Alias 4.3: "The Awful Truth"
Written by Jesse Alexander
Directed by Lawrence Trilling
In which Sydney tries to convince her father that telling Nadia the truth about Irina’s death is the right move, but Jack decides that another option would be the better road…
Status Report
After essentially rebooting the entire series back to the original premise in the premiere, with a few concessions made to the accumulated continuity to date, this episode takes the next logical step by advancing the character development while trotting out a self-contained mission. The mission itself is irrelevant, which is something of a change from the last couple of seasons, and as a result, there’s a feeling that the writers have lost ground.
This is deceptive, however, because the writers make no effort to attach undue importance to the mission. It’s about issues of honesty, and whether honesty is truly the best policy. One would think that the concept of subjective truths had long since been explored on this series, given the various levels of deception involved, but it’s never a bad idea to remind the audience (old and new) which characters play fast and loose with the facts.
But it’s not simply a question of what the truth is; it’s also a matter of the cost of truth. This is communicated rather well through the Jack/Nadia subplot, but it’s also pertinent when it comes to Weiss. It was far more convenient for Jack to tell Nadia what she wanted to hear, especially since his in-depth psychological profile told him how Nadia was likely to react to the news. Conversely, there was no choice but to tell Weiss the truth, especially after APO’s mission nearly caused his death.
Similar to “Lost”, JJ Abrams’ latest follow-up to “Alias”, there is a renewed focus on character. The events themselves could eventually intersect by the end of the season (in fact, it’s damn likely), but Abrams has learned from the excesses of the third season, when plot began to override basic character development. The first and second seasons were strong because of the depth of Sydney’s personal world. Without that foundation, as seen in the third season, the audience is left as adrift as Sydney, and that leads to frustration.
Since character development is key once again, there’s also a return to larger questions of identity and self-realization. Sydney has gone through enough in her life to understand how much of her world has been defined by the will of others. This is metaphorically rather familiar to most people, who feel like they are barely hanging on from day to day. The people around Sydney have also allowed themselves to become defined by their roles in a larger scheme, and now they have the chance to discover for themselves who they are and what they want.
As things stand, Sydney can’t seem to get into a position to know herself that well. She wanted to give herself that space by taking control of her life in the premiere, choosing to join a new division with little contact with her previous colleagues. That didn’t work out so well, and now she’s right back where she started. What Sydney needs to do now is take control of her new world, and until she’s ready to do that, she falls into familiar patterns and takes comfort in it. (It’s not exactly a fresh concept; Sydney’s “alias” game is as much about escaping herself as helping create a better world.)
One thing is very clear: Sydney values truth, even when dealing in a world of pure deception. She clearly understands that the best decision for everyone would be for Jack to tell Nadia the truth about Irina. It certainly helped her reconcile some semblance of a relationship with her father, and as she points out, it would be all too easy for Nadia to assume Jack did it out of malice should she hear it from an indirect source. The best deal, one must think, would be for Jack to sit down with Nadia, along with Sydney and Sloane (who both know the score), and lay it out rationally.
Jack, of course, has never been able to trust anyone since Irina ripped his heart out (or so we must assume, since any previous negative history has now been glossed over). So there’s no chance in hell that he’s going to trust Irina’s daughter to be rational in the face of a terrible truth. Given how often he’s lied to Sydney in the name of protecting her, it makes sense that he would do the same thing with Nadia. And in this case, he’s solely concerned for his own well-being. Why worry about what Sydney might think in that case? Clearly, Jack is resisting any thoughts of returning to the man he once was, firmly locked in the choices of the last 30 years.
There also remains the possibility that Irina’s death was completely staged, and that Jack’s secret mission was a part of that effort. In that case, Jack would have little reason to explain the truth to Nadia; in time, Jack could reveal the truth without risking his life in the meantime. (Such a twist would also explain why the Covenant would have disappeared so abruptly; with Irina out of the way, the leadership of the Covenant is gone.)
One plot element that seemed rather abrupt, especially the first time around, was Jack’s revelation that Bishop was the man who killed Irina. That was just a little too easy on the face of it; why wouldn’t Nadia suspect the fact that the first mission together as a group just happened to involve the man who killed her mother? But then it became more clear: that was the purpose of Jack’s extended psychological test, the one factor he was fishing for. He discovered, in that process, that Nadia would believe the lie, at least for a little while, and he used that to his advantage.
Vaughn is still not sure of his role, and he’s having a hard time finding his place in the new paradigm. After all, when the rest of the team was together, he was working on the opposite side of the fence. Now they’re all working together, and beyond that, Vaughn is lying to his best friend and still not sure what kind of relationship is good for him and Sydney. Add the hints and allegations from the end of the previous season, which seemed to suggest that his role in Sydney’s life was no accident, and he’s one seriously confused and conflicted individual.
Dixon doesn’t have nearly as much to do in this episode, but then again, his crisis of self-identity has already been handled in the second and third seasons. Dixon tried to be something he wasn’t in the third season, and he failed miserably at it; his place, it seems, is in the field. There’s still the question of his children and his place in their life, but beyond being Sydney’s occasional partner, it’s not clear if Dixon is ever going to step into the limelight.
