Alias 4.22: "Before the Flood"

Written by Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec
Directed by Lawrence Trilling

In which the team and Irina must race against time to prevent Yelena from completing her endgame and bringing about the end of the world…


Status Report

One of the biggest problems with ending a long-term plot arc is that it can be very straightforward, almost to the point of boredom. If the writers do their job correctly, then the various layers of the story are all established before the endgame is unleashed. As military experts across history have noted: most wars are won or lost long before they are fought. A successful endgame requires proper planning, the likes of which makes the battle itself a foregone conclusion.

In this case, the episodes leading into the finale set the stage well enough that the events of this episode don’t need to rehash too many of the previous details. At the same time, the availability of certain guest stars made it difficult to add depth to the story. Lena Olin was only available for two episodes, and that meant that “Search and Rescue” was going to be focused on Irina’s re-introduction more than anything else.

Of course, at the time, the writers and producers were under the impression that the finale would be 90 minutes. It was a later decision by the network to extend the finale for “Lost” (good move) and thus shorten the finale for “Alias” (bad move). The effects of this decision are all over the final product. Already dealing with a fairly basic story structure and the limitations created by Lena Olin’s availability, the producers had to take a story that was meant for 66 minutes (without commercials) and cut it down to 44 minutes.

As any fan of films on DVD can attest, adding just 5 or 10 minutes to a film can add layers of character development and smooth over abrupt bumps in the plot structure. From the “Lord of the Rings” perspective, adding another 30 minutes or so to “Fellowship of the Ring” made that film far better than the original theatrical release. So the loss of 1/3 of the running time for this episode is not some minor annoyance; it had a terrible effect on the flow of the story and the emotional depth of its key conflicts.

There is literally not one scene that isn’t cut down to the essentials; in fact, there’s not one scene that doesn’t directly serve the needs of the plot. The result is something that feels like a highlight reel, and that’s quite unfortunate. The writers spent a lot of time preparing the audience for an apparent resolution to the entire Rambaldi-related plot structure to this point, and it feels like they were only given the chance to show the Cliff Notes version of it. This is like a network deciding to air only the best plays of the Super Bowl instead of the entire game.

If there’s a specific sign of the editing process, beyond how quickly and abruptly the scenes cut away, it’s in the dialogue. Scenes are cut down to the bare essentials, with the characters only getting the chance to say what’s needed to follow the story. Anything remotely resembling character exploration is set aside to ensure that the story can be told. Clearly, the producers couldn’t take the finale and split it down the middle, airing the second half of the story as the fifth season premiere; that would have run afoul of the cost for Lena Olin’s presence (the numbers get complicated, to say the least). So the only option was to show as much as possible and hope it hangs together.

As a result, most of the characters end up saying stock phrases that show very little character nuance, and some scenes feel completely cobbled together. For instance, at one point, after Nadia is overrun by the infected Russians, Irina simply states that she’s still alive and everyone accepts it. What possible evidence made her draw that conclusion? Something was missing, but it probably would have taken too long to make the proper connection.

Equally cobbled together is the final battle between Sydney and Nadia beneath the Circumference. As predicted after “Echoes”, the circular part of the Eye of Rambaldi, over which the two sisters would battle, is not simply the Circumference itself but also the fate of the world. This is the culmination of four seasons of plotting and the entire point of the fourth season. So it’s a bit disappointing to see the emotional showdown between sisters reduced to Sydney doing a little begging and then kicking ass.

All of these issues would undermine a strong story, but when there are flaws, they are quickly exposed in the most unforgiving manner. The key problem with this episode is that it doesn’t quite deliver on what was promised when Nadia was originally brought onto the show. Part of that problem is that the writers of the third season came up with “The Passenger” long before they had any idea what the hell that was supposed to mean. They were originally going to place Lauren in that role somehow, but changed their minds. As such, the whole concept of warring sisters was a late addition that didn’t necessarily make sense.

The fourth season has done much to fix that problem by giving Sydney and Nadia a strong relationship. They band together quickly as sisters within a truly bizarre family, largely because they have very similar backgrounds. Yet their personalities and attitudes were often in opposition; Nadia was more willing to forgive and maintain hope, while Sydney was more often the bitter one, holding on to every grudge.

Over time, it seemed as though the main characters were being consciously split in terms of allegiance to Sydney and Nadia. The pact between Jack and Sloane, meant to protect both daughters, would be strained as one or the other of the sisters would need to be sent into harm’s way. Sloane’s true aims were always in question, and even Jack’s decisions were revealed as manipulated by an outside source. The disparate plot points all converged with Yelena and the revelation that she was behind nearly everything unexplained since the pilot episode. By then, of course, the split among the characters had evolved into something less easily recognized but equally intriguing.

The point, of course, was to give Nadia a support system, to make her comfortable enough to ignore Sydney’s warnings. It was reasonable to predict, after Nadia found her every assumption ripped apart when Sophia/Yelena betrayed her and Sloane seemingly abandoned her for Rambaldi, that she would start to fall apart psychologically. Jack and Sydney then revealed their own deceptions, and even after Irina returned to help the two sisters defeat Yelena, Irina’s history with Sydney (problematic as it was) had to be hard to reconcile. In essence, Nadia had every reason to feel betrayed by everything in her life, her good nature and forgiveness proven foolish.

All of this could have served as the logical underpinning for a dark turn in her character. As written, the writers have Nadia battle Sydney while under the influence of the Mueller device; her own volition is completely meaningless. Sydney isn’t fighting her sister so much as an automaton with Nadia’s face. It’s not the culmination of a long-term psychological breakdown, but rather, a plot convenience designed to achieve the goal of a showdown in the shortest time possible.

The circumstances of the battle between sisters fits the prophecies of Rambaldi, but it seems to have been modified to allow for the shortened time frame created by Lena Olin’s availability. Nadia becomes, in essence, the “living embodiment” of Rambaldi’s devices, and Sydney saves the world by destroying Rambaldi’s endgame (thus essentially resolving the situation created by her fulfillment of the original Chosen One prophecy).

But the prophecy states that one of the sisters will perish at the hands of the other, and that doesn’t happen. Even if one interprets Nadia’s infection as a kind of “death”, Sydney wasn’t the one who made that happen. Yelena infected Nadia. More to the point, Nadia was closer to killing Sydney than the other way around, and Sloane intervened. It really shouldn’t have been that simple to derail something that had been predicted and staged over the course of centuries!

Some have suggested that Sydney and Nadia weren’t, in fact, the Chosen One and The Passenger, but rather, Irina and Yelena were. After all, the two sisters did end up doing final battle over the fate of the world, and Irina killed Yelena. Irina was also originally thought to be the Chosen One in the Page 47 prophecy. But the writers also firmly established that Nadia was The Passenger, so that kind of fit would be a disastrous ret-con with no real value. It would be easier to have Nadia die and then be resuscitated, thus fulfilling the prophecy but allowing Nadia to live on, ala Buffy at the end of the first season of that series.

But it didn’t have to happen the way it was written. Nadia could have been left behind by the others in a way that unintentionally made her feel abandoned. This could have been the final straw; imagine a pitched battle against the infected Russians, sending her into a primal survival mode and psychologically broken. Such a situation could have realistically given Yelena the chance to convince Nadia that she was, in fact, the only one she could trust, given their history.

That would have placed Nadia in the right position to oppose Sydney’s efforts to derail Yelena’s plans, thus setting up a real battle between the two sisters of equal ability. It would have fit everything established during the rest of the season, and it would have forced Sloane to expose his true intentions earlier, perhaps in some attempt to stop Nadia. Nadia herself could have wounded Sloane, leaving him alive to survive the apocalypse but unable to stop Yelena in the process.

Granted, this would have resulted, most likely, in Nadia’s death. But it wouldn’t have to be the case. After Irina and Yelena have their little showdown, Irina could have gone to the roof to help Sydney disarm the Mueller device, and thus she could have been the one to stop Nadia, even at the cost of her own life. Imagine how being the true cause of Irina’s death would have affected Nadia; it could, under those hypothetical circumstances, forced her to see where her assumptions have taken her, thus “breaking the spell”.

Instead, while the Rambaldi prophecy may ultimately prove fulfilled, it’s not as well-structured an ending as it could have been. Perhaps some of the cut material would make it seem a bit less contrived and ill-considered. It’s equally possible that the writers conceived of this ending as a way to wrap up the major plot threads should this be the final season. It’s quite possible that this is not the end of the Rambaldi mythology at all, but rather, just the end of Yelena’s part in it.

After all, there are some aspects of the Rambaldi mythology that haven’t been explained. The first is the most obvious: Yelena’s Covenant was under the belief that Sydney was supposed to bear the genetic descendent of Rambaldi as the Chosen One. Was that truly derailed? Perhaps Yelena thought it was, but then, her endgame was to wipe out humanity and start things over in the Rambaldi image. It’s possible that this aspect of the mythology was never taken off the table.

