I have all ready dedicated an entire article (see the archives for October) to the fabulousness that was season 3 of Alias. I recounted episode 3.1 “The Two” last night and found myself asking many new questions in light of Vaughn’s top secret investigation into the P5.First, season 3 starts off much like the pilot. Sydney has to prove herself to her organization. In the pilot it was to keep her double agent status within SD-6 and in season 3 it was to gain leverage to have her father released from prison. Sydney’s world is upside down, as she returns to the CIA after two years missing with no memory. Vaughn is married and has left the CIA, Dixon is the new Director and Marshall and Carrie are expecting a baby. My first question is- If Vaughn was initially invested in Sydney because of her connection to the Mueller Device and Prophet 5, once she was gone and he left the CIA, what resources did he use to continue his investigation? And if he opted out of the CIA, why would Lauren have been asked to marry him? What information could he offer Lauren without CIA clearance, unless Lauren knew Sydney would eventually return?
Also, Lauren was Covenant; she had to have known Sydney was captive, that she was Julia Thorne. If Lauren knew, then why wasn’t she able to identify Sydney as Lazarey’s “killer” once she found the lease to the small office Sydney used in Rome? Essentially, Lauren was sent to the CIA as a liaison for the NSC (National Security Council). She was sent there to investigate the death of Andrian Lazarey, the man Sydney was hired to kill by the organization Lauren secretly worked for. If Lauren was also a Covenant mole inside the CIA, wouldn’t she have already known who the killer was? And why would she care so much about Vaughn keeping the truth about Sydney from her, she must have wanted Lazarey dead, she killed him! Or perhaps, she did know Sydney was the “killer” and the Covenant needed Sydney to retrace her steps in order for them to find the location of Rambaldi DNA.
I know we have talked about the carelessness of the DSR. All of the Rambaldi artifacts placed in the DSR’s possession have been either nabbed in transit or taken from their facility. Is it possible that the DSR is one of the government agencies infiltrated by P5? I know Robetron loves the idea that Kendall is a baddie, and he may very well be on to something.
Rumor Patrol: There have been many questions as to the whereabouts of Lauren’s mother, Olivia Reed. She was revealed as Covenant when Lauren refused to kill her father. Olivia disappeared after Lauren’s death and there has been no word about her since. It is rumored that Peggy Lipton, who plays Olivia Reed, has been seen on the set of Alias, along with Amy Irving, aka Emily Sloane. Michael Vartan is rumored to be signed on for 3-8 episodes and Bradley Cooper is said to be returning as Will Tippin. I will keep my eyes peeled for more news from the set, but for now, what are your thoughts on what I’ve posted?
Ohh, off of the season 3 topic- If Sloane was recuited to the same group as Bill Vaughn and James Lehman, to decipher the page of Prophet 5 does that mean the Sloane didn't know who Michael Vaughn really was because his name was changed? Or did Sloane know that Bill Vaughn changed their names? And how is it that Vaughn became Sydney's handler as a double agent in an agency that was run by an old colleague of his father? How is it that Sloane is now the only known survivor of P5?
21 comments:
Good point Jenn, maybe Lauren was sent to convince Vaughn to return. I do think it's interesting that Vaughn chose to teach French, Renee's first language.
Howdy there. I like how you are talking about Season 3 since that is what I am watching on TNT right now (well not at this exact moment, but TNT is playing Season 3). Anyway, you are right about the mix ups between why Lauren Reed was at the CIA and her purpose of being Vaughn's wife. Personally, I don't think the writers intended Lauren to be with the Covenant until later after her introduction. I think the writers realized how much the fans hated Lauren and decided to make her evil and kill her off. That's my personal opinion, although it would be awesome for the writers to wrap up all the old story lines in the last 18 episodes.
I agree KLopez, I don't think the writers initially intended for Lauren to be bad. But what a twist! The moment they showed her face after she shot Lazarey, I died! So, there might be a few inconsistancies when it comes to Lauren's purpose and what she knew about Sydney. Either way, I heart season 3! (It was a little sad to watch Syd kick ass in the first part of 3.1. I miss her kicking butt.)
