Alias season 3 begun, and the arrival of heretic ideas

So, monanotlisa sent me the first ten episodes of season 3 of Alias, which interrupted my work, but hey, fast food! You know how it is. Also, I was kind of stuck anyway, but hopefully that will be over tomorrow.

As for the first ten episodes of season 3, so far I've liked what I've seen. Among other things, this is clearly the season of not brush up your Freud, but brush up your Jung. Also, it always gives me a smug feeling if my theories are confirmed, this time re: Sydney's psychological make-up, that transference thing she does regarding her good father figure and her dark father figure. Oh yeah. But more about that in a moment.

I loved that the first episode had several conscious allusions to the pilot, including Sydney on the run, retrieving a precious data/artefact thing, coming back with it to the headquarters of A Secret Service and presenting it to the boss who had her hunted. Only in this case it's Lindsay, not Sloane, and it's the CIA, not SD-6. I hardly dared to hope, but so far the season has born it out - FINALLY some intentional representation of the CIA as something other than the unquestioned good guys. And I don't just mean Lindsay. That snort of the Mexican police person when he said "a CIA agent committing murder - what a surprise". "We never should have helped to overthrow Allende". (Damn right, you shouldn't.) And pray note that Jack, talking to Sloane, says that the difference between the two of them is that Jack did every morally questionable thing for Sydney, and Sloane doesn't have that excuse. So, err, what did become of that "unsentimental patriotism" the two of you used to share, Jack? I take it neither has it anymore, because Jack could have otherwise claimed to have acted for the good of the country, and that this made the difference between him and his old pal. (Although how the overthrow of Allende benefited Sydney is beyond me... kidding.)

Mind you, not that I'd blame Jack if he called it quits on good old Uncle Sam. Getting imprisoned (again), not for any of those morally questionable acts but because of contacting his ex-wife (ah, Irina, and now I get why there are so many Jack/Irina in those two years h/c fics) so they could track down their daughter's killer, while my oldest friend the master criminal is living the free and high life in Zurich would make me question the sense of my profession, too.

Sydney's two mising years appear to be the mystery of the season. In the first episode, there is a Buffy resurrected from the dead vibe in as much as one did see how this new world would appear hellish to her. Friends gone, Dad in prison, Vaughn married, Sloane free and fine - no wonder she went into denial at first. But as time progresses, all the good sides of the brave new world show themselves. Weiss, my friend, I'm so glad we'll see more of you this season. You are a true trooper. Found the scenes with him & Syd adorable. Dixon as the boss is nice for Dixon, but at first I somewhat missed him and Syd on missions together - as stated before, I loved their partnership, and now he's her superior. Not the same thing. Otoh, Weiss! A good compensation.

Vaughn, so we can get it over with: is in no enviable position, to be sure, and Sydney is unfair to him at first (but understandably so - if you basically go to sleep with your boyfriend having sworn eternal love and wake up with him married elsewhere, an emotionally balanced reaction would have been superhuman). I'm still not getting closer to liking him, I'm afraid. Lauren I definitely would have liked had not the fact she's a double been the one thing in season 3 I got spoiled for, unfortunately. With the resullt that I'm neither rooting for nor against her, but I do find her interesting, more so than her husband. I also appreciate that there are some early clues - Jack comparing his past with Irina to Vaughn's situation (Jack relates it to the beloved coming back from the dead aspect, but the other thing is the being married to a double agent thing) - and the Lauren-as-shapeshifter segment from Sydney's dream trip. The ongoing double imagery between Sydney and Lauren - if Lauren is in Sydney's place and who Sydney used to be, then it's worth recalling Sydney was also a double agent.

Of course, the big reminder of that is the ingenious, the clever, the brilliant and one and only Arvin Sloane. Whom I can't help myself but totally fangirling this season. It's embarassing. I mean, sure, I've been known to fall for types with a high body count before, but does this have to be pattern? So, anyway. Sloane. Got a pardon by the CIA, got the CIA to take out the competition for him (as Syd points out), and now even got the CIA to hand over another Rambaldi device to him. Yes, Sydney, it's the coup of the century. No, I don't believe Sloane has abandoned crime and power for complete philantropy. Yes, I do believe he's quite sincere when he tells Jack that Jack and Sydney are his penance, absolution, and the only ones he cares about left. As mentioned in earlier reviews, Sloane is quite capable of loving someone on the one hand and pursuing ambitious ruthless goals on the other.

Though his relationship with Jack, and his relationship with Sydney are two different things. I think Sloane was sincere when he told Jack last season that he forgave him. Sydney, though, he might love, but hasn't forgiven. The whole arrangment of having her as his handler was one subtle and elegant punishment for her spying on him. And it's layered, as when he danced with her at the ball. On one level, it's a powerplay, and a punishment, because he can make her do this, and he knows how she feels about him. On another, it's dancing with the not-quite-daughter of his dreams and being together with her again. Oh, and of course it's practical for advancing his newest byzantine plot.

