en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/5832630 Comments by Inseriousity http://markwatches.net/reviews/2019/07/mark-watches-doctor-who-s11e10-the-battle-of-ranskoor-av-kolos/#IDComment1077890468 I'm thrilled you're loving the season. I do think it's not as bad as some people would say. However, this episode is just... yeah it's hard to get connected to anything here imo. I noticed whilst I was watching that there was a problem, the Doctor would speak very fast and then she'd fix it. Granted, that's the Doctor. It always tends to happen that way but usually, there's more setbacks, drama, dilemmas to contend with first. Everything seemed to happen so smoothly. The only real source of tension in this episode was Graham's revenge, which fizzled out. This episode was very flat to me and that's a shame. Tue, 23 Jul 2019 15:36:19 +0000 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2019/07/mark-watches-doctor-who-s11e10-the-battle-of-ranskoor-av-kolos/#IDComment1077890468 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2019/07/mark-watches-doctor-who-s11e03-rosa/#IDComment1076767357 Ever since I saw this episode, I have wanted to see your reaction to it. I figured you'd either love it or there'd be some subtle trope that I've just not seen before. I was confident that there was no White Saviour trope here because the script makes perfectly plain "we have to not help her." That tiny line makes all the difference but perhaps, there was something I'd not heard or seen before that would taint it. After all, I only know about the "White Saviour" trope because of a Friday Night Lights review you wrote. I am hugely relieved then that you loved it. This is my favourite episode of the series. Even putting aside Rosa Parks for a moment, I quite like the concept. Sometimes, huge moments in history rely on all the various factors that could influence things. For Rosa to stay seated, it needed that particular driver with the right amount of passengers etc and if any one of those were affected, it could change the course of history. Very clever. Add Rosa Parks and it just makes it ten times better. The only slight niggle I have is the whole neural restrictor thing just automatically made me think of Spike and was a little distracting but it's only one scene! I can let it go Fri, 5 Jul 2019 21:06:11 +0000 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2019/07/mark-watches-doctor-who-s11e03-rosa/#IDComment1076767357 https://www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2019/03/government-votes-against-own-amended-motion-and-loses-commons-votes-to-take-no-deal-off-the-table-completely.html#IDComment1070157290 Thank you, that explains why I missed it too, I tend to just periodically check the liveblogs rather than watch it on the TV. Wed, 13 Mar 2019 21:09:39 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2019/03/government-votes-against-own-amended-motion-and-loses-commons-votes-to-take-no-deal-off-the-table-completely.html#IDComment1070157290 https://www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2019/03/government-votes-against-own-amended-motion-and-loses-commons-votes-to-take-no-deal-off-the-table-completely.html#IDComment1070155322 I can't seem to find it anywhere and figure this is the best place to get a serious answer, is it common practice if someone who tables an amendment decides not to pursue it that other signatories can push it or is this a case of Bercow making new precedent again? From what I have seen, it's felt like some members have dropped amendments before despite other members still wanting to pursue it and none of this has happened. Admittedly, not an expert in this as I don't always follow the parliamentary proceedings so don't know these technical details. Would be grateful for a response/previous examples. Wed, 13 Mar 2019 20:07:49 +0000 https://www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2019/03/government-votes-against-own-amended-motion-and-loses-commons-votes-to-take-no-deal-off-the-table-completely.html#IDComment1070155322 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s04e03-the-awful-truth/#IDComment1061057407 Hey, Weiss is on the team now, much better. It was obvious it was going to happen when it turned out Sydney and Weiss were trapped in the same room together. That secret was out quick, worst spies ever. If you want to keep a secret, you have to think more like Jack. “Is he always this cold?” Yes Nadia, he is and he’s happy to manipulate facts and official reports to get the narrative he wants to tell you. I did wonder why she suddenly went all Rambo so I should not have been surprised that Jack would do such a thing. I like Nadia so far, she seems nice and loyal... ... which brings me to Sloane, the polar opposite. I