ALIAS - impressions of season II
Jul. 10th, 2005 08:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thalia_seawoodI've started watching season II of ALIAS yesterday and am up to episode 4 right now.
- Irina Derevko is a fascinating character. To me she's also the most scary character we've met so far.
It really shocked me that during the first encounter with her daughter she shoots her in the arm.
When I thought about this I was reminded of Vader's first encounter with Luke where he cuts off Luke's hand. I'm less angry about Vader though than about Irina. Fact is Luke loses his hand during a fight with his father. Irina on the other hand, shoots her daughter when Sydney has no chance to defend herself. Whereas Vader's actions are driven by his emotions, Irina is cool and collected when she hurts her daughter. Now I'm not saying that Vader's behaviour is okay, but Irina's callousness scares me way more.
I think we also have the deeply ingrained view (from fairy tales, stories, etc.) that mothers are caring, soft and loving whereas father can be hard and menacing. The portrayal of a cruel mother is much more rare than the portrayal of a cruel father.
When I saw more of Irina I got the impression that she might care for her daughter after all. But I don't think Sydney should trust her *ever*. IMO, Irina is even better at compartmentalizing her emotions than Arvin Sloane. She may be proud of her daughter, but I don't believe she would hesitate to sacrifice her if it suited her goals.
She's also *very* good in playing little psychological games with everyone, e.g. mentioning Vauhgn's father to Vauhgn every time she meets him. In this regard she reminds me a little bit of Hannibal Lector. :-)
- Jack Bristow
He's in a very difficult position: His wife who has betrayed him in the worst way possible has returned. He doesn't believe a word of what she's saying, but everybody else - including his daughter - seems to trust her.
So yes, I can totally understand why he tries to set up his wife with the explosives in Madagaskar. His motives may also be selfish, of course: He wants to protect his daughter *and* he's scared of losing his daughter's affection to Irina.
- Michael Vaughn
So he's alive. Not surprised about this. :-)
His first meeting with Will made me smile. Will is definitely surprised Vauhgn isn't an ancient CIA agent, but young and handsome.
- Will Tippin
I didn't care much for him in the beginning of the series, but he has grown on me. It must be very hard for him to have lost his career and the respect of nearly everyone who knows him.
His relationship with Sydney could become romantic now that he knows about her secret, but I don't think it will. They are more interesting in a brother-sister relationship, IMO.
And for some odd reason I think a frÃendship developping between Jack Bristow and Will would be very interesting to watch.
- Arvin Sloane & Emily Sloane
A brilliant subplot! It has such a gothic feeling to it!
Now there are several explanations for what's going on:
- Emily haunting him: only makes sense in an X-Files or Twilight Zone plot :-))
- Arvin losing his mind: not very likely either
- Someone trying to scare Arvin: possible
- Emily having faked her own death: My favorite option. Of course, this would mean that Emily is a lot more aware of what's going on than we were told so far. It would mean that she knows that Arvin will try to poison her and knows what counter measures to take. Which would be cool! Yes, we see Emily as the perfect wife of a successful businessman in season 1. She seems to be beautiful, kind and overprotected. But I think behind that soft exterior she has a core of steel. I also feel that she would forgive Arvin *anything* - even that he tried to poison her.
All in all there is great character interaction so far in season II:
Sydney and her mom, Jack meeting Irina again for the first time, Arvin asking Jack to investigate the odd things that are happening after Emily's death. One of my favorite moments is Arvin talking to Syd about Emily's death and her response: "It's not your fault." The look on Arvin's face after this comment is priceless. :-))
On another note, I got my Firefly DVD last week, but decided to go on with watching ALIAS and then move on to Firefly. Of course, there's also Dr Who waiting for me. And I'm curious about Battlestar Galactica. And I want to finish watching the first season of Carnivale. Also haven't seen Batman Begins or War of the Worlds yet.
I don't think I need work to keep me busy. :-)
- Irina Derevko is a fascinating character. To me she's also the most scary character we've met so far.
It really shocked me that during the first encounter with her daughter she shoots her in the arm.
When I thought about this I was reminded of Vader's first encounter with Luke where he cuts off Luke's hand. I'm less angry about Vader though than about Irina. Fact is Luke loses his hand during a fight with his father. Irina on the other hand, shoots her daughter when Sydney has no chance to defend herself. Whereas Vader's actions are driven by his emotions, Irina is cool and collected when she hurts her daughter. Now I'm not saying that Vader's behaviour is okay, but Irina's callousness scares me way more.
