The Faceless Master
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the return of K-Directorate's finest agent, Anna Espinosa!
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That Show That Shows After "Lost" ... "Alias" 2/23/05, 9:00pm Eastern on ABC
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The Faceless Master
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w00t, and the return of
!!!
the Rambaldi storyline
The Faceless Master
Member
the return of real Alias endings!
I remember reading the original interviews with Abrams about this season, and the fears were addressed about the standalone episodes. And, his basic comment was "Early in the season, stand-alones, but as it progresses they will become more and more complex and we will see more in the way of complex story arcs." Well, he wasn't lying.
It was great to see Sark back in action, as well as Anna...mainly Sark. I love Anna as a character, especially when she branded Nadia with the Eye, but Sark is just too kickass not to enjoy watching. "For the Bubbly..." was fucking brilliant. Anders does such a great job in that role, because he manages to be both entirely condescending and evil but also pretty damn funny at the same time.
Covenant (Season Three), Anna (Season One)...this thing was chock full of little nods to the past, while also being full of enough action and general brilliance to keep it entertaining otherwise. They did a great job of setting up Anna as a viable threat even for an audience who didn't witness the awesome battles of Season One.
Nice to get a real two-parter, though. I am definitely looking forward to seeing how this ends next week...and in seeing how this managed against the Idol Results show in the ratings. It might be a rude awakening for Mr. Abrams tomorrow.
It was great to see Sark back in action, as well as Anna...mainly Sark. I love Anna as a character, especially when she branded Nadia with the Eye, but Sark is just too kickass not to enjoy watching. "For the Bubbly..." was fucking brilliant. Anders does such a great job in that role, because he manages to be both entirely condescending and evil but also pretty damn funny at the same time.
Covenant (Season Three), Anna (Season One)...this thing was chock full of little nods to the past, while also being full of enough action and general brilliance to keep it entertaining otherwise. They did a great job of setting up Anna as a viable threat even for an audience who didn't witness the awesome battles of Season One.
Nice to get a real two-parter, though. I am definitely looking forward to seeing how this ends next week...and in seeing how this managed against the Idol Results show in the ratings. It might be a rude awakening for Mr. Abrams tomorrow.
Finally got around to seeing this today...taped it wednesday(yes taped you rich Tivo bastids :lol)
Anywho, I was SO GLAD to see Anna return! She's so deliciously evil, and I love that Sydney and Vaughn have their rivils(Anna nad Sark respectively). After missing the one or two episodes, and generally not feeling pressed to see Alias(as evidenced by my just watching wednesday's episdoe today), it's great to fee AMPED about Alias again!
Anywho, I was SO GLAD to see Anna return! She's so deliciously evil, and I love that Sydney and Vaughn have their rivils(Anna nad Sark respectively). After missing the one or two episodes, and generally not feeling pressed to see Alias(as evidenced by my just watching wednesday's episdoe today), it's great to fee AMPED about Alias again!
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
Oops, missed this thread. I love Alias this season. The individual episodes have been great, the on going storyline interesting (though it's only just begun), and there's not a single character I'm not happy with the treatment of.
It's also shut up all the people who, after just one or two episodes, decided in their "wisdom" that they could see how the rest of the season would go. How killing off Irena wouldn't have ramifications. How it would see the end of that storyline, as if the writers were just getting it out of the way and pretend that she never existed. How the lack of any early Covenant mentions and the move to APO meant that it would never come up again. How the quick mention of Rambaldi in the first episode and not showing us the artifact hunt would lead to that story being ignored as well.
So, from me to them: told you so. I was willing to accept that there was the possibility that some things might be dropped (though never to the degree they said), but I certainly wasn't going to base it on a few episodes. I even mentioend that there were two Derevko sisters out there as an outlet to carry on that story (I know, I'm the worst kind of winner).
I can't wait to see where they're going. Anyone know how the ratings are doing?
It's also shut up all the people who, after just one or two episodes, decided in their "wisdom" that they could see how the rest of the season would go. How killing off Irena wouldn't have ramifications. How it would see the end of that storyline, as if the writers were just getting it out of the way and pretend that she never existed. How the lack of any early Covenant mentions and the move to APO meant that it would never come up again. How the quick mention of Rambaldi in the first episode and not showing us the artifact hunt would lead to that story being ignored as well.
So, from me to them: told you so. I was willing to accept that there was the possibility that some things might be dropped (though never to the degree they said), but I certainly wasn't going to base it on a few episodes. I even mentioend that there were two Derevko sisters out there as an outlet to carry on that story (I know, I'm the worst kind of winner).
I can't wait to see where they're going. Anyone know how the ratings are doing?
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
I tried looking up the ratings myself. I'm not sure of the last two weeks, I'll keep looking:
Mama Smurf said:
I can tell you where the ratings are going...South for the Spring, that's where. And, I will give you two guesses...well, since you can't actually answer that, I'll give you two reasons.
First off, the major reason they're down right now.
American Idol. This juggernaut is eating up three hours of primetime weekly now, and one of those happens to be 9EST on Wednesdays...and it hurts. Big time. Alias is doing fairly consistent 18-49 numbers, which is still solid, but it's overall ratings are dropping steadily. It is nothing abysmal, but in a timeslot after Lost better is expected of the show. This problem is going to either get worse or better as time goes on...if Idol is exciting, it will get worse for Alias. However, if people get tired of so many hours of Idol, the ratings could dip and Alias could benefit. Of course, this is only 1/2 of the equation come Wednesday after next.
Because, the reason they will continue to stay low or go lower is...
The Megaton that is THE LOST HIATUS. And no, it's not that it's missing one, but it's that Lost will not be on the air for pretty much the entire month of March and into April. This means that Alias will be losing its huge lead-in. Now, maybe people are hooked on Alias, and it MAY benefit from similar hiatus' from other competitors The West Wing and CBS' comedies. At the same time, it is a HUGE blow to Alias, and with the Idol competition their ratings could fall even further come the middle of March.
But only time will tell...but, with other shows in hiatus, Alias and 24 are on weekly, so everyone watch them. Now. (On that note, 24 has an Idol lead-in, so you don't really have to watch it for the sake of ratings, but watch for the hell of it anyways).
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
Is it still doing better than in the past though?
Even if the ratings are dropping now it's up agaisnt American Idol, a consistent second to them isn't that bad. Plus Alias brings in that age group that's apparently hard to get and the one advertisers want most (can't remember the specifics, 18-24 male or something).
All I care about when it comes to ratings is ensuring further seasons. And as stupid as network executives can be, and god they can be stupid, surely they know that putting any show outside of the top 10 up against AI is going to result in lost ratings.
Losing the Lost lead in could be bad though. Fucking American TV and it's stupid sweeps format screwing eveything up. I hope 24 and Alias are successes and we can see an end to these huge gaps.
EDIT: Oh Memles...Memles Memles Memles...I searched for the old topics, you were one of those having a go at this season so early on that it was ridiculous. Well...hopefulyl you've come round.