will admit that perhaps this reboot is complete and there is nothing more to it. The show has altered so much in its dynamic that perhaps it was willing to sacrifice the storylines/flaws of its main “villain” to match. Would I be satisfied with that? Yes and no. I didn’t have the same issues that Mark had with the season 3 finale because I figured that it would just spend time on it during season 4 but instead the show has done this incredible U-turn. That means that now I get that sense of dissatisfaction that almost a whole season worth of story was for nothing. On the plus side, Rembaldi was getting incredibly tedious and far-fetched so it’s nice to have a break from it. The reason I bring it up is that during this episode when Sloane and Nadia are together, it just reminded me that these two had this huge trip together to gather some ancient Rembaldi artefact and no-one brings it up, it’s weird. I cannot believe that Sloane would hand a Rembaldi artefact to the government [edit: forgot to add that I also remembered during this episode that Sloane manipulated the entire Alliance and CIA to bring the Alliance down so he could be free with his wife... who he then ditched to search for more Rembaldi artefacts] but I don’t know if that’s just because I’m thinking of the old Sloane and not Reboot Sloane. Then during her Psych Evaluation, Nadia makes it perfectly clear that she would protect her partner no matter what and who was her partner on this trip? Sloane. Is there more to this than meets the eye? I am so paranoid about this show that I don’t even trust that it’s a proper reboot. Tue, 17 Apr 2018 21:28:38 +0000 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s04e03-the-awful-truth/#IDComment1061057407 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s04e02-authorized-personnel-only-part-ii/#IDComment1060994279 Haha so funny. Perfect delivery too Mon, 16 Apr 2018 21:26:35 +0000 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s04e02-authorized-personnel-only-part-ii/#IDComment1060994279 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s04e02-authorized-personnel-only-part-ii/#IDComment1060994255 NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! Irina was the best character, I was always hopeful of a comeback and now it’s never going to happen. I’ll be honest, I thought this might be one of those fake-out situations again where Jack pretended he was going to kill her then stashed her away, a bit like Emily and Sloane. But then Sydney specifically says that she found her body as if the writers knew people would think like this and wanted the issue done and dusted. I’ll admit I’m a little confused with the whole Jack killing Irina thing because I don’t have a timeline. It would obviously have to be after his last chat with her about The Passenger and Lauren getting shot and somehow a memo about it got into a safety deposit box that Lauren knew about. Where did he even have the time? Thinking about it, this actually makes no sense because the file that we saw clearly said Sydney Bristow on it and asking to kill Irina Derevko has no link to what we saw on the page. I am not going to even try get into the whole Irina put out a contract on Sydney because.. yeah just refer to my first sentence in this review. I am glad that Marshall is back, it’d make no sense not having him on the team. It is an absolute buzzkill though that Weiss is still in this show in the capacity that the story has now forced him into. I should be all happy that the team is back together and they’ve left Weiss out on the sidelines. I did enjoy the story for this episode. I can see how this reboot is going to go back to basics with the mission of the week storylines with some added mysteries. I can get behind that, I like it. Side note: I am going to sound super shallow here but throughout the episode, I think I just expected Tamazaki to be middle-aged and have the typical underworld thug look. Wow, that guy was hot. I’ll give you the sword for your phone number. Side note 2: The heist in London. I’m from the UK and those accents were the worst. Also, that police car is just... yeah I don’t even know what the hell. Mon, 16 Apr 2018 21:25:41 +0000 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s04e02-authorized-personnel-only-part-ii/#IDComment1060994255 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s04e01-authorized-personnel-only-part-i/#IDComment1060893621 Is this a reboot? It felt very much like a reboot, a fresh start away from most of the drama that had preceded it. I’ll be honest, it felt a little like a slap in the face. I just wasn’t feeling it very much. It is now season 4 but these characters have so much history between them that rebooting the show in this way feels a bit disingenuous. I