Alias (TV Series) The Two (2003) User Reviews

So much has changed since you've been gone

[gridoon2024 · 8/10 · 23 November 2009]

I think the way the series found to renew itself in this third season has a lot of potential: instead of just wondering about the mysteries of the future, now the viewer also has to consider the mysteries of the past (the two years that Sydney was missing, and presumed dead, and of which she has no recollection). Even the present proves to be a surreal experience for Sydney, as nearly everyone around has either disappeared or taken on a different role than she remembered: Jack is held prisoner by his own government, Sloane has made a deal with the CIA and is now their consultant, Dixon has been promoted to Kendall's job, Vaughn has gotten married and retired from the CIA, etc. Even Marshall, who is still his humorously awkward self, is about to become a father! "The Two" certainly packs a lot of stuff in its 41 minutes (and strains credibility on a couple of spots - would the CIA really allow Sydney to go back on the field so soon? Probably not), but what makes the strongest impression is the the angrier, more violent Sydney we see here: her reaction to Vaughn's information at the start is surprising, but it also makes sense; her way of dealing with the Russian hit-man and his gang shows that she is ready to play rough this season. And the final shot proves that the series hasn't forgotten the art of closing with a WTF cliffhanger. *** out of 4.

A good start to the season

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 13 November 2009]

The third season starts two years after the end of season two with Sydney waking up in Hong Kong with no idea how she got there or what has happened in the past two years. During the course of the episode she learns that a lot has changed in those missing years; she was believed dead, Vaughn has left the CIA and is married, her father is in jail and perhaps the biggest shock of all; her nemesis Arvin Sloane is not only free but is CEO of a humanitarian organisation.

While in hospital she eavesdrops a conversation between Dixon and Weiss about a CIA operative transporting a chip with important data about a drone aircraft. When the operative is killed in France and the chip stolen by a shadowy organisation know as The Covenant Sydney uses this information to claim to have memories involving the CIA agent and France so that she can visit her father in prison before going to France to retrieve the chip; unfortunately the operation does not go well and she is forced to turn to Sloane for help.

As one would expect in Alias the plot is fairly complex and allegiances fairly fluid. The acting continues to be solid with Jennifer Garner leading a fine cast. There is also plenty of action involving shoot outs, explosions, hand to hand combat and a wince inducing interrogation scene.

rare glimpse into the mind of a TV pioneer

[A_Different_Drummer · 8/10 · 27 September 2015]

This review written in late 2015 some 12 years after airing. JJ Abrams at this date has become a legend in Hollywood, with multiple series under his belt. When members of the far future read this, for all I know, by that time, he may also have cured cancer and become president.

The point is this -- Alias was the platform that launched him, and off the top of Season 3 even die-hard fans are reaching for that nameless paper bag the stewardess left in the seat pocket ahead, as the plot spins so far and so fast that the vertigo is literally impossible for viewers to escape.

Indeed this will prove to be a pattern Abrams will repeat again and again in years to come -- when the plot becomes restrictive, when fans start to lose interest, take the story apart and put it back together in unexpected ways.

Frankly (I am watching in sequence and chronologically) I like the energy of Season 3 and I like the tougher dialog that Garner is getting.

A rare peek into the mind of a genius.