As for how people can like S3 and not like episodes like Ice, Nocturne and Welcome To Liberty Village...I know taste is subjective, but good GOD people.
Even if the ratings are dropping now it's up agaisnt American Idol, a consistent second to them isn't that bad. Plus Alias brings in that age group that's apparently hard to get and the one advertisers want most (can't remember the specifics, 18-24 male or something).
All I care about when it comes to ratings is ensuring further seasons. And as stupid as network executives can be, and god they can be stupid, surely they know that putting any show outside of the top 10 up against AI is going to result in lost ratings.
Losing the Lost lead in could be bad though. Fucking American TV and it's stupid sweeps format screwing eveything up. I hope 24 and Alias are successes and we can see an end to these huge gaps.
EDIT: Oh Memles...Memles Memles Memles...I searched for the old topics, you were one of those having a go at this season so early on that it was ridiculous. Well...hopefulyl you've come round.
As for how people can like S3 and not like episodes like Ice, Nocturne and Welcome To Liberty Village...I know taste is subjective, but good GOD people.
Mama Smurf said:
I want detailed quotes of where I said that, because I sure as hell don't remember being anywhere near as harsh as most people. I never wrote off the season; you might notice that I simply took it as it was, that it was entertaining in its current form, even if it was missing a story arc and some other aspects that made Seasons 1 and 2 so good.
It's ratings are still better than last season...but better than last season may not be good enough, who knows. We'll see how the rest of the season goes before speculating on ratings.
Now I want to see those quotes. Get on it.
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
Dammit, I was about to edit again.
You're right, you weren't one of the worst, not even close. I just looked at who I'd had big long discussions with in the topic and, well, yours was the biggest and longest (ermm..your post. *shifty eyes*)
Still, I do think some things you said jumped the gun:
As we've seen, that hasn't turned out to be the case.
I don't even know what you're doing here. In some ways you're being reasonable by saying these things need to return, which is fair enough, but you've contradicted yourself entirely with that opening line. There was no reason to think that the S3 storylines wouldn't come into play. No reason to think they would either, except faith in the writers, but either one would have been judging too early.
Same as above.
In fact, that entire post that I've quoted from was jumping back and forth between saying not to judge yet, and...judging. Bit confusing.
Moving away from that, I love a lot of things this season, but one thing I'm really liking is the subtle touches. I remember complaining last year about Dixon knowing Sydney's secret. I didn't have a rpoblem with that being true, but rather that they just pulled it out of nowhere. Dixon was having an awful season, the writers were using him terribly. It would have been so easy to have the camera on him and see him looking strangely/suspiciously at Sydney every so often throughout the season in the build up to the episode where he reveals that he knew, we would have all been speculating over what he knew and it would have made it less...pulled out of someone's arse at the last second.
And that's the sort of little thing I mean. Vaughn thinking he sees Lauren in a crowd makes him talking about it to the Scottish girl so much more convincing. The way that guy in Detente immediately agreed to Sloane's terms in splitting the money was a great touch. It really gives Sloane that edge of absolute danger and evil when this clearly powerful guy is so afraid of him. Jack talking to that cigar smoking guy and having him mention that they haven't heard from Irena lately and how her relationship with him used to cause them problems, while not necessary for that particular episode at all, adds so much depth. It's put in there like a throwaway line, but now we're wondering: who knows Irena's dead? Who doesn't? Is the Covenant still operating (assuming, and I think it's fair to, she was in charge)? After all, hardly anyone knew who the leader was (Cole definitely, maybe her sisters, perhaps Sloane), they could carry on pretending she's around.
I love things like that, the little things really turn good series into great series for me.
You're right, you weren't one of the worst, not even close. I just looked at who I'd had big long discussions with in the topic and, well, yours was the biggest and longest (ermm..your post. *shifty eyes*)
Still, I do think some things you said jumped the gun:
As we've seen, that hasn't turned out to be the case.
I don't even know what you're doing here. In some ways you're being reasonable by saying these things need to return, which is fair enough, but you've contradicted yourself entirely with that opening line. There was no reason to think that the S3 storylines wouldn't come into play. No reason to think they would either, except faith in the writers, but either one would have been judging too early.
Same as above.
In fact, that entire post that I've quoted from was jumping back and forth between saying not to judge yet, and...judging. Bit confusing.
Moving away from that, I love a lot of things this season, but one thing I'm really liking is the subtle touches. I remember complaining last year about Dixon knowing Sydney's secret. I didn't have a rpoblem with that being true, but rather that they just pulled it out of nowhere. Dixon was having an awful season, the writers were using him terribly. It would have been so easy to have the camera on him and see him looking strangely/suspiciously at Sydney every so often throughout the season in the build up to the episode where he reveals that he knew, we would have all been speculating over what he knew and it would have made it less...pulled out of someone's arse at the last second.
And that's the sort of little thing I mean. Vaughn thinking he sees Lauren in a crowd makes him talking about it to the Scottish girl so much more convincing. The way that guy in Detente immediately agreed to Sloane's terms in splitting the money was a great touch. It really gives Sloane that edge of absolute danger and evil when this clearly powerful guy is so afraid of him. Jack talking to that cigar smoking guy and having him mention that they haven't heard from Irena lately and how her relationship with him used to cause them problems, while not necessary for that particular episode at all, adds so much depth. It's put in there like a throwaway line, but now we're wondering: who knows Irena's dead? Who doesn't? Is the Covenant still operating (assuming, and I think it's fair to, she was in charge)? After all, hardly anyone knew who the leader was (Cole definitely, maybe her sisters, perhaps Sloane), they could carry on pretending she's around.
I love things like that, the little things really turn good series into great series for me.
The Defense of Alias Season 4 Criticism
By Memles
Comment #1
Mama Smurf: "As we've seen, that hasn't turned out to be the case."
Memles: Yeah, I disagree here. I was more or less speaking of the fact that, in order to establish the old Season One concept of a blackops division of the CIA where all of the regular cast members could be reunited, even Sloane, they basically (For a period of time, as we now see) literally tossed the rest of it out the window, ignoring a lot of lingering issues. I just felt that it seemed too forced. I still think that the beginning of the season needed a bit more reference to Seasons Two and Three and recognizing how important the events of both, in fact, were. Doing it this late in the season doesn't really effect this statement; this was less about the entire season and more about the creation of the APO and reverting back to a Season One atmosphere.
Verdict: Mama Smurf has clearly taken this statement as an all-encompassing one, when it only referred to a specific plot point and not to the season on the whole.
Comment #2
Mama Smurf: "I don't even know what you're doing here. In some ways you're being reasonable by saying these things need to return, which is fair enough, but you've contradicted yourself entirely with that opening line. There was no reason to think that the S3 storylines wouldn't come into play. No reason to think they would either, except faith in the writers, but either one would have been judging too early."