think part of the problem was because there wasn’t such a big fuss made over some of the story arcs of the past season. It’s almost like everything that happened before is now just an afterthought. The Covenant? Not mentioned once. Nadia and Sloane? Yeah they found the artefact and handed it to the government (I find that hard to believe). Vaughn? It’s briefly touched on but he seems to want to move on with Sydney now. Jack and Sydney? They’re not talking but it wasn’t a huge portion of the episode. Most importantly and not mentioned at all, WHERE IS MARSHALL? You can’t have a new secret ops team without tech from Marshall. He’s smarter than all of you combined. What gives?! I say all this with a question mark because perhaps it’s not so much a reboot after all. It is highly likely that these issues are going to crop up in the show again. Like I said, I don’t believe Sloane’s story about the artefact at all. As for the secret ops team with no bureaucracy and Sloane in charge, this is going to end well, isn’t it? Sat, 14 Apr 2018 14:46:47 +0000 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s04e01-authorized-personnel-only-part-i/#IDComment1060893621 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-predicts-alias-season-4/#IDComment1060822512 1.Nadia and Sloane will visit the coordinates. Nadia will betray Sloane and take whatever is there for herself. 2.This is because I feel that Nadia/Katya/Irina are working together. I say this because that evil!dentist who was doing the experiments on Nadia ended up working with Irina’s organisation. 3.We will find out more about Vaughn’s father and his role in Nadia’s life 4.Marshall will survive the gunshot wound. I think the show will gloss over it to be honest and he’ll just bounce back into his usual role [which I am also fine with, he’s the best]. 5.We were given so little information about what was in those files but I have to disagree with Mark. I don’t think Jack is a Rembaldi fanatic (I’d actually be disappointed if he was). I think this has something to do with Project Christmas 6.I think Sydney will feel betrayed and not speak to Jack but they will resolve their differences before the halfway point of the season. 7.The Covenant will be demolished by the end of the season 8.This is because I think The Trust will become the villains for this season 9.They will be more of a bureaucratic nightmare for the team, using their power and influence to cause trouble 10.Vaughn will struggle for a bit about killing Lauren. However, he will get closure by dating Sydney again and moving on. 11.Sark will escape again from CIA custody and be reunited with Irina 12.There will be a final showdown between Sydney vs Nadia at the season finale. 13.Nzl Npxre nccrnef va guvf frnfba. V nz tbvat gb xrrc vapyhqvat guvf cerqvpgvba hagvy vg unccraf fb gura V unir n fubg bs ng yrnfg 1 cbvag vs zl bgure cerqvpgvbaf ner nofbyhgryl ubcryrff nf guvf vf gur bayl fcbvyre V xabj. Thu, 12 Apr 2018 21:21:05 +0000 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-predicts-alias-season-4/#IDComment1060822512 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-predicts-alias-season-4/#IDComment1060821792 1.The reason for Sydney’s disappearance is linked to whatever Sloane was making. I just don’t think it’s a coincidence on the day this device was assembled, Sydney has lost 2 years of her memory. Not even close. 0/1 2.The CIA has not been able to advance any further with their investigations of Sloane and Irina/Sark True. I mean this wasn't what I actually meant. I just assumed that the trio would continue to operate and that the CIA would be 5 steps behind all the time. I don't think I'd have predicted that Irina would disappear and Sloane would GET A PARDON. I would have to be a seer to predict that but in a roundabout way, this is true and I need the points. 1/2 3.In the meantime, Sloane has managed to acquire himself more of a team. Just to be clear, I mean with names and more character development than his usual hired goons. This was probably a silly prediction come to think about it. Sloane would never trust anybody but himself. As you can see below I thought Irina/Sark and Sloane would continue to operate but separate from each other so Sloane would need to assemble some sort of team. Again I repeat, who the hell would be able to predict a pardon? 1/3 4.He no longer co-operates with Irina/Sark Yes, very true. 2/4 5.I honestly can’t predict what Irina/Sark are up to. I have no clue. I do think that Sark will escape from CIA custody. Nailed it. 3/5 6.Fake!Francie is definitely dead and they find the real Francie’s body and have a funeral. Annoyingly this will have already happened during that two year gap so we’ll just get a scene of Sydney visiting her gravestone OH MY GOD. REMBALDI MEDICINE RUINED MY PREDICTION. As for Real Francie, yeah, not even worth a mention. 