Alias Commentary

** In case you havent seen the show Alias, this entry has some spoilers, so if you're thinking of watching Alias soon, you might not want to read this. :)

I havent really written any thing like this, but Im in dire need of venting out something with the show. And I just need to vent this out!

As you have noticed, I've been watching Alias, and for some time now.

I've had some fascination with the relationship that the main character, a CIA double agent called Sydney Bristow, has with a so called arch nemesis named Julian Sark. Both are equally capable and skilled in the spy business, and they seemed to loathe each other with a passion. Actually, its just the main character that loathes the arch nemesis. The bad guy seems to have some sort of fascination with Sydney, and there are a number of times, when forced to work together, that they generate such a humourous sarcastic banter, which I believe a lot of audiences enjoy watching.

I've looked about in the net to find that there seems to be tons of fans that feel the same way.

I believe that their teamup is one of the most interesting things to happen within the TV show's run since it started.

Granted, the show has a lot of interesting twists to keep its audience engaged, particularly a interesting plotline relating to Sydney's mother, a presumed dead but very alive character in the series, that the others enjoy. But when it comes to tension, there seems to be a fascinating relationship between opposite sexes, regardless of which side the character is on.

Another one of the many male character that Sydney engages in is a former CIA handler turned teammate and colleague called Michael Vaughn. In the series, the two have developed an on-and-off, rollercoaster relationship with morals, professionalism and other ladies in the male agent's life that creates tension between them.

After 4 seasons of this, the whole thing gets a bit boring.

Comparatively, Vaughn and Sark is like light and day. The first is a good guy, the second one is bad. Thankfully, the show has somewhat created twists that enable Sydney to work together with the bad guy, and as I've mentioned, it does have its perks. From here we can see the potential relationships compared.

Sark gives the impression of being arrogant, self assured, and dangerous and intellegent. Emotions are not the thing for this character. He goes from one employer to another always with a strategy to inject himself into the organization for his own plans. Occasionally he has worked with the good guys in exchange for freedom or whatever what not. He is manipulative, calculating and thinking character. His motivations are portrayed as on self preservation.

On the other hand, Vaughn, being the good guy, exemplifies principles. Typical good guy, romantic, vunerable, determined. Unfortunately, the character also bends toward the emotional, which, although is a good trait when implemented in positive situations, has the disastrous side effect when exposed to negative ones. Although I believe that Vaughn has an intellegent side to him,(otherwise he wouldnt be in a important position in the CIA side) in the show he has yet to show any credible indications of this. He seems to be going around in a wild goose chase between love and revenge and frustration. This poses as an extremely weak character prone to emotional distresses. However, he seems to be sweet and romantic, so in the TV world, this is somehow a good thing.

I am disappointed to find out what after 4 seasons, the good guy has still the ongoings of a per season-per episode a different emotional distress. If it is not his attraction towards Sydney that he deems violates this professional relationship, it is being attached to a girlfriend that he has been going out with before he met the main character. Afterwards, it is his emotional frustration and hate towards the main character's mother which murdered his father in the past. Or having a wife and still being attracted to the main character. Forget everything that has happened, in the series, Sydney is the one thing great enough to break all his bonds and also the creator his frustrations. It makes up some story within the story, but this is a poor motivation to keep a character. Despite the tension this creates in a short term basis, the whole thing gets world weary after 4 years of the series' run time. The character feels like something plucked out of a soap opera. For the show writers' information, Alias is NOT a soap opera.

Going to the other side, the writers have actually started writing off the Sark guy. What shows to be an interesting relationship between two characters is turned into a joke and shows a weird underside of story making. They have dropped several story arcs that would have engaged a more interesting future nemesis/character for the show. Instead, they have tried to retain the bad guy using him as fillers for the story, particularly in its third season.

Poor use of the resources, I'd say.

I've read several fanfictions over the net that have interesting story twists in them for the character Sark. Although most are centered towards romance between the Sydney and Sark, there are a couple which points into interesting directions. Although the romance part wouldn't be a bad idea, it would something I'd probably leave for later. Maybe it'd get cheesy along the way. But for now the banter and competition between two extremely talented spy agents seem to be interesting enough. I am just very tempted to ask the writers to create a romance between Sark and Sydney, particularly because they have created such a weak character like Vaughn to partner with the main character. Sure the fluttery sensation you get when you see romance on screen is there, but in the end he serves such a weak character, its an insult to the viewers to show this type of development. It might've been better to just kill the Vaughn character and propel the story in another direction. I have no problems with the actor portraying the character, but the way they've developed Vaughn, it seems like there's no more chance for redemption. In all honesty, I'd rather like the main character's other friend, Will Tippin, since he is seems more stable and more flexible, and I think would be better to propel the story while letting Sydney have a relationship without the mushiness involved that seems uncharacteristic for a spy show like Alias.

But as expected, this character hasn't been introduced again and just written off the script, too.

One would think what the writers of this tv show is cooking up for the next season and onwards. Its no wonder that there are already propaganda to "Save Alias". Now if the writers in the show would just wise up, Im sure there's really no need to have THAT kind of propaganda continuing; they have made interesting episodes in the first and of the second season. The third was extremely silly imho. Im glad that there is some improvement in the current season, but not enough to warrant a job well done. I'm not with Alias being discontinued, but I'd like the writers to put a little more effort and planning into its storylines. There is potential there, but they are mostly wasting it. They should take 24 as an example for storyline continuity and plot twists, in the sense that although 24 did have its bumps, I did try to make up once they got to their next episode.

Enough venting out for one day. If someone who reads this decides to shoot me in the head (particularly those whom I've stumbled on the net as Vaughn admirers) any opinion is welcome, just not physically violent ones. I just think they need to put some spine into the storytelling so I can continue watching the series without having to routinely cringe at some episode twist that doesn't seem to be something in a used-to-be-great tv show like Alias.