Memles: Yeah, this one is a little all over the place, but the gist of what I'm saying more or less applies to the fact that the show moved on from these issues too easily in the beginning. For instance, until this week, we had no confirmation that the Covenant was really ever broken up, really. My hope was that, at some point, the Covenant itself would return as a threat. Now, clearly, we've got a group of ex-covenants and Sark back in the picture, but my point stands. I wasn't trying to argue that they weren't going to get to it eventually, I was simply arguing that there was a huge lingering mystery sitting there that they didn't even mention in that opening episode. I like the lingering mysteries, but when they fail to acknowledge it entirely in the episode that was supposed to basically recreate the series a bit, I worry. I do not think that worrying was unfounded, either, as I think that there is a large chance that this Rambaldi arc could wrap itself up next week...Sloane can't be kept out of APO forever, can he? Survey says...no.
Verdict: Memles was all over the place with his writing, but his expectations spoke more of the opening episodes than that of future episodes...confusion is derived due to his hope of it returning combined with his apathy at the ignorance of them from the premiere.
Comment #3
Mama Smurf: "Same as Above"
Memles: I think this has nothing at all wrong with it. I want to fucking know how Marshall recovered, damnit. I want to know how his wife and child felt about him getting a bullet in the stomach from Lauren. Damnit, I want to know what the hell happened to Marshall! DAMN YOU ABRAMS!!!!...Ahem. Anyways, I think that my initial reaction to the premiere was that, although they addressed a few things, some things that Season Three left wide open were simply just kind of left sitting there, and they all just kind of moved on with their lives. I was fine with them ignoring Rambaldi, because it was a damn confusing storyline...but ignoring little plots from Season Three seemed unnecessary and ignorant.
Verdict: Still a little confusing, but I was venting about my Marshall getting shot issues, and combining that with rational thought can sometimes prove difficult.
FINAL JUDGMENT
Despite the obvious problems in getting the point across, I do not believe that my initial disappointment at the level to which some storylines were ignored was unfounded, and feel that it was grounded in a disturbing lack of reference to the third season, especially, in the first few episodes. The entire concept of the APO was all about reverting back to Season One, and too much had happened in the interim to have it be so smooth and without referring back to what happened in between.
For now, I take this current storyline as a blessing, but I do not see it as a signal of the old arcs of Alias returning...I see it as an entertaining storyline for a couple of episodes, just like the episodes you listed above. It's connections to the past are only a bonus.
Now back to our regularly schedule Alias Discussion...
I totally have absolutely no idea what Sydney's secret was. Season 3 is totally a blur, I guess.
See, I think that this is well done...within this season. However, all they're doing is introducing, in many cases, loose ends, and they already have so many. And, for the record, let's not take Jack's little comments regarding Irina and her sister taken from Liberty Village as proper foreshadowing...because that episode was aired drastically out of order. So, while it appears like it may have been a small comment made to help us out later, it may have been written to be wrapped up one episode later. Who knows, now.
By Memles
Comment #1
Mama Smurf: "As we've seen, that hasn't turned out to be the case."
Memles: Yeah, I disagree here. I was more or less speaking of the fact that, in order to establish the old Season One concept of a blackops division of the CIA where all of the regular cast members could be reunited, even Sloane, they basically (For a period of time, as we now see) literally tossed the rest of it out the window, ignoring a lot of lingering issues. I just felt that it seemed too forced. I still think that the beginning of the season needed a bit more reference to Seasons Two and Three and recognizing how important the events of both, in fact, were. Doing it this late in the season doesn't really effect this statement; this was less about the entire season and more about the creation of the APO and reverting back to a Season One atmosphere.
Verdict: Mama Smurf has clearly taken this statement as an all-encompassing one, when it only referred to a specific plot point and not to the season on the whole.
Comment #2
Mama Smurf: "I don't even know what you're doing here. In some ways you're being reasonable by saying these things need to return, which is fair enough, but you've contradicted yourself entirely with that opening line. There was no reason to think that the S3 storylines wouldn't come into play. No reason to think they would either, except faith in the writers, but either one would have been judging too early."
Memles: Yeah, this one is a little all over the place, but the gist of what I'm saying more or less applies to the fact that the show moved on from these issues too easily in the beginning. For instance, until this week, we had no confirmation that the Covenant was really ever broken up, really. My hope was that, at some point, the Covenant itself would return as a threat. Now, clearly, we've got a group of ex-covenants and Sark back in the picture, but my point stands. I wasn't trying to argue that they weren't going to get to it eventually, I was simply arguing that there was a huge lingering mystery sitting there that they didn't even mention in that opening episode. I like the lingering mysteries, but when they fail to acknowledge it entirely in the episode that was supposed to basically recreate the series a bit, I worry. I do not think that worrying was unfounded, either, as I think that there is a large chance that this Rambaldi arc could wrap itself up next week...Sloane can't be kept out of APO forever, can he? Survey says...no.
Verdict: Memles was all over the place with his writing, but his expectations spoke more of the opening episodes than that of future episodes...confusion is derived due to his hope of it returning combined with his apathy at the ignorance of them from the premiere.
Comment #3
Mama Smurf: "Same as Above"
Memles: I think this has nothing at all wrong with it. I want to fucking know how Marshall recovered, damnit. I want to know how his wife and child felt about him getting a bullet in the stomach from Lauren. Damnit, I want to know what the hell happened to Marshall! DAMN YOU ABRAMS!!!!...Ahem. Anyways, I think that my initial reaction to the premiere was that, although they addressed a few things, some things that Season Three left wide open were simply just kind of left sitting there, and they all just kind of moved on with their lives. I was fine with them ignoring Rambaldi, because it was a damn confusing storyline...but ignoring little plots from Season Three seemed unnecessary and ignorant.
Verdict: Still a little confusing, but I was venting about my Marshall getting shot issues, and combining that with rational thought can sometimes prove difficult.
FINAL JUDGMENT
Despite the obvious problems in getting the point across, I do not believe that my initial disappointment at the level to which some storylines were ignored was unfounded, and feel that it was grounded in a disturbing lack of reference to the third season, especially, in the first few episodes. The entire concept of the APO was all about reverting back to Season One, and too much had happened in the interim to have it be so smooth and without referring back to what happened in between.
For now, I take this current storyline as a blessing, but I do not see it as a signal of the old arcs of Alias returning...I see it as an entertaining storyline for a couple of episodes, just like the episodes you listed above. It's connections to the past are only a bonus.
Now back to our regularly schedule Alias Discussion...
Mama Smurf said:
I totally have absolutely no idea what Sydney's secret was. Season 3 is totally a blur, I guess.
See, I think that this is well done...within this season. However, all they're doing is introducing, in many cases, loose ends, and they already have so many. And, for the record, let's not take Jack's little comments regarding Irina and her sister taken from Liberty Village as proper foreshadowing...because that episode was aired drastically out of order. So, while it appears like it may have been a small comment made to help us out later, it may have been written to be wrapped up one episode later. Who knows, now.
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
I could go through that point by point, as there are things I agree with and things I disagree with in your replies, but unless you really want me to, can we just leave it? I will do it if you like, but when I was going to edit the post a bit back, I was only going to say "Actually, now I read more carefully, you weren't nearly as bad as I thought". I wasn't going to bring quotes into it until you asked, and it was probably a mistake to. We've had this discussion before.