3/6 7.Will continues to work as a CIA analyst and will even go on a mission with Sydney Okay half a point because he actually did go on a mission but he stopped working for the CIA. 3.5/7 8.Marshall/Carrie (? I think... Miss Bowman) shipping will continue. Oh jeez, I’ve totally forgot her name. Either way, I’m so paranoid about everyone that I think she will be not who she says she is and will betray Marshall. Well she had a personality transplant for some unknown reason but not what I meant. Also, she's off screen 99.9% of the time so not sure the shipping continues much either. 3.5/8 9.Kendall will be killed by the end of the season. Apart from that one episode, disappeared but still alive. 3.5/9 10.Nzl Npxre nccrnef va guvf frnfba. V nz tbvat gb xrrc vapyhqvat guvf cerqvpgvba hagvy vg unccraf fb gura V unir n fubg bs ng yrnfg 1 cbvag vs zl bgure cerqvpgvbaf ner nofbyhgryl ubcryrff nf guvf vf gur bayl fcbvyre V xabj. Nope. Thu, 12 Apr 2018 20:54:54 +0000 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-predicts-alias-season-4/#IDComment1060821792 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s03e22-resurrection/#IDComment1060784308 What the hell was that opening?!!! Let me start with a minor gripe. The whole prosthetic mask thing... yeah maybe it is possible that this can actually happen but even in a world of prophecies and ancient keys hidden in puzzles, it took me out of the moment and made me think ‘what? Huh really?’ It was very Mrs Doubtfire. I was just willing to let it go but then it happens twice. The reason I was willing to let it go is because that opening was so awesome. We can see from the random placing of objects that there was something weird going on. I’ll be honest, I thought that this was going to be one of those episodes where they start at the end then go backwards until we reach the same point in a different light. So, so wrong. Instead, the action just kicks right off, Marshall is shot, explosions everywhere, some bloody brutal ones too, that receptionist went flying. Sark is caught, Lauren is on the run. It was so intense, no-one could ever have predicted that. It never really lets up from there either. Vaughn goes after her but gets stabbed (!!!). He breaks out of hospital by staging a fake kidnap (!!!!!!). Sydney goes after Lauren (!!!!!!!!!!!). Katya goes to shoot her... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAIT WHAT? THAT’S YOUR NIECE. IRINA WOULD NEVER HAVE ALLOWED THAT. What is going on? It’s never explained because Katya gets taken out by a tranquiliser but either Katya is doing things for her own ends or she is working with her sister. I think there is more to the Katya/Irina and also Nadia relationship than we’re being shown here. Vaughn shoots Lauren. No hesitation either, multiple times. We never see her body so she’ll probably be back next season. I’m kidding, I’m kidding... sort of. We also don’t know if Marshall is okay yet. I swear if every single character seems to have a miraculous recovery then Marshall better have one too. Sydney goes to a bank where some secret documents are kept. No explanation about how Lauren knew about them... she can tell us next season (I’m still kidding). It’s got Jack’s name on them and he knows she knows. Is this a Project Christmas thing? Hmmm more mysteries. Wed, 11 Apr 2018 22:19:42 +0000 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s03e22-resurrection/#IDComment1060784308 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s03e21-legacy/#IDComment1060779328 This is how you do returning characters, Alias. When Katya showed up, I was delighted. “I find you sexy, Jack, deal with it” haha. Speaking of Jack/Katya, I have to say it’s so wrong for three reasons. The first is that Jack/Irina had so much chemistry last season that it’s almost a travesty that he could be with anyone else, the 2nd is that he’s clearly not got the closure he was preaching to Vaughn as this definitely felt like a response to Irina having an affair so he’ll go with her sister instead and finally because Katya feels intelligent enough to know all this and will happily use it to her advantage. I feel like this is going to backfire in some way, potentially to do with the passenger. Then Evil Dentist turned up and that character gives me the creeps so much. He brutually tortured Sydney, Will (I notice Vaughn didn’t mention him), Marshall and then he himself gives everything away at the first opportunity. Vaughn is usually very level-headed but Lauren’s betrayal has made him lose all sense of control. I mean it’s understandable up to a point but then he’s throwing acid at someone who clearly doesn’t know anything and still does it anyway. Sydney