There's Only One Sydney Bristow

[Rob]

rachael said:

Now, wait.

Syd has never, since we've known her, been able to take Anna, and Will can take a few martial arts classes and kick her ass?

Nuh-uh.

Syd's taken Anna a couple of times. As recently as last season, in fact, before she was thrown into the Gitmo Gulag...or wherever they hold Cuban-born former K-Directorate superagents without trial.


That said...I had this same problem waaay back, when Will was able to take Allison Doren out in Season 3. It took every ounce Syd could muster in the Season 2 finale fight; six months later, Will is able to take Allison in thirty seconds. I loved the shocked and delighted expression on Syd's face, though.

Maybe Cooper only agreed to come back for guest shots if he could kick the ass of some seriously tough women.

By the way...is it just me, or is this show considerably better when Will is around? I can't quite put my finger on why, exactly...but as entertaining and fun as the last three years have been, "Alias" lost someone irreplaceable when Bradley Cooper departed. It was terrific to see him again, if only for one more hour (since he's starring on Broadway with Julia Roberts at the moment, I'm assuming this was a one-shot deal between rehearsals).


P.S. Am I the only one who had a brief, yet amusing crossover vision when Will mentioned Krav Maga classes? He might be a tough guy, but no way could he handle Paris Geller.

[Rob]

rachael said:

You know, I saw the title of this ep this morning, and I knew they were gonna double Syd. Not sure if that reflects stupidity in title-ing or a lack of storywriting creativity, or what....

It could just mean you're perceptive and intelligent.

This season has had a ton of "wink-wink" recall moments for the fans; the doubling thing is no exception. That's the thing with this show; the utter ridiculousness is half the fun.

[Sara]

rachael said:

Now, wait.

Syd has never, since we've known her, been able to take Anna, and Will can take a few martial arts classes and kick her ass?

Nuh-uh.

Well, Will did enter the fight after Anna'd already taken more than a few solid blows from Sydney, so it's not like she was at her peak. And it was pretty clear he put a lot of muscle into his uppercut to her stomach--that's gonna set anyone back for a breath or two.

Plus, what Rob said. As I recall, Syd beat Anna at least twice before, yes? Once back in the first season, in the church where they fought over the Rambaldi sun disk, and then last year when Anna teamed with Sark.

[Sara]

rob said:

rachael said:

Now, wait.

Syd has never, since we've known her, been able to take Anna, and Will can take a few martial arts classes and kick her ass?

Nuh-uh.

Syd's taken Anna a couple of times. As recently as last season, in fact, before she was thrown into the Gitmo Gulag...or wherever they hold Cuban-born former K-Directorate superagents without trial.


That said...I had this same problem waaay back, when Will was able to take Allison Doren out in Season 3. It took every ounce Syd could muster in the Season 2 finale fight; six months later, Will is able to take Allison in thirty seconds. I loved the shocked and delighted expression on Syd's face, though.

Maybe Cooper only agreed to come back for guest shots if he could kick the ass of some seriously tough women.

By the way...is it just me, or is this show considerably better when Will is around? I can't quite put my finger on why, exactly...but as entertaining and fun as the last three years have been, "Alias" lost someone irreplaceable when Bradley Cooper departed. It was terrific to see him again, if only for one more hour (since he's starring on Broadway with Julia Roberts at the moment, I'm assuming this was a one-shot deal between rehearsals).


P.S. Am I the only one who had a brief, yet amusing crossover vision when Will mentioned Krav Maga classes? He might be a tough guy, but no way could he handle Paris Geller.

Nope, I was right there with you in both instances.

[Sara]

rob said:

rachael said:

You know, I saw the title of this ep this morning, and I knew they were gonna double Syd. Not sure if that reflects stupidity in title-ing or a lack of storywriting creativity, or what....

It could just mean you're perceptive and intelligent.

This season has had a ton of "wink-wink" recall moments for the fans; the doubling thing is no exception. That's the thing with this show; the utter ridiculousness is half the fun.

Yup, I'd go with that assessment--the idea they'd be doubling Sydney honestly didn't occur to me until the first Anna/Syd fight in this episode, when the Prophet Five gang was so focused on Sydney's blood.

Now, though, the idea makes such perfect sense that I feel like an idiot for not seeing it before. They told us last year that the whole thing in Russia wasn't actually Rambaldi's endgame--but maybe what P5's up to is. After all, by duping Sydney they now have their own Chosen One, complete with all the correct genetic markers. And then there's that pesky prophecy on page 47:

"This woman here depicted will possess unseen marks. Signs that she will be the one to bring forth my works, bind them with fury, a burning anger. Unless prevented at vulgar cost this woman will render the greatest power unto utter desolation."