If you notice in my last post I've edited in a few things I've liked this season, I'd prefer to talk about something like that. (EDIT: Ok, you've seen.)
I can't believe the Rambaldi storyline will wrap up next episode. I don't know anything about it, and if you do please don't say, but if it does than they better have a damn good reason. I don't want it dropped, Rambaldi was great S1/S2, just because they went ridiculosuly overboard with it in S3 doesn't mean the idea in general should be taken out.
I don't see how they could wrap it up though. We've just been told what the Rambaldi sign means last episode. I'm sure you remember, but if not these <> both represent Sydney and Nadia and O is the object they're fighting over. What object? They're not fighting over anything yet, can they really get that into one episode? How about Nadia's vision? We don't know it's definitely true, but she was possessed or whatever by Rambaldi, so it's a good bet. She saw herself pulling the trigger and shooting Sydney. She tried to say sorry, but Sydney jsut looked at her, like she knew it was going to happen. What about Anna telling Nadia she and Sydney would be pulled apart? I can't believe they could get us to that in an episode's time.
I personally believe that what we saw at the end of the last episode is to trick us. Details are kind of close to the prophecy, but not quite right (and I don't think it's a coincidence that Angel writers have joined the team this year, they loved tricking you into thinking a prophecy had already happened when it hadn't). I think what we saw last episode will set up the rest of the seasons.
If not, well...I'll wait to see how they handle it. It strikes me as unlikely that I wouldn't be disappointed though. The gradual tearing apart of Sydney and Nadia (which would no doubt make Sloane Sydney's true enemy again as he's going to side with his daughter) is something I'm really looking forward to, you've got me all worried now.
If you notice in my last post I've edited in a few things I've liked this season, I'd prefer to talk about something like that. (EDIT: Ok, you've seen.)
I can't believe the Rambaldi storyline will wrap up next episode. I don't know anything about it, and if you do please don't say, but if it does than they better have a damn good reason. I don't want it dropped, Rambaldi was great S1/S2, just because they went ridiculosuly overboard with it in S3 doesn't mean the idea in general should be taken out.
I don't see how they could wrap it up though. We've just been told what the Rambaldi sign means last episode. I'm sure you remember, but if not these <> both represent Sydney and Nadia and O is the object they're fighting over. What object? They're not fighting over anything yet, can they really get that into one episode? How about Nadia's vision? We don't know it's definitely true, but she was possessed or whatever by Rambaldi, so it's a good bet. She saw herself pulling the trigger and shooting Sydney. She tried to say sorry, but Sydney jsut looked at her, like she knew it was going to happen. What about Anna telling Nadia she and Sydney would be pulled apart? I can't believe they could get us to that in an episode's time.
I personally believe that what we saw at the end of the last episode is to trick us. Details are kind of close to the prophecy, but not quite right (and I don't think it's a coincidence that Angel writers have joined the team this year, they loved tricking you into thinking a prophecy had already happened when it hadn't). I think what we saw last episode will set up the rest of the seasons.
If not, well...I'll wait to see how they handle it. It strikes me as unlikely that I wouldn't be disappointed though. The gradual tearing apart of Sydney and Nadia (which would no doubt make Sloane Sydney's true enemy again as he's going to side with his daughter) is something I'm really looking forward to, you've got me all worried now.
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
Do you have a list? I'd like to see how many loose ends actually exist, I made a comprehensive one for Lost not too long ago, but I have all those episodes available, and it was only half a seasons worth. For Alias I'd have to go through 3 seasons, the third of which i don't even have.
That's interesting, didn't know that. Worked perfectly well, they were lucky that they could pull that off. Just had a quick search, (not a spoiler as such, but follow the simplest of logic and it is)
it was originally meant to be episode 9. So it would have been the episode after this two parter. Which means...Nadia survives. Not that I doubted she would, but there we go, confirmation. Unless they moved other episodes around too.
I didn't necessarily see it as foreshadowing though, just as a cool comment.
Going back to a point in my last post, according to the prophecy, the Chosen One (Sydney) and the Passenger (Nadia) will do battle (fair enough) and neither will survive (ummm...). So unless they're ignoring that (and I know it could mean something didfferent, neither emotionally for example), it shouldn't be able to end next episode.
EDIT: Oh yeah, what point even including the bit where Anna is branding the Rambaldi sign onto Nadia if the story is to conclude the next week?
Phew...so much stuff to sift through. We'll let the premiere stuff be...to be fair, I've quite enjoyed this season regardless and don't feel that the missing stuff has made it a bad show...just a different one, I think. We'll leave it at this.
Loose Ends of Alias, Seasons 1-3 (This should be fun, let's see what I can remember)
- Who was the leader of the Covenant?
- What happened to Katya (Isabella Rosselini)? Last we saw her, Sydney knocked her unconcious after she took the ammo out of her gun right before she had her fight with Lauren.
- Evil Francie (Sark's girlfriend) is apparently dead...but she was dead once before and suddenly broke out of her ambulance and escaped. Apparently they ignored that when Will stabbed her in his return during Season Three. On that same note, they should bring Will back. Sydney needs friends that aren't work friends. (Note: That is the probably the most recent Simpsons reference I've ever made, in terms of how recently the episode it came from aired. Good stuff)
- What happened to the Covenant?
- Who exactly is McKenas Cole (Quentin Tarantino)? The guy showed up in The Box (Parts 1 and 2) and then again in his small cameo last season...clearly he's all about Rambaldi. But, other than this, we know nothing...not who he was working for initially, nor who he's working for now.
- Jack's involvement in Sydney's training as a child, as part of Project Christmas. We know that he trained her using it, and we know that this is why she was recruited, but at the same time I can't help but feel like the reasons why and everything involving her childhood and her tension with Jack doesn't feel like one giant open book.
- In Season Three, in a laboratory (Right before Lauren was revealed as Evil), they were trying to use Rambaldi's DNA to do something...were they successful? Why did they cut open Sydney when she was with the Covenant? Was there a correlation between these events?
- How exactly did Irina manage to hide Nadia from Sloane? He only learned of her existence as his daughter from David Carradine, as far as I can tell, in the later stages of Season Two.
- On that note, every single thing Irina ever did, since that damn Lena Olin (No matter how awesome her acting may be; Fuck you, Tyne Daly, for stealing her Emmy) didn't come back and the only resolutions or answers we get are through stupid "I was going through her files" or "I was sorting through her effects" or "I was talking to her via Instant Messenger".
- And the big one...introduced at the beginning of the fourth season...what the fuck did Sloane find? There is no fucking way it was nothing, because it required putting together every single Rambaldi artifact into one giant machine and then using that BRAIN WAVE PATTERN to find Nadia, who then had to have green Rambaldi Goo pumped into her bloodstream to allow her to channel a 15th Century Prophet who then wrote out some form of information that led them to discover...whatever the hell Sloane turned over to the Government.
And, on that note, that's all I can think of off the top of my head.
