Tuesday, May 23, 2006

To Speak Ill of the Dead

What I am about to say may be rather upsetting for some of you. I have been very loyal to Alias and ABC, and have been very adamant about keeping the blog positive and intelligent. However, I do not feel that Alias and ABC fulfilled their prophecy. What I experienced for 2 hours tonight was not Alias and I was surprised to read the many comments about "satisfaction" and "happy ending."

I have decided not to post as of yet. I am still in the process of evaluating the show I just watched and it would be unfair of me to approach the recap while the air is still thick with disappointment. I will say that I am happy for our heroine and her beach front bliss, but I feel that the very foundation of the show (the creativity, the complexity and the completely shocking plot twists), the very factors that attracted us to the program in the first place, where lost and forgotten in the most important episode- the finale.

I understand that everyone is entitled to their opinions and their feelings- especially about Alias and especially here at Let's Talk. If you were left satisfied by the ending, if you cried and felt closure, than perhaps I am jealous. After five years of infatuation with the many jaw-dropping, fist-pumping, 3am DVD marathon moments of Alias, tonight's episode was equivelent to a slow balloon leak. It deflated, and frankly, I did too.

I am going to go to bed now- after Starbucks Mom and I finish eating the contents of her refridgerator. We are sad and disappointed that our favorite show was wittled down to two hours of glorified fluff and feeble attempts to disguise itself as the old Alias. Have no fear- my recap will house all the explaination and support for my feelings.Then we can all cry together and pray for a spin-off.

Love you all- good night.
Sincerely,
Your Blogmaster, GS... and Starbucks Mom

PS. Sara and Des, your pics were great! I will post them soon!!

30 comments:

Desiree said...

I totally understand how you feel about the ending GS. I must admit I was happy with the ending last night just because I was so worried about who was going to die. I love that Syd was going to be able to have a "noraml" family with all of its parental units...but since I went to bed and now have woken up due to a very energetic 10 month old. I have reevaluated how I feel. I too have way too many questions and feelings of "What the...??" Maybe they were allowing for spin off options or whatever.I don't know. I feel a little in limbo. I wasn't necessarily disappointed in the finale and yet, I wasn't happy with it either. This is too complicated. I think that JJ had other ideas but maybe because of time restraints he wasn't able to finish in Alias fashion. So he opted for a sloppy second. I don't know. I am sure Sara and I will rewatch the finale again. I will ramble with her....It will save some blog space for everyone else:)

Unknown said...

Sigh... I'm so very disappointed. After the first hour, I was very excited 'cause I thought the first hour was really leading into something. But then... I feel completely let down. And confused. Very confused. I thought I might be the only one, but apparantly not.

Desiree said...

I think that they should do an interview with JJ and give him a chance to tell his ending to the story. They could put it on the S5 DVD set. Man that would sell like hotcakes...(Who came up with that saying????)
PS Dixons hair was not so great.What was up with that?

Sarafu said...

As a laid in bed last night I was thinking of all the questions that we wanted answered and I felt like I didnt get an answer to most of them. I was wondering if it was stuff I didnt catch and I would come this morning and read all the insightfull stuff that all of you took from the eppy. Alas, that is not the case. JJ has to know more than he put in the episode. He couldnt of put all that stuff out there with no conclusion at least in his head. I mean, little things even like how the #47 has haunted us for 5 years. Thats just one of many things I am wondering now if we will ever know.
I'm a loyal fan but have mixed feelings and LOTS of questions!

SKlaft said...

Sara,
If you watch LOST at all you will notice that the number 47 is repeatedly used all over the place too. It has nothing to do withthe ALIAS story. It has to do with JJ Abrams' fraternity in college. It's a "shout-out" to his college pals in film school, if I am not mistaken. Its fun to try to catch it when it is used, but it really has not bearing on any of the shows. I'm told by mathmeticians that 47 is the most used random number, and it is also a prime number.

SKlaft said...

I am seeing a lot of people who say they have questions that went unanswered, but what are they? Are they really plot holes, or are they just little curiosities that you wished the show had time to address?

The Cardinal was a contact of Tom's when he was involved with the other investigations that distracted him and winded up geting his wife killed. He really had nothing to do with the story. Tom never worked for P5. That whole story line was to let us see that he and Rachel were drawing closer romantically, but that Tom had some very serious intimacy issues due to his past. The secret in his file when he was first introduced was that his wife had been murdered and he was something less than stable because of it.

What else? I agree the end was way-so-too rushed, but at least they didn't close the door without any kind of closure at all. Maybe we can help each other with whatever questions may be linguering?

Unknown said...