There’s also the small matter of the Sphere of Life and the assembly of the Rambaldi artifact itself. The Sphere of Life was supposed to house the consciousness, essence, and soul of Rambaldi. How does that fit with a really big version of the Circumference? The fact is that it simply doesn’t. The Nightingale coil fits as a power source, and the ability of the Nightingale coil to alter things on a genetic level fits the concept of the “infected”. But there’s nothing to suggest that the Sphere of Life was a part of the Mueller device or Yelena’s scheme to reboot the species.

What does make sense, from Yelena’s point of view, is wiping out the bulk of the violent humanity, and then making sure that the survivors are laced with the compliance drug from Rambaldi’s orchid. Who better to rule over this new humanity than Rambaldi himself? And that means having a body to infuse his “consciousness, essence, and soul” into, which the plot from “Full Disclosure” would adequately explain.

So even if Yelena is dead and the threat of the end of the world is over, Rambaldi doesn’t have to be. In fact, it shouldn’t be. The world population has been laced with the pacification formula, so someone could still step in and complete Sloane’s work, just without the taste for Armageddon. That someone could also want to take custody of Sydney and implant a Rambaldi child in her womb, so that Rambaldi can be reborn using the device created using the Sphere of Life. And if all of those things are still on the table, then the final showdown between Sydney and Nadia may still be a future event.

For all that, it’s still impressive that the writers were able to pull the Rambaldi mythology into a logical context, given the challenges presented by the third season’s lack of focus. It’s simply a matter of sitting down, figuring out which elements are still not covered, and using them as pieces of the puzzle for the fifth (and likely final) season. If Jen Garner is indeed pregnant, that actually works well in terms of addressing the remaining elements of the Rambaldi endgame. The writers would have enough time to give Nadia a more satisfying reason for opposing Sydney.

While the final scene does provide an easy way to keep Sydney off her feet in the early episodes of the fifth season (and also how someone could implant an embryo without her knowledge), the revelation about Vaughn seems to be tacked on to the series mythology. Whatever Vaughn’s true identity might be, it’s something that only Irina has managed to uncover, and it’s not something that Irina considers threatening to her daughter.

One possibility is that Vaughn is a descendent of Rambaldi and that he discovered this some time ago, all without anyone knowing. This would be impressive, since Vaughn’s covert activities in the past have never been that well executed. Was his original assignment to Sydney contrived without his knowledge, or was he “in on it”? For this to be a minor issue, it would have to be the former; Sydney would never be able to trust Vaughn if he’s been lying to her from the start.

In terms of when Vaughn would have found out, it makes sense that it would have happened while he was running around trying to find out about his father and his connection to everything. Vaughn didn’t know about the Rambaldi connection at the end of the third season, so it had to happen after that point. For that matter, Irina would have been aware of Vaughn’s manipulation by Yelena, and thus would have discovered what none of the others at APO could have known.

But what would that mean? An obvious thought would be that Vaughn was manipulated to be with Sydney as a failsafe for introducing Rambaldi DNA to the Chosen One. Thus some might interpret his relationship with Sydney as a negative thing, ignoring the fact that he had little choice in how he was maneuvered. Sydney herself might find herself conflicted between her love for Vaughn and the knowledge that being with him was, from a certain point of view, imposed.

Remarkably, despite the many things going against it, this finale was a far more satisfying ending than the third season finale. It was probably on par with the second season finale. It may not have been as strong as it could have been, but at least initially, it was satisfying and completely not what anyone was expecting at the beginning of the season. And frankly, that’s why it works, despite its flaws.

What JJ Abrams wanted to accomplish with this season was rather plain: recast the third season in a better light while also bringing the series back to the tortured family dynamic that ruled the series in its earlier days. To do that (and hopefully bring in new viewers), he hired writers from Joss Whedon’s Mutant Enerny production company, writers who knew how to start a season with stand-alone episodes and end it with a heavily serialized yet highly consistent plot arc.

The early episodes were exactly what the network wanted: often stand-alone, almost interchangeable (they took that to an extreme). JJ got what he wanted: a chance to establish the psychology of the characters and their inter-relationships so that the rest of the season would work far better. While a few of those episodes were weak, much of the problem was related to the network’s level of interference.

Around the middle of the season, things changed. The plot arc, right on time, kicked in. And suddenly it wasn’t just closer to the way “Alias” should be; it was better than most of the third season. More than that, the writers were taking on the mistakes of the past with a dedication to make things right, not unlike the writers of “Angel” had done at the end of the fourth season of that series. While there were still some plot holes, they were smaller than the ones that were replaced. For the fans that stuck with the series through the somewhat perplexing and annoyingly standard early episodes of the season, it was quite the thrill ride.

As already mentioned, the writers aren’t done yet. They can’t simply ignore the remaining issues and act like everything has been resolved. Yelena’s plan was not Rambaldi’s plan, and that should be recognized. Nor should Sloane’s effort to find redemption be ignored. Sloane is easily one of the best characters on television right now, and while he was a great villain for so long, he is equally compelling as a man fighting his own demons. With Nadia out of commission, Sloane’s fight to keep away from Rambaldi should take the forefront again, especially if Sydney ends up being under the Rambaldi microscope once again.

Ultimately, the second half of the season made this season at least as compelling, by the final few weeks, as the second season. It wasn’t as consistently good, thanks to the early meddling by the network, but it was definitely more focused and plotted out than the third season. If this season did much to redeem the third season and its weak points, then the fifth season must also deal with the issues that couldn’t be covered or don’t quite fit. Whatever the case, that final scene ought to give the fans plenty to take about until the fall!


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode faced a lot of challenges, and the writers did a good job with what they were given. The final product, forced into a shorter running time than anticipated, felt like a highlight reel, and the result was sometimes simplistic in terms of dialogue and execution. That said, it was great to see a number of plot and character threads come together, and that final scene opens the door for an interesting fifth season.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 7/10

Season 4 Final Average: 7.7

Lost 1.24/25: "Exodus II"

Written by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse
Directed by Jack Bender

In which the danger to Claire’s baby comes from an unexpected source, while the survivors raid Black Rock for explosives to open the hatch and those on the raft hit unexpected trouble…


Status Report

Now that the first season is over and the writers have effectively stunned or pissed off everyone in the audience, it’s worth taking a moment to consider what this finale says about the series and its approach to storytelling. Not the fact that character study is considered more important than simple plot progression; that’s been well established by now, and those who don’t get it aren’t going to be convinced. It’s something a little more subtle.

It’s one of those odd television conceits that the general audience, even when watching a story with deceptive individuals, take characters at their word. This is especially true when there are shadowy events taking place where secrets are traditionally kept and lies are traditionally par for the course. For some reason, the idea that people lie, especially those with questionable motives, doesn’t translate to the television audience.

Part of the problem is that people expect a clue or revelation to be an absolute, objective piece of whatever puzzle they want to solve. When there’s precious little information to work with, every little scrap becomes golden. But just like in real life, if characters are conceived and portrayed with human qualities, they don’t reveal the whole truth. In fact, they sometimes see things from such a skewed perspective that the idea of objectivity is wholly inappropriate.

Some viewers, upon learning that information previously revealed may not be true, cry foul. To them, it’s evidence that the writers are changing their story and playing games with the audience. In some cases, that’s true. But in others, it’s equally clear that the writers are intentionally playing on expectation and assumption. They present a character like Locke, show him as a bit unstable in “Walkabout”, and then have fun watching the audience continue to take him at face value and then complain when he does something unusual.

Similarly, this episode reveals that Danielle may not have been entirely honest with Sayid or Hurley when telling her story. When the details change, it’s quite possible that it’s not clarification, so much as a mixture of paranoid reinvention and outright revisionism. The writers spend quite a bit of time presenting her apparent case, and then they quickly pull the rug out from under everyone.

Here’s the thing: Charlie interprets the fact that there were no footprints or signs of life at the fire, and Danielle’s presence there, as a sign that she was the one setting the fires all along. Charlie states this opinion so vehemently that it has the bearing and appearance of truth. But it’s also quite clearly not true; the “others” are real, and they did in fact “take the boy”. Danielle misinterpreted what she overheard, and the fact that she’s hearing voices (like those she killed in the first place) doesn’t help matters. Add to that her complicity in Claire’s abduction, to some unknown extent, and Danielle’s motives are thrown back into uncertain territory.

Some are already claiming that this is a sign of bad writing, that all of this is somehow born of a desire to mess with the audience rather than remain consistent. Maybe so, but is that really the only explanation? Isn’t it far more likely, given the character dynamics already present, that the writers intentionally blurred the lines between objective truth and subjective belief? Taken in context with the “numbers” and the debate between Jack and Locke, doesn’t everything surrounding Danielle fit that theme?

For quite some time, there has been debate about whether or not the hatch and its place in the story is just another example of the writers’ evil intentions. This is nonsense. The hatch may have its place as a plot element, providing the initial starting point for the events of the second season, but it’s far more important in a symbolic sense. Locke’s comment about finding “hope” inside is a direct reference to the myth of Pandora’s Box. Similarly, hope may be inside, but the plot is more likely to center on whatever Very Bad Thing is unleashed at the same time.

The hatch, in the first season at least, was more important as a device for exposing the darker side of Locke’s psychology. That, in turn, led to the situation in which Boone was killed. That led to a number of subsequent character revelations. In that sense, the hatch could have been anything mysterious and just out of reach. All it had to be was something of intense value to Locke; the rest becomes something to explore after the consequences of its discovery are fully explored.

