All Episodes Talk: Super Spies

[Boundary]

As for season 5, I ended up liking it on its own merits. It gets a bum rap (and I also truly hated the finale) but I think it otherwise did pretty well, considering how many new cast members there were to digest. They did a good job integrating them (and jettisoning the one that wasn’t working, the Renee Rienne character).

 

What! Renee is the one character that worked in the later seasons.

[Bort]

What! Renee is the one character that worked in the later seasons.

Renee never clicked for me and I assume the show runners felt the same way because they killed her off and bumped Amy Acket up to regular.

[Boundary]

I had nothing against Amy's character, except that it felt like they were rehashing Syd. I did like seeing Syd in a mentor role though. But Renee was fun for me, she was badass, she was independent and had a mysterious dynamic with Vaughn. She was not team material and her backstory didn't quite add up, which might have made her not click but I thought that was exactly what the show needed. I was sad to see her killed off.

[Bort]

I had nothing against Amy's character, except that it felt like they were rehashing Syd. I did like seeing Syd in a mentor role though.

I think you mean Rachel but yes, it was kind of a rehash of early-season Sydney. It was unavoidable, though, Jennifer Garner was pregnant and someone was needed to do the heavy-lifting on the spy missions. Enter Rachel.

Amy was the deliciously evil Kelly Peyton. She was the one who got bumped up to contract status once they killed off Renee.

[Boundary]

Oh yes, you're correct, thanks for reminding me.

[Fat Elvis 007]

This post contains spoilers through the end of the series--newbies, hide your eyes:

I think a better more interesting way they could have taken the Lauren thing would have been to reveal that Vaughn married her because he suspected she had something to do with Sydney's disappearance, only to later find out that she was innocent, perhaps set up by her evil spy parents or something. So we have Vaughn playing the Derevko role, instead of Lauren, which just felt rote and predictable. She finds out, leaves Vaughn, and Vaughn comes out much darker due to his own obsessiveness and mistakes, rather than justifiable rage at being betrayed. As it stands the Lauren twist was unworthy of this show.

Another twist that I am surprised doesn't get as much hate is the whole "My name's not Michael Vaughn" thing. It was cool in the moment but the follow-up was done so casually and made no sense. I remember during the summer fans were speculating he had just found out his real name while investigating his father's death in S4, because there was no way he could have been lying to the CIA and Sydney for all those years. But...apparently that's exactly what happened? It should have ruined the character but somehow it seemed to have no effect on the show whatsoever.

[Joe]

I always felt that making Lauren evil was a real copout. Okay, the audience don't like her, how can we justify that hate? Keeping her a good guy, but still killing her, would be much more interesting and cause more pain all around.

[joelene]

Another twist that I am surprised doesn't get as much hate is the whole "My name's not Michael Vaughn" thing. It was cool in the moment but the follow-up was done so casually and made no sense. I remember during the summer fans were speculating he had just found out his real name while investigating his father's death in S4, because there was no way he could have been lying to the CIA and Sydney for all those years. But...apparently that's exactly what happened? It should have ruined the character but somehow it seemed to have no effect on the show whatsoever.

Maybe fans didn't care much at that point? I'm only guessing, I wasn't around the forums when that happened. I just know that until you mentioned it just now I had completely forgotten about it and I don't even remember what that whole thing was about. Perhaps it didn't help that he then pretty much disappeared from the show (or maybe it did help in that it was harder to care when he wasn't around).

The whole of season 5 is a bit of a blur but when I do think about it I pretty much only remember stuff I liked about it - (SPOILERS) Kelly Peyton and Rachel, the Anna Espinosa/Syd switcharoo, Nadia's death by table, Vaughn had been reduced to pretty much a shrug to me so him being gone didn't bother me, and other bits and bobs, which for me reflects pretty well on the season as a whole (but not good enough for me to remember many details, obviously). The only thing I remember disliking is you know who dying at the end.

This might be an UO but I never thought Alias had such a hard, fast significant drop in quality. There was certainly a dip and season 2 was the highlight but I thought the "decline" was pretty gradual, just like most shows are. I like season 3 and season 5 was a bit of an upswing to season 4 I thought.