Onto the past episode now...and your assumptions based on the out of order episode are correct. For the record, I have no clue if this arc lasts longer than two episodes, this is all just speculation.
On the subject of the eye branding Nadia received...the doctors were already talking about grafting new skin. So, that'll be gone pretty soon anyways. Anna's words, of course, speak of a more propserous future for the concept behind the eye. Clearly, she is speaking of the fact that Sydney is meant to be the one who will basically lead to the end of mankind in the eyes of Rambaldi. Considering the fact that Sydney bears those unseen marks that will let her bring apocalypse, and the meaning of the eye, as a follower of Rambaldi Anna clearly wants for Nadia to be the one victorious in their battle. Whether or not that is the case, time will tell.
I think that, contained within Season Four, there have been some cool little mysteries introduced. We still don't have the whole story regarding Irina's death, I don't think, and I look forward to, hopefully, getting back to the Ylena (Irina's other sister) very soon. I guess the issue is that these issues will not be the focus of a season...but a focus of an episode or two. It's a shift from the normal "All episodes are about the same thing" for Alias. SD-6 was all about finding Rambaldi artificats. When SD-6 fell, it became all about finding Sloane and stopping his quest to find all Rambaldi artifacts. When Sydney lost two years, it became all about finding and stopping the Covenant. And now...well, that doesn't exist anymore. The concept of needing "Previouslies" for Alias is gone...and, while I'd LOVE to see this signal for a return of previouslies...I don't see it happening...not right now, anyways. But, I'd love to be proven wrong.
Loose Ends of Alias, Seasons 1-3 (This should be fun, let's see what I can remember)
- Who was the leader of the Covenant?
- What happened to Katya (Isabella Rosselini)? Last we saw her, Sydney knocked her unconcious after she took the ammo out of her gun right before she had her fight with Lauren.
- Evil Francie (Sark's girlfriend) is apparently dead...but she was dead once before and suddenly broke out of her ambulance and escaped. Apparently they ignored that when Will stabbed her in his return during Season Three. On that same note, they should bring Will back. Sydney needs friends that aren't work friends. (Note: That is the probably the most recent Simpsons reference I've ever made, in terms of how recently the episode it came from aired. Good stuff)
- What happened to the Covenant?
- Who exactly is McKenas Cole (Quentin Tarantino)? The guy showed up in The Box (Parts 1 and 2) and then again in his small cameo last season...clearly he's all about Rambaldi. But, other than this, we know nothing...not who he was working for initially, nor who he's working for now.
- Jack's involvement in Sydney's training as a child, as part of Project Christmas. We know that he trained her using it, and we know that this is why she was recruited, but at the same time I can't help but feel like the reasons why and everything involving her childhood and her tension with Jack doesn't feel like one giant open book.
- In Season Three, in a laboratory (Right before Lauren was revealed as Evil), they were trying to use Rambaldi's DNA to do something...were they successful? Why did they cut open Sydney when she was with the Covenant? Was there a correlation between these events?
- How exactly did Irina manage to hide Nadia from Sloane? He only learned of her existence as his daughter from David Carradine, as far as I can tell, in the later stages of Season Two.
- On that note, every single thing Irina ever did, since that damn Lena Olin (No matter how awesome her acting may be; Fuck you, Tyne Daly, for stealing her Emmy) didn't come back and the only resolutions or answers we get are through stupid "I was going through her files" or "I was sorting through her effects" or "I was talking to her via Instant Messenger".
- And the big one...introduced at the beginning of the fourth season...what the fuck did Sloane find? There is no fucking way it was nothing, because it required putting together every single Rambaldi artifact into one giant machine and then using that BRAIN WAVE PATTERN to find Nadia, who then had to have green Rambaldi Goo pumped into her bloodstream to allow her to channel a 15th Century Prophet who then wrote out some form of information that led them to discover...whatever the hell Sloane turned over to the Government.
And, on that note, that's all I can think of off the top of my head.
Onto the past episode now...and your assumptions based on the out of order episode are correct. For the record, I have no clue if this arc lasts longer than two episodes, this is all just speculation.
So yeah, Nadia lives. So, yes, technically, this means that this physicallly could not be the moment Rambaldi prophesized (Anyways, what were they fighting over? I argued with my brother on this, and pretty well thought the same as yourself...it can't be the event itself. However, I also think that the arc couldn't have been planned as an overbearing one. As a simple example, Episode 9 was clearly written without even an allusion to Rambaldi. Now, perhaps they moved it in order to cut right to a Rambaldi episode after the big two-parter. But, this at least shows that their initial thinking obviously had little to do with an overarching arc, similar to what I would call the storytelling of the first two seasons, where it was all about Rambaldi. If anything, it's simply a blip in the radar, or was intended as such. Whether this schedule change is to prevent it from being so, I cannot say. I am not saying that it will wrap up necessarily...I simply mean that they could go 2 or 3 weeks without even mentioning it, and that it could slip off the radar entirely. Abrams did promise more of a complicated storyline being introduced around midseason, so perhaps this is what he means. I too hold out hope that it continues, but the original placement of Liberty Village makes me weary.
On the subject of the eye branding Nadia received...the doctors were already talking about grafting new skin. So, that'll be gone pretty soon anyways. Anna's words, of course, speak of a more propserous future for the concept behind the eye. Clearly, she is speaking of the fact that Sydney is meant to be the one who will basically lead to the end of mankind in the eyes of Rambaldi. Considering the fact that Sydney bears those unseen marks that will let her bring apocalypse, and the meaning of the eye, as a follower of Rambaldi Anna clearly wants for Nadia to be the one victorious in their battle. Whether or not that is the case, time will tell.
I think that, contained within Season Four, there have been some cool little mysteries introduced. We still don't have the whole story regarding Irina's death, I don't think, and I look forward to, hopefully, getting back to the Ylena (Irina's other sister) very soon. I guess the issue is that these issues will not be the focus of a season...but a focus of an episode or two. It's a shift from the normal "All episodes are about the same thing" for Alias. SD-6 was all about finding Rambaldi artificats. When SD-6 fell, it became all about finding Sloane and stopping his quest to find all Rambaldi artifacts. When Sydney lost two years, it became all about finding and stopping the Covenant. And now...well, that doesn't exist anymore. The concept of needing "Previouslies" for Alias is gone...and, while I'd LOVE to see this signal for a return of previouslies...I don't see it happening...not right now, anyways. But, I'd love to be proven wrong.
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
Man, this is going to get long(er).
They probably should do (and I think will), but I wouldn't be too bothered if they never went into this. There's just too much inidicating it was Irina for me to ever think it's anyone else:
- We don't see the leader of the Covenant for an entire season focused on them, at the same time as Lena Olin refuses to return to the show? Coincidence? Perhaps, but a big one.
- Katya Derevko works for the Covenant, and takes orders from her sister (or at least delivers messages). It's possible that she was a double agent working under the Covenant, but really working for Irina elsewhere, but combined with all these other things, it's a lot less likely.
