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:: Alias season 3 ::
by William the Bloody
Last season, on Alias:
Sydney and the CIA topple the evil organization known as SD-6 and its head, Arvin Sloane, is on the run. Sydney's dreams of romance with her CIA handler, Michael Vaughn are realized, and all is going well. Then, Sydney discovers that her best friend Francie has been killed and replaced with an evil double who just stabbed her other chum Will, and oh my god he's bleeding to death in the bath tub, but before she can act, Evil Francie is on top of her and a huge battle ensues. Both women fight to the point of exhaustion, but Sydney comes out on top, having shot Francie before she herself tumbles into unconsciousness. Sydney wakes up in an alley. The last thing she remembers is fighting Francie's double, but now she's in an alley. In China. She calls into the CIA who direct her to a safehouse where an agent will collect her shortly. Vaughn arrives, only to inform her that it is now two years after that fight with evil Francie, her house had been torched and a body was recovered with Sydney's DNA, everyone believes her to be dead, Vaughn is now married and retired from active duty, her only other friend Will survived and is now is the Witness Protection Program, and her father is an enemy of the state and in prison. Yes, it was the cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers.
The writer's answer to "what do we do with the show now that SD-6 has been brought down" is to now focus the show on Sydney's life in ways we never could have imagined before. Two years of her memory is gone and she's desperate to find it. Piece by piece she discovers more about her whereabouts, as she uncovers video surveillance and comes across people who knew her during that period as a completely different person, Julia Thorne. Sydney isn't sure she likes what she sees of herself as Julia, especially when it comes out that Julia is wanted for killing a Russian diplomat. This season brings in another mysterious organization who is responsible for Sydney's lost time, The Covenant. Their interest in Sydney lies with her ties to the Rimbauldi artifacts, and they're rather hard core about that sort of thing. And as news of the ultimate Rimbauldi creation, The Passenger, spreads, all sides will stop at nothing to attain it.
The Good: The superb writing, directing and acting continue, as do the non stop action episodes! Sydney's reliance and overall relationship with her father grows into something that feels very real. Dixon was promoted to head of their CIA office, and I always felt he was the most level headed, reasonable and patriotic of the bunch, so this was a great step. Tech-geek Marshall is back and gets his second field mission, which was both comical and central to the plot. The ongoing clues to Sydney's missing two years do a great job of egging on your curiosity and make you just as anxious to learn the truth as Sydney. The return of Quentin Tarentino as a key Covenant player was terrific, as were the additions of Vivica Fox and Isabella Rosallini. The search for the Rimbauldi antiquities alongside the quest for Sydney's life make for one action packed, edge of your seat adventure.
The Bad: Unfortunately, Sydney's mother doesn't appear at all this season. I was very disappointed with this, especially since she and Jack seemed to have built up a good relationship during Sydney's missing years. The slating of Sloane as the double agent working for the Covenant but really working for the CIA seemed tired to me. Really, this show has already played the double agent card many times over. The Sydney-Vaughn-Vaughn's wife triangle really didn't do it for me at all. It just seemed awkward and generally awful. I really don't care for that aspect of the show. Dixon's promotion to head of office, while a logical and satisfying one also took away the awesome Sydney-Dixon in the field dynamic. They had years of experience together, and in the past, you could really feel it, but now they partner her with Weiss, or another guy, which just isn't the same.
Overall, the stories were taught, suspenseful, and action packed, and it's just what you're looking for in a spy thriller. Some unfortunate writing decisions regarding character development were there, but scattered in small doses. If ongoing international spy adventure is what you seek, look no further.
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