nearly gets killed and all because he has a new obsession. The woman who designs the security systems - I've forgot her name - was also a lot of fun. I thought she was going to the rendezvous point then all of a sudden she’s with Vaughn acting all Rambo, I like her. Wed, 11 Apr 2018 18:47:37 +0000 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s03e21-legacy/#IDComment1060779328 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s03e20-blood-ties/#IDComment1060740488 Worst father of the year award goes to... Arvin Sloane! I mean I never really believed that he was looking for redemption or that the knowledge of having a daughter had changed him. Perhaps in some cases, it’s been more like seeing the writers plotting rather than Sloane but he sought a pardon so that he could run some humanitarian organisation, simply to collect the DNA of millions for his Rembaldi mission. I was wondering during his speech to Nadia that perhaps I was wrong, maybe I was so blinded by suspicion and mistrust of him that I was seeing evil where there was actually just a genuine attempt to change. Then less than 24 hours later, he’s tied his daughter to a chair, injected her and pleading that he hasn’t got a choice or that he wishes there was another way. THERE IS ANOTHER WAY! DON’T DO IT! I have been rather critical of the Rembaldi storyline. It is so elaborate and intricately designed with multiple red herrings, artefacts, keys, prophecies that it means it’s hard to take too seriously. It is just one treasure hunt after another with this guy and then when it looks like it’s nearing the end, more clues, more treasure to find, more prophecies to unravel. I say all this because it occurred to me during this episode that perhaps I could get behind this but then it seems every character is a follower of Rembaldi (including Vaughn’s father now). These people are not even your so-called conspiracy theorists who see UFOs where there are planes etc. These are rational, seven-steps-ahead, clever, manipulative people and yet they’ve been sucked into this cat and mouse game. I just don’t get it. If this makes it sound like I hate the show, I don’t. I actually enjoy it. Marshall is entertaining as always and this episode, I really need to comment on Sydney’s disguise as Shannon. What an incredible transformation. The voice, the tone, the awkward uncertainty. She did not get into the vault with fancy gadgets or kickass moves but characterisation, building rapport with target, establishing a false sense of security. Absolutely brilliant. I think that’s the best disguise so far. “Chosen one... Neither will survive...” Hmm déjà vu... Tue, 10 Apr 2018 18:31:22 +0000 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s03e20-blood-ties/#IDComment1060740488 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s03e19-hourglass/#IDComment1060702451 Well, I was going to write a review about how Alias never kills off its main characters and will go through all sorts of hoops to get them out of the holes they’ve dug themselves into. I was going to write how I thought Sloane was actually not dead, that the drugs used were not lethal injections but to just give the impression that he was and The Trust will revive him then I was going to gloat about how I am actually prepared for this show. Instead, I was only half right as it is Jack that revives him and it happens quicker than I thought it would. Just a thought that passed me by but that guy who was in charge of the execution (director of legal something or other), he is part of The Trust. That’s the impression I got. I also got the impression that the show is building up this shadowy government organisation to be the next baddy. Jack has shown a couple of times throughout the show that he can be a brutal badass. His shooting of the CIA mole who’s name I’ve forgot, strangling Ricky Gervais etc etc. Every time he does it, I should in theory hate it. He’s crossed so many lines and yet it’s strangely the most interesting thing to watch. You know shit is real when Jack is going super badass, kicking ass and taking names. I also enjoyed the trap that Vaughn/Lauren had. Strangely, it took until this episode when they’re both lying to each other that I felt any chemistry between the two. Looks like the ball is back in Lauren’s court although personally, I think the CIA should just drop the pretence and not try to drag out the subterfuge too much. Obviously, I say that with the benefit of audience hindsight but jeez, there’s only so long you can drag this sort of thing out. One last thing about Sloane. His “speech” about his passion for his daughter? YOU DIDN’T EVEN KNOW UNTIL LATE SEASON 2. ALL THE CRAP YOU DID BEFORE THEN HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. Once a liar and