This is my 20th review about one of (Alias)'s episodes. I just want to add some notes that I didn't find the appropriate chance to say them before.
After the end of season 2, the writers wanted to make a cross between (Mission: Impossible) and (Dallas). And it was almost fine as a show, since all the factors of attraction was available, except for the persuasion! But who cares? In front of (Alias), we want to be amazed, not to get thoughtful. In fact, the best thing here was always the thrill. So no wonder when (J.J. Abrams), the very creator of this special world, would write and direct (Mission: Impossible - 3) for (Tom Cruse) in the same year of the final season. Simply the man is good at it. Too good to say the least.
Aside from the writing, they couldn't have the power to continue for all of these years without that magnificent cast. It was pure magic to have those actors in these roles. (Ron Rifkin) looked like a politician, a real one, and how his role as (Sloane) unexpectedly revealed his strong charisma which was one of the main reasons of the first 2 seasons' astonishing success. It's only his strange green glasses during season 4 and 5 that I couldn't explain, or feel at ease about, at all!
If you watched (J.J. Abrams) in any interview, you'd grasp easily how the cute short stumbling (Marshall), played by (Kevin Weisman), was almost a copy of him. (Weisman) seemed with his way of talking, and dealing with all the characters, as the less important, more childish, in the bunch, while he was the talented Mr. Merlin. Like the creator made a character close to him to represent that the writer is the actual magician of such a world, despite his lack of being hansom or brawny. In one word, he / the technician / the writer still can be a hero without the Bond mojo.
Another thing, look at the way the show's title is written every episode. I liked the creativity of it. Lots of people didn't notice that, but try to observe the status of the letter (S) at the end of it. It's nothing like the rest of all the previous letters. It's the opposite of their color and condition. Like a sudden "twist"!, or to inspire that there is always a hidden unpredicted fact which contradicts to all what we already know. It's close to a wonderful line said by (Sloane) to (Nadia) at season 4: "None is one". It incarnated the word "Alias" as a meaning.
Originally, the title (Alias) got its own deepness. As the show itself didn't only rely on so many disguises, but also so many concealed secrets, history, and feelings; such as the love between (Sydney) and her father, so the love between her and (Vaughn) in season 1 where it fitted perfectly.
In an interview before airing the last episodes of season 5, (Michael Vartan) nearly declared how they used to be silly sometimes with excessive twists, and too many unbelievable miracles. Even (Victor Garber) when they asked him about how the end would be, he told them something like expect the unexpected (or the unacceptable!), saying: "HEY, it's Alias!". The bottom line: (Alias) exceeded its own power of surprise, and exhausted it, especially when they began storyline and hanged it, or didn't finish it well, or forgot all about it after a while! (Vartan) himself said at the same interview how he got to review the old episodes just to remember his character's history, or the origin of it! I think it's natural, since the heavy melodrama inundated what used to be cool espionage series.
(Alias) is an assured cult in the history of TV, and in the eyes of its countless fans. It created something rarely smart, touching and amusing. Since the 1980s, I didn't run into a show that could make me believe it, and be excited with it, unless very few times. (The X Files) for instance, (Vengeance Unlimited) for another. (Alias) made it to be one of those, however nothing is forever, and the funny thing is that you would learn this truth about it too early.
