Sydney to run towards him screaming. That would have been a suitable ending. But not like this. Having him die in the hospital with those clichee last words. I don't know, it was just not what I expected of the show and these writers.

It's not that it wasn't sad anyway. I did cry. At least a bit. But it could have been more. And I especially hated the quick forwarding to four months later. I always hate when they do that.

How's this show supposed to work with Vaughn gone and Sydney unable to go at her usual strength considering that she's pregnant? I've been waiting a while for this season to come to my country and now that I've started watching it on the internet, it turns out to be rather disappointing... :-(

Unfortunately, personal issues/matters do occur quite often, even with the actors and actresses.



Alias is no exception. Jennifer Garner's pregnency - obviously - had to be written into the plot.



Why? Why not just do "clever" camera angles(like in this episode, for the most part). Well, it's easy to explain: you can't cover her stomach while she's fighting! And Alias without action is just not Alias.



The writers backed themselves out from this corner by rushing the plot a bit, leaving almost everyone confused.



Another "big" and powerful organization(of course, evil) is introduced in this season - prophet 5. The cliffhanger is resolved. Of course, both Vaughn and Sydney survives. Vaughn is revealed to be a double agent - André Michaux. He was working with a wanted criminal Reneé Rienne to gather information of prophet 5.



Let's not waste space by detailing the plot of the episode. Let's just straight get to the point.



Vaughn dies.



A very brave choice by the writers. This of course gives an ultimate goal for Sydney(bring down P5) but also, makes the show feel less.



The problem is, Alias is mainly about characters, and the lack of Vaughn means that Sydney's character can hardly be developed, because Vaughn was the only person Sydney talked to.



There were many issues with the episode, which are mostly because of the rushed writing.



For example, Vaughn's death was cruel. First: he gets shot 6 times at least. A few seconds later he gets shot AGAIN. Cut to hospital. He's alive. He SEEMS to be stable. He's gonna survive... and then he collapses. Dies.



Basically, in my opinion, it was a huge mistake to let him survive the attack. Or, simply make him take fewer bullets. It was really weird.



Another thing is Gordon Dean. Sure, it was a good twist to make him a "bad guy", but why is the CIA so weak when it comes to the security? Almost as bad as "CTU" in 24.



Another issue, but this was because of the pregnancy, the ending. Advancing time is mostly a mistake, just like in this case. It just felt like a cop out, not showing everyone's reaction to Vaughn's death.



On the upside, it was really dramatic, and the episode was full of twists and turns. Overall, a very sad, and frustrating episode, but technically, it was very good too.

Strong episode which worked off of the only decent part of "Before The Flood" - the cliffhanger. We got the answers we were looking for in this episode and it seems that we also got the main storyarch of the shortened season with Dean / Helicopter Pilot / Some sort of hidden underground facility that they use to sponser all of this.



Vaughn (I will still call him that, for simplicitys sake) being a "double agent" was an odd choice to take season five, but the writers did a good job in writing this critical episode. If this episode was bad, so would the rest of the season. This episode was written very well by the writers and the only reason it is rated so low on tv.com is because we have more people voting then ever, most of which likely only saw the ending to season 4. This episode starts an entire new, fresh story arch that one would have to see the whole series to understand how emotional this episode was.



Vaughns death is huge for the series. I dont know what the deal is here - if he was meant to die in the writers overall gameplan or if they simply couldnt get him to come back for another season. Sydney showing no emotion during the funeral was good because that is what she is trained to do. Compartimentalize her emotions.



I thought the ending was good as well - I think that point four months from now is for sometime in the future, maybe closer to the end (maybe even the finale?) If they do pick up from right there, be interesting to see how they write it. Either way - season 5 started off with a bang, hate to see Micheal Varten leave the show - he has been with us since "Truth Be Told".

When Vaughn died I was in shock, it broke my heart to Sydney's face when she saw Micheal get shot at the rail way lines. I thought for sure that Vaughn was dead. However when he was at the hosptal I thought that he was going to live. But then when his heart stopped so did mine, I didn't want Vaughn to die I liked him. When they declared him dead tears came streaming form my eyes it wasn't fair, he had a baby coming. I couldn't stop crying at the funeral scene, the music and the tears from the characters were heart renching. I couldn't believe that they had killed Vaughns character off the show, I thought that they have made a mistake by doing that, but it has the final season even better. This episode is exactly why I watch the show because it's full of drama, action and even suspence. I hope that they catch Gordan Dean for Sydneys sake, she deserves closure, and she won't get it while Gordan is still out there. An great episode!