Edited February 7, 2015 by joelene

[Boundary]

My memory is hazy too, I just conflated some characters upthread, lol. For me S4 had no emotional pull beyond the "is Nadia actually Jack's?" speculation. By S5 I think I remember seeing an uptick, but we all knew it was ending but at that point the timeline around Syd and Nadia's births had been screwed up, so there was no point in scrutinising Vaughn's reveal. Retconning season 1, especially Syd and Vaughn's initial contact, wasn't a good idea. Also in S5 there was an attempt to start new mysteries, like The Cardinal (which was dropped like a hot potato) and Prophet 5 (which made less sense than the Covenant). At that point, Sloane was pretty much the only baddie we cared about or, at least, cared to see justice being meted out on. Over the years, I have my own fanfic which has solidified into canon in my head and rewatching S5 will mess with that process!

 

ETA: I still hope Netflix or ABC would pick up a show in that universe though. With so many rogue organisations running around, there's plenty of fodder to feast on without running into Syd and her family.

Edited February 7, 2015 by Boundary

[The Cake is a Pie]

I always felt that making Lauren evil was a real copout. Okay, the audience don't like her, how can we justify that hate? Keeping her a good guy, but still killing her, would be much more interesting and cause more pain all around.

 

They missed such an opportunity by making Lauren evil. The whole premise of the show was built around Sydney's dual life, and by the time Lauren came in, the show was really missing a lot of the "normal life" stuff. I thought they could have mined a lot more emotional storylines out of having her being exactly who she said she was, and that her marriage to Vaughn was valid and real. Then all Vaughn's guilt about wanting to go back to Sydney and "cheating" on his wife would have been real and lot more significant.

 

She didn't even have to die. They're international super spies, but they still have to deal with mundane, everyday issues like marriage and divorce.

[Athena]

I wouldn't have minded normal Lauren for a little bit, but my biggest issue with Lauren was Melissa George. Her lack of acting skills stood out for me in an otherwise great ensemble cast. I didn't find her character or actor compelling. I think the writers realized it and made her evil and have her hook up with Sark. I never saw Sark the same way after that, but then again, he always seemed to hook up with the evil female spies.

[Bort]

I never saw Sark the same way after that, but then again, he always seemed to hook up with the evil female spies.

And Rachel. I really loved Sark and Rachel's daliance, I thought it was hilarious.

[Athena]

And Rachel. I really loved Sark and Rachel's daliance, I thought it was hilarious.

 

Ha. I didn't forget Rachel, but she wasn't ebil. In any sense, he tortured her later, right?

 

Sark had the best chemistry with Irina during that scene where he had defibrillate her. Then again, it was Lena Olin.

[KaveDweller]

Maybe fans didn't care much at that point? I'm only guessing, I wasn't around the forums when that happened. I just know that until you mentioned it just now I had completely forgotten about it and I don't even remember what that whole thing was about. Perhaps it didn't help that he then pretty much disappeared from the show (or maybe it did help in that it was harder to care when he wasn't around).

 

The whole "My name's not really Michael Vaughn" thing was never really explained and I think that's why it didn't totally ruin the character.  They threw out this story where he'd been lying for years, but then they killed him off.  And it became a case of tracking down who killed him instead of actually figuring out what he had done. I think when he came back fans were just so happy to see him they never really questioned things.  But I think most fans were pretty disillusioned with the show at that point.

 

For me, him having that secret for the course of the whole show sort of ruined the entire Syd/Vaughn relationship.

[rungirl911]

I have this series on DVD and used to watch it in it's entirety once a year since it's ending; now that it's on Netflix I have started at the beginning again and watch a new ep or two every day (on my lunch break of course).  I love everything about Season 1 (where I am now) and feeling the characters come to life. It's really such a great show.  I adore it and Jennifer Garner and co. :)

[justcris]

I've rewatched this whole show in the past few weeks and here's my take on it.

 

Season 1 and 2 were a blast, just as I remembered. Always ending the episode in the middle of a mission instead of letting it all play out was a really effective method of getting us to come back for more.

I still liked season 3, but after that it went downhill pretty fast. The episode where Kendall explains to Syd what happened in the 2 missing years, that was the episode where I turned to my bf and said "I'm out!"

I forced myself to watch it all the way through the end though, but now I wish I hadn't. It kind of ruined my good memories of the show (I had only watched the first 3 seasons back when it was airing).

