Ask Matt

Azhria Lilu

Captain
From TVGuide.com:

Question: Just wondering if there is any news on whether Lena Olin has agreed to be on Alias for the third season. I certainly hope she does. Irina is my favorite character and silly spy stuff aside, the exploration of the dysfunctional family is one of the best aspects of Alias. The on-screen chemistry between her and Victor Garber is also great to watch. Keeping my fingers crossed. — C. Scott

Matt: This is one of the hottest topics of the last few weeks, reaching fever pitch again since the standout episode of March 16, in which her character sent out so many mixed signals — is she evil? Is she good? — that it's impossible not to speculate on her future. I finally went to the man himself — J.J. Abrams — who as you might expect would only say, in keeping with his desire not to reveal any twist of his fascinating story, "I'm being very hush-hush about her future on the show." Knowing more would tell us too much about what to expect for the rest of the season, let alone the next one. With Alias, I think we're best off believing nearly every character is expendable. But I hope Irina is around for a long time to come. I can't take my eyes, or mind, off her.

Question: With regards to the death of Emily (Amy Irving) on Alias — an excellent bait-and-switch — I doubt we've seen the last of her. Sloane spoke of making her live cancer-free "forever," and I think he meant it in its purest form. I suspect the driving force behind Sloane's actions will be to resurrect Emily using a Rambaldi Device. This would add a severe shade of grey to the character. Another thought I've had is that I doubt Rambaldi is actually dead. With the things he accomplished, I doubt 16th-century folk could kill him. — Sean C.

Matt: I think it's clear that Sloane is pursuing the Rambaldi artifacts in hopes of achieving immortality, but whether he could achieve a Lazarus effect seems far-fetched, even for this show. But I hadn't considered that the genius himself may be preserved somewhere. Isn't this show fun? (And for those who weighed in on the powerful performances of Ron Rifkin and Amy Irving in this episode, I agree. She humanized him beautifully, and now that she's gone, there's going to be hell to pay.)
 
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