Wow what an episode. It started off a little weird. With the whole car crash, shooting thing, but after a while the story got good. They took Vaughn and shot him like 10 times with a machine gun. But not before Sydney reveals to him that she is pregnant with his child. At the hospital Vaughn slowly slips away and dies. They hold the funeral, and Sydney goes in search of a woman Renee, who knows more about the mysterious Prophet Five, the people responsible for Michael Vaughn's death... This episode was a great season opener. From already watching the whole of season 5 i can see why the writers chose the write the episode this was. Overall really liked it. From here on in Sydney goes on a rampage to seek justice for Vaughn and the growing child in her womb.

So there you are, sitting in your chair. Thinking the world is a nice happy place full of honest bunnies. Well, if that is you then watching this episode will likely kill you.



The start of season 5 is not for the faint of heart. This is not about some shadow conspiracy. this is the final furlong in a race against an illuminati that makes SD-6 looks like the girlsscout cookie brigade.



A spice navigator (dune joke) once said: 'i see plans within plans, and i see youbehind it'. I never saw that sentence depicted as faboulusly as here. This episode is only the start, so i will not tell too much, but this is more then a pivotal role. This is not about good guys finishing last. This is about good guys not geting to the finish at all.



What a lovely nightmare said the demon to it's spawn. And that is what we are moving towards, a rolercoaster nightmare we do want to see, because not looking is just too scary.

I absolutely loved seasons 1-4 right to the end of the last episode in season 4. Though this episode was a little hard to understand. How in the world could they do it again? How could they kill another one of Sydney's fiances? Well even I have suspisions Vaughn isn't even really dead. No one really dies in Alias, right? I look forward to the rest of what is coming up this Season, and Sydneys pregnancy could also be an interesting point. She will no doubt use this as an "alias" against rebels. I can't wait to see what else is in store.

I really want to know what happens to Sydney and Vaughn but i dont want to read it i want to watch it. Why cant they show alias in australia the same time ther do in the U.S, it would make my life so much easier. I also want to know what happens to Nadia and Sloane. i really wish Sloane would die he's cause so much trouble for Syndey, but in a way the series revolves around him becuase of SD-6. I just want this show back on Aussien screens. I LOVE A-L-I-A-S: ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS EVER CREATED

For those who were hoping that we\'d heard the last of ancient manuscripts, this episode was probably a letdown. Ditto for those who were hoping to see Nadia, those watching to see Syd wearing a skimpy outfit, and those with a strong aversion to seeing extremely handsome agents get brutally shot.



Personally, I wasn\'t thrilled to learn that Jennifer\'s pregnancy would be written into the story line, but I suppose it is more practical than trying to cover it up. Given what we know about the characters and the life they lead, the last thing we would expect (pardon the pun) is that they would want to bring a baby into that world. At the same time, starting a family would have been the next logical step for Syd and Vaughn. They were already engaged to be married, and with Sloane no longer the head of APO, their continued employment would be less of an obligation. Of course, this is Alias, so we should know better than to look for a happy ending.



For the record, I do not think Vaughn is dead. If he had died by the train tracks where he was shot, I might have believed it. But the way it happened, with him falling asleep right before the monitors started to flash . . . it\'s all too convenient. If his death was indeed faked, the question becomes, \"Who is behind it?\" If it was the bad guys, then Vaughn\'s situation mirrors Syd\'s; recall that the Covenant faked her death so they could be free to try to brainwash her. In this case, I think it\'s more likely that APO orchestrated it to protect him from Dean and the other baddies. The key evidence for that is the way Vaughn started to get sleepy - I think we were supposed to view that as him starting to \"fade\" - right after drinking from whatever Syd was giving him.



If Vaughn\'s apparent death and the buzz about Vartan\'s rumored departure was all a stunt to gain publicity for the show, I hope it doesn\'t backfire. Critics are saying that the show has quite a few obstacles to overcome this season, including their killer new Thursday timeslot; maybe this isn\'t the best time to make the fans sweat.