Similarly, the “numbers” were never supposed to be explained by the end of the season. That much is abundantly clear. Instead, what’s important is what the “numbers” represent. The “numbers” are a sign that there may be something more than random chance at work in the world. The exact nature of the “numbers” and their meaning may eventually be explained, but it’s the concept of the “numbers” that has meaning now.

Consider the possibility that the “numbers”, from a purely metaphorical point of view, express a kind of chaos theory, in that they are the evidence of the order within seemingly random events. The “numbers” keep coming up; that’s what holds importance. It happens just enough to eliminate any impression of pure chance, but at the same time, there’s a lack of a direct source. Is it that someone else, in the past, noticed that the “numbers” keep appearing under certain circumstances, and thus those “numbers” were under study?

The “numbers” join the “white/black stones” and other symbols on the series as representative of the philosophical world in which the characters reside. The first season boils down to a question of objective reality (science) vs. subjective belief (faith), and in such a discussion, symbols and apparent patterns are incredibly important. Those concerned with objective reality look at the patterns and seek the objective and impersonal source. Those concerned with subjective belief look at the patterns and seek the meaning behind them, assuming a design (and often, a place in that design).

Jack wants to open the hatch because, based on the information at his disposal, he believes it to be the best chance for survival against an unknown and possibly unbeatable enemy. He weighs the risk and makes the call. Locke, on the other hand, wants to open the hatch because he’s certain that it will bring everyone on the island that much closer to understanding their purpose. And like the shaman with the unshakeable belief, he’s certain that the tribal leader will ultimately come to understand the path to true enlightenment.

The writers, of course, have made the case that there is something more than random chance involved, and Locke’s not the only one to make that observation. Hurley and Sayid have also noted the oddities surrounding the crash and how things appear connected, and so that lends credence to the idea that there is, at some level, an objective ability to recognize some kind of design. So the question turns back to the source, and what the various clues on the island reveal.

If the “monster” is some kind of “security system” (again, from Danielle’s subjective point of view), then what was it designed to protect? One reason that the writers have held back details regarding the “monster” could simply be that its nature might give away too much, too quickly. What is clear is that the “monster” is not itself visible, but that its movements can be traced by what it leaves behind. It sounds mechanical, and it also appears to operate underground much of the time. (And given that the hatch leads underground, that’s a little unnerving.)

But like the hatch and the “numbers”, the “monster” has more use at this stage as something symbolic. For Jack, the “monster” is an unseen and unknown threat, pure and simple. For Locke, it’s a representation of the powerful voice of the island. What the “monster” is pales next to what the “monster” means to the characters. Clearly it has a nature and purpose, but beyond that, the characters struggle to understand how it fits into their world view.

The “others” fit into the same category, but in that case, there is something more to work with when making assumptions regarding nature and motive. The “others” work on one level as a concept, the expression of the unknown, outside threat that is also disturbingly familiar. More than that, they are the “others” with an apparently deeper understanding of what might be at stake. They could be operating under a similar delusion as Locke, but if the presence of an underlying pattern is considered a given, and the extent of it being the only question, then this episode confirms that Walt and his abilities are connected to that pattern.

The “others” themselves can be the remnant of any number of previous “tribes”: the descendants of the Black Rock passengers, the descendants of some research team that began the transmission of the “numbers”, Danielle’s old crew (that she only thought she killed, perhaps), or (less likely) the other survivors of Oceanic 815 that Boone contacted. That they come from the island is, for all intent purposes, a given.

Danielle definitely overheard the “others”; how that was possible is another story. The suggestion is that they live underground, in whatever tunnel system the hatch may or may not lead to. If the “monster” is part of an underground security system, do the “others” live within the apparent tunnels? This would lend credence to the idea that they are either part of the group that created the “monster” or a group that has taken control of the technology. They have a boat, which is interesting information; the column of smoke was apparently a means of navigation They may also have Alex; she might have been the young woman who tossed that explosive device into the raft.

That covers speculation as to their nature; their motive is even less defined. They seem to be connected, via Claire, to the psychic’s premonition in “Raised by Another”. But now Walt is a target, which seems to connect that episode with “Special”. The natural assumption is that the underlying order behind the “numbers” is connected in some way to the abilities Walt possesses and Aaron may have, if he has abilities at all. There’s some kind of psychic, paranormal level to the universe of “Lost”, so in the end, the “others” are operating under some (apparently) common understanding of it.

Behind it all is the ongoing impression of a higher power, controlling or guiding events, perhaps as a means of evaluating the survivors under extreme conditions. Taken in a meta-fictional context, the writers are doing exactly that. But is there a “higher power” in the narrative, and if so, was it found? Or are the “numbers” some representation of that power that someone discovered, something that (as the audience now recognizes) jumps out as a pattern once mentioned, but seems innocent taken out of that context?

Here’s an interesting speculation: are the hatch and “monster” artifacts of some scientific expedition meant to find the meaning behind the “numbers” themselves? Is it possible that the answer was never found, and thus the meaning of the “numbers” resides in how each characters chooses to react to the design they reveal? Do the “numbers” serve to represent, to a certain extent, the larger belief in “God”?

Locke believes that “the island” has a purpose for all of them, and that their survival is not an accident. Locke represents an extreme level of belief in a predetermined universe (he and Arvin Sloane would have some interesting conversations, to be sure); he is the fanatical shaman in every respect. Hurley has a similar belief in the “numbers”, but in his case, they are an expression of fickle, almost cruel fate. Sun looks at the pattern of experience and wonders if the survivors are on the island to be punished for their previous mistakes. Locke would likely agree, since he sees the island as a path to self-enlightenment, the means of becoming who they were all meant to be.

If one takes the meta-fictional point of view, then this finale serves to show just how much the island has changed the characters. It’s not, as some have claimed, just a way to rehash old information and waste time. As this season has aptly demonstrated, the story is about how the past impacts the present and therefore the future for each and every character, sometimes in unexpected combination. If one considers the title of the series to be more philosophical, describing where these characters are in a psychological and even spiritual sense, then this is appropriately not a question of “where this is all going”, but rather, “how they get there”. The point of the journey is not to arrive.

As such, it’s actually quite important to consider how far Jack has come in terms of leadership. He has always had all the potential in the world, but he had those infamous “daddy issues”. Sawyer gave him reason to get over it in the first part of the finale, and now he’s asserting a bit more confidence. That self-realization, of course, has also diminished Locke’s power over him, which comes on the heels of the doubt engendered by Locke’s decisions regarding Boone. Jack is becoming a leader just when one is becoming vitally important.

Kate doesn’t necessarily like that side of Jack, but then again, she has issues with voices of authority as a whole. Herein lies the problem: the doctor and selflessness in Jack reminds Kate of Tom, and she loves that, but the leader in Jack reminds her of the authority figures that have betrayed her time and again. Jack’s not the only one with “daddy issues”, after all. Kate wants to feel like she’s in control, and so far, she’s only found that level of certainty when she’s on her own. Kate has a lot to get over before she finds peace, if ever.

On the other hand, Jack shouldn’t feel too comfortable, because there’s another capable leader with no great love or trust for Locke in the person of Sayid. Sayid is also more suited, it seems, to the quick and dirty field medicine that the survivors are going to need. Sayid has no reason to question Jack’s judgment at this point, but that could quickly change if things go badly with that open hatch. Sayid was dead set against opening it, after all, and that could be meaningful. It would have been nice to get a better idea of his thoughts on Nadia, since “Solitary” and “The Greater Good” seemed to be in contradiction as to her fate, but his apparent reunion with Shannon was enough for now.

Claire and her son are propelled into the forefront of the story when Danielle abducts Aaron. Aaron is an interesting name (the Biblical connection to Exodus alone could be meaningful), though why Charlie reacted so strongly to that news is unclear. This is the episode where Claire’s trust in Charlie is cemented, and so of course, it’s also the episode where Charlie finds a motherlode of heroin and temptation. The “others” may have used Aaron as a decoy this time around (as did the writers), but in the future, Charlie’s possible reversion to addiction could be that much more tragic.

Hurley remains the comic relief, but his tortured side comes out as well. Beyond the hapless streak of extremely bad luck, there’s the soul that has to endure it all. And frankly, Hurley seems to be picking up on the momentum of dread that has gathered over the course of the season. He covers it with wry observations and a comic timing that is beyond perfect, but when he sees those “numbers” on the outside of the hatch, his fear is primal. That fact makes Locke’s decision to proceed despite the warnings that much more damning; Locke might know exactly how bad it’s going to be.

While Sun was around for some useful philosophy, Locke takes the cake for throwing down the intellectual gauntlet. When Locke expressed his point of view regarding Boone’s death, that it was a sacrifice that the island demanded, the depth of his personal need to believe was fully revealed. Locke’s entire life has brought him to the point where having a purpose is the only thing keeping him relatively sane; if the experience on the island is revealed as random or coincidental, Locke could lose his mind even more than he already has.

