Alias

For me, this is what Alias is about. It's not the action or the explosions, but the complicated character development and instances that cause Sydney to compromise some of her beliefs for what she feels is the greater good. In this case, she risks her strong bond with her sister to infiltrate her boss' study in order to appease her long-time working buddy, Dixon. It's not easy being Sydney Bristow.



It's rare to find Sydney on the other side of the fence – she's usually the epitome of an upstanding citizen/agent, so to see her not only lie to Nadia, but use the fact it's her birthday as an excuse to manipulate Sloane into inviting Sydney to his home, is a shade of grey usually left for the likes of Jack or Irina. When Nadia discovers what Syd is up to, her response is so powerful ('birthday cake is ready') because Mia portrays her utter disappointment of Syd in her eyes. And with her birthday speech, you could tell Sydney regretted her actions so much, and to see both of them smiling and celebrating, it was so awkward and complicated, it's what Alias does best.



The Index is hardly the best of the series, but it's certainly one of the stronger episodes of early season 4. We get a really fun mission for Syd, where she plays an American tourist in France with Pixie-like hair and a real tude, which was a bundle of fun. We also get Sydney and Dixon pulling a S1 Vaughn and Sydney meet, I liked that a lot. Her mission infiltrating Sloane's office is a rehashed storyline, but with different risk factors this time round, it works well. And Nadia gets her first big Alias stunt; when she smashed through the warehouse and killed those guards, it was a truly awesome moment. Overall, a great episode of Alias!

I'm happy that there are not anymore stand alone episodes in this season, allthough an officail storyarch really hasnt formed yet you can see that there is one is the making now that Jack and Arvin have some kind of a master plan with this index that the APO has uncovered. The scenes with Vaughn felt very out of place with the episode. He goes to see his uncle...who never wakes up...there is a woman who poses as a nurse to make sure that he gets the little black book. What effect this has on future epsiodes I dont know, but it wouldnt shock me if Alias brought another person back from the dead. Sydney and Vaughn might be dating this season, but I dont feel the spark like I did in season 2 when the producers made sure we all knew how much they were into one another. Infultrating Arvins house was cool, with Nadia catching her sister in the act. I like how Jack and Arvin planned the entire thing, making Sydney and Dixon wrong for a change. Cant give the episode higher because it still doesnt establish that much needed storyarch, but still a good episode...

The Index – My Allies



The Index is an episode that looking back does not seem one of imperative significance but after watching it I realise that this episode was one of the few that set the bar in mystery and in some of the character relationships.



Sydney and Dixon

Although they are finally working together once again on a task force, Sydney had yet to form a strong working relationship with Dixon, until now. When they come together with Dixon’s need for him to guilty and Sydney’s surprising need for him to be innocent they finally are drawn together in a way they haven’t been in years, and it’s something I have definitely missed.

Dixon’s rigorous surveillance show his need for Sloane to be convicted – after convincing himself to work below a man that he hated, a man that tore his life apart in a scathing search for revenge, he finally has a way to bring justice and no matter what he must cling to it. I fell, despite his over-zealous need for something that con only be trouble, that this brings morals and a new depth to Dixon’s character that’s always been there but never been exploited.

Sydney can connect with Dixon in this state, she’s felt this way about Sloane many times and has done her best to bring him down –but for once she is hoping that he is innocent – it’s funny how Nadia has changed things.



Sloane and Devereux

The Alliance have gone without a mention for quite a long time, we’ve gone through many other baddies and they’ve stayed under the radar, until finally we have in the setting of APO aka SD-6 Lite, the return of the organisation.

In my opinion if The Alliance were to return it should cover more that one episode, used the way it has it’s become one of the ever changing baddies, one of the disposable single episode nasties that is dismantled by Super-Sydney by the episode’s end and to me that’s bringing down a mighty organisation, one we were brought to feel was much more than this.

In spite of that, Devereux and the Alliance were good characters, serving a reasonable purpose to the best of the capacity it was given.

The way Sloane contacted Devereux was very suspicions and although in the end his reasons seemed legit, the episode’s ending seems to imply otherwise, and this time it may involve Jack, with Alias you never know….



Sydney and Nadia

When Nadia thanked Sydney for the birthday party, everyone knew Sydney felt a whole lot of guilt, her ulterior motives weren’t just bad in a sense that she was breaking into her boss’s office but that she were using her sister as a means to do so. Sydney’s rarely ever seen as a bad guy, someone who uses people for her own ulterior motives but for once we get to see her do something we know is baaad.

When she gets caught the expression on Nadia face shows everything that could be going on in her head, realising that Sydney used her to have an excuse to get into Sloane’s house and that she never would have set up a birthday dinner otherwise. A sentence as mundane as “Birthday cake’s ready” took on a whole new meaning – Nadia didn’t have the energy or the ability to comprehend the current situation at that moment, utter hurt and disappointment.

When she makes her birthday speech her words are obviously a stab at Sydney, yet I feel that Nadia of all people should know not to jump to conclusions when it comes to these things, in her world, nothing is as it seems.

When Nadia saves Jack and tells Sydney that she hopes one day that she will do the same, you can see that there may have been a rift created, one that will heal with time.



Dixon and Chase

From her very superior lecture, to the childish “you’re right” and then to the sexy flirtation, Dixon gets to see many sides of Chase, and we begin to see that despite it all there could be something between them.

Compared to Dianne, Chase is a strong woman who knows Dixon’s kind, and to keeps it short I think that they’d make a good couple.



Jack and Nadia

We never get to see these two working together, so you can imagine that it would be out of the ordinary for Jack when it’s Nadia that saves him. To be honest I don’t see it affecting their relationship, it would just seem like something she had to do and Jack will continue on like nothing happened, they fight for the same side so they’re bound to help each other out from time to time – it just so happened that it occurred now, a nice touch.



Quote-Ables



“Blackwell? What a worst dressed list?” – Weiss



“Sydney, figure out a way to get yourself arrested.” – Sloane



“He’s using us again, and that’s not something I’m gonna let him do.” – Dixon.



Sloane: “I take it you have no problem brining Nadia up to speed?”

Weiss: “Yeah, I already did, last night.”

Sloane: “Excuse me?”

Weiss: “Uhh, we were working, we work late, we actually like it. There were other pe- Jack was here!”



Sydney: “I used to meet Vaughn here, when he was my handle at the CIA”

Dixon: “Must’ve been romantic.”



Dixon: “I’m just not realising how difficult your life was at SD-6”



Weiss: “What do you think Arvin?” pause “Uhh, Mr Sloane”



What’s In A Name?

The Index comes from The Blackwell Index”



Scene of the Ep

Dixon and Sydney, when Dixon is telling Sydney of Sloane’s possible evil-ness.



Loathed

No Vaughn on the mission

Liked

Bill Vaughn may be alive

Loved

Nadia driving into the warehouse and shooting everyone