Man, last night’s episode wrapped up about 57 plotlines (many in 1/2 second apiece). This would be a perfect “jumping-off” point.
So should we keep watching?* Will “Phase 2” be as fun as the show has been so far?
*As I’ve mentioned before, our family all climbs into (a full-size) bed and watches together. Cute, huh?
I’m going to give it another episode or two before I make a decision. They’ve got to come up with a reason to get Vaughan and Sidney apart again if the show’s going to last.
The Francie thing could be interesting though.
Just hope Garner doesn’t get her hair cut short.
Well, there’s still a lot to watch for: the Francie thing, Sloane and Emily, Sloane and Sark, Sydney and Vaughn (yay!), and it looks like there’ll be some drama between Sydney and Dixon–and maybe Marshall, too.
Not to mention Spy Mom and Dad.
Yeah, I’ll stick around.
I’m staying for now, just because I think it can still work.
My guess is that we’ll find out that the Francie that died last night was the clone, while the real Francie has been kidnapped and brainwashed by Sloane to be this new “killer” Francie. That way, they can keep Francie around even after her secret is revealed by having the CIA undo the brainwashing.
The Syd-Vaughn relationship will have to be kept hidden to avoid CIA regulations, so that could keep some tension in it. Plus, Syd’s eventual discovery of the evil Francie will result in Will accusing Syd of being jealous of the Will-Francie relationship, thus endangering Will and possibly continuing the Will-Syd-Vaughn love triangle.
Or not.
That plane sequence was fantastic. When the guy got sucked into the engine, I was thinking, I love this show.
I think the twin Francie is stupid, but at least it will keep me from completely losing interest when they show her or Will.
Was Rutger Hauer trying an accent out there? I had a bit of a buzz on.
I have never watched the show before but I sure hope they keep playing that commercial that was on during the Super Bowl yesterday!
That’s gonna be tough after making out in the middle of an operation! I had a bit of a problem keeping my SUD* going.
Besides that, GREAT episode last night! While there was nothing wrong with the black outfit, I can support the Russian’s decision to go with the red one. Yowza.
Sark and Sloane is going to be a great plot line. Do we think that Sloane is connected to the Chinese, or is Sark pulling triple (now double) duty?
How done is the Alliance? I would imagine that the inner circle is still intact, but even then, Sloane is in excellent position to take over. I could see Sloane at the top of the Alliance within two episodes.
I’m not sure I understand why Dixon is so upset. Because Syd kept everything from him this whole time? We’ll see…
Finally, can we start a petition to have Marshall join the CIA immediately? Because Vaugh’s field-op partner-guy just isn’t cutting it. He’s annoying, oblivious and, most of all, unfunny. More Marshall!
[sub]*SUD=Suspension of Disbelief[/sub]
I’ll keep watching, but only because I watch it with friends who are almost completely incapable of keeping track of even the simplest plot twist and I so enjoy the feeling of intellectual superiority that I feel as I explain things to them that they just saw two weeks ago, or last week, or before the last commercial.
I think Dixon’s more upset because Sydney destroyed his entire world in the span of a few minutes.
As for red or black, I think Sydney said it best herself: “What was wrong with the black one?”
Could I get a summary?
I heard (and tell me if it is so) that they’re revamping the show to make it less confused, less convoluted, more accessible to the casual viewer who only picks it up from time to time rather than watching every single week without fail.
I think they’re going to cut out the Rimbaldi stuff. That whole “Sydney is the chosen one” stuff from last season was a bit much.
Here’s a quick summary, as much as I can remember.
Sloane has been MIA for 6 days, so the Alliance sends in a replacement (Rutger Hauer). He’s reportedly a complete hardass, who can find any dirt on anybody. Syd and Spy Dad get nervous.
Rutger has apparently discovered something on Server 47 at SD-6. The CIA is suspect, because there are only 46 servers accounted for. This 47th server is speculated to be the link between all the SD syndicates of the Alliance. Gain access to Server 47, gain access to all Alliance information (including locations and names).
Turns out that the reason no one had previously found Server 47 is because it’s on a 747 that is constantly in the air. The only time they reland is for refueling and to replenish the security detail’s supply of prostitutes. Guess who gets picked to wear a bunch of lingerie?
So Syd gets onboard, gains access to Server 47, downloads it to Vaughn et al., spies it up, beats people up, and looks good doing it.
Meanwhile, back at the Hall of Justice…
The information Syd downloaded contains what was suspected - locations of all Alliance offices. If the information is true, the CIA can completely wipe out all SD locations (SD-1, SD-2, SD-3, etc.). However, the information can’t currently be confirmed as authentic (i.e. not false information). But, there’s a code in the document that can be found on the other servers 1-46 - find the code, authenticate the Server 47 information.