Out on the raft, Sawyer’s reason for being on the raft is revealed as something of a death wish. After “Outlaws”, it’s not hard to see why that’s the case. He loathes himself and every choice he’s made in his life, and he can’t seem to escape the momentum of his choices. Depending on how badly he’s wounded, Sawyer may get his moment of revelation when he finds himself struggling to survive, suddenly wanting to live, if only for revenge.

Michael is faced with perhaps the most terrifying moment since his son left his life in “Special”. The “others” were obviously keeping a close eye on the survivors, so they knew when the raft was ready to launch and made sure it would. It was easy to forget that Ethan was able to use the water to infiltrate the survivors’ camp, and thus forget that those on the raft weren’t safe. But once that blip on the radar came along, it was easy enough to recognize what was coming. Thus Michael loses Walt after learning that his son is the most important thing in his life.

Jin was revealed as running from his life of crime in “…In Translation”, so it comes as a relative shock when that escape turns out to be much harder than it seems. It really places Jin and Sun on the same level; both were at a serious crossroads thanks to earlier choices, and both were choosing to remain in their metaphorical cages until the island gave them the power to choose freely. It’s a testimony to Jin honorable nature that he dedicated his life to getting Sun the life she deserves, and that he didn’t hesitate to jump into the water to save Sawyer.

That said, all three of them are in deep, deep trouble. They were 15 miles from the island when they encountered the “others”, and they have no transport, no shelter, no food, and no water. Unless something unexpected happens, they don’t have a prayer. Of course, if the “others” aren’t the other survivors of Oceanic 815, then it’s possible that those potential other survivors will be the ones to find Michael, Jin, and/or Sawyer. But this is a very easy time to lose a cast member.

Central to this episode is Danielle’s psychology, which is warped, to say the least. It seems simple enough to say that Danielle thought that the “others” were coming for Aaron, so she thought she might make a trade for her Alex. The implication is that she was still thinking of Alex as a baby, but who can say? The real question is how she was implicated in Claire’s abduction. Did she help Claire get away, or was she trying to take Claire back to the “others”?

This episode, despite being double-length, still managed to cover more material than one would have expected. An enormous amount of plot is covered, whether critics want to acknowledge it or not. The dynamic between Locke, Jack, Kate, and Hurley could have been an episode in and of itself, but it was only part of the story. The Sayid/Charlie thread coincided nicely with the slow build towards disaster on the raft. Add to that the flashbacks, and this was quite dense.

It also goes a long way towards demonstrating why the writers need to focus on a single character during the regular episodes. The finale widened the focus to all the regulars, and while it came together well, it also left the audience hungering for more. Each character brings a fresh perspective to events on the island, and the collective disagreements and motives are what make the series work.

With so many complaining about the pacing of the plot (ignoring the true focus of the series in the process), it’s easy to forget that this has been an extraordinary first season. Only a few episodes didn’t work as well as they could have, and none of them were entirely disastrous. This season gets a solid mark of excellence, and more shows should focus on character and consequences to the same degree. Then again, it could be that this is just the right writing team for the right concept, and it wouldn’t work under different circumstances. Hopefully, the producers won’t back down and sacrifice the integrity of the story in favor of pleasing the fickle masses.


Final Analysis

Overall, the finale ends with a number of unexpected moments of pure narrative joy. While the fate of those on the raft could have been predicted, another plot thread effectively diverted attention away from the fairly obvious. Small revelations in plot were more than matched by strong character development, especially pertaining to what could be the central philosophical debate at the heart of the series. In the end, this is the perfect ending to one of the best seasons of television in recent memory.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4

Final Rating: 9/10

Season 1 Final Average: 8.1

24 4.24: "Day 4: 6AM - 7AM"

Written by Robert Cochran and Howard Gordon
Directed by Jon Cassar

In which CTU manages to get a lead on Marwan, ending the terrorist threat, but Jack cannot escape the consequences of his previous decisions, forcing him to make a surprising choice…


Status Report

As season finales go, this one is rather unique for “24”. The writers have flirted with cliffhangers in the past, but the most obvious example was a presidential assassination that was never given a true resolution. While this is hardly a true cliffhanger in the traditional sense, this is a season-long novel that ends with a definitive air of unfinished business. Jack may be walking down that track without looking back (or even calling his daughter), but there’s no doubt that it’s an interim situation. Sooner or later, Jack will be back, and this finale sets the stage for his return.

For a moment, the writers seem to return to that assassination, now more than four years earlier in the series’ continuity, perhaps to remind the audience that finales are a time of serious change. Not only that, but the fate of the nation rests on Palmer’s capacity for forgiveness. Palmer comes to his decision quickly and decisively, and in that moment, he makes it clear why he’s not the careless fool that Logan keeps calling him.

In the same moment, Mandy’s possible return is secured. There’s no telling how much trouble she could cause in the future. Having a clean legal slate is quite the gift for remaining flexible with one’s loyalties, and Mandy gets a chance to savor that deal with a long life, having sent Jack in Marwan’s direction. (Anyone else notice that Mia still looked damn good, despite the fact that she was supposed to be soundly beaten?)

Before long, the showdown begins. Instead of spending half the episode on helicopter stunts, the writers simply have Jack disable Marwan’s getaway vehicle and then transfer the action to the ground, where it belongs. Marwan gets the chance to destroy his PDA first, of course, but not entirely. The action moves into a parking garage (of course), and that’s when the fun really begins.

This being the season finale, death and change are par for the course. This is the final 20 pages of the book entitled “24: Day 4”, and the audience can’t count on anything. When Curtis takes a couple shots, it’s hard not to cringe, waiting for the head shot. It doesn’t come, but that’s because the writers have something even worse in mind. Rather than risk capture, Marwan tosses himself off the side of the parking garage. Not even Jack’s willpower can change the outcome, and since the warhead is on the way and Marwan has no intention of stopping it, it’s just a matter of time (and really bad digital effects).

Logan, showing his recent penchant for random madness, screams at Palmer for Marwan’s death. It’s not that Marwan was a zealot with every intention of letting Los Angeles bathe in nuclear fire; it’s that CTU and Palmer didn’t do enough to get Marwan to give up his evil ways. Of course, things go from bad to worse when the acting Chinese consul calls up with news of Agent Bern’s confession. Jack is now fully implicated, and the Logan administration is forced into “plausible deniability” mode.

Logan’s security aide (Cummings) not only questions Jack’s integrity, but figures that a bullet to the brain might be the most expedient solution. Palmer and Mike are suitably horrified, especially when Logan sounds less than convincing in his refusal to advocate assassination. But one thing is very clear: for once, Jack is going to have to face the consequences of proposing and carrying out one of his little black ops for Palmer. It actually brings the entire history of Jack Bauer and David Palmer full circle.

With the impending destruction of Jack’s career and possible life now on the table, the writers take all of five minutes to recover Marwan’s data from his PSP, generate a flight path (gee, LA, anyone?), and then blow the missile out of the sky. One thing is interesting to note: Jack claims that the warhead would be programmed to detonate upon impact with its target. That’s not usually the case. Nuclear warheads are far more destructive if they detonate at a certain altitude above the ground, prior to impact. Either Marwan and his people didn’t have that technology available, or the writers wanted to dance around that fact.

Upon their reunion, Tony is quickly forgiving of Michelle for her choice to place the fate of the nation above his survival. That doesn’t exactly come as a surprise, considering the fact that Tony has been doing exactly that all season long. But in this case, letting Michelle’s choice go is the key to getting the woman’s heart, so it’s probably a very easy decision for him to make.

On the other end of the relationship spectrum, Audrey does her version of letting Jack down gently. In typical fashion, it’s closer to ripping out Jack’s guts and making him feel like it’s all his fault for saving the world while going out with her. To be fair, Jack’s version of “doing his job” involves torturing her loved ones, among many others, and breaking international law. It might not be so hard to see things from her point of view! But that said, she’s ignoring the fact that he clearly loathes making those kinds of choices, and he wants to escape the trap that his life has become.

This begins laying down the foundation for the metaphor that ends the season. The trap of CTU soon promises to be nothing compared to the trap of his own choices: the Chinese prison where he is likely to be tortured and questioned in ways that are probably very similar to his own methods. Suddenly being trapped in CTU World doesn’t sound quite so bad, and Jack is trying to work out how saving the world has led to his own world being reduced to a cage.

That’s bad enough, but then Cummings turns around and does exactly what Logan told him not to do. Well, that’s the case if one ignores the mighty big wink that Logan gave Cummings when he forbade assassination tactics. So Jack moves from a metaphorical trap to an actual cage to the literal end of his life, all in a matter of moments.

Thanks to Novick, Palmer learns about Cummings’ plot and gets to confront Logan about the order. It becomes increasingly clear that Logan has both a very short memory and a similarity to Nixon that is purely intentional. Logan acts as though Palmer is losing his mind, when it’s actually closer to the truth to say that Logan is letting power go to his head. If he was doing his best George III impression when things looked entirely grim, he’s Caligula when things are going well, and Palmer has seen more than enough.

He warns Jack, of course, who has to be wondering what’s coming next in the “Dump on Jack” parade. In the space of a few minutes, Jack has to come up with a plan, and sure enough, Tony’s right there in the room, waiting for something heroic to do. Everyone who breathed a sigh of relief at the end of the previous episode was no doubt going back into cardiac arrest, because last minute favors in season finales are usually a very, very bad thing.

