Alias 5/12/02 Season finale (1 Viewer)

[PhilipG]

Great finale, and a lot of cast members won't have much bargaining power to get better deals on their contracts.
Nice to see the return of the Dentist. Will's parting shot was the highlight of the episode.
So when is the second season due to appear? September? October?
By the way, did anyone catch what that big red ball was supposed to do?

 

[Michael Reuben]

By the way, did anyone catch what that big red ball was supposed to do?

I don't think it's been explained yet. But since it's being built by an organization headed by Sydney's mom, and Rambaldi's prophecy indicates that Sydney's mom may destroy the world, I'm guessing it does something serious.
M.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Isn't it an energy generator?

Are they writing Francie out of the show?

 

[Brett Jason]

A few months ago I was asking why Sloane wasn't sitting down at the Alliance meeting and voting on the Khasinou issue at one of the computer terminals (when they had the vote whether to go to war with him). I think the consensus here was that it was because it was assumed what his vote was since he brought up the issue. But now, we see it's because he's not a "partner" which explains why he didn't vote.
BTW, were those CTU employees (from 24)guarding Will last week? They have a bad track record in safehouse protection

 

[BrettK]

on 2piR!
Could we see the 'demise' of SD-6 and Sydney's doing "normal" missions for the CIA fairly soon? Vaughn's roadmap of SD-6 made it look like Syd was doing a bit of damage, although admittedly not devastating.
However, we now have a few other 'accelerants' to the fall of SD-6 within the Alias world: 1) Syd's double-agent status has been exposed, by sleeze-boy Haladki and/or Syd's mom. 2) Dixon knows Syd's up to something, and she's always wanted to bring him into the truth, resisting only because she's been convinced he and his family would be at risk. And "The Biggie", 3) Will's article! He didn't check-in, so the paper's going to run it front page! This would obviously expose SD-6 and probably Jack Bristow.
Questions still remain, though..
What was it that Sloane laced the wine with? Something to fake Emily's death, or something he drank himself, unable to murder his own wife? (although not likely, since the Alliance would knock her off anyway at that point)
From a character point-of-view, I believe Jack could have killed Haladki, but even Alias would need some fancy dance moves to get Jack acquited for doing so. So from a practical point-of-view, it would be a tough sell that there would be no consequence for his actions. Devlin has warned him multiple times that his methods were already out-of-hand, and even if he provided proof that Haladki was the mole....
I actually didn't realize this was the season finale until after, unconvinced by my girlfriend I searched TiVo's schedule in vain.. Time to twiddle thumbs for a while..

 

[Brett Jason]

Now that Will's safe, he'll probably check in with a "Stop the Presses" phone call.

I just have a bad feeling about the show for next year. I don't think they can continue to have her and the father as double agents anymore. I mean the Alliance has Sloane's wife's deathbed bugged but they can't catch Sydney and her Dad crossing town into the CIA building 3 times a day?

I'm Rambaldi-ing into the future and predicting the answer to "When did Alias jump the shark?" to be when Sydney's mother showed up.

 

[BrandonM]

Once again, the only reason they had Emily's bed bugged is because it was an SD-6 hospital that Sloane took her to. If it had been a normal hospital, I highly doubt they would have gone to the trouble of bugging her hospital bed or even thought to do so.
Also, is anyone else sick of the phrase "jump the shark" and how a lot of people seem so eager to affix it to every show? :rolleyes

 

[Brett Jason]

SD-6 hospital? I'm suprised, I heard the SD-6 HMO is rated very poorly and most of the agents are using Blue Cross/Blue Shield. They're paying a little more out-of pocket, but the paperwork is less complex and the customer service is better.

 

[Elizabeth S]

Great episode! I have no doubt whatsoever that Vaughn survived. The writers are smart enough to realize he and Sydney's relationship is CRUCIAL to the show.

On a side note, I know what "jump the shark" means, but what is the origination of that phrase?