- When Bomani (the black guy from the Covenant last year) ambushes Sydney and Vaughn to get the keys to open the Rambaldi artifact, he specifically mentions her mother. "You remind me of your mother. I'm sure she would be pleased to know I got the keys from you. After all, the passenger is Irina's legacy." Once again, not even close to conclusive, but yet another member of the Covenant with connections to Irina. And is "I'm sure she would be pleased to know I got the keys from you." his way of saying "She will be pleased I got the keys from you", without breaking any rules of letting Sydney know where her mother is?
- McKenas Cole. That whole situation just strikes me as set up because they wanted to tell a specific story, but were also still hoping for Lena to come back. It makes sense, to my mind at least, that if you need Sark to meet with someone in a powerful situation, and you just can't get the actress back, creating a second in command and saying the true leader isn't available for them to see is a good way to go. Actually, I just looked it up...Cole worked for "The Man" (Irina) before. That's a pretty strong point now.
- It fits Derevko's profile. The one other time we know of her heading up an organisation, she hid herself away too. No one knew who "The Man" was. She also used another person (like Cole with the Covenant) to take care of things when she might be seen, Khasinau in that case.
Separately, hints to decent clues, nothing more. Together? I'm convinced, though there's still room for some other answer.
This is what happens when you hire fucking famous actors and actresses, without tying them down to longer contracts! They don't have to come back if they don't want to, they can get work elsewhere no problem. And they don't need the money. If he does the same with Elena, I may well put my fist through my TV set.
Actually, I don't know that that's the case this time. Maybe it is, maybe it's not. I don't know if she'll return (I don't really care if she does or not, was never particularly fond of the character, though she was involved in my favourite moment of S3 where she sent Jack to assasinate Sloane and phoned him to tell him to stop leaning on Irena), but if she doesn't, I'm sure they'll still mention her. I just cannot see all this stuff about Irina, the return of Covenant stories to some degree at least, and this new storyline about Elena not throwing the name up. If they can't get her back, and they don't mention her too, that'd be a real shame. They will though, I have faith.
I wasn't really happy with the way that storyline went either. I don't think it's a loose end as such though. She wasn't actually dead the first time, just recovered from a very low pulse extremely quickly. If we assume that whatever formula made her heal quickly only works as long as there's some degree of life there, being stabbed in the heart probably rules out her return.
But at the same time, it leaves the door open to bring her back. Again. I don't see that happening though, it would be laughable.
Couldn't agree more about Sydney needing friends that aren't work friends. It's just SO hard for them to do that. Sydney's seen one friend killed, her fiance killed, another friend almost killed and have to go into protective custody...how are they ever going to write new friends in who don't know about her work? She wouldn't let them become friends, she knows what happens. I wish they could find a way, though I have to say they're handling her home life a lot better this year than last. Yeah I know, they're still all work colleagues, but last year she had Weiss and her dad. Wow. And even then they didn't do it well when those people were together. With Nadia introduced (and her relationship with Weiss bringing him in more regularly) and Lauren gone, thus freeing up Vaughn, it's better. They really do seem like a group of friends. Bring in Marshall though! why's he never get to hang out?
I'd like Will back, just because I like the character. Sadly though, the best thing about him (his not knowing Sydney's job and how she has to keep it secret and her enemies try to exploit that) has been lost, so I don't know if they'd bother. Besides, I read an article ages ago where he said he wouldn't come back permanently unless he got in on the action more in the way he did in his S3 episode. There's no point if that's what he insists on, we lsoe the whole non-work friend thing. How's he going to get in on the action anyway, they already have difficulties giving 5 agents enough action and screen time.
Yeah, but we're beginning to get that answered. Maybe nothing happened to it and it just hadn't been mentioned yet. Maybe it fell apart into smaller groups. I believe the wording in the last episode left both possibilities open.
Actually, we do know who he worked for initially. "I got this really kick ass new job. See, I'm working for this gentleman they call The Man." In other words, he worked for Irina.
Like I said above, I expect he was working for her in S3 too.
I hope we see more of him. I like the character, though I of course realise it's not exactly the easiest thing in the world to get Quentin Tarantino free for episodes. Though if they can't use him as a recurring character, they shouldn't bring him in as one. He's fine as a guest star, a one off, but anything else needs commitment from him.
Oh, and we know about his background as well from The Box. Worked for Sloane, was captured etc.
I'd forgotten about all this. It'd be nice to see it expanded on. What's the story at the moment? That he did it to her either to protect her when growing up, or because he was a bad father and tested it out on her? I'm quite happy with either of those, so if they don't pick it up I won't consider it a loose end, but I'd like them to as it's interesting.
I'm going to have to look this up, I remember the scenes, but not the details.
Ok, I don't believe we know for sure whether they were successful or not, though at the time the intelligence was that the fertilization would take place that night, so seeing as they destroyed the lab before them, it's probably safe to say no.
We do definitely know why they cut her open though. The script is absolutely definite with it's statement that they were trying to mix Sydney's eggs (the answer to her being cut open) with Rambaldi's DNA. Though this line from Kendall:
"The fanatical point of view believes that Rambaldi's DNA can be transformed, used to fertilize the egg of a surrogate mother, someone referred to in his prophecy as the Chosen One."
suggests to me that they were trying to force his prophecy to happen again, and that there's no necessarily any need for this child.
Ooooh Irina's a tricky one. That's all that really needs to be said. Sloane's a genius, but so was she, so if she didn't want him to know something (or vice versa, Sloane has done it to her too, think of all the Rambaldi stuff he had that she didn't) badly enough, I don't think it strange that she could pull it off.
This is kind of loose for an..umm..loose end. Except for what is listed elsewhere here, is there that much she did we've been told of that we still don't know about?
Hopefully this will be addressed. It's got to be really.
I've thought of a couple:
- Did the message Sloane got at the end of S2 really say "Peace"? Really? Really? Of course it didn't, we know that from the conversations with the therapist woman last year. What did it say then? (I hope this hasn't been answered yet, maybe it was something to do with Nadia. Its a big question, not knowing it's already been answered would be embarrassing.)
- When are we going to find out what the CIA did to Sloane to convince him to go rogue? I want to know this so bad, they better answer it.
- Did they change the prophecy? At the end of last season, Vaughn told Sydney that neither would survive, but now Sydney says her mother said only one of them would. That's can be explained easily enough: bad information, hard to translate etc, but it's weird.
The first is fine, the second would bother me.
Can you link me to this interview? I'd be interested to read it. Well, if it's from before the season started anyway, I'd probably be quite safe from spoilers by now.
Ah right, I thought they were just talking about it healing around it (go medical knowledge!). Strange thing for Anna to do then. Obviously a bit of torture would be enough reason, but she said she was doing it so Sydney would alwasy have to see it when looking at her sister. If you could just skin graft it away, surely she'd know.
Maybe there'll be some sort of problem with it and they can't get rid of it. Or maybe it's just a slightly loose story bit, I can't assume every little thing is meant.
I get what you're saying with the first bit, but I can't see how you've linked it to the second.
