Friday, January 06, 2006

The Order of Rambaldi

Ana Espinoza, Andrian Lazarey, and many others past and present have shown great loyalty toward protecting Rambaldi’s Passenger. It is assumed that they have been protecting her from Sydney, her sister and the Chosen One. And though both sisters find the prophecy about their battle absurd, Rambaldi’s prophecies have been holding true. Except this one:

"This woman here depicted will possess unseen marks. Signs that she will be the one to bring forth my works. Bind them with fury, a burning anger unless prevented at vulgar cost this woman will render the greatest power unto utter desolation. This woman, without pretense, will have had her effect, never having seen the beauty of my sky behind Mt. Subasio. Perhaps a single glance would have quelled her fire."

Sydney did possess these unseen marks (size of her heart and DNA), but Vaughn and Jack were able to free Sydney from DSR custody and whisk her away to the views of Mt. Subasio. Sydney became another Rambaldi “articfact” the DSR was unable to hold on to. As I re-read the prophecy, I see perhaps an alternative interpretation. Sydney has possessed great power. She was able to bring down SD-6, the Covenant and is on her way to ridding the world of P5, but all to her own personal desolation. She’s been bound with fury and a burning anger, as evil after evil has taken 2 years of her life, placed her sister in a coma and “killed” her one true love. Perhaps the “works” Rambaldi speaks of is the work of peace, of ridding the world of anger and hate. Wasn’t that what Sloane’s objective was related to Rambaldi? To put additives in the water supply to alter the human condition, to bring forth peace and generosity? Was PEACE not the message Sloane received from El Dire (The Telling)?

Rambaldi predicted that there would to be a historical moment that was to take place on a certain date, at a certain time. Kendall and the CIA, along with the DSR (led by Director Brandon and Kerry Bowman) dispersed teams to track down what they thought was an explosive device. It was the De Regno Heart. As they obtained the heart, simultaneously Sloane received the news from Conrad the monk, that he had a daughter, the Passenger. That was the historical moment. This was followed by Sloane’s streak of redemption, this quest for peace and for finding his daughter. It was not a historic moment of destruction or war, it was a historic moment that led Sloane to Omni-Fam (helping millions of people world wide).

We have been operating under the assumption that Sydney is the one of evil predicted by Rambaldi. Those protecting Nadia have made it seen as if Nadia’s the one who will save them, that Sydney must be stopped. Irina told Sydney, before she jumped from the building at the end of season 2, that was indeed The Chosen One, that she was the only one who could stop the evil, and she did. She was able to bring down the giant Mueller Device in Svogda, but only to be confronted by P5 and the possibility of Vaughn’s betrayal. I can only conclude that Rambaldi’s prophecy above is only half true, due mainly to Sydney’s visit to Subasio. How can we explain the inconsistency? Is it a plot whole? Is she truly the Chosen One?

As for the battle between sisters, I can only imagine that the prophecy will be shown in the last few episodes of this season. The symbol of Rambaldi was explained in season 4. Sydney said her mother was on tape talking to an unidentified man about the symbol. The two < symbolize Irina’s daughters, Sydney and Nadia and the O symbolizes the object over which they will do great battle, with each other. Perhaps they will not do great battle physically; perhaps Sydney will have to battle internally with the idea of sacrificing her sister in order to save the world or vice versa. How will this play into the group that is blackmailing Sloane with a cure? If Nadia is to be sacrificed, then what will this group have over Sloane?

What are your ideas? What do you think of my interpretation of the prophecy in regards to Sydney’s power? What to you predict will be the outcome? Is Rambaldi’s work about peace?

13 comments:

Girlscout said...

Oh Jenn, you're such an awesome blogger! I always love hearing what you have to say! I really don't think Syd and Nadia will fight. I think we might have misinterpreted the prophecy. Also, I just talked to Elyse and she mentioned that maybe Rambaldi's prophecy wasn't meant to be for the entire world, that Sydney would bring desolation. Perhaps it was written to the people that would follow him in a negative way, the Ana's and the Sark's and such. Perhaps she would bring unto them utter desolation. I like that idea.

Girlscout said...

Jenn, she did get the DVD's. She called and said they were so pretty and shiny in their packaging. She is sending along a little note to you. She will be watching tonight I am sure. I am goign to rewatch season 3 this weekend. I feel like a lot of the answer will be there. It was a Rambaldi soaked season. And yeah, I think she will bring down everyone who tried to turn his prophecies into the negative, and that is a lot!!

Anonymous said...

I just so happen to think the picture looks an awful lot like Tracy Nelson ...

and I'm too embarrassed that I said that to even leave my name.

: )

Anonymous said...

She killed Noah, the guy who was called "Snowman". She also killed some guy as a test for the covenant so that they would believe she had become Julia Thorne.

Girlscout said...

Well, Sydney didn't necessarily have to kill people in order the bring down their organization. She went on the plane to gain access to server 47 to bring down SD-6. She tracked Lauren to the Covenant dig site and Vaughn followed and he killed Lauren. She destroyed the red ball over Svogda. So, she has brought down the evil, not just by killing.

Anonymous said...

The greatest power? Who or what is this great power? From what I know now, it seems that the only greatest power that I can think of is P5. P5 consists throughout the world, in many organizations and governments. If that's not great power (from a position of authority), then I don't know what is. Could P5 be the thing that she'll bring down, creating utter desolation. Bring down countless members of P5 would have to have some sort of effect on the world and the people in it. For one thing, they have been controlling god knows what...weapons, policies, etc. What do you think of this theory? Do you have some to add?

**And oh, girlscout/hellosark please, please talk about Season three. I'm currently rewatching it for the third time and I have so many theories and tidbits that I'd like to shoot out and let people knock down.

