"Alias" has always had a lot in common with "Lost" (obviously J.J. Abrams' involvement to begin with, but also the complexity of the plot, the unbreakable habit of providing 10 new questions for every answer, the cliffhangers at the end of most episodes, etc.), but this is the first episode that actually follows the typical "Lost" format , by giving us extensive flashbacks on a specific character mixed with "present" action. "The Orphan" is a Nadia-centric: we get our first glimpses of her life from the orphanage to street crime to prison to being enlisted as an agent for the Argentinian government to her training to her first mission to betrayal and more. Her boss turns out to be the Argentinian version of Sloane, but she deals with him in a much more drastic way! Back in the present, she is assigned to retrieve a stolen "amplifying glass", which can massively increase the power of a laser beam, from another familiar figure in her past. Mía Maestro gives a tour-de-force, chameleonic performance, and Gisselle Castellanos is perfectly chosen as "Young Nadia". The episode's cliffhanger feels strangely "off", though. *** out of 4.
3 Reviews
Nadia's story
Tweekums10 September 2010
Warning: Spoilers
For once Sydney takes a back seat as this episode tells us the story of how her sister Nadia came to be in intelligence work. This story is told in flashback intertwined with a current story featuring a mission to retrieve an item known as the Amplifying Glass which brings her into contact with a man she first met on the streets of Buenos Aires as a teenager. In the flashback story we learn that she fled from an orphanage after helping another girl fight off an man who appeared to be a kidnapper. Once on the streets she meets up with Cesar and the two of them carry out a string of petty thefts. Eventually they are caught but once in custody a man called Roberto offers her the opportunity to avoid prison by working for the state. She accepts and is trained along with Cesar and another young man called Diego. On a mission Diego is fatally wounded but before he dies he tells Nadia that they have been tricked; Roberto isn't working for the government and he has turned them into traitors. In the present Nadia does not tell her colleagues at APO that she knows Cesar when his name comes up. As Sydney is retrieving an item she is caught by Cesar and it looks as if he will kill her until Nadia walks in and vouches for her. Sydney might be safe but they still need to get the item back. Nadia goes to meet Cesar claiming that the person she is working for will kill her if she fails to get the Glass. She goes off alone with Cesar not knowing that he holds her responsible for the death of the man who saved him from a life on the streets or jail.
This was an interesting episode, I enjoyed the scenes showing Nadia's past, it was nice how her early intelligence work mirrored Sydney's work in SD6, her recruitment also reminded me of scenes from the French thriller 'Nikita'. Mía Maestro did well in the role of Nadia as did Gisselle Castellanos who played her as a youngster. I liked that the flashback scenes were entirely in subtitled Spanish rather than just having a few lines before switching to accented English as is sometimes done in other shows or films. Some humour was provided by Mitchell's attempts to be more friendly with Vaughn; the laugh out loud highlight being Jack's reaction to Mitchell saying that Vaughn had invited him to lunch... and he didn't even say a word, his look was enough!
This was an interesting episode, I enjoyed the scenes showing Nadia's past, it was nice how her early intelligence work mirrored Sydney's work in SD6, her recruitment also reminded me of scenes from the French thriller 'Nikita'. Mía Maestro did well in the role of Nadia as did Gisselle Castellanos who played her as a youngster. I liked that the flashback scenes were entirely in subtitled Spanish rather than just having a few lines before switching to accented English as is sometimes done in other shows or films. Some humour was provided by Mitchell's attempts to be more friendly with Vaughn; the laugh out loud highlight being Jack's reaction to Mitchell saying that Vaughn had invited him to lunch... and he didn't even say a word, his look was enough!
(Mission: Impossible) meets (Lost) !
elshikh46 November 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Yes, this is an episode which was made to tell us the real history of (Nadia). Yes, that was the golden formula of that very time and after. And finally yes, that was not, in any case, (Alias)'s best time!
