In the eighth episode of the fourth season of Alias, THIS IS SO STRESSFUL. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Alias.Â
Good lord, this was an intense one. I didn’t expect the Rambaldi thread to come back to the show, and now I’m worried? What else don’t I know? WHY AM I ALWAYS SO UNPREPARED FOR THIS DAMN SHOW???
Return
I kinda love the idea that as soon as Anna shows up, both she and Sydney are ready to throw down, and we don’t actually need much of a story beyond that? Oh, there’s some larger picture here that I definitely can’t see, but Alias has done such a great job building the animosity between these two characters that I don’t need much more than seeing them on the screen at the same time. However, I know that this is just the start of something that’ll likely feature heavily in season four: Why is it that Anna is so determined to realize Rambaldi’s destiny? What is it about his prophecies that appeals to her and all of his followers and devotees? If anything, it’s the sole part of this ongoing arc that still bothers me. I actually love mysterious shit like this in storytelling, and I can easily put aside my own disbelief if something is entertaining. But why? What’s the endgame for these people? We’ve had some confirmation of that, but I still feel like there’s a big part I’m not seeing. WHAT IS IT. TELL ME!!!
Anna is more than just an antagonistic, I’m-gonna-fight-you-on-sight force here, though, and it’s that extra bit of meaning that makes me feel like I’m about to be shoved off a cliff. All those prophecies about the Passenger, about this apocalyptic battle between Sydney and Nadia, feel a lot more urgent than they did last season. See, Anna seems to fully believe them, and that means I’m a lot more worried about what she’s doing. When she branded Nadia, it was so much more personal and terrifying, and I DON’T LIKE IT. Can’t everything just be nice????
Just kidding, it won’t ever be.
Sark
Y’all, we get two huge returns in the same episode, and there’s a part of me that appreciates how the team just keeps getting fooled by Sark. By the end of his charade, it felt obvious to me that he had figured this all out. And in hindsight (only in hindsight, I should say!), the timeline was too quick. Vaughn threatened Sark, and then he was conveniently broken out of maximum security prison and set free? The team moved too fast, and I think they made it obvious to Sark. Plus, this is not even close to the first time they’ve staged something like this, you know? To me, it communicates their desperation, and combined with the quickly-moving events in the other plot, it shows that this team is trying to catch up with a disaster. And in terms of pacing? It’s really, really brilliant. I like that these characters, as adept and smart as they are, are allowed to make mistakes instead of always getting what they want. There’s a chaos to the way the events unfold, and by the time that final devastating hits, the audience is left feeling off-base, desperate, and lost. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, either.
Sisters
Of course, part of that uncomfortable dynamic comes from the completely unnerving notion that at some point, Nadia and Sydney will be opposed to one another. Not only do I hate the idea, BUT THESE CHARACTERS ACTUALLY HATE IT, TOO. They’re both already so close, and they clearly care about one another, and they want nothing to do with this prophecy at all. I’m used to the whole Chosen One trope, but this is like the Chosen Two who are supposed to fight to become the Chosen One, and it’s so much more complicated. But what the fuck could possibly tear Sydney and Nadia apart? What would make them turn on one another?Â
I guess I enjoy this as much as I do because I do have a thing for characters who willfully resist prophecies or destiny. It’s an examination of free will in a system that might determine how someone’s life will go. And if Rambaldi’s prophecies really are part of some fucked up destiny, then can Sydney and Nadia choose a path outside of that? I don’t actually know in this case! I’m real bothered by Sloane’s admission in the middle of this episode that he feared that Sydney or Nadia wouldn’t come back from a confrontation with Anna. (Let’s take a moment to appreciate that Sydney promised Jack not to go off on Anna, and she did within 60 seconds of spotting her IT’S SO FUNNY TO ME OKAY.) Does he know something we don’t??? Y’all, we still haven’t been told what he and Nadia found on their little trip between seasons three and four, and I am not letting it go. It’s gotta be something, right???
I’m worried. NADIA BETTER NOT DIE, Y’ALL.
The video for “Echoes†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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