So was Syd the Chosen One? I'm confused. And the Horizon? What was that? Certainly it wasn't that sphere thing? That wouldn't have fit in that package they retrieved from the safety deposit box. And why did Jack even go down in that cave? He was aware enough to see Syd shoot and "kill" Sloane. Why did he even have to go back down there? His death was senseless to me. And Irina shows up for like, the last 20 minutes and is all... It's all about power, I tried to warn you, but I still love you... Whatever. That was a complete letdown!!

Sarafu said...

Robby-
Thanks for clearing up the 47 thing!

Paul Kremer said...

Wow, I have to say that I am actually quite shocked. I'm surprised so few people enjoyed the ending! Were we really expecting ALIAS to be tied up into a nice little bow? When has ALIAS EVER been wrapped up into a nice little bow? GS, I remember you saying in the past how much you loved the way the writers left some things hanging (such as the Ariana Kane episode) "Interesting theory....or not."

I for one was completely and utterly satisfied with the ending! I laughed at Marshall, I cried at the final exchange between Sydney and Jack (you have to admit that was well acted), and I laughed again when Sloane was trapped under a mountain of rock! Sloane beat death, but couldn't beat Jack! Classic!

I am going to have to take the next several days and put my thoughts together and post it on my own blog, they are far too long to do so here. I really feel, however, the mythology and the holes were "fixed" and "explained" rather well. Sydney never did see the beauty of Rambaldi's sky behind Mt. Subasio, and Sloane's quest for immortality was correct and achieved...only to receive what I can only assume was a wish for death! He will have eternity to regret his poor decisions and selfish ambition. Also, Sydney, "the Chosen One" rendered the greatest power unto utter desolation.

Jack faced off with Sloane, Sydney faced off with Irina, Vaughn faced off with Sark, all of them classic battles that have surfaced and resurfaced throughout the series. Rambaldi was right, only this time the good guys came out on top in every battle.

I also loved the flashbacks, especially the flashback of Sydney telling Jack about her job at Credit Dauphine. It was so unbelievably rich in meaning. Truth indeed takes time (although I know that's not what Irina meant, hehe).

I am sincerely hoping your initial disappointment will be chalked up to overhyping the finale in your mind beforehand, and upon rewatching it and catching the subtleties that I feel I did, you will end up as satisfied as I was. Otherwise, I truly feel sorry that ALIAS ended for you with a small pop.

Unknown said...

Thanks Steph, for agreeing. I expected Irina to die, but not like that. Yes, their dynamics usually are so emotional and it really did seem flat and pointless. I would have thought that they would have taken more time with that.

SKlaft said...

Syd was "the Chosen One" according to Rambaldi, but apparently Rambaldi's prophesies can be thwarted.

The "Horizon" was the sphere. The thing in the safety deposit box was a manuscript that led to the discovery of the sphere. Irena had been working on that offscreen and off radar. The thought that she would trade it for nukes which she would use to blow up Washington and London... well that makes you grit your teeth and say "Okay, for the sake of getting Irena in the last episode, fine."

Jack going into the cave only needs a very minor explanation and any plausable one will do. For me, I suppose that he was near enough to the mouth of the cave to hear Sloane, whome he thought was dead, talking to Nadia. He went to finish the job.

The amulet needed to have the rays of the sun shinning through it in just the right place on Mt Sabasio to reveal how and where to take the Horizon and place it in the right spot in order to have the desired effect. Exactly what would have happened if Syd would have left it alone, we will never know. It simply produced the fluid that gave Sloane back his life and immortality to boot.

Anyone have anything else?

SKlaft said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Paul Kremer said...

Perhaps it is my analytical nature (hehe), but I'm curious what was left hanging for you? I've seen a lot of disappointment expressed, but very few questions. I too will not deny the ending felt rushed, but there wasn't a lot of choices for the writers, and I refuse to start a bitter diatribe against ABC. ABC doesn't exist in the world of ALIAS, and as far as the story goes, I still feel it was well done.

As far as people feeling the ending battles were anticlimactic, I must ask what were you expecting? Were you expecting Sydney to turn into Jackie Chan and Irina to turn into Neo and for them both to start doing Matrix moves? Perhaps all you were expecting was a classic fight ala Syd and the Francinator. But you have to ask: What would have satisfied you? If your answer is, "I don't know, but what I saw didn't," isn't it possible nothing would have?

In any case, I'm not trying to start an argument, I sincerely hope I can help you fill in any questions or disappointment you have. ALIAS has been a part of our lives for quite a while, and like I said, I'd hate to see it go out for you like this. :)

Paul

PS - Maybe we can make a list of questions, and try to help each other answer them.

SKlaft said...

Already on it, Paul.
Glad you're with me.
-R.

Paul Kremer said...

Just another quick thought:

Sloane was never after power...he was after immortality. Hence he gladly gave Irina what she wanted in exchange for the Horizon...not realizing that Irina had hired Sark to steal it from him in the end anyway.