That formula of good action thriller, with the deep look to the human self, through reviewing one's past by one's own self, with flashbacks or else--is still one successful ruler formula in the American TV during the 2000s. You can see it somehow in (Alias), and of course later in (Lost) for the same creator, and now in (The Unit) but by carrying out the social life of the heroes in parallel line to the main line of action. In (Alias), it was all about action thriller; like modern copy of the classic (Mission: Impossible), with some emotions by the melodramatic relationships; as any soap opera you've watched, only better. But in this episode in particular, it was more close to the strong sense of (Lost) as we watch the past of one person, (Nadia), and learn about her most psychological problems in too many parallel flashbacks to the main line. However, to tell you the truth, the whole thing wasn't as good as any of the aforementioned shows!
For instance: the flashbacks were fairly edited, performed and directed, BUT they put the entire history of Nadia in one package, and along with one of the impossible missions of (Alias) too. That already made some distraction, especially with the long numerous flashbacks, plus some complexity of its story. Speaking of which, I shouldn't forget how idiot it was when we discover that (Nadia) has been recruited by the Argentinean intelligence, like her half sister (Sydney), being one of the most talented agents as - for example - in bombs' deactivation, just like her sister (Sydney)!, and how one of her colleagues was killed to uncover an ugly truth, like the murder of (Sydney)'s fiancé!, and the big massive surprise in (Nadia)'s life, so in this episode's script, where she discovered that she was working for the other side.. for the very enemy that she fights, exactly like.. you know who!! Now this is too silly to even make laughs!
I've seen a lot of weird stories of similar sisters, but not like this one. Simply that nonsense can be watched in 2 places: any Indian movie from the 1970s, or in that bad phase of (Alias). Well, as I said earlier, it's a good new formula, but as you see.. not well done!
Eventually, when (Nadia) kills her impostor boss at the end, we learned that she was less rational than her sister (Sydney) who didn't kill or take revenge on her fetal enemy (Sloane) till now. Instead, she strived for not killing the monster, but killing its arms first. However, dear friends, she cut all the arms, though now she is working with the monster himself, and forget about the old revenge, because the real monsters wanted this to be on air whatever happens, and I mean the ones who are more dangerous than (Sloane) as the makers of wonderful shows, then the destroyers of them: THE PRODUCERS!
That formula of good action thriller, with the deep look to the human self, through reviewing one's past by one's own self, with flashbacks or else--is still one successful ruler formula in the American TV during the 2000s. You can see it somehow in (Alias), and of course later in (Lost) for the same creator, and now in (The Unit) but by carrying out the social life of the heroes in parallel line to the main line of action. In (Alias), it was all about action thriller; like modern copy of the classic (Mission: Impossible), with some emotions by the melodramatic relationships; as any soap opera you've watched, only better. But in this episode in particular, it was more close to the strong sense of (Lost) as we watch the past of one person, (Nadia), and learn about her most psychological problems in too many parallel flashbacks to the main line. However, to tell you the truth, the whole thing wasn't as good as any of the aforementioned shows!
For instance: the flashbacks were fairly edited, performed and directed, BUT they put the entire history of Nadia in one package, and along with one of the impossible missions of (Alias) too. That already made some distraction, especially with the long numerous flashbacks, plus some complexity of its story. Speaking of which, I shouldn't forget how idiot it was when we discover that (Nadia) has been recruited by the Argentinean intelligence, like her half sister (Sydney), being one of the most talented agents as - for example - in bombs' deactivation, just like her sister (Sydney)!, and how one of her colleagues was killed to uncover an ugly truth, like the murder of (Sydney)'s fiancé!, and the big massive surprise in (Nadia)'s life, so in this episode's script, where she discovered that she was working for the other side.. for the very enemy that she fights, exactly like.. you know who!! Now this is too silly to even make laughs!
I've seen a lot of weird stories of similar sisters, but not like this one. Simply that nonsense can be watched in 2 places: any Indian movie from the 1970s, or in that bad phase of (Alias). Well, as I said earlier, it's a good new formula, but as you see.. not well done!
Eventually, when (Nadia) kills her impostor boss at the end, we learned that she was less rational than her sister (Sydney) who didn't kill or take revenge on her fetal enemy (Sloane) till now. Instead, she strived for not killing the monster, but killing its arms first. However, dear friends, she cut all the arms, though now she is working with the monster himself, and forget about the old revenge, because the real monsters wanted this to be on air whatever happens, and I mean the ones who are more dangerous than (Sloane) as the makers of wonderful shows, then the destroyers of them: THE PRODUCERS!
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