I don't know about anyone else, but to me Anna fits that description a helluva lot more than Sydney ever did.

[Pixi]

rob said:

rachael said:

Now, wait.

Syd has never, since we've known her, been able to take Anna, and Will can take a few martial arts classes and kick her ass?

Nuh-uh.

Syd's taken Anna a couple of times. As recently as last season, in fact, before she was thrown into the Gitmo Gulag...or wherever they hold Cuban-born former K-Directorate superagents without trial.


That said...I had this same problem waaay back, when Will was able to take Allison Doren out in Season 3. It took every ounce Syd could muster in the Season 2 finale fight; six months later, Will is able to take Allison in thirty seconds. I loved the shocked and delighted expression on Syd's face, though.

Maybe Cooper only agreed to come back for guest shots if he could kick the ass of some seriously tough women.

By the way...is it just me, or is this show considerably better when Will is around? I can't quite put my finger on why, exactly...but as entertaining and fun as the last three years have been, "Alias" lost someone irreplaceable when Bradley Cooper departed. It was terrific to see him again, if only for one more hour (since he's starring on Broadway with Julia Roberts at the moment, I'm assuming this was a one-shot deal between rehearsals).


P.S. Am I the only one who had a brief, yet amusing crossover vision when Will mentioned Krav Maga classes? He might be a tough guy, but no way could he handle Paris Geller.

Bwah - I agree - no way could he take Paris.

Rob - I agree (boy I seem to spend a lot of time agreeing with you lately). I think Will was a key ingredient to why Season 1 is always mentioned with such enthusiasm. He and Francine added a key ingredient to the show that was just never replaced where their storylines moved them off the show.

As much as I adore Jack, Irina and Marshall - Sydney needed that life outside of Spyworld - no matter how contrived it got at time - to balance things out.

With that said I adored him last night. Especially with all the Syd - my brain is beeping. Hee, hee.

That and Anna?

Alias heaven.

(now if they could just have thrown in some Sark )

[Pixi]

rob said:

rachael said:

You know, I saw the title of this ep this morning, and I knew they were gonna double Syd. Not sure if that reflects stupidity in title-ing or a lack of storywriting creativity, or what....

It could just mean you're perceptive and intelligent.

This season has had a ton of "wink-wink" recall moments for the fans; the doubling thing is no exception. That's the thing with this show; the utter ridiculousness is half the fun.

Hee!

[Pixi]

yorick said:

rob said:

It could just mean you're perceptive and intelligent.

This season has had a ton of "wink-wink" recall moments for the fans; the doubling thing is no exception. That's the thing with this show; the utter ridiculousness is half the fun.

Yup, I'd go with that assessment--the idea they'd be doubling Sydney honestly didn't occur to me until the first Anna/Syd fight in this episode, when the Prophet Five gang was so focused on Sydney's blood.

Now, though, the idea makes such perfect sense that I feel like an idiot for not seeing it before. They told us last year that the whole thing in Russia wasn't actually Rambaldi's endgame--but maybe what P5's up to is. After all, by duping Sydney they now have their own Chosen One, complete with all the correct genetic markers. And then there's that pesky prophecy on page 47:

"This woman here depicted will possess unseen marks. Signs that she will be the one to bring forth my works, bind them with fury, a burning anger. Unless prevented at vulgar cost this woman will render the greatest power unto utter desolation."

I don't know about anyone else, but to me Anna fits that description a helluva lot more than Sydney ever did.

I know things got a little convoluted at times with the Rambaldi artifacts but I've always loved it as the central key to holding the whole Alias world together.

I actually kind of love all this and glad they picked this to ride into the sunset with.

So - how did Peyton get Anna out of prison anyway? Did I miss something or do we just assume she whacked all the guards at the mysterious you don't exist prison?

[Pixi]

yorick said:

If Will does not come out of this alive, I will be very, VERY, cranky.

I had a couple of moments where I was worried they were going to kill Will too. It seemed fairly obvious that Will would be the link they would use to draw Sydney back in. Do you think Sloane knew this too and just let it happen or he really didn't know they would go through Will?

I'm so tired of Nadia's storyline.

[Pixi]

yorick said:

Oh. Damn.

And the window kiss was a delightful echo of the first time we see Anna and Syd face off. I approve.

I loved this. J.J. and the writers are actually paying attention.

Sidenote - I loved the Best man discussion though did anyone else suddenly see Rory as Best Man at Emily and Richard's wedding? Has J.J. been watching Gilmore Girls? I loved Will's taking back (sort of) tease of his request - that whole dialogue was terrific. Teasing, fun. Nice.