Irina was after immortality AND power. This was her end game the entire time. She was involved with Prophet 5 the entire time, and her entire search this entire 5 seasons long was to end up in the position we found her at in the end. She had immortality with the Horizon, and she had Prophet 5's control over the world.

We (being the Americans we are) incorrectly assumed "the greatest power" referred to the USA...kind of arrogant, yes? Irina became the greatest power! Imagine...an immortal being with control over the most powerful 12 nations on the planet. And Sydney rendered the greatest power unto utter desolation.

RUDY said...

What really bother me was that ABC would let us believe that Sydney would leave her father's body down there in that rubble. I don't think so? And so naturally Sloane would have been dug out, too, right? Am I right in this thinking?

Paul Kremer said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Paul Kremer said...

I don't think so rudy...:)

Remember how Jack died? He had explosives around his body. There is no body anymore. Sydney would never have found it even if she had dug. And the whole point of the ending is that Sloane would be trapped for eternity under those rocks, plenty of time to think about the course of action that led him there.

And lhaaheim, I haven't said anything until now, but I don't understand what questions you could still have about Bill Vaughn? We spent most of ALIAS believing Irina killed him...then Elena tried to make Vaughn believe he was still alive, but that it was a ruse! Irina killed Bill Vaughn years ago, this has been established since Season 4...what more closure could there be?

Paul

Anonymous said...

I think the frustrations expressed are because of the relationships shattered. We all want Syd to be happy. We want to believe that good is worth fighting for and will triumph in the end. It's built into us as human persons. In the course of five seasons Syd went through so much with her parents and now there's no more opportunity for those relationships to progress - good or bad. Especially with Jack. For me, any frustration comes from the fact that Jack is dead. Why did he need to die? He and Syd have finally established a close father-daughter relationship this season as Jack was the one who was there for her during her pregnancy. His love for Isabelle brought a humanity to Jack we'd only seen hints of before. A softening, a glimpse of tenderness...Now Izzy has lost a loving grampa. It seems too cruel for Syd to lose him now - how much can one girl take?

But then I thought, Syd has been controlled and haunted by her conflicting feelings regarding her parents most of her life. Perhaps the only way for her to have a normal life was for them to be out of her life. Perhaps the only way for Syd & Vaughn to have a functional, healthy relationship is for Jack and Irina to be out of the picture. Irina because she truly was evil and amoral and irredeemable and she killed Vaughn's dad, and Jack because his influence and psychological control in Syd's life was so profound her loyalty would always be split and no relationship can survive that kind of outside influence.

The frustration is that now there is no more chance for parental relationships to progress and grow - yet "baby Jack" is a sweet tribute and a sign that Syd was able to move on and give her dad the place of honor and love he ultimately earned.

Anonymous said...

Only really disappointed with the last ten minutes.

Now, I would have loved to see some big massive conspiracy by spymom/dad to transform sydney into the prophecy fulfiller and stuff like that, but Dad's motives were ok with me. And the line about "you beat death, but you couldn't beat me." With the smirk. Gotta love that!

But Irina's endgame was "world domination." Eh. And had that whole scene been expanded to maybe 30 minutes with Irina doing a little recap for us in the stands. I think that would have rounded things out nicely.

Also a little disappointed in Prophet 5s demise. Are these guys so dumb as to believe that a call to "hey, let's all meet and I'll give you the Rambaldi stuff" is not some kind of trap? DUH! Disappointing for the 12 most powerful people on the planet.

Anyway, rushing the ending is the only MAJOR complaint I have.

SRM said...

I'm still not quite sure how to feel...I've been home sick the last two days with a sinus infection, so I don't think my mind is comprehending everything at the moment. I'm hesitant to form an opinion yet, but my initial reaction was "huh...ok". I guess I feel let down as well but I can't quite pinpoint why, I think I need to let this digest a little longer and do some rewatching...

Anonymous said...

I'm totally with you, GS. This is the biggest let down for me since the end of the Xfiles, the whole thing was a big fat cliché : Sydney ends up on a beach bare feet and pregnant, and Isabelle is a mini Syd, like I didn't see that coming, who gave her the 3-D puzzle ? Honestly, at this point I don't care

Jack died saving his baby girl and also the world, JJ just loves to give us the same *beep* over and over again : he used the exact same plot in Armageddon, did we really need to waste time on a crappy budding romance between the newbies with so many plot holes ? I think not !

on the rehashed plot front, let's talk about Irina : in season 4, she prevented the end of the world and world domination by Sloane and Elena, and in season 5, she wanted world domination with Sloane. In two episodes, maternal instinct and the finale they managed to completely deny everything we've seen regarding Irina for the past, what happened to "your mother would never hurt you", "my love for you and your father was not a contrivance", she searched for nadia for 25 years, and never even mentioned her death, and "truth takes time" was just about power ? This is so lame !
They worked so hard after season 2 to get Lena Olin back on the show, and they rewarded her and the fans by turning Irina at the last minute into a moronic psycho, what a waste of her talent and of an awesome character

