Hid The Microfilm In The Lining Of My Shoe!

So last night's Alias did a lot to please me. It is generally accepted that the show has been something of a disappointment since the beginning of last season, a point where many fans were hoping for something extraordinary, but which delivered us with more or less the same old prophecies. This current season has had some good episodes (particularly the Assassain Suburbia episode, penned by much-lauded Buffy scribe Drew Goddard), but none of them delivered the sort of emotional urgency that we felt, say, when Sydney found Danny's body in the tub, or when Sydney was shot by her mother, or when Sydney fought the Francinator to the seeming death. You get the idea: whenever Sydney has been in emotional turmoil. There was almost a moment of that earlier this season, when Sydney learned Jack had had her mother killed, and that her mother had been planning to have Sydney killed, but the emotion seemed almost muted, possibly because it wasn't taking place onscreen.

Now, though, we find out that Jack and Sloane are teamed up to attain some ambiguous end. While the writers may puss out and have Jack working to a positive end, part of me is hoping that something far more ambiguous is happening. In last night's episode, Sydney talks about Sloane's actions always being black and white; Jack, on the the other hand, has always acted in shades of gray. He told Sloane at one point that he became a double agent when Sloane decided to recruit Sydney into SD-6; this means that, for a rather substantial period of time, Jack was working with SD-6, knowing full well that it wasn't a branch of the CIA. He has never had to answer for this, and, oddly, no mention is made. Other of his actions, such as his killing of the FBI-planted CIA agent in the first season (I think), and his introducing Sydney into Project Christmas in the first place, just muddy the waters with regard to his motivations. Is there anything, aside from his fierce and sometimes cruel devotion to his daughter, that prohibits him from switching sides once again? Other than maybe Marshall, who continues to crack me up. I had wondered if maybe the Angela Bassett character (who, I must say, it was great to see again, putting the moves on Dixon) was colluding (is that a word?) with Sloane in order to pull the wool over everyone's eyes, ala SD-6. Maybe Jack's doing more wool-pulling, especially after his and Sloane's brief exchange about their agreement in last weeks episode. Here's to evil Jack!

Season Scorecard:

What they've done right:

• ANNA ESPINOSA! And not killing her when the story concluded.
• SpyDaddy's back.
• Setting Sark free, into the wild. Otherwise they would have to start having
  him seduce the male cast-members to justify his inclusion in the credits,
  starting with... SLOANE!
• Make Dixon a human being again.
• Killing SpyMommy -- if Lena Olin ever chose to come back, the character
  could easily be ressurected, but it's better if that string isn't left loose all
  season in the hope that the actress changes her mind.

Not so good:

• While it's good Weiss finally has a plot, does anyone believer that Nadia just suddenly falls for him? Especially after the Amanda Foreman character married Marshall? Are there any not so hot girls (funny/slightly overweight/ otherwise schmucky) women knocking boots with Man-candy on this show? It seemed to fast, and it makes me suspicious.
• Did Sloane lose all his emotions save brittle contempt?
• Sydney needs a life outside the agency. The loss of Francie and Will has made Sydney's life incredibly claustrophobic and incestuous. I have no idea how she would meet people, but surely making new friends is within her many abilities?

Recommendations:

• Keep Rambaldi's Prophecies to a minimum: work with the prophecies you already have, and don't introduce new ones whenever you want to explain something.

These are just my thoughts about it. I was losing hope for the series, but we'll have to see how the season works itself out.

Song: Blondie, "Contact in Red Square".