Perhaps most impressive is how quickly Jack and Tony formulate their plan, especially since Michelle and Chloe are in on it. (This is the crack team that couldn’t work out a cover up with 20 minutes of lead time, but faking a death in three minutes?) Sure! Surprisingly, Tony manages to deflect any hint of culpability by being the one to order the lockdown in the first place. Everything he does is designed to expose the true intentions of the Secret Service agent and give Jack time to prepare for his ruse.

During the final showdown, the writers really tease the possibility that Tony will be shot and killed, perhaps even in the process of letting Jack get away. But the situation is a bit more complex. Jack takes something that allows him to simulate death (where he got that in three minutes is hard to grasp, but this is metaphor, people!), and with a bit of blood poured on the floor to make it convincing, Tony blusters his way through the rest of the act. The agent, apparently all too aware that shooting Jack a few more times might tip his hand, accepts that the job is done.

Jack’s death and revival is meant to be dramatic, and it works as far as the metaphor goes. (Frankly, after Charlie’s death and revival on “Lost” this season, anything similar pales.) Jack’s old life is over, and in the process of being reborn (new identity and everything!), Jack is freed from the prison that his life was threatening to become. He’s a complete fugitive, of course, but at this point, where else was his life going to lead? Jack Bauer had done too much, gone too far, to ever live a normal life. Jack Bauer had to die in order for Jack Bauer to live.

Were the writers intending for the audience to feel pity for Audrey? If so, it’s a little late. For all that Audrey’s behavior could be understood in context, she seemed to ignore the fact that she knew Jack’s past and the kind of man he was; indeed, she supports her father without question, and he was always in line with Jack’s take on events. Perhaps she feels a bit responsible, believing that it was her rejection that led to his decision to go down fighting, but it’s still very hard to give her sympathy.

The final scenes of the episode are an interesting setup. Tony and Michelle seem to be leaving CTU together, looking forward to a bright future without the dangers and decisions that drove them apart. But really, on this series, does that ever last? Jack’s own experience should serve as a warning: sooner or later, the life will catch up with them. It’s really just a matter of whether or not Jack’s the one who comes calling.

The conversation between Palmer and Jack is a nice way to end the episode, but it may be more than just an end to a long and difficult friendship. It could very well be a hint of the direction of the next season. Palmer is now well aware of how unstable Logan is, and it could quickly become a problem if Logan lets power get to his head. Jack may have been reborn into a new life, but really, how long is that likely to last?

Jack is actually in a position to discover, to his immense dismay, that he’s no longer suited to the real world. He’s also the perfect black ops agent, because he’s now officially dead. How long will it be before one of the few people aware of his status comes looking for him, some crisis waiting in the wings? It wouldn’t be at all surprising if Palmer was the one coming around, perhaps because of knowledge of something Logan has done or is planning to do. In fact, if Jack had to help Palmer deal with a corrupt Logan in the fifth season, it could eventually lead to the truth about the Chinese consul’s death (at least the Logan administration’s part in it) and Jack’s ability to return to his old life.

If this had been the end of the series, the metaphor of rebirth would have been a good way to wrap up the various character threads. But the writers were aware of the renewal chances and planted the seeds for the fifth season. While this could ultimately undermine the strength of the metaphor in favor of more action-packed insanity, it’s part of the trade-off. The series as it exists cannot continue without Jack at its center. That was the decision of the producers and network a long time ago, and if that means Jack is never going to find true happiness, then so be it.

Looking back on the fourth season, the producers and writers were remarkably open about their challenges and limitations. Even before the season began, they admitted that their plans to stay ahead of schedule were quickly overwhelmed by real world issues. Instead of having weeks to work out the kinks in the story and develop proper depth, the writers were stuck with writing scenes literally hours before they were filmed. Sometimes, they had even less time. Looking back, it’s not hard to see when that strain finally became too much to handle.

After four seasons, have the writers learned anything? As the season marched on, more episodes were written by non-producers, which seemed to help take off the edge. They’ve hired a couple new faces for the fifth season, writer/producers with a strong track record of writing excellent episodes in short order. In terms of pulling together the right team to deal with a similar crisis, the work’s been done.

But the pattern of this season is suggestive. The first few episodes were a bit too obviously “staged”; it was too easy to see where the writers wanted each episode to end, and everything was designed to achieve that goal. In other words, it wasn’t very organic or natural in terms of narrative flow.

As the lead time quickly disappeared, the writers let that pressure drive them into a somewhat chaotic excellence. As the interest in the Araz family, especially the complex Dina, grew with every passing week, the writers took the opportunity to give the story new layers of meaning and subtext. The oft-depicted moral relativity of CTU was contrasted with the terrorists’ moral equivocation. It wasn’t just about stopping terrorists; it was about how counter-terrorism can corrupt the morality of those implementing extreme measures for national security: the hunter becomes that which he hunts.

As long as the writers could keep their eyes on the impending nuclear meltdown scenario and play off the audience’s interest in Dina Araz, they were able to keep up the momentum. When that plot thread came to an end, however, the writers stumbled hard. It was no longer a symmetrical race against time; it was one side hunting down the other, always several steps behind. Thus the plot was always dependent on how smart or stupid the terrorists were; CTU always had to be that much less aware of the situation. Not only did that force the writers to toss in ridiculous and often contradictory roadblocks (usually of the relationship type), but it wiped out most of the strong sources of layered storytelling and metaphor.

This seems to happen every season, but in this case, the lull turned into an extended drought. If this season is only average in the end, it’s because the storytelling never rose above the quality of a weekly popcorn movie. “24” is, at its most basic level, exactly that; however, it has also been used for character study and social/political commentary. This season had less of that than ever before, and the majority of that weakness is directly related to the writers’ lack of lead time. When it’s a struggle to deliver just the basic plot points one time, the extras tend to fall to the wayside.

Most of the time, the layered narrative is the result of character development. Most of that was confined to relationship issues this season, and those tend to be very self-contained. Contrast this season of “24” to this season of “Alias”; the difference is mostly a question of character study. Granted, it’s a lot easier when every episode can adjust theme and content to facilitate the drama, but “Alias” was also dealing with the challenge of taking four seasons worth of continuity and pulling them together. This season of “24” didn’t begin impacting the characters in a definitive way until late in the game.

Once the writers caught up, right around the time of the biggest plot twist of the season (terribly telegraphed), the depth also returned. It wasn’t just about the action anymore; now there were mounting consequences for all the choices made when the ends seemed to justify the means. While those consequences were sometimes over the top in execution, there was a real sense of eroding luck. The missing tension was suddenly back, and here and there, the writers pulled a couple of unexpected character moments and reintroductions out of the bag.

Thus the season was able to end on something of a high note, which was seriously in doubt. As already mentioned, if the writing staff has truly buckled down and taken the task of plotting things out more carefully to heart, the fifth season could justify the investment that FOX has made. They need to remember that the goal is not simply to have an action-packed season of thrill-ride proportions; it’s also about telling a story and giving the audience a reason to care. The new writing staff has a strong reputation, and one can only hope that they live up to it.


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode is a good ending to a rather uneven season. Oddly enough, while there’s a strong metaphor running through the entire episode, the fact that there’s a fifth (and even sixth) season already ordered steals some of the emotional power from the final scene. Some of the visual effects were strangely weak for an episode meant for big ratings, but the story is strong enough to overcome that flaw. It should be interesting to see how the writers handle things next season!

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10

Season 4 Final Average: 6.9

24 4.23: "Day 4: 5AM - 6AM"

Written by Sam Montgomery
Directed by Jon Cassar

In which Mandy holds Tony hostage, holding off CTU as she uses Michelle to get her way, while time runs out to stop the nuclear warhead from striking its target…


Status Report

One of the greatest weaknesses of the middle stretch of episodes was its lack of narrative depth. Events were strung together by the barest of threads and character turns were largely dependent on plot contrivances. While that is increasingly the “24” staple, thanks to rather poor management of the writing staff (the producers are the writers, which is often a bad idea), it’s really a question of whether the series is an average action thriller or something more original and intriguing.

What this series often lacks is a sense of consequence. How many times has Jack run counter to the law, only to be given some degree of pardon or absolution in the end? For Jack and his allies, the ends justify the means, and when the writers acknowledge this, the series gains a depth of perspective. On the other hand, when the series champions such thought in a pseudo-conservative puffing of the chest, it comes across as dishonest.

The conceit of playing out a story over a 24-hour period is that extreme situations rarely deliver an immediate fallout. It takes time for choices to yield unintended results. At least, that’s true until one makes a mistake involving a person or organization with enough influence to deliver consequences at a vastly accelerated rate. In this episode, there is a mixture of past choices and consequences and immediate cost, and as with many of the recent episodes, this exploration gives the episode that aforementioned depth.

Michelle is understandably panicked about Tony’s fate, which is not promising, to say the least. If Mandy is anything (beyond intensely attractive, and that sweet but deadly voice!), she’s a cold and brutal assassin. Tony is only useful as a potential bargaining chip, and it doesn’t take her long to discover the rather public information regarding Tony and Michelle. With the deadline approaching, Mandy needs to get away, and Tony’s aid to Saunders in the third season provides the roadmap.