I think we also have the deeply ingrained view (from fairy tales, stories, etc.) that mothers are caring, soft and loving whereas father can be hard and menacing. The portrayal of a cruel mother is much more rare than the portrayal of a cruel father.
When I saw more of Irina I got the impression that she might care for her daughter after all. But I don't think Sydney should trust her *ever*. IMO, Irina is even better at compartmentalizing her emotions than Arvin Sloane. She may be proud of her daughter, but I don't believe she would hesitate to sacrifice her if it suited her goals.
She's also *very* good in playing little psychological games with everyone, e.g. mentioning Vauhgn's father to Vauhgn every time she meets him. In this regard she reminds me a little bit of Hannibal Lector. :-)
- Jack Bristow
He's in a very difficult position: His wife who has betrayed him in the worst way possible has returned. He doesn't believe a word of what she's saying, but everybody else - including his daughter - seems to trust her.
So yes, I can totally understand why he tries to set up his wife with the explosives in Madagaskar. His motives may also be selfish, of course: He wants to protect his daughter *and* he's scared of losing his daughter's affection to Irina.
- Michael Vaughn
So he's alive. Not surprised about this. :-)
His first meeting with Will made me smile. Will is definitely surprised Vauhgn isn't an ancient CIA agent, but young and handsome.
- Will Tippin
I didn't care much for him in the beginning of the series, but he has grown on me. It must be very hard for him to have lost his career and the respect of nearly everyone who knows him.
His relationship with Sydney could become romantic now that he knows about her secret, but I don't think it will. They are more interesting in a brother-sister relationship, IMO.
And for some odd reason I think a frÃendship developping between Jack Bristow and Will would be very interesting to watch.
- Arvin Sloane & Emily Sloane
A brilliant subplot! It has such a gothic feeling to it!
Now there are several explanations for what's going on:
- Emily haunting him: only makes sense in an X-Files or Twilight Zone plot :-))
- Arvin losing his mind: not very likely either
- Someone trying to scare Arvin: possible
- Emily having faked her own death: My favorite option. Of course, this would mean that Emily is a lot more aware of what's going on than we were told so far. It would mean that she knows that Arvin will try to poison her and knows what counter measures to take. Which would be cool! Yes, we see Emily as the perfect wife of a successful businessman in season 1. She seems to be beautiful, kind and overprotected. But I think behind that soft exterior she has a core of steel. I also feel that she would forgive Arvin *anything* - even that he tried to poison her.
All in all there is great character interaction so far in season II:
Sydney and her mom, Jack meeting Irina again for the first time, Arvin asking Jack to investigate the odd things that are happening after Emily's death. One of my favorite moments is Arvin talking to Syd about Emily's death and her response: "It's not your fault." The look on Arvin's face after this comment is priceless. :-))
On another note, I got my Firefly DVD last week, but decided to go on with watching ALIAS and then move on to Firefly. Of course, there's also Dr Who waiting for me. And I'm curious about Battlestar Galactica. And I want to finish watching the first season of Carnivale. Also haven't seen Batman Begins or War of the Worlds yet.
I don't think I need work to keep me busy. :-)
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no subject
Date: 2005-07-11 05:04 am (UTC)IMO, Irina is even better at compartmentalizing her emotions than Arvin Sloane. She may be proud of her daughter, but I don't believe she would hesitate to sacrifice her if it suited her goals.
That's the big question, and not just of this season. There is a great quote of Sloane's about Irina (and their similarities) but unfortunately it's spoilery, so I can't give it to you.
So yes, I can totally understand why he tries to set up his wife with the explosives in Madagaskar. His motives may also be selfish, of course: He wants to protect his daughter *and* he's scared of losing his daughter's affection to Irina.
Oh, I can understand it, too, but it doesn't make it less an evidence of Jack's... how shall I put this... tendency to use the US justice system to execute personal vendettas (more to come in this regard) and obsession with Irina Derevko. Because in a way, it's a twisted compliment. He is so besotted with the woman that he thinks everyone must love her most if she tries.
