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sarea
Yes, me again. There's just too much going on this Sunday!
I've caved and purchased my first Kate Spade bag. It's the most popular one -- the black nylon Sam. Since I don't have oodles to spend on designer purses, I have to get something functional that I'll actually be able to use. <g>
News from the PoA premiere: Some stars, such as Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Jamie Waylett (Vincent Crabbe) detoured off the red carpet to sign autographs and shake hands, while Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) delighted the crowd and dismayed the NYPD officers in charge of security by walking through the entire gauntlet of fans, chatting cheerfully with almost everyone. Awwwwwww. You go, Tom. He was probably just happy to be around people who don't hide behind their parents when they see him. :))
Okay, now the real point of my post:
Alias: Resurrection
This show so desperately needs the talents of Jeff Bell and Drew Goddard, it's not even funny. In fact, they should do what they can to get Tim Minear from whatever the hell he's working on now, Steven DeKnight from Smallville (though he's our only hope for that show), and Jane Espensen from Tru Calling.
What the HELL was that crap? That was an episode? That was a SEASON FINALE? Give me a freakin' break. It had zero -- that's 0 -- qualities of the Alias I love. Granted, this season has been its weakest thus far. There have been many things I didn't like about it, but fairly recently, they started to get me back. I was excited about the developments, about the characters, about the show's direction.
And THIS was the payoff????
First off, I don't care how unpopular this makes me: I was sorry Lauren died. Very, very sorry. She was probably the most interesting character the show had this season. The way they killed her felt a lot like Roswell S3 to me: Let's appease the fans. They don't like xxx, so we'll just get rid of that obstacle. And then we'll make our two leads kiss, even though that makes no sense wrt internal consistency (remember how the last time we saw her, Syd wasn't even sure if she wanted to give Vaughn another chance, and now she's macking on him like nothing??? WHATEVER), and even though we haven't earned any of it.
I liked Lauren for who she was. She was unapologetic about it. The last line about her and Syd serving the same master? Rockin'. And then she used her last breath to give Syd some truth! Why? Surely she knew she was dying by then -- why use her last breath to convey that info to Syd, other than plot contrivance? And then FUCKING VAUGHN SHOT HER. What if 1602 hadn't been the end of the sequence? What if it'd been 160275?!
OMG. Rarely have I despised Vaughn more than I did in this episode. The idea that he would be able to beat up Sark is ludicrous. But fine, Sark is handcuffed and belligerent and the entire CIA is all for him getting beaten up, so I can buy that under such circumstances, Vaughn would be able to do some damage to the guy. And then he goes off to fucking DISFIGURE Lauren? This is supposed to be Our Hero? Not fucking MINE, that's for sure. And then Syd! Suddenly when Vaughn is stabbed, then she throws HER principles out the window??? I have zero respect for that. I know they probably think it's so romantic and what not, that these two people who are normally so righteous would throw it all away for each other, but I just think it's STUPID.
And oh, what about the whole thing where Syd didn't KNOW Katya was going to try and shoot her, but she just so happens to take her clip anyway? WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT? That is such a tired and used cliche ... and there's NO reason for Syd to have done it. NONE. Except that somehow, heroes are able to always tell at the exact right moment when someone might betray them, even though it doesn't make any sense wrt the plot or their character up to that point. The whole thing w/ Katya was pretty contrived from the beginning, though.
Hated the stupid Mission Impossible masks. WTF. Is nothing impossible on this show anymore? Ever since they showed Syd using that spray thing that knocked people unconscious immediately, I've often wondered why she doesn't just use that everywhere she goes. And now they have these perfect-looking masks that can make people look exactly like other people???
However, the masks did give me the two small surprises of the ep -- I didn't realize it was Lauren at the beginning until she spoke, and I was really enjoying the jail scene between Lauren and Sark until it was revealed that Lauren was actually Sydney. It figures. I didn't even get to see Fake!Syd jump into a car w/ Sark at the beginning of the ep, dammit. And um, how dumb was Sark, to just be sitting in a car in the CIA garage (apparently)?!
I've never been that huge a fan of Jack's; he's pretty much like any other character to me, but he's had more cool moments than others. And I like that he's flawed. But remember how I thought it was completely lame from the beginning of the season that he and Irina were sending each other those painfully adolescent messages to one another (in which Jack talks in all capital letters like a total putz)? And had apparently resolved whatever relationship disputes they'd been carrying for all these years (which is so incredibly unlikely, imho)? And now he's talking about how he regrets not gutting her like a fish when he had the chance? What the hell??? Is that all bitterness just from learning she had an affair w/ Sloane? That happened years and years and years ago -- I'm sorry, if he was all prepared to forgive everything else she did, I don't think that should have come as that big a shock to him ... or be as significant as they're making it out to be. Because damn -- all the other stuff she did to him? Pretty damn significant.