Meanwhile, the nuclear missile proves more or less impossible to detect, which means that it could hit any city in the United States. There is one slight logical flaw to this; once a certain amount of time has passed, the cities within a certain radius of the launch site would no longer be a likely target, since the missile was ostensibly fired in a specific direction. Granted, it makes sense that the general population would panic, and thus riots would break out around the country, but in terms of identifying a target and search grid, it would become increasingly possible to eliminate likely strike zones.

Pointing out Tony’s previous crime also leads to a slight plotting error. It makes perfect sense that Mandy would try to use Michelle and her relationship to Tony as leverage; it doesn’t make sense that Michelle’s cell phone number would be public information. Why wouldn’t CTU issue specific cell phones to their high-level employees with unlisted numbers, specifically to avoid the fact that people are constantly bypassing security by using personal cell phones? (This is only a slight error because personal cell phones have already been used this season, thus establishing that CTU still hasn’t taken precautions!)

In a nice twist, Michelle can’t make the same choice that Tony made. She tells Buchanan about Mandy’s call and helps CTU with the preparations necessary to maintain the ruse that she is, in fact, cooperating. Of course, none of them suspect, given the emotionally charged situation, that Mandy knows very well that Michelle didn’t approve of Tony’s actions. That would have been clear from the same source of information that Mandy used to uncover the connection and circumstance in the first place. So it makes perfect sense that Mandy would use that to her advantage. This is proven out when Mandy immediately goes into seduction mode (having taken on a role to gain the confidence of her neighbors) and takes a couple next door hostage.

President Logan goes back into schizophrenic mode when the Chinese consulate begins ramping up their efforts to identify Jack as the lead agent in the raid a few episodes earlier. The writers have had some issues with Logan’s characterization once his lack of confidence became annoying. After giving David all the power in the previous episode, he’s back to threatening Palmer with dire consequences, tossing out comments about failure. It’s possible that this is all part of a bigger picture, but for now, Logan is looking more than a little unstable.

Of course, Logan has reason to be worried, since the Chinese are apparently better at committing illegal acts on foreign soil than CTU agents. Cheng is just a little too good at getting his hands on Agent Bern, especially since one would expect that the CTU agents originally charged with his protection should have been aware of the potential for trouble. It was way too easy for Bern to be taken into Chinese custody.

Mandy (while looking ultra-fetching in her mini and boots) twists the knife in Michelle’s gut a little bit more, adding to Michelle’s inner turmoil and thus making her threats easy to believe. While CTU isn’t focusing on Tony’s rescue, they are focusing on the idea that Mandy is planning to use Tony as a viable hostage. It’s the picture that this methodology forms in the CTU mindset that Mandy has been trained to anticipate.

Sure enough, it’s only Jack that gets the vague impression that something is wrong when Mandy apparently walks in plain sight with Tony in tow. For one thing, it’s a lot more obvious a ruse than the writers let the characters admit. But Mandy is counting on emotions and anxiety to rule the moment, and that’s exactly what happens. When that car goes up, Michelle’s reaction is heartfelt and real. But while her reaction makes sense, it’s not quite so sensible for everyone else to take events at face value.

It does, however, make sense that the White House would need to shift gears from prevention to containment. It’s actually a little late for that, especially since it would have been easy to justify based on the attacks that had already taken place. Did it really take this long for Palmer to consider that the country needs to be ready to impose martial law? Nuclear meltdowns and presidential assassinations aren’t enough? (At least it gives Logan a chance to be nutty again.)

Michelle is left with the consequences of her decision. On the one hand, her decision to follow protocol and the law apparently led to the death of the man she loves. On the other, she would have betrayed everything she believes in for just the chance of his survival. The writers use the established momentum running against Tony as a way to shape the audience’s reactions to Michelle’s choice. It’s hard not to sympathize with her, because who hasn’t been dreading the possibility of Tony’s final exit?

Jack starts to use his brain as time runs out, but oddly enough, the thing that clues him in to Mandy’s deception is far more complicated than it needs to be. Before getting to the point where he notices the lack of ambient noise from the rain, he might have noticed that the sound of the car door closing was utterly absent from the otherwise pitch-perfect cell phone call. Considering how many times he ran that part of the video over and over, it’s insane that he didn’t mention it.

For that matter, Mandy is a professional, as Jack notes, so how could Tony use something so basic as a trail of blood to get CTU’s attention? Mandy was looking right at the ground on more than one occasion, and yet somehow managed to miss the bright red blood completely! Leaving aside that the rain was supposed to be hard enough to hear on a cell phone, thus hard enough to disperse fresh blood rather quickly, it’s a plot convenience that mars an otherwise strong episode.

Give Tony credit: he still manages to put up a fight after being mildly tortured. It actually says more about the professional abilities at Mandy’s disposal that she rather methodically takes him down and then resumes the steady escape without hesitation. Indeed, she’s wonderfully impassive when Jack is ready to let Tony die to get his hands on her; since she was clearly ready to kill Tony anyway, calling Jack’s bluff was the logical next step. Curtis shows some great timing, because if another second had ticked by, Tony would have been a dead man.

Tony’s survival is so unlikely, after all the build-up this season, that one is immediately concerned when Michelle proves a little hard to find. Suddenly there was the feeling that Michelle would do something intensely stupid in reaction to her part in Tony’s apparent death. Thankfully, she didn’t eat her gun or, worse, overdose on meds and then get the call that Tony was alive. Michelle looks damned happy, but thankfully, the audience isn’t off the hook yet, because with one episode to go, there’s still a lot of time for heroics.

Jack’s confrontation with Mandy speaks to his desperation. He knows enough about Mandy to realize that she’s a stone killer with a storied past; she might as well be Nina’s younger, more evil sister. Handing her full immunity for acts past and present is one hell of a free pass, and she knows it. And since she’s aware that the missile is coming for Los Angeles (what a shock), trying to get her cake and eat it too represents some quick thinking.

The final scene makes it clear, however, that the producers weren’t kidding when they said that the season would end in a very different way than expected. For all that Jack and CTU are closer to a resolution to this incredibly bad day, the Chinese are getting everything they need to deliver an unexpected blow. In retrospect, the writers were setting the stage for the fifth season, and if the producers are to be believed, the final episode is designed to be the springboard for future events. That means, in essence, that the Chinese witch hunt for Jack Bauer is more than just another subplot, and that the writers are actually planning very far ahead.

As far as this episode goes, however, it’s a stronger hour if only because the hostage situation, and everything that it represents, unearths emotions that have been relatively well hidden to this point. Michelle is on the verge of a complete breakdown, Jack is driven by a mixture of guilt and hope, and Palmer is forced to deal with the fact that his decisions have had seriously bad consequences, made worse by the presence of a very unstable First Executive.

The past three seasons have added more and more denouement to the story. The first season ended abruptly, the second season ended with a false cliffhanger, and the third season ended with Jack ready to lose it. As the stakes increase, so does the wear and tear on Jack’s life. With that final scene, the writers seem to promise that the same will be true this season. Since this is the kind of series were suffering by the main characters is in much demand, Jack’s life looks to be forever altered (and perhaps very confined) yet again.


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode continues to deliver consequences to the characters for their decisions, as the seeds for the finale (and apparently the fifth season) are laid out in unrelenting detail. The mind games are fun to watch, and the long build towards a character death is revealed as a clever ruse, used to push the other characters to their limits. Some minor nits remained, but the season looks to end on a higher note than one would have expected, not so long ago.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10

Season Average (as of 4.23): 6.9

Alias 4.21: "Search and Rescue"

Written by Monica Breen and Alison Schapker
Directed by Lawrence Trilling

In which Jack, Sydney, and Nadia struggle to locate and rescue Irina Derevko while Yelena triggers the beginning of the Rambaldi endgame…


Status Report

The wisdom of airing episodes 20 and 21 on the same night is confirmed early in the second hour. “The Descent” is heavy on the massive alignment changes and the question of Sloane’s motives, but the ending demands that the following episode focus entirely on the revelation that Irina is alive and relatively well. How much fun is it, then, to start the episode with a flashback to Jack’s supposed assassination of Irina?

A great deal of the episode is spent on the emotional fallout of Irina’s return, because it changes things in a massive way. For one thing, when Nadia learns the truth about Irina’s supposed death, the fact that she might really be alive takes something out of her righteous anger. Had Irina still been considered dead, Nadia would not have been so willing to let it go. Sure, the fact that Jack is openly remorseful for his error, but if there’s anything Jack and Nadia can find common ground about, it’s how well Yelena can manipulate the facts.

The solution to Irina’s survival was easy enough to guess, but it does create something of a minor plot inconsistency in terms of the rest of the season. Clearly, the writers originally killed off Irina with the understanding that Lena Olin was probably never coming back and thus the character needed some sense of closure. Whether or not they were keeping Project: Helix in their back pocket is impossible to know, but they definitely moved on once Irina was off the table.