Here are some recent observations and questions I picked up watching some S3 that I will throw into the mix:
In S3/E6- The Nemesis, we find out that Sloane hired Allison Doran to under go the Helix doubling and to take Francie's place. Sloane told her he would reverse engineer Helix to reverse her doubling when the job was over. So, Sloane had access to Helix and he already knew of Allison, possibly because she was a Project Christmas child.
We also find out that the Covenant wouldn't let Allison kill Syd because they wanted to retrieve something in her memory. We have assumed that what that was was the location of the Rambaldi DNA she hid before returning from Covenant "captivity."
Several questions:
1- If Sloane had access to Helix technology, did he continue to have access? Is he where Elena got it to double Irina?
2- Was the Covenant really, or also, looking for the same thing Irina and P5 were looking for in Syd's memory- Horizon?
3- If the clue to Horizon was on Vaughn's SD-6 map surely Sloane would be familiar with it. He knows things Rambaldi better than Vaughn or anyone else. If P5 has been looking for Horizon for 30 years surely Sloane knows about Horizon. If he knows about it, knowing SD-6 as well as he must have, wouldn't he have been able to put 2 and 2 together and realize that that something that was tangible enough to go on the SD-6 map was the key to Horizon's location?
And this about Kendall:
I suspect that he is knee deep into Rambaldi, maybe with the bad guys. He was the only one who knew Syd was alive and working with Covenant. I think he was using her to find Rambadli things and keeping it secret so no one else would know.
And, how else do you explain that every Rambaldi item in DSR's posession was stolen out from under them?
Bravo Uncle111. First, I missed you around here and second, nice job. Why woudn't P5 just ask Sloane about Horizon, unless he is in on all of this and whatever they retrieved from Sydney's memory is for something else. This is getting very complicated!
GS-
Glad to be back. I worked an average of 100 hours/week the 4 weeks before Christmas. I'm still a little fried, but I'm better now.
One of the things I've noticed recently is that when they throw something significant at us they put it in the middle of alot of other dialog or action so that it is harder to notice. They distract us like a magician, or a legal team that is submitting documents during discovery- they send so many documents with so many facts that it has the effect of making the important info a needle in a haystack. Don't you feel like you are looking for a needle in a haystack much of the time?
Something else I've wondered- what if the people behind Dean, the one's sloane is now beholden to, are not P5, but a high order criminal group, like the Alliance, and P5 is an altogether different group. What if Dean was stradling both?
Don't know if it is so- just a thought.
Needle in a haystack is right! So much sifting. That's why i go back and watch and re-watch. Plus, I miss Vaughn and kick-butt Syd.
I am thinking that whoever approached Sloane is not P5. They are posing as P5 or leading Sloane to believe. All we know if that whoever the group is, they wanted Dean dead. It could be anyone. We don't even know if the group that took Syd is P5.
Was I the originator of the "Kendall might be a bad guy" idea? I don't remember that. Heh, heh... I have a habit of spinning a web of theory and then forgetting all about it.
Anyway, I am posting in response to some of the thoughts people had regarding what Lauren knew and when she knew it. At this point, it's moot and we will probably never know how much she knew. On behalf of plausability, however, I would argue that, prior to her and Sark's murderous adventure, stealing all of the watches (!!!), she was very likely being treated like a lacky, just as Sark was. Probably, niether of them had access to the agendas, much less sensitive information. When Lauren married Vaughn, she was simply following orders, just like the order to pop Lazeray.
Supposing that Lauren did indeed know that Syd was the "killer" on the video (highly unlikely, considering how hard she tried to get the picture decoded and how disappointed she was when it did not work), you have to remember how difficult it is to ballance your double agent duties. She was ordered to find Lazeray's killer. Failing to make progress would draw suspicion. Giving out too much information would do the same, plus hinder the Covenant's broader agenda of finding the DNA sample. The Covenant discovered Syd's "betrayal"as well as her subsequent memory loss and set in motion the hints she needed to find what they needed so they could relieve her of it one she found it.