At the same time, Rutger Hauer is talking to some computer guy about accessing all of Sloane’s keystrokes (which the computers record). He wants to investigate a few suspicious e-mails that Sloane sent. In one paragraph that was previously deleted, Sloane had written that he suspects Syd and Spy Dad of being double agents. When Spy Dad comes in to retrieve the aforementioned code, Rutger takes him downstairs for some questioning. Rutger firsts asks him to call Syd in the office, who he slips the code for “I’ve been compromised” to.
Syd gets all worked up - Spy Dad’s been compromised, she can’t go back to SD-6, things are not good. So she calls Dixon (her SD-6 field-op), and meets privately with him. She tells him about SD-6, that she is CIA, and she needs his help. She gives him instructions on how to access the Server 47 code, which he does, and e-mails the confirmation.
Somewhere in here Will and Francie are making dinner. They’re chitchatting, dropping the lobsters in the pot. Will mentions that he’s got a great new job. “Wow, that’s great, Will!” Kisses him on the mouth. “Yeah, isn’t it?” Double take. Did she just kiss me on the mouth? Suddenly, Will and Francie are makin’ out right there in the kitchen, for all the world to see (if the world could see through walls).
Once the CIA gets the confirmation, they take the Alliance down - all offices, all over the world. Syd barely saves Spy Dad from being electrofried by Rutger Hauer, goes upstairs, and makes out with Vaughn.
We next see Sark (the British guy) on the phone (who obviously wasn’t at SD-6 during the raid), saying that Syd and Spy Dad took the bait, and everything’s going according to plan. On the other end of the phone? Sloane. Dun-dun-DUN! Sloane hangs up, makes another call, and asks the person if they’re in place. Cut to Francie (Syd’s roommate), saying that she is! :eek: But wait, there’s more! There’s blood on the wall, streaking down towards the floor. The source of the blood? Nope, not Will. It’s Francie! Wha…?
Before the concluding scene, Syd called Will Tippin to tell him to get Francie and go away.
Why didn’t Will do this? I’m going to be suspicious of Will too!
I just starting watching this season, and as I watched last night, I thought to myself that Francie was boring and useless. Then, 20 minutes later, she turns up dead… or something, and I’ve got to admit, I felt a little bad about that. But it will be interesting to see what the new Francie is all about.
I too had a hard time with the whole making out in the middle of an operation thing, but I must admit I was glad to finally see them get it together.
I will continue watching if only for the pleasure of watching my man, Marshall. I hope the CIA hires him and soon.
Of course, the whole Francie clone? twin? thing is interesting too. In Super Alias Spy World nothing is ever as it seems. I wonder if she is a “baddie” at all. Maybe she’s a double, or triple agent? Great plot twist though–I never saw that coming.
The Sark/Sloane angle is bound to be interesting. I am still convinced that Sark is one of the good guys.
As for the making out in the middle of an operation thing–I was under the impression that their current mission was to shut down SD-6 (or rather, SD 1-12) and that once they’d accomplished that, they were free to get it on.
Or maybe not since he’s still her handler. shrugs Still a nice moment though!
I’d sign that in a second. Marshall always brings the funny.
But what’s Syd going to do know that she’s not a double agent? The plot has always been motivated by the actions of the Alliance… now what?
BTW, anyone remember where they left off with the Rimbaldi stuff?
Cardinal Rule #1) Anytime the romantic tension between the leads is resolved, the show tanks. We all know this. We have all seen it happen. I wonder if Alias has painted itself into a corner - either it will fail the way all other shows that have broken this rule have failed; or it will pull a Buffy, one of the few shows that succeeded, and immediately twist the romance back apart in a credible way. But J.J. ain’t Joss.
Cardinal Rule #2) Be your own show - don’t try to be another show. I am afraid that, with the last episode, Alias is trying to be more like 24 - faster twisting of plots, quick resolutions of short plots with feints and re-directs. Alias appears to be compromising too many of its strengths in order to broaden its appeal. Tough to do.
And the actions scenes don’t have the cool tech music anymore. Jennifer Garner remains a movie-star-quality find with power and charisma and girl-next-door wholesomeness and sex for days. But she is not being used really well.
I am losing some interest, but it is still better than most of the stuff out there.
Well YMMV, but those scenes of Jennifer Garner in lingerie is enough to keep me watching for-EVER! Yowza!
But if you need something else, I just saw a commercial for ALIAS revealing that none other than Ethan Hawke will star in an upcoming (next weeks?) episode.
Not only Ethan Hawke next week, but also Christian Slater a few weeks later.
And more shots of Jennifer Garner in hot outfits is never a bad thing.
As an added bonus, I just found out that Season 1 will get a DVD release on September 2nd. Yay!