London // ALIAS

[thalia_seawood]

I still haven't managed to reach a very good friend of mine in London and am a bit worried. On her mobile I get the helpful message that the user is temporarily not available, no response under her home number either and she hasn't replied to my mail. Now we're not in contact on a weekly basis, so she might be out of town without me knowing about it. Still if I haven't reached her by tomorrow I'll give her parents a ring.

To take my mind of worrying I watched the last four episodes of the first ALIAS season.
This show is getting better and better. While it would be possible to do a lot of nitpicking concerning minor things, the overall plot is extremely well done. I'm also impressed by how well emotional moments are handled. IMO, emotions and quiet scenes are much more difficult to pull off than action scenes. In ALIAS we not only get flashy action, though, but some very convincing emotional moments. I'm thinking about Arvin and Emily here or Vaughn's "I'm in" speech.

Watching the season finale made me very happy, because three of my theories turned out right. I'm putting this behind an LJ cut in case someone hasn't seen the show yet and doesn't want to be spoiled.

1) So Jack is getting his first hug from Will Tippin. Yay! And selenak was right: The expression on Jack's face during the hug is priceless. Quite interesting though that he doesn't step back from it and even puts an arm around Will. (I think he's trying to make up for his failure with Danny by protecting Will. Also Will's articles are "not so bad". :-))

2) And "The Man" is really "The Mom". :-) I was already close to doubting my theory because everyone handled Khasinau as "The Man" for several episodes, but I just couldn't believe the script writers would miss the chance of bringing back Sydney's mother with a bang.


3) My last theory that Jack was also the one who put Will on the trail of SD-6 was shot down. That was no big surprise though. I had already stopped believing it when Will got new information after having been scared off. (I could buy Jack putting Will on an SD-6 information hunt and then scaring him off; but he would never put him back on the trail after Will was nearly put on the SD-6 death list. He just wouldn't endanger one of Syd's friend in such a way.)

The finale ep was the most exciting one so far. Lots of cliffhangers. I'm pretty sure Vaughn will survive because his character has been built so carefully. (It's also a big hint that his picture is on the second DVD box. :-))

But what about Emily? Does Sloane really kill her to achieve more power? Or does he "only" fake her death?

What about Dixon? Will he blow Syd's cover?

And what about "the Mom"?

I hope we'll see more of Sark because he's quite a promising character. (If the scriptwriters want to spring more surprises he might well be Syd's half-brother.)



After having watched the entire first season, I'd love to read some fanfiction. Can someone recommend me some good stories that do not give away spoilers for other seasons? (Usually I don't mind spoilers, but building crazy theories about what happens next is so much fun in the ALIAS universe.)

Pairing wise ALIAS is a very rich fandom:
There are the obvious pairings of Sydney/Vaughn or Sydney/Will or Sydney/Noah. (Side note: Noah gets the prize for the character I liked least so far. Had a hard time understanding why Sydney was in love with him.) There's, of course, Arvin/Emily or Jack/Irina.
But there are also lot of other possibilies, especially when you bring in Sark. Hey, I can even see Jack/Will.

Comments

[selenak.livejournal.com]

In ALIAS we not only get flashy action, though, but some very convincing emotional moments. I'm thinking about Arvin and Emily here or Vaughn's "I'm in" speech.

Yes. Anyone can do the James Bond action stuff. But what makes me care about the show are those character moments.

The expression on Jack's face during the hug is priceless.

It's a rare man who can surprise Jack Bristow, but poor Will (who does need a hug himself at this point) manages.

And "The Man" is really "The Mom". :-)

He. Yes. Which means Irina was behind everything that happened from "The Box" onwards.

But what about Emily? Does Sloane really kill her to achieve more power? Or does he "only" fake her death?

That was the big question the finale left me with. It says something about the quality of the character-build up that both options seemed equally believable to me. Naturally, I shall not tell you. Patience, young padawan. Also, what does your heart tell you?*veg*

The Mom, obviously, is a major element of the second season.

There is plenty more Sark to come. I'm not so fond of the character as most fans are, but he has his place on the show. (Not as Sydney's half-brother, though.*g*)

Fanfic with no spoilers beyond season 1: hm, let's see. Two on the more humorous side:

A Marshall vignette which is just adorable:
http://www.livejournal.com/community/alias500/13263.html#cutid1

and Andraste's funny and tender sort of slash, "Get me to the church on time", featuring two young CIA agents just before one of them gets married, decades before the present day action:

http://glassonion.populli.org/archive/18/getme.shtml

and Emily in later season 1:

http://www.livejournal.com/users/sunshine_queen/169469.html?#cutid1

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recs! I've enjoyed them all.

Right now I've watched ALIAS up to season II, episode 4 and will probably post my impressions later this day. But yes, this show gets better and better.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear it, and shall look forward to your next impressions.

[stephantom.livejournal.com]

I hope you reach your friend soon.

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

I managed to reach her in the late afternoon. She and her family are fine. :-)

[vikkir.livejournal.com]

I managed to reach her in the late afternoon. She and her family are fine. :-)

Good to hear - I've had a similar experience, and it isn't pleasent.

Vikki