I am absolutely behind the theory that the 12 major government agencies that now run P5 were either behind Elena and the Covenant, and maybe even the Alliance, or (and this is my favorite) that they were competing bad-guys who have manipulated the whole cast into wiping the competition out that they may achieve the biggest agenda of the m all.
I have no idea what that would be, but it seems to me that "the greatest power" - a-la Rambaldi prophesy - better fits the 12 major Intelegence Agencies in the world, even more than a big red ball of toxic water in Svogda. Syd may be destined to render them "unto utter desolation," even at the cost of her sister's life.
How did I get on that? Oh, yeah: Lauren Reed. No, I believe the writers knew what they were going to do with her all along; they were just really sneaky about warming us up to her, knowing full-well that everyone would hate her at first. Maybe they didn't know how much information would be channeled through her character, but they were clearly drawing us in before, and for the purpose of, the shock of seeing her with the sniper riffle.
Actually, now that I think about it, I think the NSC as a whole was probably staffed with people who did not question authority, who always did things by the book, and would eventually be easy pickin's if they discovered that they were being controled by P5. Even Kendall was probably duped, along with Dixon, who put all of the security protocols in place as acting director of the L.A. division of the CIA. If Sloane was involved with P5 before the Alliance, it is likely that Jack knew about them too. Perhaps this is the reason why Jack forced Syd through project Christmas in the first place: to "give [her] a fighting chance," something neither Vaughn's father, nor Renee Rienne's father provided for them directly. Hmmm. Now I've talked myself into thinking that Jack knew about P5, perhaps about Vaughn's "private" investigation all along. Maybe this is how Irena knew about Vaughn too, who then began an effort to become a double agent for P5 in order to protect Sydney.
That theory that Irena is "only trying to protect Sydney" is wearing thin on me. It was her that induced Vaughn to fess up to Sydney in the first place. How ironic that as soon as he tries to do so, he is captured by P5. Then we find out that Irena is up the rung from Dr. Desantis in the P5 organization? There is just too much evidence that Irena set this whole thing in motion, just like Elena did in S-3, and 4.
Wow, I've been spinning quite a large web tonight. I'll quit and get your reactions.
I am assuming that if Sloane and Bill Vaughn were both working on decoding the manuscript for P5 than they would have met each other. When Sloane and Jack learned that Syd and Vaughn were under the belief that Bill Vaughn was alive still, Sloane and Jack decided to let Syd and Vaughn bring them closer to whatever they were looking for. Now, were they looking for Elena b/c of the evidence they had of Elena stalking Syd and Nadia throughout their lives or were they hoping that Syd and Vaughn would lead them to something else? Did they know that Bill Vaughn is indeed dead and that whatever their leads were had to be dead ends which someone had planted for Vaughn to discover?
Also I am sure that throughout all of this, Sloane would have seen a picture of Bill Vaughn. Had Bill Vaughn and Sloane met before, Sloane would have recognized Bill Vaughn from the P5 manuscript. Therefore he would have known who Vaughn really was.
Wow! A lot was written since my last comment. All I really have to add is to jenn256 about her not believing Lauren was intended to be evil and that the writers thought we would embrace her with open arms (I think that's what you said). Anyway, it is funny you said that because they have tried for us to embrace two subsequent women with open arms: Nadia and Rachel - Nadia's Zombaldified and Rachel...well you can draw your own conclusions. I too hope the writers didn't think we would like Lauren, but because of the inconsistencies, especially now I am rewatching Season 3, I just find no other explanation except that maybe they wanted us to believe one thing about Lauren and for something else to be true...but still it could have been consistent.
Next, Sloane vs. Sloane...and Irina vs. Irina, aren't these the two we never know if they are "good" or "evil"? I think that has been the point of the writers. Also, as for Sloane knowing about the map of SD-6, I had some one point out to me that Sloane had only been a full fledged member of the Alliance briefly and may not have known how far SD-6 reached in the same aspect of the CIA.
That's all I got for now.
Sloane and Jack were looking for Elena because they knew she was piggy backing off Sloane's seeing of the water supply in order to bring in her version of the endgame. They wanted to find her and stop her.