Sloane and Nadia -- what they're up to: At this point, don't know, don't care.
The boring Syd and Vaughn macking was terrible, but the worst thing about the scene is that now, Vaughn gets his closure by killing Lauren, and now he's also blameless in it wrt his conscience, because she was threatening Syd at the time. So there is no fallout for it at all. How completely DULL.
The end. OMG the stupidass ending. All that to lead us to this ... this NOTHING? They didn't even show us jack! Okay, they showed us Jack, but not jack. It's not really all that surprising that Syd is part of some kind of project, or that Jack's behind it. I mean, we've already gotten a taste of that from before -- Project Christmas? Hello, ring a bell? What I want are the details. What the hell did all those other pages say??? Who else is in on it? I guess that's supposed to be for next season, but given that I was given SO LITTLE ELSE in this episode, I felt I needed something.
The ONLY THING worthwhile about the ep was the revelation that Sark occasionally has naughty thoughts about Syd, and that Syd-as-Lauren in the jail wasn't so out of character for Lauren that Sark totally bought it and gave away the passcode (which did give me a kick, I have to admit ... 'Woman was God's second mistake' indeed). Unless he's just a dumbass, which sadly is quite possible given how the writers can't decide what the hell to do w/ him. But at least he still has a job next season. Apparently.
Jade has just shared Herc's (from AICN) take, and normally we never agree w/ him. Well, there's a first time for everything:
The Vaughn-Lauren storyline bored me to tears. It was a pale echo of the Jack-Irina story and unfolded far too slowly. It should have been wrapped up by midseason. Syd losing two years was interesting. The mystery behind it? Not so much. Arvin Sloane, so much the focus of the first two seasons, has spent too much time in the background. This business with Rambaldi's "The Telling" machine and Syd's half-sister should have been dealt with at the beginning of this season, not the end of it. I miss the wit, I miss being genuinely surprised, I miss Will Tippen. When "Alias" returns in 2005, it'll benefit from a writing staff that includes "Angel" vets Drew Goddard and Jeff Bell.
Next David Fury will be writing an episode I like. Oh, but wait, there's no more AtS and I notice he's one of the writers who hasn't yet been snatched up by another show. Color me shocked. Yes, that the networks might actually be discerning, and might have realized what's been quite apparent to me all along: He suxors. Or, you know, he's taking his money and retiring.
I've caved and purchased my first Kate Spade bag. It's the most popular one -- the black nylon Sam. Since I don't have oodles to spend on designer purses, I have to get something functional that I'll actually be able to use. <g>
News from the PoA premiere: Some stars, such as Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Jamie Waylett (Vincent Crabbe) detoured off the red carpet to sign autographs and shake hands, while Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) delighted the crowd and dismayed the NYPD officers in charge of security by walking through the entire gauntlet of fans, chatting cheerfully with almost everyone. Awwwwwww. You go, Tom. He was probably just happy to be around people who don't hide behind their parents when they see him. :))
Okay, now the real point of my post:
Alias: Resurrection
This show so desperately needs the talents of Jeff Bell and Drew Goddard, it's not even funny. In fact, they should do what they can to get Tim Minear from whatever the hell he's working on now, Steven DeKnight from Smallville (though he's our only hope for that show), and Jane Espensen from Tru Calling.
What the HELL was that crap? That was an episode? That was a SEASON FINALE? Give me a freakin' break. It had zero -- that's 0 -- qualities of the Alias I love. Granted, this season has been its weakest thus far. There have been many things I didn't like about it, but fairly recently, they started to get me back. I was excited about the developments, about the characters, about the show's direction.
And THIS was the payoff????
First off, I don't care how unpopular this makes me: I was sorry Lauren died. Very, very sorry. She was probably the most interesting character the show had this season. The way they killed her felt a lot like Roswell S3 to me: Let's appease the fans. They don't like xxx, so we'll just get rid of that obstacle. And then we'll make our two leads kiss, even though that makes no sense wrt internal consistency (remember how the last time we saw her, Syd wasn't even sure if she wanted to give Vaughn another chance, and now she's macking on him like nothing??? WHATEVER), and even though we haven't earned any of it.
I liked Lauren for who she was. She was unapologetic about it. The last line about her and Syd serving the same master? Rockin'. And then she used her last breath to give Syd some truth! Why? Surely she knew she was dying by then -- why use her last breath to convey that info to Syd, other than plot contrivance? And then FUCKING VAUGHN SHOT HER. What if 1602 hadn't been the end of the sequence? What if it'd been 160275?!