The writers have mentioned Project: Helix several times since the second season, but it didn’t come into play with Arvin Clone. Why use Project: Helix to toss out a fake Irina, and yet only use a memory-replicated stand-in for Sloane? Having Joel Grey in a few episodes was fun, especially his near-perfect emulation of Ron Rifkin’s version of Sloane, but wouldn’t it be more logical for Yelena to imprint a victim with Sloane’s memories and also have him undergo the Project: Helix treatment? (Perhaps Yelena always expected Arvin Clone to be captured, and thus didn’t want to tip her hand in terms of Irina?)

That said, as mentioned already, the episode was dominated by the characters’ reactions to Irina’s return from apparent death. In a way, this distracted from the writers’ ability to move forward with the plot elements in a satisfying way, but there was very little alternative. Lena Olin was only available (affordable!) for a couple of episodes, and so everything related to Irina had to be crammed into a very short period of time.

The writers did what they could with what they were given. Jack’s response is perfectly in character, and one can see what the writers were hoping to accomplish with “Mirage”. Jack seems torn between the firm belief that he made the right call with the information he had and the realization that he’s utterly shaken by the thought that Irina is alive. More than that, the reason for his bitterness over the past 20 years has been given a context that paints Irina in a far more positive light; she was reacting to a threat to her loved ones, one she couldn’t explain to the man she loved. It’s no wonder that Jack doesn’t look like he’s ready to spontaneously combust.

Sydney is caught up in the same mess that Jack finds himself in, so far as Nadia is concerned. Part of the problem is that all of them are being challenged to rethink critical assumptions, assumptions that ruled their lives for years. Also, the news about Irina and Sydney’s role in protecting her father comes on the heels of betrayals by Sophia/Yelena and (apparently) Sloane. Sydney has discovered, quite by accident, that she really was at the forefront of her mother’s thoughts. Watching the second season again is suddenly going to be that much more interesting.

If there’s a trigger for a meltdown from Nadia, however, this is going to be it. She was on the verge of coming apart at the seams just from trying to contain herself around Irina. Watching the scene where Irina finally realizing who Nadia must be is especially heart-breaking; at least Irina and Sydney had a chance to bond, once upon a time, even if it was under less than ideal circumstances. Nadia reverts to a hurt little girl in that scene, and it reveals just how deeply each successive betrayal has wounded her.

Even Vaughn is affected by the odd reality of the situation. Vaughn is used as a “reality check” more than once, and he helps to remind the audience that this reunited family is about as dysfunctional as it comes. (Think the family on “Six Feet Under” is bad? They’ve got nothing on the Bristow/Derevko clan!) But Vaughn has also been forced to recognize the fact that his father’s death was not what it seemed; indeed, his father was a fanatic, apparently working for Yelena, and Irina was trying to protect Nadia. Vaughn can’t really hate Irina for that, given what he’s been through.

And, of course, this is the family that he’s trying to join, which just says everything about how far he’s willing to embrace the insanity. The proposal scene is good as shown, but it could have been a little better. Jack gets to give Vaughn a rare shot of positive reinforcement, but why not give the audience a wide shot of Jack and Irina looking on in pride? Damn, even Nadia should have been looking on, perhaps in a mixture of happiness and envy. Maybe the shots were there and cut for time, but it’s a missed opportunity to drive home the fact that Irina and Jack have more in common now.

Because of the compressed timeline, there are a couple of plot contrivances. For one thing, the writers wanted to make it clear that the CIA wasn’t pleased with the idea of Jack running around with a free Irina Derevko, especially since they don’t really understand the scope of the Rambaldi threat. The fact that there’s a huge red ball filled with a deadly toxin (apparently ala “Almost Thirty Years”) floating above a Russian city doesn’t bother people as much as it should. This is surprising, but they also didn’t understand what they were really doing when they let Sloane run APO, so why should they react to something as terrifyingly alien as a big Floating Red Ball of Death?

More surprising is how easily Chase gives in to Sydney and her demand that Irina be allowed on the mission, and the fact that Irina and Jack don’t flinch at the idea of Nadia coming along. Both Jack and Irina have spent an enormous amount of time protecting either or both Sydney and Nadia, and yet when the time comes when the prophecy is most likely to come to pass, neither one objects to the two women being together. At the very least, Jack could have used Nadia’s fragile emotional state as a basis for keeping her behind!

On the other hand, perhaps the writers did address it, and it was cut. “Alias”, like all JJ Abrams shows, is usually filmed with close to twice as much material as time will allow. This gives them a little more freedom to work out which scenes are critical in post-production, while later episodes are in the draft stage. So one can imagine that the writers conceived of this logical problem and somehow justified it; perhaps Jack and Irina figured that the best time to prevent the prophecy would be at the time of its culmination.

The other problem is that Irina’s position is rather lightly guarded, given her importance to Yelena’s plans. This is an interesting problem because it could very well be a plot point. But consider: if Yelena was holding Irina simply to get Irina to copy a page from a Rambaldi manuscript and then help with its implementation, and that goal has been reached, why is Irina still alive? Why not kill Irina once the plan was initiated? Or was keeping Irina alive and lightly protected all part of Yelena’s plan to get Sydney and Nadia to the right place at the right time?

For all that the plot has too move way too quickly, the final images are quite memorable. It’s amazing to think that the early episodes of the season seemed to be so divorced from Rambaldi and his schemes to ever turn back. Now, the season is delivering the Rambaldi picture more clearly than it’s ever been drawn. That shot of the Circumference suspended over the town was nothing short of thrilling.

It should also be noted that this episode has some of the sexist Sydney scenes in recent memory. Those remembering fondly the days of Sydney in a latex corset and goth PVC, or even the open sexuality of Julia Thorne, might have been missing that side of “Alias”. This season was a return to form (remember “APO”?), but Jen really amps up the heat in this episode. When she straddles Vaughn and then gives that come-hither-NOW stare, it’s enough to make half the audience drop to the floor. (And then there’s that little conversation about how Sydney and Vaughn like it rough…do they play in costume at home, too?)

Originally, the idea was to make the final episode 90 minutes long. With the extension of the “Lost” finale, the episode had to be recut to an hour. That a good 20 minutes or more of lost material from this episode. It’s going to be a challenge for the producers to make everything fit into that time, given how many plot threads are coming together in one episode. The action and consequences could spill over into the beginning of the fifth season, but since Lena Olin is unlikely to be around again, that could prove impossible. At this point, it may not matter; just the fact that the Rambaldi arc might actually be resolved before the series is over is a cause for celebration.


Final Analysis

Overall, though this episode was not as strong as the previous installment, it had definite strengths. Any episode with Irina front and center is likely to succeed, and the varied reactions to her presence are worth it. The Rambaldi endgame actually yielded something more than talk this time around, and it is requisitely chilling. Events are speeding towards a terrible battle to prevent the end of humanity, and in the process, the audience is finally treated to the story they have been waiting for since the first season.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10

Season Average (as of 4.21): 7.7

Entil's 2005/2006 TiVo Schedule

I had a whole paragraph about how this is all just the prospective TiVo schedule, but the crappy LJ editing process wiped it out when the server timed out. So here's the long and the short of it, starting with Summer 2005 and then the 2005/2006 season:

** - Reviewed series
(?) - Not sure about this one; possible series to follow
(C) - Cris' choice

SUMMER 2005

SUNDAY
9 PM
The 4400
10 PM
Dead Zone

TUESDAY
9 PM
Fire Me, Please (?)
Big Brother 6 (C)
10 PMRock Star: INXS (?)

WEDNESDAY
9 PM
The Inside
Ghost Hunters

THURSDAY
8 PM
Big Brother 6 (C)

FRIDAY
8 PM
Stargate: SG1
9 PM
Stargate: Atlantis
10 PM
Battlestar: Galactica

SATURDAY
8 PM
Big Brother 6 (C)



FALL 2005/SPRING 2006

SUNDAY
8 PM
The West Wing
9 PM
Desperate Housewives (C)

MONDAY
8 PM
Fathom (?)
9 PM
**24 (Jan 2006)
10 PM
Medium

TUESDAY
8 PM
NCIS
American Idol (Jan 2006)
9 PM
Amazing Race
Supernatural (?)
9:30 PM
The Office

WEDNESDAY
9 PM
**Lost
E-Ring (?)
10 PM
Invasion (?)

THURSDAY
8 PM (this is gonna suck big time!)
**Alias
Survivor
Smallville
Joey (C)
9 PM
The Night Stalker (?)
Reunion (?)
The Apprentice (C)

FRIDAY
8 PM
Stargate: SG1
9 PMStargate: Atlantis
Threshold (?)
10 PM
Battlestar: Galactica

MIDSEASON SHOWS (if picked up):
The Unit (?)
Emily's Reasons Why Not (?)
What About Brian (?)

Sure, it looks like a lot, but most of this stuff is "maybe", and much of it will drop off after a couple of episodes! This is also why it's possible that something will hit me as a new series to review, if it's compelling enough for my tastes. (Or I'll just wait until that Star Wars series starts up...LOL...)