manipulator, always a liar and manipulator. Mon, 9 Apr 2018 21:04:05 +0000 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s03e19-hourglass/#IDComment1060702451 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s03e18-unveiled/#IDComment1060698554 I am going to have to get over how Rembaldi’s life is just full of riddles that make no sense and even when you think you’re getting to the end of them, more riddles come along to take their place with more mysterious names and more artefacts linked to uncovering these riddles. It honestly makes no sense and is starting to feel like lazy storytelling. I think when the show’s over, someone can just do me a favour and lay it all out from start to finish. Perhaps seeing these riddles in its fragmented form is making it harder to appreciate that there actually is a point to all of this. I enjoyed this one mainly because it felt like the characters were close about unmasking Lauren as a fraud but it was tense to see whether anyone would actually get there. I did say I was worried that Lauren would get little to do but glare at the camera and fold her arms but she’s actually been at the center of all the action. Her story has also been a vital part of this season ticking along: her duplicity and sabotage is interesting to watch, she’s keeping Sydney/Vaughn apart for the romantic tension and she’s making Sark a more rounded individual too. He has someone to care about and in this line of work, that makes him vulnerable. When Lauren kissed Vaughn, it was the kiss of death for their relationship. To be honest, I was waiting for Sydney to pull a trick to put Lauren into a trap but it never happened. They suspected her but never really put her to the test or implement steps to keep confidential information away from her prying eyes. The cat’s out of the bag so I’m interested to see how the show is going to handle this. One more thing, Sydney kicked a globe at a henchman. I love the fight scenes like this. She reminds me of something Spike said about Buffy: she’s very resourceful and creative at taking advantage of whatever she’s got to hand to give her the advantage. Mon, 9 Apr 2018 18:39:22 +0000 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s03e18-unveiled/#IDComment1060698554 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s03e17-the-frame/#IDComment1060695981 I wasn’t surprised at all to find out Mrs Reed was a double agent. Perhaps this show has had so many double agents masquerading as wives that it’s just a trope for this show now. This is the 4th time! I actually thought that Jack suspected or was wondering about this during his first visit as he looked at her suspiciously but maybe that’s just how Jack looks at everyone. My other thought about this episode was BLOODY HELL REMBALDI. DID YOU NOT SLEEP? How many artefacts can one guy have? He has artefacts then keys then maps in crystal to get access to more artefacts. It’s like a Crash Bandicoot game. I may have missed something in the episode because I only noticed it in Mark's review. Did they take the box with them to get the keys? WHY? Just grab them, go back home and sort it all out there? Mon, 9 Apr 2018 17:00:37 +0000 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s03e17-the-frame/#IDComment1060695981 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s03e16-taken/#IDComment1060480429 It seemed fairly obvious that something was going to happen to Dixon’s kids when they ended up on screen. This guy has had too much trauma with his close family members so I’m glad they were okay in the end. Then again, I can’t say I’m too surprised by that as (whilst not always) the general rule of thumb is that children are off limits for anything too gruesome. The tension here really was more about what the team would have to give up in order to get them back. Which turns out to be a box with Irina’s name on it. I’m going to keep repeating it until it happens but I miss her, she needs to come back. Is this box a sign that this is going to happen soon? I hope so! [As a sidenote, I love that Dixon used prayer to get the director to leave him alone. Nothing makes a situation slightly awkward and uncomfortable than silent prayer] Sloane got thrown into prison as Lauren used him as a scapegoat. I didn’t quite get why people thought it was him, he has proven himself more than once that he is a much clever manipulator than that. In fact, I was more interested in his relationship with Barnett. Professional ethics aside and her surprisingly terrible lack of judgement considering the job that she has (it’s not like he acted particularly charming towards her as well), this must be another part of his scheme. I’m still not sure what that is yet but when she was talking about how it would destroy her credibility, I