Wow that was a shocker. \\\'Alias\\\' has always had okay season premieres but this one blew me away. I know millions of girls out there will be whining about the departure of Mr.Vartan, and I know I will miss his character but everyone has to admit: the episode did deliver. I felt myself on the edge of my seat for the entire episode and I felt pain at the end watching Sydney see the love of her life die.







So apparently Vaughn\\\'s father \\\"Bill Vaughn\\\" was working on a \\\"book\\\" project (Prophet 5) with Rene Rienne (a criminal on the C.I.A.\\\'s most wanted list)\\\'s father. New Villian? Check. New Season Long Arc? Check. Unexpected Twist? Check. Looks like we have our new season of Alias.







The only thing that I was a little perturbed about during the episode was Sydney\\\'s lack of emotion, both when Vaughn died and at his funeral. Go back to the pilot episode and watch the scene where Danny died. This is how I expected Sydney to react for Vaughn, a man who she went through a lot more with then Danny. I guess though this reflects how much Sydney has changed over the past couple of years, and how much of a stronger person she has grown into. Or could it be that Vaughn possibly isn\\\'t really dead? You know many conspiracy theories are going to start floating around the web soon enough.







I am excited at the prospect at the entire season arc stories again. The lack of them in season 4 was painful and didn\\\'t seem \\\'Alias\\\' like. I\\\'m very optimistic about this season and hope that many more good things will come. Betrayal, pain, action were all in this episode. Which is what makes \\\'Alias\\\' so great.















Final Rating: 3 1/2 out of 4 Stars











- Tim Bronx

Find this review and many others at: www.motionpicturereviews.com

Intriguing episode! I counted at least three scenes that could be placed as last scene of the episode… they were so shocking! I had to look at my watch to convince myself that there was more to come!



This is an episode that leaves you in the dark (no external location is named until half of the episode) until Sydney makes up her mind about the dilemma concerning Vaughn. As if they wanted us to be as lost as Sydney was in this episode. Those are new sensations for us, viewers…



This episode announces is a very promising season with new developments and old unfinished business! So many new questions are raised and we just don’t know whom to trust anymore. Sydney will have to undergo new kinds of experiences while she recovers from her broken heart. We definitively will feel for her!

(WARNING SPOILERS!) My summary says it all. Oh My God! After a somewhat mediocre fourth season, Alias is back with a bang! Or in Vaughn's case several bangs propelling a hail of bullets all over his chest and leaving his unborn child without a father. Sorry for that unsympathetic rendition of what happened, but this is exactly how we are left feeling after this episode. What a rollercoaster ride!

Opening exactly where the last season left off, the action kicks off immediately. The tension is great here when Syd runs through the corn field and then escapes her attackers. There was something almost surreal about this scene, and it was very reminiscent of old horror movies.

The ongoing question of 'is Vaughn a bad guy' was really intense and yet felt a little as if the effect was lost as we knew (or were trying so hard to believe) that Vaughn could never be on the other side, and it would all just be a big misunderstanding. The resolution to this plot point which created so much stir after last season's finale did seem a little anti-climactic and a bit of a cop-out. Also, Sydney's torment at whether to believe Vaughn or not, was too short played and didnt really register as much as it would have, had it been played out over a longer period of time.

Sydney and Vaughn posing as a French couple to infiltrate the mansion was excellent and took us right back to the days of classic Alias. The revelation that Sydney is pregnant was so well placed, and couldnt have happened at a better time. It was so fitting to have her find this out whilst making a getaway from a failed mission.

The most shocking scene in the episode and perhaps of the whole series was Vaughn's attack. Everything happened so fast and you could really feel Syd's anguish and confusion. When the train goes past and Syd cannot reach Vaughn, the look on her face is just harrowing, as are the silent screams which made this scene perfectly chilling. There was something about this scene which made it clear that this wasnt something that was going to end well. A sense of finality. The scene in the hospital bed when Syd and Vaughn discuss baby names was so sweet and yet made bitter-sweet by the fact that you know something bad is coming. When Vaughn flatlines, you can really feel Syd's pain and again, by not allowing us to heat Syndey's screams it made the scene so much more effective. The confusion on Syd's face was enough to bring me to tears, but the funeral was even worse. I did feel however that it was all over a little too quickly and Syd didnt really seem all that upset. I mean, I know she is a strong character and all, but I expected a lot more emotion. Also, I wanted to see some kind of speech made or something to bring closure to the character rather than just the montage that we got, although the music was really heartbreaking and fitted in well with the scene.

