Over the past few months I’ve watched the entire series of Alias on DVD. My spoiler-filled review is after the jump:
The first two seasons are heart-pounding awesomeness. The rest of the series is great too, but it isn’t as consistent as the first two seasons. But just like Battlestar Galactica, even a bad episode is still better than most everything else on television.
Stand Out Moments:
1. Sydney giving birth.
2. All scenes with Lena Olin as Irina Derevko with the exception of one, which will be discussed later.
3. Episodes with Sloan’s wife Emily.
4. The rivalry between Sydney and Anna Espinosa.
5. Sydney and Jack’s relationship.
6. Any time Marshall was in the field.
7. Heart-to-heart conversations at hospital bedsides (and there were plenty of them!).
8. Sonia Braga’s transformation from loving orphanage caretaker to leather-clad badass.
Disappointments:
1. Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan’s noticeable lack of chemistry after their off-screen break-up.
2. No more Will and Francie after Season 2.
3. No emotional connection between Irina and Nadia. Irina goes on and on and on about how much she truly loves Sydney, but never makes any kind of emotional connection with Nadia. Irina doesn’t even care when Sloan kills Nadia.
4. All three Derevko sisters never appeared in the same episode.
Surprises:
1. I’m shocked I didn’t hate the new Season 5 characters. I actually grew to like them a whole heck of a lot, especially Amy Acker as evil Kelly Peyton.
The End:
I loved the end of Sloan’s storyline. He got the immortality that Rambaldi provided him with, and Jack sacrifices himself to trap him underground forever. Perfect. I also loved the way Nadia “haunted” him in the last few episodes and then abandons him after he is trapped. Awesome. You go Nadia!
I did not like the way the ended Irina’s storyline. Okay, fine, she was evil. Yes, I wanted her to be good in the end, but her evil wasn’t even that interesting! She wanted the same exact thing as Sloan: immortality and world domination. If you’re going to have two completely separate villains who never share more than a minute of screentime together, the least you can do is give them separate objectives! Especially since the entire series is spent asking: “Is she good? Or is she evil?”, it’s disappointing that the answer is: “Yes, she’s evil, and she’s evil for the same exact reason the other main bad guy is evil.”
I would have preferred if Irina was somehow able to see the error of her ways, and she be the one to sacrifice herself to trap Sloan instead of Jack, especially since Sloan killed her daughter!
That being said, Alias was still a great series and perfect for DVD viewing. I would tell you guys to start watching it, but the fall season is starting and I’m sure you’ll be kept plenty busy by television as it is. I know I will!
I was extremely disappointed with the series after they got rid of Will and Francie. J.J. Abrams did it because ABC pressured him into making the series more “episodic” so new viewers could start watching and not be lost. Unfortunately it didn’t work and the series suffered as a result.
I also thought it was getting comical how Sydney would go from bad-ass to crying and back again in almost every episode.
I HATED the ending. Irina should have been good. It would have given the storyline so much more depth. The ending of her character was a tad unbelievable.
I also hated the kill Vaughn off/bring him back storyline. They should have left him dead.
I saw promise in Balthazar Getty’s and the new girl’s storylines, but alas by then it was too late.
Just my 2¢.
Great review – a TV show I sorely miss. I had a very soft spot for Sark… My room-mates and I came up with our own techno dance to the opening credits!