realised that Sloane now has leverage over her. He could dangle this threat over her to get what he truly wanted from her. More information on Sydney or Jack? Still don’t have a clue. Jack has discovered Lauren is the mole! I’m from the North of England where the word “love” is a very frequent utterance as a general greeting so it did make me kind of laugh a little that this was what gave it away but I can let it slide cos this is going to be good! Tue, 3 Apr 2018 22:04:40 +0000 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s03e16-taken/#IDComment1060480429 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s03e15-facade/#IDComment1060435287 Ricky Gervais playing a bombmaker was very distracting. I’ve seen him in too many other lighthearted roles to take this too seriously. Plus, that was Kate Beckett on the plane and I thought she was going to be some sort of assassin intended to take out Sark so to find out she really was just a flight attendant was also weird. I’ll presume this was one of her earlier roles. Moving on from the actors, this was a fairly filler episode but I did enjoy the change of pace. I’ve always been fascinated by the CIA’s long track record of subterfuge. It is very creative to be able to rig up a whole hotel room/hallway to the smallest tiniest detail to trick someone into thinking they are in a genuine hotel room. If they ever retire from the CIA, Hollywood can come calling. If Mr Sark is in custody, I’m curious to see how far Lauren will have to risk her status as a mole in the CIA to get him out. One last thing, the story does say afterwards that there was nothing the bomb squad at the beginning of the episode could do and I know the whole point was that they didn’t have a clue but “Red is my kid’s favourite colour” to choose which one to cut is a TERRIBLE idea! Mon, 2 Apr 2018 22:09:24 +0000 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/04/mark-watches-alias-s03e15-facade/#IDComment1060435287 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/03/mark-watches-alias-s03e14-blowback/#IDComment1060332457 This episode shows us two sides of the same mission, which I thought was interesting. Sark and Lauren make a good team, don’t they? The chemistry between them is quite similar to what Vaughn and Sydney have. It adds more tension to the missions as well because the two teams are evenly matched so it means you can’t be as certain who’s going to come out victorious. It was super awkward when Sark used Vaughn’s love for Sydney right in front of his “wife” haha Sloane goes on a date with his therapist. It stayed professional but I still think there is more to his motive than meets the eye here. What can Dr Barnett provide him? I wonder. He also says that Sydney could be his daughter but I am predicting right here and now that Jack is Sydney’s biological father. I have a 50/50 chance of getting this right but it would just feel so wrong if it turned out Sloane was her father. Fri, 30 Mar 2018 23:20:13 +0000 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/03/mark-watches-alias-s03e14-blowback/#IDComment1060332457 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/03/mark-watches-alias-s03e13-after-six/#IDComment1060331196 Well I did worry in the last episode that the writers weren’t going to give Lauren anything to work with but this episode, she teams up with Sark and kills 6 of the Covenant’s cell leaders. I suppose that’s having something to do! As Quentin Tarantino has such a standout name, his return was spoiled long before he actually came on screen as I noticed his name in the opening credits. Last time we saw him, he was working for The Man, who turned out to be Irina so is Irina behind this? I’m doubtful because Sark was her trusted right-hand man but I think I might just want to cling to any hope that she will return one day. Sloane goes to have therapy with the CIA shrink. She has such piercing eyes, they’re so pretty. I have no idea what Sloane is up to. He seemed like he was interested in knowing if Jack and Sydney were this doctor’s patients as well so perhaps he wanted that information for some nefarious purpose. I doubt very much he’s having a crisis of confidence and this is just another of his manipulations. Is it just me or has Carrie had a personality transplant this season? Perhaps she’s pissed that she seems to get 5 minutes of screentime at random intervals but her character has changed from quite shy, sweet to blunt and rather distant, like there’s this harsh coldness to her voice. I am glad Marshall found time to get married during a mission with high voltage, machine guns and acid. Talk about worst timing ever! Fri, 30 Mar 2018 22:21:34 +0000 http://markwatches.net/reviews/2018/03/mark-watches-alias-s03e13-after-six/#IDComment1060331196