I was a bit disappointed when they did the whole 'Four months later...' thing, as I was looking forward to seeing Syd deal with Vaughn's death and the aftermath. I understand that this was necessary due to the overall plot, and largely to Jennifer Garner's own pregnancy being incorporated into the show, but it still would have been nice to see. Regardless of this, it was a good end to the episode (if you ignore Syd's wierd wig)to have Syd track down Renee, as it shows that she is going to continue Vaughn's quest to find out about Prophet Five as we all knew she would.

Overall, this was such a good episode of Alias that this review doesnt do it justice in the slightest. It did seem a little as if they tried to fit too much in, but they managed to get all the story points across that they needed to, and set up what is sure to be a great final season.

Wow, was this a surpise for me! I don't mean the fact that Vaughn died, because spoiled as I am I already knew that. Same goes for the pregnancy. It's just that I expected very little of this episode, and it turned out to be frickin' fantastic!



I can't really say why I didn't expect anything from this episode, but I guess it was because of other people's reactions. I've read some reviews and they weren't all that good. Billie Doux ( My Saint ;)) wasn't really excited about this one, but I guess we don't really agree this time!



I just fell in love with Vauhgn and Sydney all over again. I've always loved these two, but last year they just seemed a little distant to me. It was probably because the whole break-up between Jen/Michael and the whole Jen/Ben thing, but the spark was gone. I still loved those two but they weren't as cool as in season 2. But this episode was so cute for them!! Aaahhh...(L). Offcourse it was the last one for them in a while, but I'm very glad they ended like this (for now).



I'm gonna miss Vaughn. And now I don't mean his relationship with Sydney, but I just mean him. The cool guy, the good cop, and his storylines. I'm sure he will be back, I even believe that he's not dead (Sydney gave him something to drink, right before he died.....). But despite all my ideas about his death: I'm gonna miss him!



The whole Prophet Five was a little beyond me. I didn't really get it except that it was, once again, about Rambaldi and Vaughn's dad. I wonder how that is going to end *-). That 'the Raven' girl seems cool though!



Small things:

- I heard a lot of people bitch about Sydney not crying at the funeral. It seems clear to me, that she cried a lot about his death. Just at that moment she was determined to find more about him. She was still very sad, but also determined.

- Isabelle Bristow Vaughn, very beatiful indeed ( Btw, wasn't it great the way she told him ;))

- I already miss Weiss and Nadia

- I'm glad that Vaughn wasn't evil or anything. His father changed his name, and he didn't really have an agenda. He just started with that Prophet Five again since a few months.



The show did it again! Renew itself and still make me love it :)

Det här var nog ett av det bästa Alias avsnittet. Jag tror att vaughn kommer att komma tillbaka, det ska bli intressant hur. Jag fattar att många tycker att det här avsnittet var så dåligt, vad begär dom egentilgen! De e bara sura för att vaughn e borta! Nä! jag tycker fortfarande att Alias är det bästa!

WOW - Michael Vaughn someone else ! His shocking death and Sydney realising she is pregnant with a baby from a man she thought she knew



Alias is shocking and compelling each week and it would be good to see where the series is going and if the Michael Vaughn storyline will be much darker even though he is "dead"



WOW

Unfortunately, like a lot of the Alias fans out there – I came into the episode expecting to be mourning the loss of my favourite Alias character, no wait one of my favourite characters on television ever. When I first read about it I was almost crying at the though of losing my precious Vaughn, the man that I had loved for 4 years was finally to leave, just when they [i.e. Sydney and Vaughn] seemed to be happy.

At every point in the episode I was praying that it was all hearsay and that he wouldn’t actually bite the dust and at every turn I was squealing and hiding in my seat in the suspense.

