In the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the fourth season of Alias, the team rescues a familiar face. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Alias.Â
Holy shit, this finale is going to be ridiculous, isn’t it?
Search and Rescue
I can appreciate just how far the arc of Alias has come since the beginning. Y’all, there was a time when I couldn’t even fathom there’d be a rescue mission for Irina. I also thought we were done with the Helix experiments! I also thought… nah, I didn’t think I was safe. I knew this episode was gonna fuck me up. Once tit was possible that Irina was alive, I figured this show would ruin me with the truth. I DID NOT EXPECT IT TO BE IRINA’S EXECUTION SCENE, Y’ALL. It’s kind of a brilliant choice, isn’t it? If the audience doubted Jack’s story and believed that he hadn’t killed her, then the opening of “Search and Rescue†confirms that he very much did kill her. So nope, he wasn’t lying. This isn’t part of some grand scheme of his and Arvin’s to fool the world. HE DID IT. IT REALLY HAPPENED.
It makes the reveal that she was doubled—and that someone in Elena’s organization VOLUNTEERED TO BE MURDERED—a million times more creepy and effective. Elena’s depravity was already on display, and guess what? THIS MAKES HER EVEN WORSE. She faked her sister’s death, then held her in captivity/tortured her so that she’d get the information she needed to assemble that gigantic Mueller device. If anything, it shows that the Derevko sisters are consistently ruthless, AM I RIGHT???Â
They are so fucked up, y’all.
Anyway, the rescue of Irina happens amidst the active Mueller device, which was FINALLY explained as a device meant to be used in conjunction with that formula that can make people either more disposed towards violence or less. SO THERE’S LITERALLY AN APOCALYPSE HANGING OVER THIS STORY. It adds to the urgency of a scene that was already incredibly goddamn intense. Sydney was going to be reunited with her mother; Nadia was going to meet her for the first time. That’s a huge deal for these two, and the show plays up this sort of emotional volatility through a number of scenarios. The rescue itself felt more heightened than usual because… well, I gotta be honest. I’m starting to finally pick up on the fact that this show is constantly fooling me. So I tried to be prepared for the possibility that Irina wasn’t in that underground holding cell, that this was all a misdirection set up by Elena. IT’S NOT OUT OF THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY, DON’T JUDGE ME!Â
So once Irina was found… whew, y’all. I was not prepared for the sheer onslaught of emotions. Even knowing how fucked up Irina had been, I still knew how much this moment meant to Sydney and Nadia. IT WAS A LOT, OKAY.
The Final Moves
I know I’ve commented on this more times than I can count, but I do love when the penultimate episode of a season treats its story like a chess game. Pieces are moved around on the board so that the big finale can just plow us down, and I am fully acknowledging that this finale is probably going to answer a lot of questions. So many threads have been wound around one another up to this point, so let’s just acknowledge what I’m following at this point:
- Arvin Sloane. Where does he actually stand? Is he in favor of Elena’s plan? Does he want to stop her? Does he have an ulterior motive? Is he actually going to start cleaning up the mess he has made?
- What is the ultimate endgame for those following Elena? Do they want to spread violent chaos across the world to… purge people???
- Is Irina on the side of our heroes, or is this part of some greater manipulation?
- WILL SYDNEY AND NADIA THROW DOWN AS THEY ARE PROPHESIED TO DO??? They both felt an unbearable dread throughout this episode. I AM VERY WORRIED ABOUT THIS.
- Is Dixon going to get to do anything? Because I’m annoyed at how this show keeps finding convenient ways to keep him out of the most important storylines. HE SHOULD BE ON THAT PLANE.
- Will Vaughn get to ask Sydney his question again on the beach? PLEASE LET THIS HAPPEN, IT WOULD BE GREAT.Â
- Will this season end on another cliffhanger??? Oh god, probably.Â
I’m ready. (Just kidding, not at all.)
The video for “Search and Rescue†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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