Marshall, on the other hand, is getting more of a hands-on role, and it suits him perfectly. If he’s meant for more than just a supporting role, then perhaps he’s meant to discover who he can be when he’s not defined by his technical expertise. It would also be interesting to see what married life is like for Marshall, now that he’s working in a division that he can’t talk about. What does his wife think he does, anyway?
Two characters remain a huge mystery, and in one case, it’s stunning how well the writers have pulled it off over the years. Sloane has been at the forefront of the series, serving as Sydney’s ultimate nemesis and a reflection of Jack since the pilot, yet his goals are constantly in question. Every time it seems like his motivations are clear, there’s something about Sloane’s body language that suggests an ulterior motive. Sloane seems to be genuine in his desire to know Nadia better, but considering how he treated her as The Passenger, there’s no reason to think that it’s the whole story.
Nadia is a mystery because there is no pre-existing dynamic with any of the characters. She obviously has a troubled relationship with Sloane (who doesn’t?), and she’s apparently fascinated with the idea of Sydney as her sibling, but it’s not at all clear where she’s going or who she might turn out to be. There’s that prophecy hanging over her head, though, and that’s not good news for Sydney.
Bringing Weiss into the fold so quickly is an interesting twist. A lot of questions and concerns are being answered in a short amount of time, which suggests that the writers are just taking a couple of episodes to get the audience familiar with the status quo before things begin to get more complicated. Weiss’ interest in Nadia is another nice twist, since it gives them another way to interact with Sydney and Vaughn.
The self-contained nature of this episode would be a sign for alarm if the writing staff was less qualified. As it is, many of the writers were working for Joss Whedon not too long ago, specifically on the final season of “Angel” (which was canceled due to a rather public network faux pas, not because of writing woes). That season of “Angel” was also something of a reboot, and like this season of “Alias”, the first several episodes appeared to be self-contained. By the end of the season, however, it was quite clear that there was a master plan in mind. It’s hard not to imagine that the writing staff for “Alias” has similar intentions, based on Abrams’ recent comments, and that makes sitting through an episode like this one far more palatable.
Final Analysis
Overall, this episode was a decent self-contained adventure, focusing more on character development than any long-term season arc elements. A general overarching theme for character exploration does emerge, but this episode is more about placing it in context in each case than moving forward.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4
Final Rating: 7/10
Season Average (as of 4.3): 7.7
Directed by Lawrence Trilling
In which Sydney tries to convince her father that telling Nadia the truth about Irina’s death is the right move, but Jack decides that another option would be the better road…
Status Report
After essentially rebooting the entire series back to the original premise in the premiere, with a few concessions made to the accumulated continuity to date, this episode takes the next logical step by advancing the character development while trotting out a self-contained mission. The mission itself is irrelevant, which is something of a change from the last couple of seasons, and as a result, there’s a feeling that the writers have lost ground.
This is deceptive, however, because the writers make no effort to attach undue importance to the mission. It’s about issues of honesty, and whether honesty is truly the best policy. One would think that the concept of subjective truths had long since been explored on this series, given the various levels of deception involved, but it’s never a bad idea to remind the audience (old and new) which characters play fast and loose with the facts.
But it’s not simply a question of what the truth is; it’s also a matter of the cost of truth. This is communicated rather well through the Jack/Nadia subplot, but it’s also pertinent when it comes to Weiss. It was far more convenient for Jack to tell Nadia what she wanted to hear, especially since his in-depth psychological profile told him how Nadia was likely to react to the news. Conversely, there was no choice but to tell Weiss the truth, especially after APO’s mission nearly caused his death.
Similar to “Lost”, JJ Abrams’ latest follow-up to “Alias”, there is a renewed focus on character. The events themselves could eventually intersect by the end of the season (in fact, it’s damn likely), but Abrams has learned from the excesses of the third season, when plot began to override basic character development. The first and second seasons were strong because of the depth of Sydney’s personal world. Without that foundation, as seen in the third season, the audience is left as adrift as Sydney, and that leads to frustration.
Since character development is key once again, there’s also a return to larger questions of identity and self-realization. Sydney has gone through enough in her life to understand how much of her world has been defined by the will of others. This is metaphorically rather familiar to most people, who feel like they are barely hanging on from day to day. The people around Sydney have also allowed themselves to become defined by their roles in a larger scheme, and now they have the chance to discover for themselves who they are and what they want.
As things stand, Sydney can’t seem to get into a position to know herself that well. She wanted to give herself that space by taking control of her life in the premiere, choosing to join a new division with little contact with her previous colleagues. That didn’t work out so well, and now she’s right back where she started. What Sydney needs to do now is take control of her new world, and until she’s ready to do that, she falls into familiar patterns and takes comfort in it. (It’s not exactly a fresh concept; Sydney’s “alias” game is as much about escaping herself as helping create a better world.)
