{"id":6810,"date":"2018-04-18T13:00:30","date_gmt":"2018-04-18T20:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=6810"},"modified":"2018-04-09T11:27:45","modified_gmt":"2018-04-09T18:27:45","slug":"mark-watches-alias-s04e04-ice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2018\/04\/mark-watches-alias-s04e04-ice\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Alias’: S04E04 – Ice"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fourth episode of the fourth season of Alias<\/i>, WHY DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T YOU BREAK MY HEART A LITTLE MORE, THANKS. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Alias<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of trauma\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Hahaha, wow, what are feelings???<\/p>\n

Nadia<\/b><\/p>\n

There is not a plot in this whole damn episode that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make me sad. It was so intense, but not upfront. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a quiet examination of complicity, of guilt and regret, of longing and desire, and\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

OH<\/p>\n

MY<\/p>\n

GOD<\/p>\n

DOES<\/p>\n

IT<\/p>\n

HURT<\/p>\n

But I want to start with Nadia, who struggles with the reality that she is know amidst people who have spent time with someone she never got the chance to know. Look, on a purely superficial level, I can understand this conflict because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m adopted. And I get that this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the same thing at all, but I still found it relatable. I only met my biological mother once, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never been able to find out who my father was. All I have is a name, not even any photos. And when everything is so distant, so removed, you have<\/i> to rely on other people to begin to construct a portrait of who they were. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s exactly what Nadia does throughout \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ice.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d She starts with a single photo, the first personal<\/i> one she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ever seen. (Hey, was anyone else particularly crushed by the reveal that Nadia had only seen Irina through official government files? Ha ha ha, just me? OKAY.) And as she cycles through the various people who knew Irina, she discovers that Irina is very, very different to each person. It was fascinating to watch these characters give Nadia their version of her mother, which varied from cold disinterest to the same sort of longing that Nadia felt. (At least from Sydney, that is.) She was a distant stranger to Sloane after she left, and she represent much of what Jack despised.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 can we believe what Jack tells her at the end? My inclination is not<\/i> to, given that he has already massively<\/i> manipulated her so as to provide a false sense of closure. Of course, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible that the story he tells Nadia to comfort her is real, but does that even matter? Once she finds out the truth, I still believe this will dramatically change her understanding of everything else<\/i> she knows. Oh, Jack, you should have just told her the truth from the start!<\/p>\n

Vaughn and MacLane<\/b><\/p>\n

I do appreciate storytelling of a serial nature that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> ignore the emotional and mental ramifications of what came before. In many ways, Vaughn has<\/i> been distant since the season three finale, and I totally get why he hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just jumped into a relationship with Sydney. However, Vaughn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time trying to get MacLane to turn against her brother unearths THE BIGGEST HEARTBREAK OF ALL. Did I expect this??? NO, not at ALL, despite that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such an incredible and gut-wrenching parallel between these two characters. Both<\/i> of them killed someone because of what they believed in, and no matter what they tell themselves, guilt still surges through their soul. That guilt might present itself differently, and it certainly looks different to these two characters, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s there, and it is exactly<\/i> what Vaughn latches on to as he tries to flip MacLane to help him.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Look, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, that scene at the pub is just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s exquisite. Brilliantly written and acted, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just so raw<\/i>, so entirely intimate that I felt as if I shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be watching it. You can see the fear on MacLane\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face as Vaughn talks to her, but then that same fear crosses over Vaughn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s<\/i> face, and he just let go. Knowing that the others were listening to him, he refused to stop. He made that connection with MacLane, and he told the truth while doing so. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S JUST SO CRUSHING, OKAY. I know I already used that adjective before, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s true! IT REALLY HURTS. The weight of Vaughn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trauma over killing Lauren comes crashing down on him, and to make matters worse, he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t save MacLane<\/i>. Like??? Who allowed this episode to be so sad??? MacLane is murdered BY HER OWN BROTHER, just after she makes the decision to turn against him, and I just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ready. I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. Not even for the affection at the end of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ice,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d either. THESE CHARACTERS ARE TOO MUCH, OKAY.<\/p>\n

Ice<\/b><\/p>\n

I just want to end this by establishing that the first death in the episode is truly one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen, and it is all your fault.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ice\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now available for pre-order!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"