[Sara]

pixi said:

yorick said:

Oh. Damn.

And the window kiss was a delightful echo of the first time we see Anna and Syd face off. I approve.

I loved this. J.J. and the writers are actually paying attention.

Sidenote - I loved the Best man discussion though did anyone else suddenly see Rory as Best Man at Emily and Richard's wedding? Has J.J. been watching Gilmore Girls? I loved Will's taking back (sort of) tease of his request - that whole dialogue was terrific. Teasing, fun. Nice.

Absolutely. I think that exchange is a perfect example of what you and Rob both described--the extra "something" Will and Francie brought to the show, that bit of lightness and normalcy Sydney so desperately needs in her life.

ETA: Forgot to note that I'd just watched the episode in which the first Anna/Syd window kiss happened yesterday during lunch with Lori, so seeing it repeated just a few hours later was particularly cool for me.

[Rachael]

rob said:

rachael said:

You know, I saw the title of this ep this morning, and I knew they were gonna double Syd. Not sure if that reflects stupidity in title-ing or a lack of storywriting creativity, or what....

It could just mean you're perceptive and intelligent.

This season has had a ton of "wink-wink" recall moments for the fans; the doubling thing is no exception. That's the thing with this show; the utter ridiculousness is half the fun.

Then I'll just preen and think how smart I am.

I was hoping to be wrong, because it's far less fun thinking you know exactly what the twist is gonna be at the end of the ep. I considered, when the thread was posted yesterday, dropping in and posting my "Syd will be doubled" theory, but then had to actually do work.

My favorite part of the episode? The babysitters. ;D

[Rob]

yorick said:

pixi said:

Absolutely. I think that exchange is a perfect example of what you and Rob both described--the extra "something" Will and Francie brought to the show, that bit of lightness and normalcy Sydney so desperately needs in her life.

This reminds me of a question that's bugged me for a while.

What was behind Abrams's decision to write Will out of the show? I understood what they did with Francie...there comes a point when you can only write the "clueless yet lovable best friend" schtick so much. Will, on the other hand, was slowly working his way up as an analyst. There were all sorts of directions they could've gone with him as a regular.

I always thought it might've been budgetary reasons, but I've never seen that confirmed.

Anyway, since you're numero uno when it comes to "Alias" know how, Sara...I thought you'd have the 411.

And I have no idea what possessed me to write that last sentence in such a dorky fashion.

[Rob]

Oh, one last note: I still really, REALLY hate Sydney feeling the need to keep those closest to her in the dark about Vaughn.

It's bad enough she's keeping it from Dixon, Marshall, Weiss (who is Vaughn's best friend in the world)...but Will? WILL?! Gimme a break. I get that Syd expressed how much she hates lying to everyone...but that doesn't make it any less cruel.

I'm going to be very disappointed if her friends just let her off the hook for betraying them like this.

[Sara]

rob said:

yorick said:

pixi said:

Absolutely. I think that exchange is a perfect example of what you and Rob both described--the extra "something" Will and Francie brought to the show, that bit of lightness and normalcy Sydney so desperately needs in her life.

This reminds me of a question that's bugged me for a while.

What was behind Abrams's decision to write Will out of the show? I understood what they did with Francie...there comes a point when you can only write the "clueless yet lovable best friend" schtick so much. Will, on the other hand, was slowly working his way up as an analyst. There were all sorts of directions they could've gone with him as a regular.

I always thought it might've been budgetary reasons, but I've never seen that confirmed.

Anyway, since you're numero uno when it comes to "Alias" know how, Sara...I thought you'd have the 411.

And I have no idea what possessed me to write that last sentence in such a dorky fashion.

*grins*

I'm honestly not sure why he was written out. Will was an extremely unpopular character in the beginning--TWoP posters were fond of calling him "Willage," as in "Willage Idiot"--and so I suspect the decision to write him out was based partially on that. What the writers didn't realize, until it was a bit too late, is that the reason viewers didn't care for him or his initial storyline was a) he was learning stuff we already knew, making it inherently repetitious and b) he was (unwittingly) endangering Sydney.

Conversely, after they'd rehabbed his character and started drawing him further into Sydney's world and making him a CIA analyst they were also removing the thing that made him unique--his normalcy and distance from the craziness of her life as a spy. So I can see where Will could have easily turned into Vaughn Lite.

Mostly I think the writers didn't have a good plan for his character from the start, and certainly didn't anticipate the initial antipathy towards Will; by trying to correct that, they ended up painting the character into a corner.

And I just realized I've written a lot of words for someone who began by saying she was relatively clueless...