One thing is very clear: Sydney values truth, even when dealing in a world of pure deception. She clearly understands that the best decision for everyone would be for Jack to tell Nadia the truth about Irina. It certainly helped her reconcile some semblance of a relationship with her father, and as she points out, it would be all too easy for Nadia to assume Jack did it out of malice should she hear it from an indirect source. The best deal, one must think, would be for Jack to sit down with Nadia, along with Sydney and Sloane (who both know the score), and lay it out rationally.
Jack, of course, has never been able to trust anyone since Irina ripped his heart out (or so we must assume, since any previous negative history has now been glossed over). So there’s no chance in hell that he’s going to trust Irina’s daughter to be rational in the face of a terrible truth. Given how often he’s lied to Sydney in the name of protecting her, it makes sense that he would do the same thing with Nadia. And in this case, he’s solely concerned for his own well-being. Why worry about what Sydney might think in that case? Clearly, Jack is resisting any thoughts of returning to the man he once was, firmly locked in the choices of the last 30 years.
There also remains the possibility that Irina’s death was completely staged, and that Jack’s secret mission was a part of that effort. In that case, Jack would have little reason to explain the truth to Nadia; in time, Jack could reveal the truth without risking his life in the meantime. (Such a twist would also explain why the Covenant would have disappeared so abruptly; with Irina out of the way, the leadership of the Covenant is gone.)
One plot element that seemed rather abrupt, especially the first time around, was Jack’s revelation that Bishop was the man who killed Irina. That was just a little too easy on the face of it; why wouldn’t Nadia suspect the fact that the first mission together as a group just happened to involve the man who killed her mother? But then it became more clear: that was the purpose of Jack’s extended psychological test, the one factor he was fishing for. He discovered, in that process, that Nadia would believe the lie, at least for a little while, and he used that to his advantage.
Vaughn is still not sure of his role, and he’s having a hard time finding his place in the new paradigm. After all, when the rest of the team was together, he was working on the opposite side of the fence. Now they’re all working together, and beyond that, Vaughn is lying to his best friend and still not sure what kind of relationship is good for him and Sydney. Add the hints and allegations from the end of the previous season, which seemed to suggest that his role in Sydney’s life was no accident, and he’s one seriously confused and conflicted individual.
Dixon doesn’t have nearly as much to do in this episode, but then again, his crisis of self-identity has already been handled in the second and third seasons. Dixon tried to be something he wasn’t in the third season, and he failed miserably at it; his place, it seems, is in the field. There’s still the question of his children and his place in their life, but beyond being Sydney’s occasional partner, it’s not clear if Dixon is ever going to step into the limelight.
Marshall, on the other hand, is getting more of a hands-on role, and it suits him perfectly. If he’s meant for more than just a supporting role, then perhaps he’s meant to discover who he can be when he’s not defined by his technical expertise. It would also be interesting to see what married life is like for Marshall, now that he’s working in a division that he can’t talk about. What does his wife think he does, anyway?
Two characters remain a huge mystery, and in one case, it’s stunning how well the writers have pulled it off over the years. Sloane has been at the forefront of the series, serving as Sydney’s ultimate nemesis and a reflection of Jack since the pilot, yet his goals are constantly in question. Every time it seems like his motivations are clear, there’s something about Sloane’s body language that suggests an ulterior motive. Sloane seems to be genuine in his desire to know Nadia better, but considering how he treated her as The Passenger, there’s no reason to think that it’s the whole story.
Nadia is a mystery because there is no pre-existing dynamic with any of the characters. She obviously has a troubled relationship with Sloane (who doesn’t?), and she’s apparently fascinated with the idea of Sydney as her sibling, but it’s not at all clear where she’s going or who she might turn out to be. There’s that prophecy hanging over her head, though, and that’s not good news for Sydney.
Bringing Weiss into the fold so quickly is an interesting twist. A lot of questions and concerns are being answered in a short amount of time, which suggests that the writers are just taking a couple of episodes to get the audience familiar with the status quo before things begin to get more complicated. Weiss’ interest in Nadia is another nice twist, since it gives them another way to interact with Sydney and Vaughn.
The self-contained nature of this episode would be a sign for alarm if the writing staff was less qualified. As it is, many of the writers were working for Joss Whedon not too long ago, specifically on the final season of “Angel” (which was canceled due to a rather public network faux pas, not because of writing woes). That season of “Angel” was also something of a reboot, and like this season of “Alias”, the first several episodes appeared to be self-contained. By the end of the season, however, it was quite clear that there was a master plan in mind. It’s hard not to imagine that the writing staff for “Alias” has similar intentions, based on Abrams’ recent comments, and that makes sitting through an episode like this one far more palatable.
Final Analysis
Overall, this episode was a decent self-contained adventure, focusing more on character development than any long-term season arc elements. A general overarching theme for character exploration does emerge, but this episode is more about placing it in context in each case than moving forward.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4
Final Rating: 7/10
Season Average (as of 4.3): 7.7
posted by John Keegan | 17:01
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