Girlscout said...

I am on it rudy!! I am watching season 3 all weekend, so I will be back with some good stuff come Monday! I can't wait!

As for the great power, I think Rambaldi meant her own personal power, but your idea is interesting. When watching season 3, write down anything Rambaldi, anything related to the prophecy and maybe we can, together, make a few connections. Homework people!

uncle111 said...

I'm not sure they have actually given us enough information to know the answers. Are parts of Rambaldi's prophesy yet to be uncovered- things that would radically change what we think we know?

So far it seems that ALL of the followers of Rambaldi have been people you would not want to bring home to Mom. They are people who would do ANYTHING to be in control and bring about their version of his endgame. It makes one wonder if the Church might not have been correct in getting rid of him.

Having said that, I still think there is something very intriguing about it all. I love the mental exercise, plus I love a mystery, especially if it flirts with transendency.

I suspect that if they are going to shut the series down that we are in for a very interesting ride and may discover there are very important pieces of the who-is-Rambaldi-and-what-does-he-really-want puzzle that we have not been shown, and that will change a lot of our understanding of things Rambaldi, and things Alias.

uncle111 said...

I've put a little more thought into this, but I don't know that I've got solid answers, just observations about the big picture. I'll keep thinking and may expand this to specifics related to the characters and the prophecy.

Milo Rambaldi- architect, inventor, prophet. His prophesies give him the mystique of a transcendent being, but his inventions threaten the existence of humanity. It is because of his inventions that we
even know his name, but it was his inventions that led to his death as a heretic. His followers have a fanatical devotion to fulfilling his prophesies, but their focus is not that of the followers of other enlightened prophets. They are not devoted to propagating a view of human behavior that calls all men to live in peace as brothers, they are consumed with acquiring Rambaldi's advanced technology in hopes of dominating the world, being the one who fulfilled the prophesies and brought in the endgame, killing whoever stands in their way and acquiring large off shore bank accounts along the way. And all this is motivated by a few coded passages written by Rambaldi in the 1500's.

Rambaldi is not just important to Alias, he is central. Certain core characters are mentioned in Rambaldi's writings, almost as if they are his inventions. We have not seen all of Rambaldi's writings that have been seen by the characters, but we can deduce the who is mentioned from the events we have witnessed. We know The Chosen One is mentioned. We assume from all that has been said that it is Sydney. We know The Passenger is mentioned. We assume from all that has been said that it is Nadia. One of the Rambaldi devices had Irina's name engraved into it, and, if we are to believe Sloane, her name was written by Il Dire, one of Rambaldi's mechanical devices. When Sloane was given the documents about The Passenger by Conrad, afterwards he was completely convinced that he and Jack would work together again, as if it was also mentioned in The Passenger document. And, based on things Conrad told Sloane, Sloane must be mentioned, or inferred, in The Passenger document.

Various Rambaldi documents predict various events in world history spanning 500 years. We don't know if these events were "merely" foreseen by Rambaldi or if they were actually caused by his followers, making them self fulfilling because of their pursuit of his inventions and the hidden meanings in his writings. But, we must consider his inventions, as well as his writings and other artifacts, as central to the mystery as Rambaldi is to the story. What are the Rambaldi inventions that have shaped the scavenger hunt history of Alias and what do they tell us about Rambaldi and, more intriguing, the future of Alias?

The first Rambaldi invention we see is what later became known as the Circumphrence, or "the big red ball thingy." It was also referred to as the Mueller device. We saw it in the first episode of the first season, the blockbuster last episode of the fourth season, and in numerous episodes in between. It must be considered, so far, the most important of Rambaldi's inventions.

Second in importance is Il Dire, powered by the DiRegno heart. This invention delivered a message to Sloane by way of writing on a roll of 500 year old paper. If we are to believe Sloane (I say with tongue in cheek), the machine produced several yards of blank paper before writing a single word- Peace. We find out eventually that the name Irina is derived from the word peace, and we can be certain that Sloane has seen, and still has in his possession, yards of Rambaldi's writings produced by Il Dire on the supposed blank paper.

There is another item which is invention/artifact and is considered the "holy grail" by followers of Rambaldi. It is the item that caused Sydney to have her memory erased before coming back from Covenant "captivity." It is a bottle of living DNA from Rambaldi himself. Stolen from DSR, the Covenant uses it to try to create a Rambaldi descendant by using it to fertilize some of the eggs they harvested from Sydney while she was with them.

The green fluid. When injected with it Nadia unconciously wrote out a message that led to the location of the Sphere. Upon touching the Sphere Nadia had a vision of the horror that was to come in Svbogda because of Elena's use of the Circumpherence.

What do these things tell us about Rambaldi? I'm not sure. I do think it tells us that Rambaldi's followers are not to be trusted. If this is the sum of followers who are more dedicated to his technology than they are to their neighbors or even their families, what does that say about Rambaldi's belief that someday we would know God through science? Where will Rambaldi push Alias? In the end, who will turn out to be good and who will turn out to be bad. Is the world destined for heaven or hell and which character will save it if it can be saved

Anonymous said...

Very interesting. I read your blogs all the time with great interest.

SRM said...

Hi all! I'm back, boy you guys were busy last week! Lots to catch up on, just wanted to say hi. :)

ps, GS, cute picture!

Girlscout said...

Okay, all I am waiting for my roomie to e-mail some files I worked on over the weekend! I got some great stuff from season 3. There are more questions than answers, but definitely some stuff to think about. So, give me an hour and I will have something new up!PS. Thanks SRG, welcome back! We missed you around here!!

SRM said...

Thanks GS! I'm excited to read your s3 posts :)