 

The best thing about the show was definitely Jennifer Garner kicking ass. 

The worst thing was all the retconning going on. And I think they ruined Irina's character after season 2 with all the twists and turns.

 

I also missed Will and Francie a lot when they were gone. They had Weiss fill in that void for a while and then Nadia, but it wasn't the same. 

[SparedTurkey]

I loved/love this show. I even bought the Rambaldi box-set because I loved it, even though I watch seasons 4/5 for Irina Derevko mainly.

 

For me, the heart of the show was Sydney/Jack, and then later Irina/Jack/Sydney. And Sark. I liked that Sydney (and by extention Jennifer Garner) actually looked she could hurt if she kicked you, unlike other shows.

 

The only place where the show went wrong, was loosing the Derevko side of the story. Once they unbottled a character like Irina, and the impact she had on the entire second season, they couldn't put that back in the bottle. A scene between Jack, Irina and Katya would have been awesome - especially with Sydney in the middle. (Though, the whole thing with Elena I could have done without - and she wasn't as I would have pictured her anyway).

 

But, even in the less that standard seasons, I couldn't fault the acting, the production. It was a good show.

 

And I have always coveted Sydney's wigs/the ability to pull off most of them.

[Boundary]

I loved the Derevko concept and the acting was great but the execution at times wasn't. Elena heading up the Covenant was never credible, the Covenant should've been Irina's (and Sloane's), Elena should've had her own organisation. And Katya playing the two against each other ... Hmmm, it seems I already have a Derevko spin-off prequel at the ready.

[SparedTurkey]

 

Elena heading up the Covenant was never credible, the Covenant should've been Irina's (and Sloane's), Elena should've had her own organisation. And Katya playing the two against each other ... Hmmm, it seems I already have a Derevko spin-off prequel at the ready.

I agree - though as much as I do like Sonia Braga, it was a mistake to cast her as Elena. As Nadia's orphanage surrogate mother, sure absolutely. But I just couldn't see her as fitting in with Lena Olin and Isabella Rossellini. Those two you could picture as sisters, and could possibly imagine their interactions together based on their characters.

 

I could have imagined the Derevko's owning their own organisation, with their own endgame, and also protecting Jack and Sydney. Of course, they would have to also screw with the CIA for their own amusement. I could also imagine them taking down Sloane and all other organisations (though keeping Sark, cause I feel like there was some kind of mutual respect connection between him and Irina - though I could have got that from the TWOP recapper of the time).

 

Honestly, I with there was a good fic I could read featuring the Derevko sisters + Jack and Sydney. Or I guess, wait till the inevitable reboot.

 

I also liked Anna Espinosa, and wished she could have stuck around. She was a good foil for Sydney.

 

Damn, I miss this show. Anyone up for a rewatch?

[Boundary]

Rewatch in the summer? I'm game!

[Bort]

Eh, I don't know. I tried a rewatch this winter but stalled out at season 3.

[SparedTurkey]

Maybe a rewatch turned snarky drinking game come season 3....

[Boundary]

Yeah, all my rewatches always stall after season 2, I don't remember a proper season 3 rewatch, let alone seasons 4 and 5. But the first 2 seasons are so good we can go all nerdy on them. A snarky short essay from someone to start off each episode's discussion. But I won't be available to participate until at least June though. 

[marihunc]

I'm in! I've been looking for any excuse to start a rewatch, this is the perfect one! :D

[Kel Varnsen]

, or when she and Anna Espinosa open the suitcase and go OMG, and I was like "what? Tell me, what's in the suitcase?" but only credits to answer back.

My wife and I have decided to start rewatching the series this summer since there really isn't much else on we both like. We watched that episode and there is something weird going on. Before the meeting Jack says sharing the information with the Russians is no big deal. They have the box, the Russians have the key, but the code is on two pieces of paper. One is in the box and SD-6 has the other one. Jack says the Russians aren't even aware the other piece exists. But in the following episode after they open the box Anna and the Russians are able to crack the code. I am assuming this is something where it was different script writers writing the two episodes or something.