Meanwhile, our girl Sydney gets Freudian or Jungian (take your father of psychiatry of choice) about him. I already mentioned in reviews of earlier seasons that I think she needs Sloane as the parental figure to hate and blame so she can love and accept Jack. Never have she and Jack been closer than in this season, which starts out with her lying for him and finding out he covered up her committing murder (or so they think). And lo and behold, mid-kiss Dream!Vaughn turns into Arvin Sloane, who told her (again) that they're father and daughter in spirit and emotion. Doctor, my diagnosis continues to be transfer of negative and forbidden emotions.

Jack and Sloane on the other hand. I have to get andrastewhite to watch this show, if only for Jack & Irina, and Jack & Sloane. They're just her kind of couples. Backstory, the occasionl death threat, betrayals, saving each other's lives, and multi-layered strong emotions for each other! Give me more, I say. Sydney tells Sloane angrily that he'll never have her trust, or her father's friendship and respect, but then Syd hasn't been witness to the conversation Jack had with Irina about Sloane, or to his chats with Sloane a deux, and can't handle the concept of feeling affection for an enemy very well anyway. (See: her relationship with her father in season 1 and with her mother in season 2.) I almost got misty-eyed when Jack called Sloane "Arvin" in the heat of operating and live-saving and was very amused at the later "I can't think of another reason for you to save my life than to create a sense of obligation on my part"/ "You're just outsmarting yourself, Jack" dialogue.

My personal guess: yes, Sloane needs Sydney for something in the future. But not Jack. Jack he saved because of the pure and simple reason that he likes him. As for Jack, you know, Mr. Ruthless who just added yet another murder on his "I'm just doing this to defend my daughter" list could have carried out his earlier "I'll bury you" threat at any time. At the very latest after they got Sydney back from Guantanamo Camp William. Do you think Vaughn would have blinked if Jack had killed Sloane? Nah. There must be Crafty Old Men fic. There must.

Of course, Mr. Lindsay gets this season's Darwin Award for making the really dumb mistake of trying to blackmail Arvin Sloane. I knew he was toast from the moment he made his "I want you to kill Sydney" pitch, and really, trying that one on a ruthless criminal mastermind with a past record of taking it really badly if he's told to kill someone he's obsessive about is as stupid as it gets. Also, it indicates that as opposed to Sydney, who shows clear signs of having read Douglas Adams this season, Lindsay isn't into sci-fi and certainly never watched Blake's 7. The fools wo tried the blackmail thing with Servalan there ended up dead as well.

Meanwhile, the junior villain of the show, Sark, had a nice prison scene with Sydney complete with fun snark at each other, but continues to be nowhere as interesting as the old folk, despite newly revealed fatherly background and willingness to mutilate the old man. (For Sark, it's cearly not the Jungian but the Freudian season.) I'm not too sure whether to take his attachment to Allison at face falue or not, but in a way, they're both shadow doubles of Sydney as well - children of spies and spy programs that they are. Speaking of Allison, if Will really did kill her, I'll miss her. She was more interesting to watch than Francie ever was, and the actress clearly enjoyed the opportunity. But then again, Allison seems to have turned into a Highlander style Immortal if we go by her previous survival, so she might not be dead after all.

Will: if ever someone on this show deserved the term "Woobie", it's him. That he first thought Sydney was a double makes sense and shows he's smart. That he was completely there for her in every sense afterwards shows his continued devotion. I mean, she had told him she was still in love with Vaughn, so he knew quite well he was being used for comfort, but did he resent her or blame her? No. Again, if I were Sydney? Forget Vaughn. Go for Will. But I suppose that's not in the cards as long as Vaughn is the show's designated love and angst interest.

About the big mystery of the season: you know, I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that Sydney's two years as Julia Thorne - a name that sounds as if it's out of Anthony Trollope, and Sydney didn inherit fondness for 19th century English literature from her mother - weren't engineered by Sloane but by another deep undercover division of the CIA. (Though Sloane might or might not have known.) And that this is why she appears to have consented to the memory withdrawal. Though in that case, I have to strike Sydney out of my list of Good Girls Who Must Not Have Sex While Undercover, because clearly she did have.

Trivia amusements:

- Marshall accidentally asking Sloane instead of Dixon for permission. Yes, Marshall, it gets confusing.

- Jack's beard while in a cell. Yes, I know, deeply tragic situation, but it does make him look a bit like Fidel Castro.

- Sydney's kissing-Vaughn-turning-into-Sloane dream. Yes, among many other things, I found it amusing. I'm perverse that way.

Now: must hunt for screencaps showing Jack Bristow and Arvin Sloane saving each other's lives. Possibly also of the Syd/Sloane kiss, for perverse amusement.

***

In other news, harriet_spy in a recent poem which is about something else altogether wondered why there is no Citizen Kane slash. Go away, evil plot bunny! I must work.