You're talking about this right?
"This woman here depicted will possess unseen marks. Signs that she will be the one to bring forth my works. Bind them with fury, a burning anger unless prevented at vulgar cost this woman will render the greatest power unto utter desolation."
If not you're going to have to jog my memory. I thought Sydney was already exempt from that? She climbed that mountain and saw the sunrise etc. Wouldn't there be a good chance Nadia bears the same marks? I'm pretty certain that after Sydney got out of it they really did mean it to be Irina, but now she's gone, they can move it over to her sister.
And end of mankind? Apocalypse? IF this is the quote you're referring to...huh? Rendering the greatest power unto utter desolation does note equate to the end of the world. It doesn't even have to be a bad thing. Everyone on the show and a lot of people who watch it assume the greatest power refers to the US. But what if it doesn't? What if it refers to a terrorist group so powerful that they are the greatest power (like the Alliance could have been seen)? That would mean that the prophecy is a good thing, not bad. Or it could be the more obvious way too of course.
I see it more as a shift in style. They will still be the focal points of the season (well probably, if they're not then somethign else will be), they just won't be as...continuous if you like. Reminds me a lot of Angel going from the 4th season to the 5th. Both are wonderful to my mind, but completely different in the way they told their stories. S4 was very much like the way Alias has told it's stories in the past seasons. You really couldn't miss an episode or you'd be a bit lost. S5 was more like what we're seeing now. There was a big change at the start of the season, the opening episodes don't really get the main arc going (even though they're good), but it gradually builds up and starts dropping hints until it becomes a lot more continuous towards the end (though still not compared to 4). Maybe the success of Angel from 4-5 and the striking similarities with Alias is the reason I wans't at all concerned with individual episodes early on.
I don't know if I'd go that far. I'd really need to ask someone who'd just started watching the show. They've made it as easy as possible for new fans to get into it this year, but I still think they must be bloody confused. There's a lot of ongoing stuff: Lauren, Irina, Rambaldi, the Covenant, the deaths of Sydney's fiance and Dixon's wife etc, it's just less...episode to episode. You don't necessarily have to have seen the episode before to understand the next one, but to understand the storylines as a whole, the past knowledge is still vital.
That took ages, I wouldn't blame you if you didn't read it.
They probably should do (and I think will), but I wouldn't be too bothered if they never went into this. There's just too much inidicating it was Irina for me to ever think it's anyone else:
- We don't see the leader of the Covenant for an entire season focused on them, at the same time as Lena Olin refuses to return to the show? Coincidence? Perhaps, but a big one.
- Katya Derevko works for the Covenant, and takes orders from her sister (or at least delivers messages). It's possible that she was a double agent working under the Covenant, but really working for Irina elsewhere, but combined with all these other things, it's a lot less likely.
- When Bomani (the black guy from the Covenant last year) ambushes Sydney and Vaughn to get the keys to open the Rambaldi artifact, he specifically mentions her mother. "You remind me of your mother. I'm sure she would be pleased to know I got the keys from you. After all, the passenger is Irina's legacy." Once again, not even close to conclusive, but yet another member of the Covenant with connections to Irina. And is "I'm sure she would be pleased to know I got the keys from you." his way of saying "She will be pleased I got the keys from you", without breaking any rules of letting Sydney know where her mother is?
- McKenas Cole. That whole situation just strikes me as set up because they wanted to tell a specific story, but were also still hoping for Lena to come back. It makes sense, to my mind at least, that if you need Sark to meet with someone in a powerful situation, and you just can't get the actress back, creating a second in command and saying the true leader isn't available for them to see is a good way to go. Actually, I just looked it up...Cole worked for "The Man" (Irina) before. That's a pretty strong point now.
- It fits Derevko's profile. The one other time we know of her heading up an organisation, she hid herself away too. No one knew who "The Man" was. She also used another person (like Cole with the Covenant) to take care of things when she might be seen, Khasinau in that case.
Separately, hints to decent clues, nothing more. Together? I'm convinced, though there's still room for some other answer.
This is what happens when you hire fucking famous actors and actresses, without tying them down to longer contracts! They don't have to come back if they don't want to, they can get work elsewhere no problem. And they don't need the money. If he does the same with Elena, I may well put my fist through my TV set.
Actually, I don't know that that's the case this time. Maybe it is, maybe it's not. I don't know if she'll return (I don't really care if she does or not, was never particularly fond of the character, though she was involved in my favourite moment of S3 where she sent Jack to assasinate Sloane and phoned him to tell him to stop leaning on Irena), but if she doesn't, I'm sure they'll still mention her. I just cannot see all this stuff about Irina, the return of Covenant stories to some degree at least, and this new storyline about Elena not throwing the name up. If they can't get her back, and they don't mention her too, that'd be a real shame. They will though, I have faith.
I wasn't really happy with the way that storyline went either. I don't think it's a loose end as such though. She wasn't actually dead the first time, just recovered from a very low pulse extremely quickly. If we assume that whatever formula made her heal quickly only works as long as there's some degree of life there, being stabbed in the heart probably rules out her return.
But at the same time, it leaves the door open to bring her back. Again. I don't see that happening though, it would be laughable.
Couldn't agree more about Sydney needing friends that aren't work friends. It's just SO hard for them to do that. Sydney's seen one friend killed, her fiance killed, another friend almost killed and have to go into protective custody...how are they ever going to write new friends in who don't know about her work? She wouldn't let them become friends, she knows what happens. I wish they could find a way, though I have to say they're handling her home life a lot better this year than last. Yeah I know, they're still all work colleagues, but last year she had Weiss and her dad. Wow. And even then they didn't do it well when those people were together. With Nadia introduced (and her relationship with Weiss bringing him in more regularly) and Lauren gone, thus freeing up Vaughn, it's better. They really do seem like a group of friends. Bring in Marshall though! why's he never get to hang out?
I'd like Will back, just because I like the character. Sadly though, the best thing about him (his not knowing Sydney's job and how she has to keep it secret and her enemies try to exploit that) has been lost, so I don't know if they'd bother. Besides, I read an article ages ago where he said he wouldn't come back permanently unless he got in on the action more in the way he did in his S3 episode. There's no point if that's what he insists on, we lsoe the whole non-work friend thing. How's he going to get in on the action anyway, they already have difficulties giving 5 agents enough action and screen time.
Yeah, but we're beginning to get that answered. Maybe nothing happened to it and it just hadn't been mentioned yet. Maybe it fell apart into smaller groups. I believe the wording in the last episode left both possibilities open.
Actually, we do know who he worked for initially. "I got this really kick ass new job. See, I'm working for this gentleman they call The Man." In other words, he worked for Irina.
Like I said above, I expect he was working for her in S3 too.
I hope we see more of him. I like the character, though I of course realise it's not exactly the easiest thing in the world to get Quentin Tarantino free for episodes. Though if they can't use him as a recurring character, they shouldn't bring him in as one. He's fine as a guest star, a one off, but anything else needs commitment from him.