I'm really sorry I wasted 5 years on this show, I have a feeling Lena Olin and Victor Garber must be pretty disappointed too, she always said that she thought that Irina was good, and after season 4, she wanted to explore Irina's relationship with Jack, and look what she got, I'm surprised sheeven accepted to shoot this crap of an ending.As for Victor Garber even if he said in the interview with Kistin that he was "at peace" with the finale he must feel cheated too, the ending showed such disrespect for the characters and the fans that it makes me sick, I'm glad I've never watched Lost, because I'm pretty sure it will become crap just like Alias did, I'm never watching anything with JJ name on it, he fooled me once, but I won't let it happen again.

Girlscout said...

mysostis- I agree on some of your points, especially about Irina. However, through thick and thin, I am a JJ loyalist first and foremost. Aside, JJ did not write or direct this finale and cannot be held full accountable for the 2 hours. I do agree that he should have had a hand in the finale, as it was the show that made him and Lost, and MI.

Paul Kremer said...

Wow...I guess rather than instantly assume something is a plot hole, I look to see if what we now know can be reconciled with the information we already have.

People were furious with "My name is not Michael Vaughn," too, but with more explanation it is no longer an issue. We can reconcile what we know now with the information we already have.

Irina did not turn into a psycho freak in the final season. She has been that same psycho freak the entire time! She is an expert at manipulating people. We've known better since she walked into the scene at the end of season 1 than to take anything she said at face value, and had that reinforced OVER AND OVER again throughout season 2.

Yes, she shut down Elena, but that was because Elena's plan would have destroyed her own. She wanted the world the way it was so she could take control of it, Elena wanted an apocalypse. Of course she helped take her down.

And in spite of her power hungry ways, Irina DOES love Sydney and Jack. She saved Sydney's baby, and at the end, "In spite of all of this, I really do love you." It was the same for Sloane. He really did love Nadia, however he was too power hungry to stop himself. I believe Irina did love Sydney, but nobody was going to stand in her way. It was her hunger for the power the Horizon offered that ended her life anyway. Sydney didn't kill her.

So in conclusion, I believe the ending can be reconciled with the past. She used everyone for her own purposes, kiling her sister and manipulating Jack and Syd. I don't see a plot hole here.

Paul

Anonymous said...

JJ was the one who thought Lauren was a good idea, he was also the one that came up with the Sloane and Irina affair, he is the one that turned Alias into a soap opera. Listening to Jeff Pinker talking about the importance of characters on a drama show, and seeing what they did to the characters last night pisses me off, just like when he said that despite everything they pulled off on Alias, the audience kept coming back,I feel really cheated, and I feel that they gave neither the characters nor the actors the respect they deserved, all the actors seemed off last night, and I don't blame them

Anonymous said...

Of course i will move on Ihaaheim, It's just a TV show, but after all the hype about how the finale would do the show justice,what they considered the ultimate accolade to the fans was just a disappointment, except may be for the vaughn and Sydney fans, but I expected more even from Sydney and Vaughn than the scene on the beach with Sydney bare feet and pregnant and apparently still ready to go on a mission, even if she's swore from day one that she wanted out.

Paul Kremer said...

hehe! I actually hate this song to death, but this post reminded me of it...Shania Twain sings, "And if I change my mind a million times, I want to hear him say, yeah, I like it that way." It drives me crazy, but women are constantly changing their minds!

Season 1 she wants out.
Season 2 she can get out and stays.
Season 3 she wants out.
Season 4 she can get out and stays.
Season 5 she wants out.
Post-finale she can get out and stays!

This seems to fit her pattern actually!!!! hehe! Sorry for being silly, but it is a fact of life we don't always want (or do) what we originally thought we would.

Paul

Paul Kremer said...

I don't have anything specifically to add, I just wanted to be comment 47!!!! YEAH!!! :)

Paul

Anonymous said...

I feel complete satisfaction now after watching the finale. Even though there still are some minor details we never will get the complete answer to, I still feel all the IMPORTANT questions and plots were handled pretty well. The writers did, in my opinion, a good job regarding the circumstances.

I must also agree with Paul and Robby. To everyone who feels let down och dissapointed, what are you dissapointed about? If we overlook the fact that it may have been a bit rushed in the end, which important question did we not get an answer to? I am sorry for all of you who did not enjoy the finale and feel the same satisfction as I do, but I am simply... happy!

Regarding the "Jack killing himself" situation, many of you seem to have missed why he did it. In his exact words: "You've caused my daughter so much pain, I could have prevented it. I won't continue to make that mistake"...

Alias will forever have my eternal love and great respect.

Closure!
Closure!

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