 

Alias is probably one of maybe a handful of shows where I can pinpoint the exact moment I got into it. I never watched seasons 1 or 2, but around the time season 3 started I was living away from my home town and my parents came to visit. I stayed home from work for the day when they were visiting and in the morning we had Regis on. Jennifer Garner was a guest. She was promoting season 3 and they showed a clip of her blowing up a car with a gun. It looked awesome so I started watching it. CTV in Canada played Alias at a weird time, like Sunday at 4pm, so I always made sure I was either home or had the episode set to record. By the following January I had caught up on Seasons 1 and 2.

[KaveDweller]

I remember the exact moment I got into it to.  The pilot was an hour and five minutes (or something weird like that), so the Practice was starting after at a weird time. I thought I might as well watch the whole thing because if I watch something that ended at 10, I would just end up watching the last 5 minutes.  The second she head-butted the guy who was torturing her, while still tied to a chair, I fell in love.  

 

I also loved that she completely saved herself without any man coming to save her (like I was expecting).

[JES004]

For me it was the commercial advertising the pilot.  She's in the garage, fighting the bad guys.  A car pulls up, she aims her gun - then says 'Daddy?". 

[supposebly]

I remember a friend told me about it and being a grad student at the time, I thought, if she is so smart, how come she doesn't figure out who she is working for? Also, grad school AND superspy, I couldn't suspend my disbelief. So, I didn't want to watch stupidity on my screen.

 

Anyway, I lost a bet with said friend, she sat me down, we watched the pilot and after Sydney escaped all by herself, I was hooked. And I loved the red wig. And started reading Regina's recaps on TWOP.

 

And Jennifer Garner actually looked like she could land a decent punch.

 

And now, I want to watch it again.

[Kel Varnsen]

And Jennifer Garner actually looked like she could land a decent punch.

That was one of many small things that helpedmake the work for me. Sydney wears a lot of sleeveless tops in season 1 i have noticed, and her arms and shoulders are impersively toned.

Looking back the funny thing about this show is that the plot is basically something you woulde expect from some bad syndicated action shows shot in Vancouver. But they got great actors, put some thought into the scripts, and spent decent money on production and actually made it good.

[thuganomics85]

Howdy, everyone!  Just finished watching this show for the first time on Netflix.  I always wanted to check it out because I like Jennifer Garner for the most part, was curious to see a J.J. Abrams show before he became "the" J.J. Abrams, and Victor Garber is simply the best.  Overall, I enjoyed it, but I will say that I was surprised that I didn't like it quite as much as the similar show, Nikita, which I had watched months back.  Had a few issues with the last three season.  But, first, the positives:

 

I really enjoyed Jennifer Garner as Sydney.  She actually looks like someone who can fight, still made me root for the character even if she was being annoying or naive, and was pretty entertaining in all of her "Aliases", even if near the end, I felt like they resorted a bit too much towards over-the-top American/Southern accents (mainly when Sydney was pregnant.)  Overall, a good lead, and I can see why she still gets mentioned.

 

Then, there is Jack Bristow.  I literally fell in love with the character in his first scene, when Danny asked him for his blessing to marry Sydney, and he was basically "Come on, boy.  If I say no, you still are going to marry her anyway, right?  So, quit wasting my time, kid!" about the entire thing.  At the risk of really simplifying things, as far as I'm concerned, Jack Bristow is the man.  Victor Garber was perfection the role.  Some of my favorite moments are when someone (usually Marshal), is annoying him, and he just gives them a "Not in the mood for your shit!" glare, that shuts almost everyone up.  Again, I just love everything about Jack Bristow.

 

David Anders was so much fun as Sark.  I did find it fitting he was the only main bad guy to not only live, but still be on the loose (Kelly/Amy Acker was still alive, but I think she's probably in prison now.)  A weird comparison, but I'll put him alongside Wynn Duffy from Justified, as one of those guys that just keeps on surviving, no matter what is thrown at him.  And, I always root for that.  May Julian Sark continue to be out there, being a pain in everyone's ass.

 

That bastard Sloane.  He was untrustworthy, crazy, and ruthless.  And yet, I would still fall for it.  I really would think he finally pulled his head of his ass, and then he'll just go prove me wrong.  Damn him!  But I love him for it.

