The Tyranny of Socks

While searching through this journal for a recipe I could have sworn I posted here (to no avail -- does anyone on my flist have Nigella Lawson's How to Eat?) I ended up tagging a lot of entries about Alias from early season 3 -- oh, that was a great time! The confusion of the end of that season made me forget how happy we all were that fall. And I really will have to acquire seasons 3 and 4 to watch them again and see how the S4 revelation about who was really in charge of the Covenant affects my understanding of them. I have a feeling that a lot of stuff that seemed really random at the time could now be retconned into submission.

It was a real pleasure to relive that Alias joy. I must admit that I hate it when I see people posting about how much they hate the show now; there's no real reason it should impact my own enjoyment, but one of the things that made that time particularly fun was the community of interested and sympathetic fans here on livejournal. I do miss that. (Not that I haven't indulged in fannish hate myself, and my own good friends have every right to mock me if I start complaining about negativity in fandom...) Because I still feel that joy. I think that S5 is very nearly as good as S1, in its own way. I'm glad, I think, that Alias is going to go out on a high note, and I have a feeling that when the five seasons are put together the show is going to work as a whole. It's always been easier to understand in retrospect, and it's had a good record for pulling things together at the very end of the season. I do have a few worries, but they're about content, not quality -- to my ear, final season leads all too easily to character deaths, and the characters I tend to like tend to be the kind of characters who get killed off. There's always resfic and denial, of course, but I rather like this show for what it is as well as for my imagined versions of it.

In other news, livejournal is still sending only sporadic comments to my mailbox. It's cold here, and I wish it would just go ahead and snow. And there's apparently a meme going around in which one invites people to comment anonymously on whether they find you intimidating; I prefer to cling to the illusion that you all find me terrifying, thank you very much.

And my new never-happen (but they'd live happily ever after if it did) crossover couple is Susan Ivanova/Dana Scully. Fresh coffee and xenobiology in one of those worlds where Scully really doesn't die.

Due to my pathetic fangirl status, no sooner do I return home than I watch the Alias episode that I missed. And as you might expect, I have a few thoughts about Sak and that thing he said about Lauren. You know, that thing. ( let's head under the cut where I can be specific )

Now, alas, my todo list is calling me.

This is a little scattered, still but I've been mulling these points off and on. Spoilers for the S4 opener, although it's more to do with the structure of the story than individual points.

( sexual politics... )

( ...and geopolitics )

Any help in turning these scattered and poorly thought-out observations into something more coherent would be much appreciated. I have a feeling that many of you have said these things better in other places.

This commentary builds off the excellent posts made earlier this week by Amy and Rez. What follows is in part for my own reference--I'm not sure I'm breaking new ground.

I have, I admit, been mean and snarky and bitchy about this season's Alias, and I'm not going to apologize about that. There's been a lot to mock, especially the poor continuity. But for all the people who would ask, "If you don't like the show, why keep watching it?" I would answer ( just call me pollyanna )

So yes, go ahead and call me Pollyanna. I think that the last few episodes will make the whole season work.

I'm going to have to start taking notes on this show, aren't I?

( what can I say? Spoilers for The Nemesis )

That all felt rather disorganized. I might do something more detailed on Sark and the Covenant tomorrow, now that we're getting more pieces of that picture.

And yet another thought about Arvin Sloane: he's an effective leader. I'd be tempted to say, "organizational genius," in fact. In the very first episode, Jack tells Sydney that the Alliance was formed "about ten years ago"; Sydney was recruited to SD-6 seven years ago. Which means that in three years, or even less if he wasn't one of the founding members of the Alliance, Sloane built an organization which could deceive some very intelligent people. Most of the original recruiting must have been done personally, by him, which also indicates that he's very good at spotting talent and putting it to use.

If this time-scale is correct, it also indicates that Sloane's interest in Rambaldi pre-dates his departure from the CIA. I think I had assumed that in any case, but I wonder if it was his interest in Rambaldi which brought him into contact with the Alliance; the fact that he's not on the "inner council" indicates to me that Sloane wasn't a founding member of the Alliance.

This may all be blindingly obvious to everyone but me.

Let me say for the record that keeping tabs on Irina Derevko would be a nightmare job. And that I feel really sorry for Jack Bristow, despite the superspies-in-love moment.

( what was she thinking? )

Also, remember the "what's your kink?" meme that was doing the rounds. Betrayal. It's all about love and betrayal.