Knowing about the impending doom that would befall my television addiction almost ruined the episode for me, one I must say wasn’t bad looking back, although it was far from my favourite, for more reasons than the apparent departure of Vaughn.

One thing I must compliment the writers on is their flawless resolution to the “My name’s not Vaughn” revelation. They could have easily taken the “Vaughn’s a baddie and always has been” road in which I would lose faith in TV all together [even though they pretty much did it by killing him] but they actually tied up the story in a way that made perfect sense, and Vaughn to me will always be Vaughn.

One thing I do think altered the episode was the fact that another character besides Sydney or Vaughn was rarely used. Among them they did have some screen time but only enough to keep the story together on their end and enough to stop them from being left out completely.

As expected, Sloane is looking for a way to save Nadia from the disease that he helped manufacture and apparently it’s gonna be his motivation for a part of the season. I think that if this hadn’t been an element in the episode I would have been disappointed in the writing, but thankfully it was included.

Another thing I came into the episode knowing was that they were writing in a pregnancy and the way it was told was certainly funny as well as suiting to the story. When they were talking about it in the car, I personally was excited at the idea of a Sydney/Vaughn baby but distraught that Vaughn might not be there to see it L

The second that Vaughn stepped out of that car alone, after their discussion I knew that it was the end. The suspense of the scene began to tear me apart and then the car came speeding and the train and…. I don’t want to think about it, I’m mourning. The pure brutality of the CIA/FBI/NSA/some other 3 letter abbreviation dudey [I think, unless I was hallucination] was gut wrenching and to me seemed to be a complete mystery for now. I’m pretty sure we’ll learn about more to why in future.

The final thing I came into the episode expecting was that the odds of a season after this one are small. At first I was upset of the concept of no more Alias but if I have to face a Vaughn-less existence then I’m pretty sure I’ll be happy to see it over, not in a good riddance way but in a it’s time to end sense.

I took me a bit to realise that there was more to come after Vaughn got shot, I thought that was the episode end and frankly I would have been happier if it was, everything that followed was hollow, sad, useless and just what I hate about TV. I watched the best thing that ever happened to TV die, just after they named their child and he told Sydney he loved her – how corny :P and it only added to the sadness…



I don’t know where my obsession with Alias lies now, I guess that’s all to be discovered with the episodes to come.

Soembody do not like it at all, I 'm not one of them! I love it, yes.



I always see Alias as an alternate reality, because the work of Rambaldi so compelling and silly drawns me in. So, Vaughn who can survive long enougth to go in surgery; why not? The scene between him and Sydney was worth of it.



And what about Jack, yes it was there as mysterious, smug and jackass than ever. I love the stares he shares with his daughter, and I ketp telling him, Go, Jack take her in your arm! hug!

I really don't know why people keep watching this show... Okay i stayed with Season 4 after the writers decided that the ending of season 3 was not of their liking so they decided to ignore it completely but come on man this is simply silly...

Oh let me think a guy shot with a 5.56 mm gun at point blank with at least 6 wounds all in the chest yeah he goes into syrgery yeah right even if he had the constitution of superman he would die right there not make it to a damn hospital jeez.... Oh and i forgot a guy walks into the most classified department of CIA which most CIA agents don't even know it exists and flashes a badge and starts an investigation? No one even calls some big head or something like that to check him out right. Oh who are you oh an investigator oh plz come in may you see our private files or we should get naked? Yeah right i mean if you can pull that off it's either you are so powerfull that simply you don't want anything else or the guys in there really can't do their work right :)

Did anyone else think that the cliffhanger at the end of the last series was opening up the entire season's plot? Well I did and it just seemed so obvious to me that they can't afford to hire Michael Vartan and Jennifer Garner at the same time so they killed off Vaughn. I don't blame them, it's just that Alias has managed to lead up to this kind of episode with a decent plot line which will give it real emotion and feeling. This episode had hardly any becuase it had no build up. Shame. I sure hope they can pull it back up after this one and that it won't be a depressing series. Who's Syd's new love gonna be (that'll keep me watching!)?

I didn\\\'t have time to read, well any of the other reviews, but didn\\\'t Syd give Vaughn something to drink in the hospital before he felt tired and \\\"died\\\". Also weren\\\'t they talking about extraction for him in about 24 to 48 hours? What I have learned over the years is that J.J. Abrams does nothing by accident.

