EVERYONE HERE IS SO SMART! All the posts have good points that I think the writers should seriously consider when thinking about next season. It sounds as though J.J. already is.
1. Yes, I'd like to see Sydney and Vaughn (why do you never call me Michael) together again. At least that'll provide relief that was SORELY MISSING from this season. And who doesn't smile even the TINIEST bit when those two are with each other.
Example: "The drawer. It's yours."
"No one's ever given me a drawer before." SIGH
"Are you romantically interested in anyone?. . .What? It could be a question." And he's looking completely innocent.
"What? No...no." Heartbeat level goes up. SIGH
"Wait, hold on. We should seriously consider this offer." About the hotel room. I was ready to scream yes until I realized that my parents were sitting right next to me. SIGH
2. Yes, more of a REAL LIFE/SPY LIFE scenario. I loved the Will-Francie-Sydney dynamic, something that was never present this season, except for that odd, but touching, episode with Weiss. I want to see Syd smile and grin and make up lies and struggle with telling her friends the truth. Doubt she'll go back to school, considering she's graduated. But that was never a big part of the plot anyway.
Example: "I'm going to take a shower, and then I'm going to KICK YOUR ASS at that video game"
"Go ahead, raid my closet.--Thanks, but I've got boobs."
"Dear so and so, Thanks for the wedding gift, but I'm gratefully returning it due to the fact that my fiance is a low-life, lying, piece of felgercarb (not exact words). Does that sound too harsh?"
"What should the thank you card to Will say? --I had sex with someone."
3. Yes, more of a MASTER PLAN and ARCHVILLAIN. Everything this season was so muddled up in everything else that one of the things I was most looking forward to learning about--Sloane's endgame--ended up being relegated to a subsidiary status and kind of a joke. Hopefully with his daughter, and who knows, maybe even (my loyalties are flexible) Sark, the tide's going to change. If the writers are going to continue using the Rambaldi arc, then please, have a more definitive storyline to go along with it. It was one of the most intriguing aspects in the first two, excellent seasons. This season, it seemed out of place.
4. Additionally, a good thing about Sydney and Vaughn being together is NO MORE LOOKS OF PANG AND SORROW! Hurrah! I don't think I could have dealt with one more episode of seeing these two gaze at each other with pained expressions on their faces--even though that never seems to change for Vaughn. Please, even in the middle of the CIA Rotunda!!! I know that they are SOULMATES, but ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!! Be together and have more "I couldn't stop staring at you in debrief.--I know. --I think your father noticed. --I think he did too." That's what WE ALL WANT!
5. gorram SARK, the second best male on the show (anyone want to venture out and guess my first choice?). MORE OF HIM AS A SLICK, CUNNING, ARROGANT, AND SEXY BRITISH BOY AND LESS AS A MAMA'S BOY. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO "MY LOYALTIES ARE FLEXIBLE?"
I have to say, I really really enjoyed it when Vaughn, being tortured, remarked: "You know, holding those, you look like you've almost reached puberty." It made me love him, and Sark, even more.
6. More exotic disguises and destinations. This season, it seemed like it was always somewhere weird and unpronouncable in Russia or Eastern Europe (although I know they went many other places). I think it seems like this to me because the places were always so drab and dark and not fun and exciting. What happened to going to India and looking for nukes instead of miniature golfing (Indian here; had to mention it)? What happened to parachuting into a Parisian park, stripping down, and walking away haughtily with a sexy lace dress? What happened to the punk? the Arabic terrorist? the Russian military woman (my dad's favorite, unfortunately; I don't want to think about it)? the awesome, hyped-up music that always accompanied her amazing, fantastical missions??? One of my favorite episodes is "Q & A," in Season 1, when she's recounting how "she keeps busy" with the Smash Mouth song "Diggin Your Scene" playing in the background (even though I don't like the band at all). "Hate to Say I Told you So" at the Vatican with Vaughn. MORE OF THIS and less seriousness.
7. THE CLASSIC CLIFFHANGER ENDINGS! You know what I'm referring to: the unbelievable ones.
Example: "It wasn't me who was KGB. It was your mother." Da-da-duh
"Mom's alive."
When Sydney's stuck at the Romanian mental institute.
"I've been waiting for this for almost thirty years."
Francie: dead or not?
Stuck under the ice.
Dixon recognizing the "Arabic woman" underneath the makeup and clothes.
Dixon's wife being blown up.
Syd being stalked at the nightclub and eventually taken into custody.
Her mom's final betrayal.
8. A more coherent storyline. PLEASE--one that makes sense. The first season was great because it set up the backstory of this amazing woman with an amazing history. It ended with her history catching up with her present and leading to an even more unpredictable future. The second season was amazing because, of course, of LENA OLIN and how they tied in her emotional return with the daughter she never knew but gains the trust of and the husband she betrayed but secretly fell in love with. I loved the Jack-Irina relationship, sometimes, a bit more than Syd-Vaughn. Personally, I think that they should have waited and made PHASE ONE the season finale for that season: it was kind of abrupt but A FREAKIN GOOD episode. Then, we'd have had another season with Francie and Will, saving The Telling for this finale and being introduced to Lauren next season.
9. FINALLY, I just want ALIAS back. Even if it is in January. ABC better recognize that it's the ONLY GOOD SHOW THAT THEY HAVE and shower the cast and J.J. with oodles and oodles of respect and accolades. If 24, a good show, but CONSIDERABLY WORSE than ALIAS, can win a Golden Globe for its show and actor, then VICTOR GARBER AND JENNIFER GARNER AND THE SHOW SHOULD HAVE JUST AS MUCH RECOGNITION. People compare this show to a "stylized music video." Do they realize HOW WRONG THEY ARE??? It has a lot of depth and emotion to it, more than shows like Las Vegas and Joan of Arcadia.
