{"id":6852,"date":"2018-06-04T13:00:48","date_gmt":"2018-06-04T20:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=6852"},"modified":"2018-05-12T05:15:00","modified_gmt":"2018-05-12T12:15:00","slug":"mark-watches-alias-s05e14-i-see-dead-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2018\/06\/mark-watches-alias-s05e14-i-see-dead-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Alias’: S05E14 – I See Dead People"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fourteenth episode of the fifth season of Alias<\/i>, I HAVE RARELY FELT SO HAPPY AND VICTORIOUS. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Alias<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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

I YELLED, I AM NOT EVEN REMOTELY ASHAMED FOR IT, I CAN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T BELIEVE IT HAPPENED LIKE THIS. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, this episode is so stressful, and upsetting, and unfair, and yet I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t deny that it was a blast<\/i>. I 100% expected that Anna Espinoza would survive because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t she instrumental to Rambaldi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s endgame??? Wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that the whole point of her? OH MY GOD, I AM EVEN LESS PREPARED FOR THE END OF THIS SHOW NOW.<\/p>\n

Let me back up, despite that I just want to dance around my apartment because of that ending, which might very well hold the most potential of any twist this season. Before we talk about Sydney, Vaughn, and Anna, we have to talk about Arvin Sloane. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still mad about Nadia, and I would prefer that she remain on the show as a living<\/i> character, but I also found a lot to enjoy in her presence here. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what it is: a spectral presence, akin to a vengeful ghost who exists solely to torment Arvin over his choices. I am certain that the man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s guilty conscience has manifested her, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m perfectly fine with that explanation, too. Either way, the show has found a way to actively<\/i> criticize Arvin, to remind him of the horrible price he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s paid to remain on his path towards Rambaldi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s endgame. To remind him of the price other people<\/i> paid for him to find success. To remind him that no matter what he does, he can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ever have acted with the best interests of the world in mind. He only cares about himself.<\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m hoping, then, that his offering at the end of this episode doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t work. First of all, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another reason for it: he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trying to reach out to Sark. So, the act isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t pure. He might want<\/i> to make peace, but come on. This is Arvin we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re talking about. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always an ulterior motive with him. I WANT NADIA TO HAUNT HIM FOR THE REST OF THE SERIES, JUST CONSTANTLY GETTING UNDER HIS SKIN. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m also guessing that Arvin is trying to find a way to complete Rambaldi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s prophecy without<\/i> Prophet Five, and he needs Sark for that. WE SHALL SEE.<\/p>\n

So, that leaves me with ONE OF THE MOST STRESSFUL PLOTS IN THIS ENTIRE GODDAMN SHOW. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t experienced doubles or body swaps, which often tread in some<\/i> of the tropes that appear here. Despite that, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I See Dead People\u00e2\u20ac\u009d still manages to feel fresh and exciting without doing some of the more disgusting things that I usually see in episodes like this. For example: how often do we see a story like this where sex comes into play, and how often is consent not addressed in any meaningful way? Granted, Vaughn does<\/i> kiss Anna, believing she is Sydney, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about the worst in terms of this trope.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, the show threatens us with possibility: Exactly how<\/i> far will Anna get, in the body of Sydney? What will she gain access to? And at what point will Vaughn become disposable<\/i> to Anna, once she gets what she needs? Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, I WAS SO AFFECTED BY THIS. On one level, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just a good suspense tactic. Every moment Anna was with Vaughn was unbearable because I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if she could pull it off; I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if Vaughn would pick up on an inconsistency; I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if this was going to turn into a tragedy. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s even more horrific because this is not the reunion I wanted.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/i> This is not how I saw Sydney and Vaughn finally getting to be in the same room again. I was upset! Enraged! Anna stole this very important moment, and VAUGHN DIDN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T EVEN KNOW! THIS IS THE DEFINITION OF A PERSONAL ATTACK!<\/p>\n

Friends, I am just so pleased with how this is resolved. As I said before, I was 100% certain<\/i> that Anna was needed for Rambaldi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s endgame. They were going to make Page 47 come true by using Sydney\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s double. It made so much sense to me! So when Sydney finally found Vaughn and then shot Anna in the head<\/i>, I was genuinely, truly shocked. (And let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s appreciate that, too, because that moment fulfilled what Vaughn said in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Horizon\u00e2\u20ac\u009d: they will always find one another. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M SO EMOTIONAL.) The reunion I wanted unfolds on the screen, I was filled with joy, and then the writers fuck me up again: SYDNEY IS GOING BACK UNDERCOVER AS HER BEST ALIAS YET. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Anna as<\/i> Sydney, and now there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the best-placed mole EVER inside Prophet Five. The sheer potential of this is un-fucking-believable, and I simply cannot wait to see what the show is going to do with it.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I LOVED THIS SO MUCH.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I See Dead People\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":"