In the second episode of the third season of Alias, Sydney adjusts to her new life and finds it harder than she anticipated. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Alias.
Trigger Warning: For consent issues, memory loss, trauma.
My god, this show. That’s it. That’s my whole review.
A Trade
If only. I mean, I feel like succinctly conveys my experience watching Alias, but let’s talk about how season three wastes no goddamn time ramping everything up. The action in “Succession†is rooted in the seemingly confusing trade that The Convenant makes with the CIA. They’ll return a kidnapped agent if the CIA hands over Sark. For… what? Why is Sark so important to them?
It was hard not to think that this wasn’t a set-up in the vein of Irina’s extraction. What if Sark had manufactured things so that this exchange would happen if he gotten arrested? Look, I fully mistrust nearly everyone in this show, so it’s not like this is an absurd idea with no basis in reality. But given how long Sark was held by the CIA, I discarded that notion fairly quickly. Oh, I was sure that Sark would change his allegiance at the first sign that he could benefit from a new situation, so I never really entertained Lindsey’s theory that the Covenant just wanted to kill him. But why?
It’s through the exchange that the writers further multiple important plots, and I loved how complex this was. Honestly, think about it: Sark’s transfer reveals just how boneheaded and stubborn Robert Lindsey is, which helps us recognize him as an antagonistic force. It also sets up the reveal that Sark was wanted by the Covenant because of his money, WHICH HE DIDN’T KNOW HE INHERITED WHEN HIS FATHER DIED. Oh, and his father is the dude Sydney assassinated when she was missing time. No big deal! Everything’s fine!
Except it’s the opposite of fine, and I am fucked up.
Return
There was so much angst in Alias surrounding Sydney and Vaughn prior to them actually dating that I never considered that the writers could find a way to make them MORE ANGSTY. And yet here we are, in the most uncomfortable situation between these two IMAGINABLE. I think the first episode needed that confrontation, and the audience needed that moment where Sydney spelled out why she was so angry and disappointed. Here, though, Vaughn doesn’t necessarily contradict Sydney; he just gives her the context she needs to understand what the past two years were like for him. Which isn’t to say that she can’t feel how she wants about Vaughn. This is still going to be immensely difficult for Sydney. But it was difficult for Vaughn, so much so that his obsession with Sydney was negatively affecting his mental health. Him moving on from Sydney provided him a means to break from behavior that he saw as unhealthy, and that’s not a negative thing.
Still, I don’t know how this is going to work. Sydney still has feelings for Vaughn, and now she just admitted them to HIS WIFE. Who she has to work with, too! Because this show can’t just be NICE to me!
HELP.
You Were My Favorite
I didn’t expect this season to escalate the mystery of Sydney’s disappearance so quickly, but that’s my own fault. Look how quickly season two moved! WHY WASN’T I READY. But I feel like “Succession†more or less confirms that the Covenant was responsible for kidnapping Sydney and then brainwashing her to be an assassin. Of course, I’m assuming a few things here; I have to fill in some blanks with this theory that will probably end up being wrong. Like: I still think Arvin Sloane is involved. Sark? Less so. I am also guessing that Sark’s father wasn’t the only person Sydney killed. That would make this an incredibly elaborate plan for something that could have been pulled off far more easily, right???
But that doctor/scientist’s death was SO FUCKING DISTURBING TO ME. What did he mean by saying that Sydney “never broke� Broke what? What else had he programmed her to do? WHY ARE YOU GONNA DENY ME THIS ANSWER, Y’ALL.
This show remains A Lot.
The video for “Succession†can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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