 

Like with most "older" shows, it was always fun seeing people I know from current work here.  Had no idea that Amy Acker, Rachel Nichols, and Mia Maestro were all on this show, in regular roles.  Nice!  And then the recurring guys like Jonathan Banks, Sarah Shahi, and especially Terry O'Quinn as Kendall.  The biggest surprise?  Totally didn't know that Bradley Cooper was in this.  That was insane.  To think the guy playing Will, who basically spent the majority of the time getting kidnapped and having an one-sided crush on Sydney that was destined to loose out to Vaughn, would end up being the guy who is now a three time Academy Award nominee, and has headline numerous blockbusters (even voicing a talking raccoon!)  I guess you really do have to start somewhere.

 

Going in, I heard most criticism about season five, and while I would probably have it down there, I actually think I dislike season three more.  And, I hate to say it, it mainly was because of Lauren Reed.  The reason I hate that is because I didn't want to.  I usually feel bad for the character that are obviously set-up as obstacle for the main couple, and I want to root for them.  But, I felt like the show bungled it horribly.  She was boring at first, I usually like Melissa George but that accent really wasn't working for me, and then that damn twist.  I hated how over-the-top it was.  I would have preferred if there was more shades of grey to it.  I'm not saying I wanted her to feel bad or conflicted, but I rather they had her be more "Nothing personal; just business" about it.  But instead, she was practically cackling and sneering at everyone, like an evil queen from a Disney movie.  Even her death was an overkill.  Vaughn practically empty the entire damn clip in her and then she even has to fall down a hole, to really make sure.  Only thing missing was having Vaughn drop a couple of grenades after her, and then seeing a massive explosion.  I get it, show. 

 

Another thing was that I didn't like the whole bit about Sloane being by himself, during season three.  They still found ways to have him interact with other characters, but I think he's at his best when he's with the characters, stirring the pot, as oppose to over the phone, one-on-one, with either usually just Sydney or Jack.  Sloane playing off Dixon or Marshal can be just as good, and there wasn't much of that in season three.

 

Honestly though, at least Lauren provoked an emotion from me at least.  I actually think the biggest waste of space goes to Tom. I've heard Balthazar Getty's name before and I guess he's a big deal, but I found him horribly wooden.  At times, even cringe-worthy bad.  It was so not fair losing both Vaughn and Weiss as regulars, and getting this block of wood.  I won't even touch on the ridiculous attempt to try and make something happen with Rachel and Tom.  Talk about anti-chemistry.  I would have rather seen Rachel develop a full-blown relationship with Sark, then put up with that crap.  I'm glad nothing big came out of it, at least.

 

I did find the finale to be a letdown.  I know the show can be preposterous, but Sloane actually becoming immortal was a bit too much for me, Jack dying, and I hated the "twist" of Irina being the big baddie.  Barely any development before that, and I liked her as a more shades of grey character.  I just couldn't buy that Irina would be willing to kill Sydney after all the time she went out of her way to help her in the past.

 

Still, it was an overall a fun ride.  Glad I finally checked it out.

[JES004]

Interesting take on the show.  I suppose because I watched Alias before Nikita, I could never get into that show.  Your comments about Irina are bang on.  The writers killed Jack off because it made them cry.  It made me cry, too, but they were tears of anger.  It was unnecessary.  There were rumors of a different type of ending, and it sounded a bit more promising.  The story goes that Jack and Vaughn's life were held in balance, but in saving one the other would die.  I could see Irina swooping to save Jack as he tries to sacrifice himself for his daughter's happiness.

 

As to Bradley Cooper, I always thought he was terrific.  He really shone in every scene.  I'm glad to see that he is getting the accolades he deserves.  It shocked me that the writers listened to a small group of fans (who surely had to be 10) he didn't him because he was putting Sydney in danger.

 

The Sydney, Jack, Sloane dynamic was the core of the series.  I loved the 'story' of Irina, and I think they could have appeased a part of the fan base by getting them together. They could have passed the evil torch to Sark. 

 

In the booklet that came with my complete set of DVD's, Goddard says Irina loved Jack, "Absolutely. 100%."  Had they gone that route, I wouldn't still have that bitter taste in my mouth when I think of the finale.  

 

Sixty Minutes did a feature on him tonight.  I hope he wins the Tony.  