Oh, and we know about his background as well from The Box. Worked for Sloane, was captured etc.
I'd forgotten about all this. It'd be nice to see it expanded on. What's the story at the moment? That he did it to her either to protect her when growing up, or because he was a bad father and tested it out on her? I'm quite happy with either of those, so if they don't pick it up I won't consider it a loose end, but I'd like them to as it's interesting.
I'm going to have to look this up, I remember the scenes, but not the details.
Ok, I don't believe we know for sure whether they were successful or not, though at the time the intelligence was that the fertilization would take place that night, so seeing as they destroyed the lab before them, it's probably safe to say no.
We do definitely know why they cut her open though. The script is absolutely definite with it's statement that they were trying to mix Sydney's eggs (the answer to her being cut open) with Rambaldi's DNA. Though this line from Kendall:
"The fanatical point of view believes that Rambaldi's DNA can be transformed, used to fertilize the egg of a surrogate mother, someone referred to in his prophecy as the Chosen One."
suggests to me that they were trying to force his prophecy to happen again, and that there's no necessarily any need for this child.
Ooooh Irina's a tricky one. That's all that really needs to be said. Sloane's a genius, but so was she, so if she didn't want him to know something (or vice versa, Sloane has done it to her too, think of all the Rambaldi stuff he had that she didn't) badly enough, I don't think it strange that she could pull it off.
This is kind of loose for an..umm..loose end. Except for what is listed elsewhere here, is there that much she did we've been told of that we still don't know about?
Hopefully this will be addressed. It's got to be really.
I've thought of a couple:
- Did the message Sloane got at the end of S2 really say "Peace"? Really? Really? Of course it didn't, we know that from the conversations with the therapist woman last year. What did it say then? (I hope this hasn't been answered yet, maybe it was something to do with Nadia. Its a big question, not knowing it's already been answered would be embarrassing.)
- When are we going to find out what the CIA did to Sloane to convince him to go rogue? I want to know this so bad, they better answer it.
- Did they change the prophecy? At the end of last season, Vaughn told Sydney that neither would survive, but now Sydney says her mother said only one of them would. That's can be explained easily enough: bad information, hard to translate etc, but it's weird.
I see what you're saying, and maybe you're right, maybe there won't be a full on arc for Rambaldi, not in the same way there was the first two seasons. I don't mind if there isn't though, as long as it carries on they can ignore it 5 episodes or more in a row and I won't care (though there's different ways of it exisiting. There doesn't even have to be any mention of Rambaldi or his artifacts and it can. Sydney and Nadia being torn apart for example is a Rambaldi storyline, but ther'es no need to mention him or have artifcats involved at all).
The first is fine, the second would bother me.
Can you link me to this interview? I'd be interested to read it. Well, if it's from before the season started anyway, I'd probably be quite safe from spoilers by now.
Ah right, I thought they were just talking about it healing around it (go medical knowledge!). Strange thing for Anna to do then. Obviously a bit of torture would be enough reason, but she said she was doing it so Sydney would alwasy have to see it when looking at her sister. If you could just skin graft it away, surely she'd know.
Maybe there'll be some sort of problem with it and they can't get rid of it. Or maybe it's just a slightly loose story bit, I can't assume every little thing is meant.
I get what you're saying with the first bit, but I can't see how you've linked it to the second.
You're talking about this right?
"This woman here depicted will possess unseen marks. Signs that she will be the one to bring forth my works. Bind them with fury, a burning anger unless prevented at vulgar cost this woman will render the greatest power unto utter desolation."
If not you're going to have to jog my memory. I thought Sydney was already exempt from that? She climbed that mountain and saw the sunrise etc. Wouldn't there be a good chance Nadia bears the same marks? I'm pretty certain that after Sydney got out of it they really did mean it to be Irina, but now she's gone, they can move it over to her sister.
And end of mankind? Apocalypse? IF this is the quote you're referring to...huh? Rendering the greatest power unto utter desolation does note equate to the end of the world. It doesn't even have to be a bad thing. Everyone on the show and a lot of people who watch it assume the greatest power refers to the US. But what if it doesn't? What if it refers to a terrorist group so powerful that they are the greatest power (like the Alliance could have been seen)? That would mean that the prophecy is a good thing, not bad. Or it could be the more obvious way too of course.
I see it more as a shift in style. They will still be the focal points of the season (well probably, if they're not then somethign else will be), they just won't be as...continuous if you like. Reminds me a lot of Angel going from the 4th season to the 5th. Both are wonderful to my mind, but completely different in the way they told their stories. S4 was very much like the way Alias has told it's stories in the past seasons. You really couldn't miss an episode or you'd be a bit lost. S5 was more like what we're seeing now. There was a big change at the start of the season, the opening episodes don't really get the main arc going (even though they're good), but it gradually builds up and starts dropping hints until it becomes a lot more continuous towards the end (though still not compared to 4). Maybe the success of Angel from 4-5 and the striking similarities with Alias is the reason I wans't at all concerned with individual episodes early on.
I don't know if I'd go that far. I'd really need to ask someone who'd just started watching the show. They've made it as easy as possible for new fans to get into it this year, but I still think they must be bloody confused. There's a lot of ongoing stuff: Lauren, Irina, Rambaldi, the Covenant, the deaths of Sydney's fiance and Dixon's wife etc, it's just less...episode to episode. You don't necessarily have to have seen the episode before to understand the next one, but to understand the storylines as a whole, the past knowledge is still vital.
That took ages, I wouldn't blame you if you didn't read it.
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
Just think what we'll be like 4 seasons into Lost *holds head in hands*.
Thank god Alias for dummies is over.
Sark works best in a one or two episodes a year appreances, not overdone like he was last year. I loved his sarky (sorry) remarks to Vaughn and his champagne ending. :lol
Alias is doing fine in the ratings - nothing to worry about. Anything would come off second best agaist Idol (spit!) and besides, ABC will want to keep J.J sweet - so as long as he wants to make it and Garner wants to star in it, I'd say it's a shoe-in for a 5th and possibly 6th season.
Sark works best in a one or two episodes a year appreances, not overdone like he was last year. I loved his sarky (sorry) remarks to Vaughn and his champagne ending. :lol
Alias is doing fine in the ratings - nothing to worry about. Anything would come off second best agaist Idol (spit!) and besides, ABC will want to keep J.J sweet - so as long as he wants to make it and Garner wants to star in it, I'd say it's a shoe-in for a 5th and possibly 6th season.
Memles said:
So? Alias had Lost (19 million viewers) as a lead-in.
24 season 4 average is a lot higher than past three seasons. Normally 24 gets 11-12 million viewers with a stupid lead-in. I think that the ratings will be better this week, because some people didn't know that AI had a show on monday.
Smurf, I don't know what to tell ya. I was halfway through your post, with quoting and detailed answers...and my laptop crashed, causing me to lose the entire thing. Thus, I am sad to say, I might not get to it for awhile. But I will eventually, and I definitely read the entire thing...it's just that fate dictates I wait until my laptop is fixed and it won't crash on me again.
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