Alias 4.20: "The Descent"

Written by Jeffrey Bell
Directed by Jeffrey Bell

In which Yelena’s betrayal of Nadia is exposed, leading to revelations about the nature of Rambaldi’s endgame and the truth about Irina’s previous activities…


Status Report

In the space of a few short episodes, the current writing staff of “Alias” has accomplished what was once deemed impossible: pulling the massive plot holes and dangling plot threads of the past into a cohesive whole. Not only is the Rambaldi endgame that much closer to being defined, but context is provided for the past four seasons, taking uncertain and undefined motivations and giving them meaning.

(Note: this review has been written after viewing this particular episode only, despite the fact that the next episode was aired on the same night; the reviewer intentionally did not watch the second episode until this review was completed.)

This episode outlines the fabric of the “Alias” universe in all its glory, and it makes a great deal of sense. It’s a bit convenient at times, since some things that are shoved under the Yelena umbrella don’t quite mesh with how they were originally presented, but from a conceptual standpoint it works very well. One can easily attribute the major points of contention to the sins of the third season writing staff, who have already been rebuked time and again for their loose control over story development and continuity details.

The point of this episode is quite plain: this brings the characters and audience up to speed with the full reality of the Rambaldi mythology and how all the major characters play into it. Once again, it comes down to assembling the right pieces together to create the right mechanism, but that makes a certain amount of sense. Rambaldi didn’t just count on the right artifacts being set into place; he also counted on the right people moving into the right positions.

Sloane’s background, given in the previous episode, fits perfectly into his comments during the extremely welcome flashback in Siena. Sloane came to believe that his loss was preordained, part of a divine plan that would allow him to be Rambaldi’s advocate in the modern world. His obsession led him to the desire to be that person, the one that would forever be remembered for changing the world, his name tied to Rambaldi and history for all time. It’s that kind of drive that would have allowed him to act and plan with such dedication for 30 years.

Yelena was the Derevko sister, however, that wanted to use the same power towards a far more destructive end. What’s not clear is when Yelena’s true design became clear to Irina. It seems obvious enough that the three Derevko sisters originally conspired to bring about the Rambaldi endgame, and that Irina’s choice to have Sydney and Nadia was part of that design. At that point, perhaps Irina only knew that the Chosen One would be instrumental in pulling together the artifacts necessary while The Passenger would point them to the final piece (this purpose finally revealed in this episode). The prophecy about the two sisters warring over a single object must have come later, thus beginning Irina’s long struggle to take control of the Rambaldi endgame in an effort to protect her daughters.

As mentioned in earlier reviews, this places the second season in a completely different light, and does much to explain Irina’s hidden agenda. Working with Sloane would give Irina certain short term benefits, especially since it would do much to derail Yelena’s efforts, which Sloane didn’t even know about. With Sydney’s apparent death in the third season, Irina would have assumed that the struggle was that much closer to being over. But then the word about the Covenant would have come out, and Irina would have realized that Yelena was that much closer to the endgame.

With Sloane coming close to achieving his own endgame and locating The Passenger, Yelena would have sent Katya to convince Jack to kill Sloane and eliminate the one adversary in the way. Yelena would have also been working, one would think, with the Magnific Order of Rambaldi. Capturing Irina would have also eliminated that threat, and using Arvin Clone, Yelena could use the resource of the Covenant and Sloane’s criminal ties to her advantage.

It’s brilliant enough to make the third season, as JJ always promised, far better in retrospect, because now what had little purpose has a solid foundation. When Sloane said that The Telling produced “Peace”, it wasn’t a complete lie; it was, in essence, the roadmap to peace, from a certain point of view. If one is willing to forgive some of the moments where the story seems to be culminating in a “final endgame” and then jumping into some new step in the process, then this episode aligns the series into one paradigm.

Consider for a moment that Sydney, because of her hatred for Sloane, worked for years to gather the Rambaldi artifacts and get them to Kendell and DSR; in the process, she essentially handed them to Yelena, once Yelena’s connection to Nadia was exploited. In that context, Sydney has “brought forth Rambaldi’s works” and “bound them with fury”, thus allowing Yelena to “render destruction unto the greatest power”. From a certain point of view, Sydney has fulfilled her purpose, just as Nadia fulfilled hers. Now there’s only the final endgame to be resolved, and that’s well underway.

Instead of just dumping everything out in a “Full Disclosure”-style episode, meant to clear the decks and little else, the writers use Sloane’s apparent return to obsessed form as the through-line of the episode. Everything is tied to Sloane’s apparent motivation, playing on the end of “Another Mister Sloane” and the team’s constant fear that he will revert to form. In this episode, he seems to do exactly that.

Note, however, the constant qualification in those statements. After all, this is the man who came back from a fantasy for the love of his daughter Nadia, and he just watched her trust in the one woman that meant everything to her torn to ribbons. Yelena was always a threat, but she had never actually hurt Nadia until this episode. And since the writers have reinforced Sloane’s love for Nadia all season, it stands to reason that Sloane’s motivations are so clear cut as outright betrayal. The expected moment of revelation, where Sloane admits his true intentions, never comes, and he constantly tries to tell his old team that his apparent reversal is not what it seems.

It could just be an exercise in taking what might seem obvious and making it murky, but it feels like the culmination of two very distinct and well-established character influences, warring for control. And while Sloane has been obsessed with Rambaldi for 30 years, that obsession replaced the very thing that Nadia represents: Sloane’s biological legacy. In terms of classic drama, Sloane would be strongly motivated by his original desire for family, and thus would work to overcome the sins of his obsession.

Of course, in terms of classic drama, Sloane would typically become the final victim of his own misguided schemes, thus sacrificing himself so that his daughter (the source of his redemption) might live. Indeed, Sloane would likely sacrifice himself in such a manner as to allow Nadia and her allies to defeat Yelena without falling into the trap of prophecy. If Nadia and Sydney survive the end of the season, then there’s a very good chance that Sloane will not.

The interesting thing is that Sloane is such a great liar that he could, in fact, have fallen into the old Rambaldi obsessions and still appear to have another agenda. Since the team assumes that Sloane is back off the wagon, this would be a bit disappointing. Sloane is the villain that everyone loves to hate because he is, in fact, so human in the end. His motivations turn out to be rather easy to understand and reconcile. He’s not the melodramatic villain, evil to the core; he’s a fully realized character with a possibility for redemption.

The episode is dominated by Sloane’s motivations (indeed, this season has been very Sloane-heavy, which is a creatively dangerous choice but rewarding in the end). But that’s not the only strength of the episode. Another appearance by Katya allows for some quick revelations about Yelena and Irina (in the matter of about two minutes, the entire series takes on a new perspective), and also allows for an interesting comparison to Yelena herself. Despite the difference in nationalities between the actresses, there’s a remarkable similarity between the sisters, which underscores the brilliance in the casting of the Derevkos.

Jack gets to consider how his decision to kill Irina, all because of a trick by Yelena, allowed the current situation to spiral out of control. The self-examination that follows is a big reason why Jack gives Vaughn his blessing to marry Sydney. This is actually another reason to suspect that JJ planned this season out as a possible end to the whole series. Beyond the apparent resolution to nearly all things Rambaldi, there’s a possible culmination of the Vaughn/Sydney relationship (even should it come as a cliffhanger).

Jack also gets to toss out one of the best one-liners of the season: “Like weapons-grade anthrax grows on trees! (dramatic rolling of eyes)”

Dixon and Director Chase have apparently been having a relationship on the side, which is a good development, even if it should have been on screen and not just mentioned when convenient for the dramatic aspects of the story. Dixon has been shot a lot this season, but that is a consequence of being in the field once more, and that has been a highlight.

Indeed, the “resolution” phase of this season is turning out to be strong enough to make this a welcome return to the storytelling of the second season. If the initial episodes were a bit rocky, it was a move designed to get viewers (new and old) comfortable with the new status quo before rattling out the arc elements and retroactive continuity fixes. In other words, JJ and his writing staff did exactly what was expected of them; the structure that was brought over from “Angel” has worked wonders for “Alias”.

With two episodes left, there’s still a lot of ground to be covered. Irina’s survival is going to require one hell of an explanation. It can be done, of course, since Yelena has managed to pull off far more impressive stunts in recent memory (perhaps a Project: Helix situation was involved), but the explanation should also include a brief and compelling version of events from Irina’s point of view. Irina’s fate must also be dealt with definitively this time around, if only to avoid the issues of Lena Olin’s availability.

It’s quite possible that the Rambaldi endgame is going to prove too large a ball of string to unravel in the time left. If this is supposed to be the end, with the fifth season dealing more with the consequences of the plot than stopping it, then hopefully the writers will be able to pull off an ending worthy of the build. If this is not the end, then the challenge will be making that fact amenable to a fandom that has been waiting a very long time for some sense of closure. Whatever the case, a strong ending will instill a great deal of trust in an audience that will need to be there next season to combat some serious competition.


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode was an amazing example of creative retroactive continuity, picking up on several dangling plot threads from the second and third seasons to set the stage for a magnificent showdown at the end of this season. Sloane’s motivations once again come under scrutiny, which seems to set the stage for classic tragic drama. Whatever may happen, a season that seemed to be in disarray is suddenly looking planned to near perfection.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4

Final Rating: 9/10

Season Average (as of 4.20): 7.7