[rungirl911]

Damnit, Alias!  I am watching season 5 and just watched Syd give birth and  I cried (on my lunch break.  at my desk.)  Jennifer G gets me EVERYTIME i see her cry.

[rungirl911]

Ps: you know you are obsessed with Alias when planning your Ireland honeymoon and come across a hotel in Galway called "The Twelve Hotel" and take a moment to consider how evil it may be.

[Bort]

Damnit, Alias!  I am watching season 5 and just watched Syd give birth and  I cried (on my lunch break.  at my desk.)  Jennifer G gets me EVERYTIME i see her cry.

Wasn't that also the episode where Peyton shoots a helicopter out of the sky with a rocket launcher? Because I love that part. Especially where she's casually walking away as the helicopter careens down behind her in a big flaming ball.

[thuganomics85]

 

Wasn't that also the episode where Peyton shoots a helicopter out of the sky with a rocket launcher? Because I love that part. Especially where she's casually walking away as the helicopter careens down behind her in a big flaming ball.

Yes, it was!  From what I remember, it was suppose to be Sydney/Jack/Irina's getaway vehicle, but then Peyton blasted it.  That led to Syd having to give birth in the office building, with Irina pretty much being her doctor, and Jack being Jack a.k.a. fending off the goons by himself, and barely getting a scratch.  Only mistake he made was not double-tapping Peyton.  In other words, classic Bristow family vacation!

[rungirl911]

It was seriously great to watch the end again. I feel so sad when I think about SpyDaddy, but he went out so bad ass.  Jennifer Garner killed me in her last scene with Jack.  I just might have choked up writing that sentence.  Damn.

[Boundary]

In other words, classic Bristow family vacation!

 

 

Which of course reminds of the vacation in India: jumping off a moving train on a bridge, make-up for get away aliases and of course shooting machine guns in slo mo. Ugh, good times.

[supposebly]

I just started a rewatch yesterday and the pilot still holds up perfectly. And I still think Jennifer Garner is one of the few women on TV who can actually sell handing bigger guys their ass in a fight. I guess it helps being tall and completely ripped.

 

She sells Sydney's vulnerability wonderfully and I just realized something else because I had just watched The Avengers earlier. The chair scene with the Black Widow is at least a homage if not a ripoff of the chair scene in the Alias pilot. And the Alias one is so much better. I think some of it is due to the fact that a lot of action scenes these days are played as if it is all no big deal, no sweat, no heavy breathing, no pain, just some annoyance, while Jennifer Garner as Sydney panics, is in pain, out of breath, and just fights through it all. It's much more human for lack of a better word.

 

And the scene when she finds Danny still break my heart in tiny pieces.

 

And I still laugh like an ass when Danny calls Jack. Best character introduction in the history of TV.

[Boundary]

And the scene when she finds Danny still break my heart in tiny pieces.

 

The silent scream. Such a genius idea from Jennifer and JJ, it's quite haunting.

[SparedTurkey]

 

And I still laugh like an ass when Danny calls Jack. Best character introduction in the history of TV.

 

I love Jack Bristow. Just awesome. And his disdain for Vaughn - awesome. Him and Marshall together - awesome.

 

I just love all the Bristows - even Sydney during annoying-season-3-pining-for-Vaughn stage. And Irina. And Katya. So all the Bristows + 2/3 Derevko.

 

But Jack was made of pure awesome.

Edited August 11, 2015 by SparedTurkey

[supposebly]

So, I'm up to episode 11 (I keep them running in the background during the day) and have a few notes:

 

Martin Sheppard played by Jon Hannah is so wonderful and vulnerable and Sydney's reaction to the revelation that it was him who killed Danny was spot-on. Sending Sydney to question Martin Sheppard however doesn't make much sense unless Sloan didn't care or didn't even know that he was the guy who killed Danny.

 

Sydney and Will both are a funny mix of arrogance and being completely in over their head. Sydney reacts completely irrationally most of the time, Will has no idea how dangerous everything is and the whole Eloise Kurtz thing is Jack trying like hell to keep Will out of trouble.

 

Will is a fascinating mixture of arrogance, idiocy, and doggedness. And my, he was a dick to his assistant Sarah Shahi! I had forgotten just how much. Still, played wonderfully by Bradley Cooper. And I still wonder what they were thinking with his hair.