Will: honestly, I liked him more than Vaughn and thought in the end, Sydney would be better off with him, but I also was aware this wouldn't happen (as Vaughn is set up as the One True Loveinterest). He's certainly gone through hell and will again because of his friendship with Sydney, and never blames her for it. As for Jack and Will, I'm afraid you've seen the last scenes these two share for the entire run of the show. No more interaction.
Arvin & Emily Sloane: still no commment. The full revelation about this subplot doesn't come until episode 12, The Getaway, but the waiting is so worth it.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-12 12:38 pm (UTC)True, since he's fallen for her so hard, he thinks that everybody will find her as charming as he did.
I've watched episode 5-7 now. While I was expecting that someone would find out about his attempt to set Irina up, I was surprised that it happened so soon after the event. Afterwards I thought that Jack might have learned his lesson, i.e. that this sort of meddling can loose him the affection and trust of his daughter and his position in the CIA. But from your hint it seems as if he only learns the lesson "When you meddle, make sure you can't be caught.". (Which reminds me of Garak reinterpreting the story of the boy who cried wolf. "Never tell the same lie twice." :-))
Will: honestly, I liked him more than Vaughn and thought in the end, Sydney would be better off with him, but I also was aware this wouldn't happen (as Vaughn is set up as the One True Loveinterest).
I like Vaughn a lot, but he might get a bit boring after a while. Opposed to other characters he doesn't seem to get a true character arc, i.e. he's always presented as the same honest man who follows his conscience. While that's a wonderful trait in Real Life, on TV characters who make mistakes and learn from them are more interesting for both actors and audience.
And yes about Vaughn being the True Loveinterest. The looks he and and Sydney share... I find it so funny how everybody thinks they have more than a professional relationship going on and they are all "Why would you think such a ridiculous thing?". Hmmm, maybe the goofy looks of true love are a give away. :-)
As for Jack and Will, I'm afraid you've seen the last scenes these two share for the entire run of the show. No more interaction.
Oh, that's too bad. There was such a nice contrast in their personalities.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-12 02:43 pm (UTC)Ah yes, a lesson that Jack certainly would support.*g* As for the lessons the First Generation Spies learn about interaction with the younger generation in general, well, I somewhat flippantly summed them here (none too spoilery, those you don't know about will just sound cryptic):
http://www.livejournal.com/users/selenak/167802.html
no subject
Date: 2005-07-13 08:34 pm (UTC)I've just watched episode 8, i.e. Jack, Irina and Sydney spending some happy family time together. Or to be exact, being forced to work together on a mission. They just had some intense bonding moments while gunning down their enemies. :-)
Interesting that Sloane in the poll is named as part of the family unit as well. Does this mean he had an affair with Jack or with Irina? (As this is an US series it's more likely that it was Irina.) Of course, it might only mean that he's such a good second daddy for Sydney...
no subject
Date: 2005-07-14 05:43 am (UTC)That would be the kind of family time the SpyRents and their offspring enjoy together, yes.*g*
Does this mean he had an affair with Jack or with Irina? (As this is an US series it's more likely that it was Irina.) Of course, it might only mean that he's such a good second daddy for Sydney...
Mmmm. Still not saying anything. Except that this is as good a point as any to quote Andraste. Who, when she was at your point of watching, summed up Alias relationships like this:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/andrastewhite/221330.html#cutid1
no subject
Date: 2005-07-12 05:48 am (UTC)Amusingly enough, I HATED Will with a fiery passion in the first season only because I was afraid he was gonna die and make Syd cry. Then I adored him.
Then again, I watched the first two seasons in three days, so I didn't hate him for very long.
And can I, for one second, gush about my absolutely adoration for Jack Bristow? Because he is the most amazing character ever and I adore him. I love him when he's wrong, because he honestly, in his own way, always has Sydney's best interest at heart. And as SpyDaddy, what else can you ask for?
(A relationship with Irina! Oh, SpyRents.)
... And I rambled. Whee!
PS: SyVa forever!
no subject
Date: 2005-07-12 09:35 pm (UTC)I've watched up to episode 8 now and I can already see what you mean. Very interesting character!
And can I, for one second, gush about my absolutely adoration for Jack Bristow?
Don't stop gushing on my account! I'm right there with you. :-) Jack Bristow is The Man. No, wait, The Mom is The Man. Well, you know what I mean. ;-)