In the fifth episode of the fourth season of Alias, I TRULY LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Alias.Â
It’s hard for me to avoid comparing this to “Arcadia,†one of my truly favorite episodes of The X-Files, which somewhat accomplishes the same thing in a completely different manner. They both use a trope I love and adore: people who are kinda or definitely attracted are then forced to work together and PRETEND TO BE MARRIED. And what happens when they have to hang out??? And pretend to be a couple??? Will they or won’t they??? Shall the dramatic and sexual tension destroy me?
While there’s a direct similarity at the start of both “Arcadia†and “Welcome to Liberty Village,†these stories aren’t like one another at all. First of all, it’s clear that this episode is meant to trick us right form the start, namely in that the cold open seems like it takes place in America when it doesn’t AT ALL. The trick of Liberty Village provides a sense of isolation to the story, and on that point alone, this episode is brilliant. If we’re to truly feel like this is a hopeless, terrifying situation, then the reveal that this actually takes place in the middle of nowhere in Russia is necessary. It’s downright evil, y’all, and it works in favor of building a narrative that isolates Sydney and Vaughn. They can’t communicate with the CIA, and the only means of passing any sort of information along is both in one direction and destroyed halfway through the episode.Â
So what the hell do these people do?
Before “Welcome to Liberty Village†gets us to that point, we’re taken on a stressful, bewildering journey through the secret base that the October Contingent uses to train operatives to be American. In the midst of this is a pretty scathing indictment of what it is that we consider American. It wasn’t lost on me that all these couples were white, that the cultural traditions on display were exaggerated stereotypes of whiteness. If there’s any way to hide within the US, this was the way to do it. Thus, every silly trope becomes a frightening means of potentially deceiving others. That tuna casserole that needs to be refrigerated? The preppy outfits? The proper way of speaking? Each of these absurdities becomes part of a weapon that hides in plain sight. Of course, to the audience, many of these traditions are probably bogus or ridiculous. (I haven’t had a casserole in over twenty years, and it is truly one of the best silver linings to being kicked out of the house: I willingly didn’t eat any “white†food for AGES. I still hesitate to eat at other people’s homes if I don’t know what kind of food they’ll have. If you ever see me live, ask me to tell the Struggle Thanksgiving I once went to.) But as applied here, they’re so damning. Why?
Because it is believable. I think most of us could probably name a neighborhood or a city where these operatives would fit in perfectly. Isn’t that chilling? This is what we (and I’m using the collective “we†as a reference to our general society) accept as “American.†Of course, this is a ludicrous assumption for a lot of us who have no interest in this sort of bland assimilation, but that’s why this episode is so goddamn great. It’s a satire, it’s terrifying, it made me laugh, and then…
It actually fulfilled me.
See, in the midst of this all is the story of Vaughn and Sydney, who by all rights should be together, yet have been torn apart time and time again by circumstance. And the very idea that they were going to have to pretend to be married was delightful to me, and then it fucking wasn’t. Because like the previous episode, Vaughn suddenly said something very, very true in order to sell a story to someone he needed to fool. And it was too much, y’all. Before, he opened up about Lauren, but now? Oh my god, was he really going to propose to Sydney during that planned weekend to Santa Barbara? The story is just too real, and I worried that instead of bringing them together, the pain of it would push them apart. It was a glimpse of what could have been, and it SHATTERED ME.
Instead, “Welcome to Liberty Village†finds a believable reason for Vaughn and Sydney to finally move closer. Even if they’re “boring.†Even if they calculate every move together. Even if they are such a bizarre, complicated, and risky pairing. The chemistry between them is undeniable, sure, but I found this specific story to be heartwarming. Actually heartwarming! Maybe because things have gone south so many times before, I was cynical, but THIS DIDN’T END BADLY. Vaughn and Sydney had sex, they’re being super affectionate with one another, THEY ARE POSSIBLY TAKING A ROMANTIC DETOUR???
yes YES YES.
The video for “Welcome to Liberty Village†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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