{"id":6829,"date":"2018-05-10T13:00:33","date_gmt":"2018-05-10T20:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=6829"},"modified":"2018-04-29T13:42:46","modified_gmt":"2018-04-29T20:42:46","slug":"mark-watches-alias-s04e20-the-descent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2018\/05\/mark-watches-alias-s04e20-the-descent\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Alias’: S04E20 – The Descent"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the twentieth episode of the fourth season of Alias<\/i>, I CAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T BELIEVE THIS SHOW. Intrigued? Then its time for Mark to watch Alias<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Holy shit, WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING ON THIS SHOW. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 okay, hold up, let me talk about all the other<\/i> stuff that happened before that ending, despite that I just want to yell about that.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Reveal<\/b><\/p>\n

You know, for a show that has so many repetitive motifs and themes, I gotta say: Alias<\/i> still keeps getting me. I know that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s partially because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done such a good job folding Nadia into the narrative of the show, so I actually care about her. Last season had a character (Lauren) who betrayed someone they claimed to have loved (Vaughn), and technically, this is the same story. Technically<\/i>, I say, because there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still a lot here that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel the same. Lauren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s deception appeared on screen for a much longer time, but Elena\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lasted much, much longer. And for what purpose? Well, this is the closest we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve gotten to an answer as to what the Rambaldi endgame is. Apparently, it can cause the apocalypse??? Which Elena absolutely wants to do??? WHY????<\/p>\n

Oh gods, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. But it was worth betraying Nadia. And shooting Dixon in the back. AND KILLING COUNTLESS OTHER PEOPLE. She orchestrated everything<\/i>, too: Arvin Clone. Bill Vaughn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fake journal. THE COVENANT ITSELF. Her betrayal affects pretty much everyone, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. THIS IS SO FUCKED UP.<\/p>\n

The Past<\/b><\/p>\n

And it is because of this that we finally<\/i> get to see what happened a year prior when Arvin and Nadia disappeared to track down the last Rambaldi artifact that he needed. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s vital that this episode happens after<\/i> the events in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153In Dreams\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a reminder of just how awful he is. Granted, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the audience necessarily needed that reminder? WE KNOW. HE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S TERRIBLE. But the past year, he has insisted he has changed, that he wants to change further. That what he did was wrong, but he is worth a second chance. And in the case of Nadia, his rejection of his Rambaldi obsession was necessary because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, all we knew is that Nadia had said he got real bad there towards the end. But what did that mean?<\/i> How did this quest for Rambaldi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s grand design nearly break up the two of them?<\/p>\n

WELL, NOW WE KNOW. Holy shit, like\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be surprised? I REALLY SHOULD NOT. Arvin has had a history of turning on those close to him to get what he wants, but y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, he knew of Nadia for\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6what? A few weeks at that point? He grew close to her AFTER DRUGGING HER (which will always leave me feeling suspect about their relationship), and then when she wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do what he asked, he turned on her and viciously insulted her. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not even addressing the fact that once she touched the Rambaldi Sphere, she got a glimpse of the horrific power of Rambaldi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s endgame, and Arvin didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even care. HE LITERALLY TOLD HER THAT HE DIDN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T NEED HER. I just!!!\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Present<\/b><\/p>\n

Now, I see two possible explanations for Arvin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s betrayal in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Descent.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The more logical of them is that once he got close to the possibility of assembling Rambaldi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s endgame device, and he just lost it. He couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t resist the temptation, so he double-crossed Sydney and handed himself over to Elena just so he could be on that team. The flashback certainly supports the notion that Arvin becomes irrational once he gets anywhere near Rambaldi, and given how gross he is in general, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like that theory is bogus.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, I can also<\/i> see this as some sort of last-ditch effort to redeem himself, to actually<\/i> try to clean up the mess that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s made. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a bit of a stretch, but I could see him drugging Sydney as some sort of misguided notion that he had to do all of this on his own. If Arvin wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> lying in recent episodes, then maybe his warning to Dixon, just before Dixon is shot by Elena, is also a clue. What if he really does<\/i> know the only way to stop all of this? What if he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s positioning himself as close to Elena as possible because of this? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s.. again, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a bit of a stretch, but not impossible<\/i>. And maybe Arvin Sloane is actually going to do something right for once.<\/p>\n

The Truth<\/b><\/p>\n

I GENUINELY DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T GET HOW IRINA DEREVKO CAN BE ALIVE AT THIS POINT. Oh, I certainly<\/i> pointed out that we never saw her die on screen, and we never saw a dead body, so I knew this was always a possibility. BUT I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T UNDERSTAND HOW THIS<\/i> IS THE REALITY WE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122RE GETTING. Jack shot her, so he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s alive. How was her death faked? Or did she just survive<\/i> the shooting when Jack thought she hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing that Elena has kept Irina around as leverage or for information. Oh god, WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Descent\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":"