I watched the final episode, "All the Time in the World", this morning. HERE BE SPOILERS . I have mixed feelings about it. Some of the stuff was handled really well and certain resolutions were quite satisfactory. I particularly liked the final scene where Isabelle builds and then smashes down that puzzle. But other stuff really pissed me off. I think watching the series in its entirety unfortunately exposes some of the flaws in the overall arc that J.J. Abrams was trying to create. It seems to me that some elements of the final episode of Alias were planned right from the first season, while other elements were thrown in at the last minute. For example, I never really felt that Irina Derevko's motivations were fully fleshed out. Yes, she betrayed Jack and Sydney many times over. Yes, she's supposed to be evil. But hijacking nuclear missiles and trying to destroy the United States? I'm sorry, that shit came out of nowhere and it made no sense. Arvin Sloane and Jack Bristow's final fates were handled brilliantly. I was sorry to see Jack die (he was by far my favourite character) but at the same time I was cheering "YESSSSSSS!!!" when he finally fucked Sloane over big time. I never liked the character of Nadia Santos, although she is definitely pleasing to the eye. Even if I cared for her, I think her death earlier in the season was poorly written and had little emotional impact... particulary since viewers had invested a full season in her. I actually felt much more emotion at the sacrifice that Thomas Grace (a newly-introduced minor character) made when he gave everyone enough time to evacuate the subway system. I also felt the whole Rambaldi prophecy was a bit of a let down. They had dropped clues throughout the series that it was about eternal life, although I was hoping that there would be a lot more to it than just that. Turns out I was wrong. Anyway, I'm still digesting everything and may write some more to get it all out of my system. As I said, it's certainly interesting to watch an entire series in one run but I don't know if it's the best way, as it exposes some of the gaping plot holes. All in all, though, Alias was a great show. Definitely up there with the best of television.
Looking back on my series, I think my favourite moment was during the second season episode, "Passage", where the Bristow family -- Sydney, Jack & Irina -- are in Kashmir looking for nuclear weapons. They are ambushed but they manage to turn the tables. I love the scene were all three of them are lined up, firing AK-47s, and then U2's "Walk On" starts to play. Best moment of the series, IMO.
Oh, I agree! That moment had me kvelling up a storm. It's wonderful when a show knows how to create a perfect moment like that.