This was a great episode of Alias and a great way to kick off the new season. The episode was also a shocking one as Vaughn got killed which completely caught me off guard. My eyes definetely started to get a bit teary when Vaughn flatlined and then when we saw his funeral. I also loved the ending and the way they got into the storyline right away, unlike season 4. Even though the 2nd half of this episode was sad there were still some fun moments, like when Sydney finds out she is pregnant, tells Vaughn, and then parachutes off the cliff to escape the guys shooting at them. Overall just a great start to what should be another great season of Alias.

In this season opener, we find out some of the truth behind Vaughn's revelation in the last season's finale...but JJ also sets up the season with adding more questions. The actual episode was pretty good (not the best season opener ever), but where it excelled was setting up for the fifth season.



Without giving too much away, I'm pretty sure that Vaughn's storyline will be a major aspect of season 5 and Sydney will have many new friends (and enemies) as we have 3 new additions to the cast.



As for the big controversy surronding this episode, all I can say is that this is Alias. Trust JJ. He's good at what he does. And remember, just because something big happens doesn't mean it can't be reversed...or altered...or cloned...get my drift?



All in all, this was a pretty good episode. It was well worth the wait.



There have been many rumors that say that this is Alias's last year on TV - let's make sure that doesn't happen! Tune in every Thursday night at 8PM (yes, that's the new timeslot) to watch season 5 of Alias on ABC.



-Ken

This is my favorite season premiere since the original pilot. Season Four is almost at the same level, but the amount of reset used in that epsisode took time away from establishing a new mystery, as well as the somewhat incongruous explanation of the third season finale.



However, Prophet Five delivers every answer from last season\'s cliff-hanger. We learn what Vaughn\'s name really is, why it was changed, what covert activities he has been up to and why. Plus, we are introduced to a new nameless enemy with an agenda involving ancient artifacts and cryptic codes.



After watching this episode, I really was intrigued to learn more. More than any other season premiere, this one has me thinking about the upcoming storylines and getting excited to see how the facts unfold. It promises a new enemy that has a definite agenda, unlike the Covenant from Season Three. Sydney\'s personal life has a much more grounded story to tell, unlike Season Three\'s missing two years plot. It\'s also much more interesting than Season Four\'s \"take-it-slow\" relationship with Vaughn.



Plus, this episdoe took a risk in killing off a major character. Alias was built on making huge changes and dealing with the consequences. It is what sets this series apart from the rest. They hadn\'t done anything like that all last season, and doing it now in an unexpected manner really brings the focus back to Sydney and how her life is affected by the life she is forced to live.



I am dying to learn more. I\'m excited at the prospect of new characters being added to the mix. The new mystery is exactly what I need to keep the show feeling fresh.



This season premiere has re-sparked my love for the series.

This was the weakest season premiere yet for Alias. True, the death of a major character here was shocking, but it felt anti-climactic and less of "Oh my god I can't believe they did that!" than "Are they actually going to let him die now?"



The energy of the shocking cliffhanger of last season was not picked up quickly. We were treated to vague still scenes of the car, which were not intriguing. Somehow the "extraction" of Vaughn from the car, felt like a lackluster conventional plot, in light of the crazy powerhouse twists and turns that have become a part of Alias history (i.e. two years missing, Rimbaldi's final endgame, long lost sister). It simply wasn't shocking enough or provide enough energy to propel this final season.



Even Vaughn's death felt anti-climactic. As soon as the car pulled up and the train started clanging, you knew the setup. You've seen it before. You end up sitting there wondering how these highly-trained agents, who've miraculously extricated themselves from life-threatening situations time and time again, are caught flat-footed by a simple drop-off run and gun.



Then Vaughn was at the hospital, saying his final goodbyes, and then the funeral. Somehow Sydney seemed less emotional than ever before, in the face of her true love dying, when we've seen Sydney break down and cry many times previously for smaller matters. This jarring difference makes me suspect that Vaughn is not really dead. If so, then this is not a very convincing sleight of hand.