Another S3 mystery:
Sloane gave Syd a key and note she supposedly sent him while she was missing. The note was written in a cipher text that Jack later told Syd was devised by Irina while Syd was missing. Syd asked Jack if that meant she had contact with Irina while she was gone. Jack told her that if she did it was something Irina kept from him.
Did Syd have contact with Irina, which Irina didn't tell Jack, or was the note actually forged by Irina and fed to Syd by Sloane for some reason? If so, what was the reason, or why did Irina not tell Jack she had seen Syd?
Jess,
I do not think your assumption that Sloan and Bill Vaughn would have met if they were both working (either knowingly or unknowingly)for P5. They have a knac for annonymity, and the best way to keep people from conspiring against you is to make sure they know as little as possible about anything while you hold all the cards. Even that notwithstanding, Bill Vaughn got involved with P5 while living in France under the original name Micheaux. Sloane was working for the CIA at my supposed time that he got involved with P5. Working from different contenants is not difficult when the top 12 Intelligence Agencies of the world collaborate to run a criminal organization. Even if they had a one-in-a-million encounter with one another, it is not likely that Sloane would have known the conection between the names Micheaux and Vaughn. Besides all of that, it looks like Papa Micheaux became Bill Vaughn and got a job with the CIA before Sloane went rogue, chronologically speaking - but then again, there are plenty of flaws in the Bill Vaughn timeline, so who knows?
-R.
Uncle,
I believe it was Syd who supposed that the note with her own hand writing on it was forged by the Covenant. I don't remember the cypher text conversation that well, but if it came from Irena's invention, it could be that Elena had forcably extracted this information from Irena when devising the scheme to trick Jack into thinking he had killed Irena. This would seem to validate Syd's theory that the Covenant had set her up with the key and the note.
-R.
rob.-
When was it that Syd suggested that Covenant might have set her up? Sloane told Syd he received the items the day before she reappeared. If that was not true, then Sloane lied to her and was either working with Covenant to set her up after she came back or did it himself. Covenant could not have known what day Syd was going to be back have and gotten the items to Sloane in time to make it look like Syd sent them to him. And, why would Sloane wait till right before Syd was going to need a place to run to because his former employee, Sark, was going to feed the intel about Syd and Lazarey to Lauren?
Someone was trying to set Syd up to be caught. The more I write on this the more it seems obvious that Sloane was involved in the scheme. The question is, did he know of Irina's cipher text from Irina and forge it himself, did he and Irina do it together, or is it evidence that he was working with Elena? Could Sloane have used Sark to set her up to get caught so he could then worm his way back into Syd and Jack's circle by helping her escape?
Whichever it is, it seems to me that Syd would have figured out that Sloane was involved in setting her up and gone after him.
Roberton,
My impression was that the people working to decode the manuscript for P5 must have met each other because how else would Bill Vaughn have known that once it was decoded, the people involved started dying of "accidents". If they hadn't met each other than Bill Vaughn wouldn't have known how to contact Lehman to advise him to change his name and disappear with his family.
What are your thoughts?
Uncle,
I don't remember specifically when she mentioned it, but it was somwhere near her conversation with Kendall on the plane. I would have to go back and watch. It always seemed vague at best, but somehow or other, Sloane was exonerated from that particular set-up.
Jess,
It is still only a theory hat Sloane was blackmailed into doing P5's bidding early on, or that he was recruited along with the others, be we know he was recriuted by someone to do when when working for the Army Corp of Engineers. Whether he ever met or knew of Bill Vaughn's association with P5 or not is impossible to know. Assuming that they must have met at some point just because others who worked for P5 did meet is fallable logic. It is completely plausable that Sloane never knew him, even if he did know of Micheal Vaughn's former identity (which, I don't know about that either).
-R.
WOW ya'll, great conversations going on! I love this stuff, keep blogging away!
Okay, here is what I've put together from the input I've received thus far:
During at least some of the time Syd is "missing" Irina is Elena's captive.