OMG. Rarely have I despised Vaughn more than I did in this episode. The idea that he would be able to beat up Sark is ludicrous. But fine, Sark is handcuffed and belligerent and the entire CIA is all for him getting beaten up, so I can buy that under such circumstances, Vaughn would be able to do some damage to the guy. And then he goes off to fucking DISFIGURE Lauren? This is supposed to be Our Hero? Not fucking MINE, that's for sure. And then Syd! Suddenly when Vaughn is stabbed, then she throws HER principles out the window??? I have zero respect for that. I know they probably think it's so romantic and what not, that these two people who are normally so righteous would throw it all away for each other, but I just think it's STUPID.
And oh, what about the whole thing where Syd didn't KNOW Katya was going to try and shoot her, but she just so happens to take her clip anyway? WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT? That is such a tired and used cliche ... and there's NO reason for Syd to have done it. NONE. Except that somehow, heroes are able to always tell at the exact right moment when someone might betray them, even though it doesn't make any sense wrt the plot or their character up to that point. The whole thing w/ Katya was pretty contrived from the beginning, though.
Hated the stupid Mission Impossible masks. WTF. Is nothing impossible on this show anymore? Ever since they showed Syd using that spray thing that knocked people unconscious immediately, I've often wondered why she doesn't just use that everywhere she goes. And now they have these perfect-looking masks that can make people look exactly like other people???
However, the masks did give me the two small surprises of the ep -- I didn't realize it was Lauren at the beginning until she spoke, and I was really enjoying the jail scene between Lauren and Sark until it was revealed that Lauren was actually Sydney. It figures. I didn't even get to see Fake!Syd jump into a car w/ Sark at the beginning of the ep, dammit. And um, how dumb was Sark, to just be sitting in a car in the CIA garage (apparently)?!
I've never been that huge a fan of Jack's; he's pretty much like any other character to me, but he's had more cool moments than others. And I like that he's flawed. But remember how I thought it was completely lame from the beginning of the season that he and Irina were sending each other those painfully adolescent messages to one another (in which Jack talks in all capital letters like a total putz)? And had apparently resolved whatever relationship disputes they'd been carrying for all these years (which is so incredibly unlikely, imho)? And now he's talking about how he regrets not gutting her like a fish when he had the chance? What the hell??? Is that all bitterness just from learning she had an affair w/ Sloane? That happened years and years and years ago -- I'm sorry, if he was all prepared to forgive everything else she did, I don't think that should have come as that big a shock to him ... or be as significant as they're making it out to be. Because damn -- all the other stuff she did to him? Pretty damn significant.
Sloane and Nadia -- what they're up to: At this point, don't know, don't care.
The boring Syd and Vaughn macking was terrible, but the worst thing about the scene is that now, Vaughn gets his closure by killing Lauren, and now he's also blameless in it wrt his conscience, because she was threatening Syd at the time. So there is no fallout for it at all. How completely DULL.
The end. OMG the stupidass ending. All that to lead us to this ... this NOTHING? They didn't even show us jack! Okay, they showed us Jack, but not jack. It's not really all that surprising that Syd is part of some kind of project, or that Jack's behind it. I mean, we've already gotten a taste of that from before -- Project Christmas? Hello, ring a bell? What I want are the details. What the hell did all those other pages say??? Who else is in on it? I guess that's supposed to be for next season, but given that I was given SO LITTLE ELSE in this episode, I felt I needed something.
The ONLY THING worthwhile about the ep was the revelation that Sark occasionally has naughty thoughts about Syd, and that Syd-as-Lauren in the jail wasn't so out of character for Lauren that Sark totally bought it and gave away the passcode (which did give me a kick, I have to admit ... 'Woman was God's second mistake' indeed). Unless he's just a dumbass, which sadly is quite possible given how the writers can't decide what the hell to do w/ him. But at least he still has a job next season. Apparently.
Jade has just shared Herc's (from AICN) take, and normally we never agree w/ him. Well, there's a first time for everything:
The Vaughn-Lauren storyline bored me to tears. It was a pale echo of the Jack-Irina story and unfolded far too slowly. It should have been wrapped up by midseason. Syd losing two years was interesting. The mystery behind it? Not so much. Arvin Sloane, so much the focus of the first two seasons, has spent too much time in the background. This business with Rambaldi's "The Telling" machine and Syd's half-sister should have been dealt with at the beginning of this season, not the end of it. I miss the wit, I miss being genuinely surprised, I miss Will Tippen. When "Alias" returns in 2005, it'll benefit from a writing staff that includes "Angel" vets Drew Goddard and Jeff Bell.
Next David Fury will be writing an episode I like. Oh, but wait, there's no more AtS and I notice he's one of the writers who hasn't yet been snatched up by another show. Color me shocked. Yes, that the networks might actually be discerning, and might have realized what's been quite apparent to me all along: He suxors. Or, you know, he's taking his money and retiring.