 

[Brett Jason]

you can check it out here.....www.jumptheshark.com
Q. What is jumping the shark?
A. It's a moment. A defining moment when you know that your favorite television program has reached its peak. That instant that you know from now on...it's all downhill. Some call it the climax. We call it "Jumping the Shark." From that moment on, the program will simply never be the same.
The term "jump the shark" was coined by my college roommate for 4 years, Sean J. Connolly, in Ann Arbor, Michigan back in 1985. This web site, book, film, and all other material surrounding shark jumping, are hereby dedicated to "the Colonel."
The aforementioned expression refers to the telltale sign of the demise of Happy Days, our favorite example, when Fonzie actually "jumped the shark." The rest is history.

 

[Patrick Sun]

On "Happy Days", there was an episode where Fonzie literally jumped over a shark on water skis. It was at that point in time on the series that the show would never be the same again, thus, the term "jump the shark" points to some crucial point in a show's history where its decline in popularity wanes.

 

[Nelson Au]

I know this sounds like it came out of nowhere, but maybe Sloan drank the glass of wine that he poured the powder into. Maybe he couldn't live with killing his wife so he could get the promotion. Although that''s a tough one. The actor portraying Sloan is very good, his expressions when Emily drank the wine was very telling, he was pained, but was it for her or him?

So we could have seen 4 deaths. I agree with the others, Vaughn probably found a way out.

When Jack shot the gun, I thought he had a great expression on his face. Dead serious. Reminded me of the look Pierce Brosnan gave in both The World is Not Enough and Tomorrow Never Dies when he killed assasins trying to kill him. "I'm just a professional doing his job. Me too".

And shadowy figure Sydney called Mother at the end. Could it be Emily? I doubt it.

Nelson

 

[Ty Zucker]

Since Emily's hospital conversation with Sid, I've thought that Sloan would try to fake Emily's death. I guess it still remains to be seen, but I'm thinking she's dead now. Pretty damn cold.

I think Jack can fairly easily get out of trouble for shooting Haldaki. Jack can simply tell Devlin he believes Haldaki was the mole and when Haldaki doesn't return to work or show his face, Jack simply says "See, that's proof. He vanished because we were getting too close to him."

I agree with others who have said that Will's line, "One in five!" was the best line/moment of the show. It also showed that Will is a lot stronger than some might have given him credit for.

 

[Ken Chan]

Also, is anyone else sick of the phrase "jump the shark" and how a lot of people seem so eager to affix it to every show?

Yes!

//Ken

 

[Michael Reuben]

The actor portraying Sloan is very good

That's stage veteran Ron Rifkin, one of the best New York theater actors of his generation. I always have mixed emotions when a great stage actor finds popular success on TV or in movies. I'm happy for them, but it usually means we get to see much less of them in the theater. It happened with Kevin Kline; it happened with Cynthia Nixon; it's going to happen with Nathan Lane if his new TV show is a success.

EDIT: Latest likely "victim": Mary-Louise Parker, just announced as a regular on The West Wing.

M.

 

[Elizabeth S]

Thanks a lot for the explanation regarding "jumping the shark", Brett and Patrick!

 

[Thomas D]

What was it that Sloane laced the wine with? Something to fake Emily's death, or something he drank himself, unable to murder his own wife? (although not likely, since the Alliance would knock her off anyway at that point)

If this wasn't an ongoing television show, I'd say that yes, Sloane loved his wife too much to kill her. Knowing that Security Section would murder her soon, he willingly took poison to join her in the afterlife. If this was a movie with a definite end, then yes. But as a television series that goes on until it is cancelled (thirteen episodes? five seasons?), he poisoned his wife so she won't suffer when Security Section came for her.

 

[David Paymer]

Just wanted to say that it was a great season finale and I look forward to the conclusion. I'd also like to say that the character of Jack Bristoe is one cold mutha. He's a pleasure to watch.

 

[Gregg Shiu]

What does "One in Five" mean anyways?

 

[BrettK]

What does "One in Five" mean anyways?

When Dr. Evil Teeth was talking to Will, he said he held out on using the truth syrum/drugs because they had 'adverse effects' in one-in-five people, including paralysis and some other stuff.

So, poetic justice for Will. (funny, I just wrote that same exact phrase in the Amazing Race thread)