During at least some of the time Syd is "missing" Jack thinks he is communicating with Irina to try and find Syd.
Sometime during Irina's captivity and before his arrest and imprisonment Elena sets Jack up to kill someone he thinks is Irina because he thinks Irina has put a hit on Syd.
A few episodes after Syd returns Sloane gives Syd a key and a note written in a cipher text Sloane said he was not able to break. Sloane tells Syd that he received it the day Syd reappeared.
Jack tells Syd that the cipher text is one that Irina invented during Syd's absence.
Some questions:
1- How much do the events above overlap in a timeline and where are the gaps between them?
2- If the note was actually written by Syd in a cipher that Irina invented then in order to be able to use the cipher to encode her message to herself Syd must have had contact with Irina, or someone who appeared to be Irina, while she was missing.
3- If it was Irina, why did she not mention to Jack that she had had contact with Syd? If it was not Irina was it her double and was Elena the author of the cipher and was she and manipulating Syd?
4- If Syd really sent the items to Sloane for him to give her once she returned, why did he wait so long to give them to her? It's not likely that anyone would have known when Syd would have returned, making it unlikely they could have timed getting the items to Sloane the day she showed up. Did he, or Elena prepare the items after Syd reappeared as a manipulation?
5- If Sloane is lying about the items, is he working with Elena, or is he doing this himself to manipulate Syd?
6- Why send or give these items to Syd, and why now? Sloane and Irina's former (?) employee, Sark, is fixing to get Syd arrested by giving intel to the NSC that would put Syd on the run, and give NSC a good idea where she might hide out. The key Sloane gave Syd is to the apartment they find her at; the note is the address of the apt. About the time Syd arrives at the apt. in Rome Lauren tells Dixon they know where Syd is. Did Sloane or Sark give them the address? Were they herding Syd to the apartment to aid in her capture or to jog her memory, or both? Taped to the underside of a desk in the apt. was a coded note that turned out to be the location of a box with Lazaray's hand in it, which was the consequence of a major Rambaldi discovery by Syd and Lazaray- the DNA.
7- Covenant is after information in Syd's memory. Is it the location of the Rambaldi DNA that she hid before having her memory wiped, or is it Horizon? Are they using NSC to use the invasive surgery to extract the information? Is that why they got Syd captured?
8- After breaking Syd out Jack helps her find the location on the note found in the apt. The only thing it revealed was that Lazaray was still alive after Syd supposedly killed him. But, how did the hand get buried in the box? Syd had to cut it off because it was caught in part of the Rambaldi vault. The cave was caving in and it was the only way to get Lazaray out alive. They couldn't go back and retrieve it after the cave in, and if they could it would serve no purpose to bury it. Did Sloane or Elena, in search of the DNA, what followers considered the holy grail of Rambaldi artifacts, finally locate the cave, excavate it and find the hand? Did they then bury it and place the note in "Julia Thorn's" Rome apt, herd Syd there where it would be found, Syd would be caught and memories be revived? Or could it have been Kendall trying to recover what Syd had denied him by hiding it and then having her memory wiped?
Well,I'm in the middle of "Full Disclosure" and Syd just suggested to Kendall that Covenant planted the location of Lazaray's hand in the apt. to lead her to Lazaray and then to the DNA. So, she thinks someone is leading her along. I think Sloane has to be involved in it because of the timing of him giving her the note and key. He is afterall working inside Covenant as a "double agent."
Here are some related questions that no one has put answers together for in a systematic timeline:
Where on the timeline is Syd taken by the Covenant and where is Irina taken by Elena/Covenant. Where does each escape?
It may be easier to say, "Syd was taken in month 1, Irina was taken in month_(16-18?)_____, Syd came back in month_(18-20?)_____, Irina was freed in month_(35-37?)_____. I think we'll see that Irina was free for some amount of time while Syd was gone and that Irina and Jack could have worked together, and that Syd and Irina could have worked together.
I don't remember the exact number of months each was gone or I'd do the math myself, but I'm pretty sure it works out so that Irina was not taken by Elena until shortly before Syd comes back
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