We need the riveting energy and pace of Alias from previous seasons, or at least character dynamics and interactions that don't feel repetitive and unemotional.

ok alias has been going down the tubes for the past season or so and now it seems prepared to hit rock bottom. just when we finish hearing the name rumbaldi (sp?), they throw in glowing red globes that turn people into violent pseudo zombies. then throw in the obnoxious soap opera finale with the car crash perfectly timed with vaughns confession. now he's dead! (wont get started on the fact he took about a dozen bullets and survived long enough to name the baby in hospital) alias was hanging onto a thread for me in terms of enjoyment and vaughns character was one of the reasons why. now hell be gone, shell be pregnant or with a child. i just cant see it improving, quite the opposite. definitely a glass half empty situation. oh well it was nice while it lasted.

come on now, Jack said he would help them both, he prrbly did the same thing to Vaughn like the one he did for Sloane b4..He can\'t be dead!After all they\'ve (syd & vaught)been through, our excitement for both of them, now this is what happened? mannnnnn...this can\'t be his last story, i refuse to believe..

So turns out Vaughn is a bad guy (and has been all along), something to do with prophet five (Rambaldi?)-- Oh wait nope, he's actually good, he just lied to everyone for 6 years it's fine he meant well... right. So there you have it, the episode where one of the only still interesting characters is killed off-- and it happens twice, kind of. First he gets machine gunned about 50 times in the chest (makes you wonder why they never aim for the head really, I mean it would only take one bullet right?). In typical Alias style he survives, and within 12 hours is talking again (wow!) only to die in the most un-interesting way ever. Hardly a fitting death for such an important character, and to be honest any emotion the audience was supposed to show was not deserved at all. You don't play with the audience like that-- it removes the emotional structure-- and when that happens what's left? I'll tell you what's left- a show that has become as structured and predictable as C.S.I with unconvincing plot arcs that no longer have any impact on any characters; with characters we can no longer relate to and frankly have lost interest in. Alias has jumped the shark, and it was in the first episode of season 4! Death is imminent... and don't count on it being any more of the characters.

The thing is with this episode is that it could have been great. But it wasn\'t.. it was just good. To tell the truth I completely loved every single minute up until the hospital sequence - which was for me one of the most poorly directed and poorly acted ever sequence to be cast upon our screens on Alias.

I still am baffled why the writers needed to have SO MUCH happen in just this one episode. Revelation that sydney was pregnant ok.. but vaughn\'s death could have waited until at least the second episode. There was no build up to his death, there was no emotion after it.

Wouldn\'t it have been better for the episode to have started with the very last sequence with Renee and go on to explain it with a \"4 months before\". Poor editing let the episode down completely .. especially towards the end.

The makeup team also need to put some more effort, Vaughn gets shot by an automatic and there are about 6 neatly painted circles dotted around his chest!



And whoever chose that Sarah McLachlan song should be gunned down too! No discredit to her music, but she should never be used on a show like Alias.. and if you must use her.. there are plenty of more appropriate songs- The fact that everyone at the funeral was giving wide googly eyes into open space didn\'t help either.. where the hell was the crying, the grief! There was absolutely none!



The thing is - we probably won\'t see much of how Sydney deals with Vaughn\'s death because we\'re already 4months post! And that\'s what we really want to see!



Oh dear dear dear --- This is the thing with the alias writers - they are amazing.. yet the are also awful. When they have an idea that is good.. they can make it so good.. but when they have an idea which is bad.. they will make it so bad and then suddenly dispose of it as quickly as possible which makes us the viewers slightly mad since we tuned into find out that it was all just a let down! e.g. The covenant - just forgotten at beginning of series 4. Nadia\'s \'illness\' - mentioned once!.



The score however was great.. although it did feel a bit matrixy when Vaughn died - still i thought it worked quite well.



Screen time for Ron Rifkin and Victor Garber was awful... JAck could barely get a word in!



The novelty of Alias is wearing off - it really is. Although i would so rather see a season 6.. i really think that the whole Alias team would rather this be the last season.

Also if they decide to end the show with the birth of syd and vaughn\'s (oh sorry i mean michaud\'s) baby just after syd reaks vengeance for michaud\'s death then I will be mad. Of course they wouldn\'t dream of ending it in such a blatent and boring way.. but i can\'t help thinking that they will.