 

I loved the conversation about the dead agents from the books between Vaughn and Sydney, both saddled with the sins of their"fathers", Vaughn finally showing real emotion when Sydney is stalling, especially since before, he had to be at the funeral of the agents that Dixon blew up. And he still doesn't tell her his father was one of them.

Jack getting "almost" emotional when he explains to Vaughn that he had very little time to save Sydney from torture. And Vaughn for once is sneaky. Very good.

 

Sloane is so lizardlike behind his desk, it's creepy.

 

Every actor should study Victor Garber in this role. It's magic.

[ShellSeeker]

I didn't watch this the first time around, and now I'm making my way through on Netflix. I just started season 2. I find Sydney to be kind of frustrating sometimes, but it's in a realistic way -- like I could see myself being as impulsive and impatient as she sometimes is. And I love Jack. Victor Garber is so awesome.

[Boundary]

I didn't watch this the first time around, and now I'm making my way through on Netflix. I just started season 2. I find Sydney to be kind of frustrating sometimes, but it's in a realistic way -- like I could see myself being as impulsive and impatient as she sometimes is. And I love Jack. Victor Garber is so awesome.

 

 

Sorry if this is spoilery, but soon you'll love someone we used to call Lena F. Olin (the f stands for an obscenity).

[ShellSeeker]

Another twist that I am surprised doesn't get as much hate is the whole "My name's not Michael Vaughn" thing. It was cool in the moment but the follow-up was done so casually and made no sense. 

 

I thought that was completely random and came out of nowhere. 

 

I just finished the series. Overall, my least favorite season was S4. Some of it had kind of a "wacky hijinx" vibe where Sydney was concerned. Oh no! Sydney ingested a hallucinogenic! Uh oh, Sydney's been buried alive! It got kind of tiresome.

 

I didn't hate the finale as much as other people seemed to. I loved the poetic justice of 

Sloane finally achieving the immortality he sought for so long, only to be trapped in a cave, in the dark, for all eternity. But I hated that Jack sacrificed himself to make that happen.

 

That completely sucked.

 

There were a couple things in Season 5 that to me were really obvious references to Indiana Jones. When Sydney gets the amulet (or whatever it was) from the prison, there's an old man there who tells her he's been waiting for her "for a very long time." The same thing happened in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, when Indy finally finds the room where the Holy Grail is being kept. There's a 700 year old knight standing guard who has been waiting for someone who will "choose wisely" and pick the correct vessel. Then, in the second to last episode, when Sydney tracks down Sloane in the ice cave, he holds the amulet up to the sun, and it looks like light is shining through it to reveal some kind of a message. This was straight out of the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indy holds up an ancient Egyptian artifact to the sun, and it shows him where the Ark of the Covenant is hidden. That had to be intentional, right?

 

Lena Olin was so great as Irina, but it seemed like the writers never knew what to do with her. Sometimes she was the big bad evil, and sometimes she was Sydney's loving mother. It seemed like her character and intentions changed to suit the needs of the story.

[JES004]

Your insight on Irina is spot on, Queasy-bo.  Therein lies my frustration with the finale. They built up Irina as someone who really did love her husband and daughter, then changed gears.  Plus I hated that they had to 

kill Jack ... and Irina. J/I fans were really screwed by the ending.

 

 

[Aliasscape]

Watching Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens the other night brought me back here.

 

Because at the premiere streamed on Star Wars.com they asked JJ if there was any "personal stamp" he had placed on the movies. And he's like oh no, nothing. And then midway through the movie (NOT A PLOT SPOILER) the number 47 pops up. And I'm like oh really JJ, no stamp?

[Joe]

That and the random big red ball. And Rey wears a different wig in every scene. I kid! But I didn't notice the 47 reference, where is it?

[Aliasscape]

That and the random big red ball. And Rey wears a different wig in every scene. I kid! But I didn't notice the 47 reference, where is it?

It's during the

 

planning scene to attack the First Order about the location they'll need to go to to disable the shields, ends up being in something numbered 47.

 

Of course Greg Grunberg is a stamp of JJ's as well.

[Joe]

Oh, I see it now. Thanks!

[JES004]

Ha ha - I guess I wasn't the only one.  So was I the only one that thought

Rey was going to say "Daddy" in that final scene?