I see you all have survived another week. That’s good. As each week goes by it gets a little closer to that January date when season 4 begins. Until then, I hope you all are enjoying the review of key/fun/interesting episodes of the last three years on Alias.
I didn’t get any feedback from anyone this week. I feel like a failure. Ah well, we live and learn. Honestly, I’m shocked any folks out there are reading this, given that if you are a fan of Alias then you already know everything that’s happened.. but you know what you are getting here. MY SPIN. Actually, you are getting an overview, an opinion, and then three pages or rhetoric about me being the future Mister Jennifer Garner.
I will ask that anyone who is checking this out, make sure you check out next week, as I will be doing my best to compare Alias to JJ Abrams’ newest TV show – LOST.
So this week, as we near to the end of Season 1, I’m going to hit us with the big episode of that year, which was most obviously the season finale. Amazingly, it tied together some of the looser ends neatly, all the while making sure that you had no idea what was to come the next season.
WHAT’S HAPPENED?!
Remember that clear liquid that McKenas Cole wanted so badly. It was an ampule! Huh? To cut it down to the most simple of terms it was the serum that when spread over the infamous PAGE 47 from Rambaldi’s book, it revealed it’s secrets.
The secret to Page 47 was a picture that looks remarkably like Sydney. Which leads us to the prophecy that appeared along with the picture:
“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. This woman, without pretense, will have had her effect, never having seen the beauty of my sky behind Mt. Subasio. Perhaps a single glance would have quelled her fire.”
So it seems that Syd is going to cause some big problems in the future. Now, the full purposes of this prophecy even now in Season 4 have yet to come to fruition, but as time wears on the question still remains, no matter what they do ‘Is Sydney the one?’ and trust me, as the show goes on, you start to realize that she’s not the only one it could be.
Will Tippin, our reporter who just won’t quit, has now been caught up in a mystery man’s plot to publically expose SD-6. Jack, Syd’s pop, has got Will working with him to expose this mystery man. In an unfortunate turn of events, Sydney and Will meet up – Will seeing that Sydney is a super-secret-spy ™ and Will is put into CIA custody. It’s there that the Alliance’s Mister Sark catches up with Will and shoots him…
EPISDOE 22: ALMOST THIRTY YEARS
Written by: J.J. Abrams
Directed by: J.J. Abrams
Stars: Jennifer Garner (as Sydney Bristow), Michael Vartan (as Vaughn), Bradley Cooper (as Will), Merrin Dungey (as Francie), Carl Lumbly (as Dixon), Ron Rifkin (as Sloane), Kevin Weisman (as Marshall) and Victor Garber (as Jack Bristow).
Guests Stars: Greg Grunberg (as Agent Weiss), Joey Slotnick (as CIA Officer Haladki), David Anders (as Mr. Sark), James Handy (as CIA Director Devlin), Amy Irving (as Emily Sloane), Michelle Arthur (as Abigail), Angus Scrimm (as McCullough), Elaine Kagan (as June Litvack), Derrick O’Connor (as Khasinau), Ric Young (as suit & glasses), Wolf Muser (as Claudio Vesolo) and Emily Wachtel (as worker).
Original Airdate: May 12, 2002
Remember that creepy Taiwanese guy from the beginning of the series. Well he’s back, and this time he’s going to be torturing Will. For the record, this guy is by far such an amazingly good prop in this show, that he deserves some sort of credit. Through the show you will see him time and again just being a creepy guy who tortures people. He needs no other motivation, and after the second time you see him, you start to just recognize when he’s going to appear.
Back to the action, Sark makes a deal with Sydney to trade off Will for Page 47 and the Solution (the ampule!). Remember, the CIA has the Ampule, but SD-6 has Page 47 so they must share their wondertwin powers and work together to make this plan work.
One of the subplots that I haven’t really gotten into is Sloane and his wife, Emily. She is a wonderfully pleasant woman who is sadly dying of lymphoma. Prior to Syd knowing what kind of man Sloane is, she and Emily were the best of friends with Emily taking the role of mother figure in Sydney’s life. This puts Syd in the precarious position, as she has to use that trust and friendship to get into Sloane’s house and steal the information necessary to get Page 47.
Action time, and Sydney being the crafty little sex pot that she is goes and retrieves the Page.. but is confronted by Dixon, her partner. Dixon has had growing suspicions as to Syd’s alignment, but she can’t outright tell him his entire life has been a lie in terms of SD-6. She just asks for his trust, and he leaves.
We now jump to quicktime because of just how much happens throughout the next.
Jack finds the mole in the CIA – and KILLS him.
Sloane has dinner with his wife – and KILLS her.
Vaughn meets up with Sydney and – ..decides to WORK with her.
Will is still being tortured and… and.. NOT TALKING!
Jack meets up with Sark to get Will – and SAVES him!
Syd and Vaughn find one of Rambaldi’s creations and.. KILL IT!
The creation, called the Mueller Device is supposedly a huge battery, powered by a fantastically science fiction globule of water that is floating in midspace. How it works is not for me to decide, but when Syd and Vaughn pop the bubble, it sends a flood through the entire complex they were breaking into, and in the ensuing tidal wave they are separated. Sydney survives, but Vaughn.. well.. sadly it seems Vaughn is this season’s victim.
Sydney doesn’t get to far either, as while she is trying to get away she is knocked out.
When Syd awakens, she’s strapped to a chair, just as she was at the very beginning of the series. To consider the idea that this scene is replayed 22 episodes later is an amazing idea. So, as he was in this episode, you would assume that the evil Taiwanese man is back.. AGAIN!? Nope, not this time. It’s time to find out who has been heading off all of these covert activities that have been rivaling SD-6 in their cruelty and ultimately causing more problems than there worth.
Who is it?! !!??!! THERE’S ONLY 30 SECONDS LEFT TO THE SHOW….
SYD’S MOM! DAMMIT! WHAT DOES SHE LOOK LIKE..
..and the credits..
Given the amount of force they put behind Sydney discovering the truth about her mother’s death – this was a foregone conclusion. It doesn’t change how wonderful of a story it is.
WHERE IS THE #47 IN THIS EPISODE?
Haladki reveals that the battery is in the room 47 of an underground lab of Pang Pharmaceuticals in Taipei.
EXTRA!
I would like to tell you how many amazing things I have for you this week, but I honestly don’t have anything big on my Extra’s section. Sorry… I’m a naughty double-agent operative.
Ah well, we all get lazy sometime, right? Anyway, please join me next week as I am going to not only dissolve the beginning of Season 2, but I am going to try and give some comparisons and contrasts to Abrams’ new show ‘Lost!’
Until then..
