A Small Step Down from the First Season

WARNING: While I won't be spoiling much of season 2, I will spoil most of season 1. If you want to watch this show unspoiled, finish season 1 before you begin this review. I'll wait.

Ready now?

The first season of Alias came out of no where and completely captivated my attention like no other TV show had. And it's no wonder. Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) is a grad student by day by part time CIA agent by night. She is working for the real CIA to take down SD-6, an organized crime syndicate who recruited her by pretending to be the real CIA. Her only confidante is her father Jack (Victor Garber) who she hardly trusts. She must keep her double agent identity secret from her SD-6 co-workers, especially boss Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin), who is the head of SD-6. She also must keep her identity as a spy secret from her best friends Francie (Merrin Dungey) and Will (Bradley Cooper). And she's keeping her growing feelings for CIA handler Michael Vaughn (Michael Vartan) from everyone, including herself.

As if all these secrets weren't enough to keep you guessing, during season 1, Sydney learned that her long dead mother was really a KGB agent and had faked her own death. Meanwhile, Will kept researching a story that led him closer and closer to the truth about Sydney, thereby putting his life in danger.

As season 1 ended, Sydney's mother was walking, literally, back into her life. But that shock is just the beginning of what is to come. Her mother turns herself into the CIA, but will only deal with Sydney. This new relationship with her mother makes her relationship with her father even rockier as the two use Sydney as a pawn in their own games. And just which side is her mother on, anyway? Meanwhile, Will has learned the truth about the Bristows and gets further involved in the spy world searching for a new job. And she's still putting her life in danger every day by trying to take down SD-6. Meanwhile, over there, someone is toying with Sloane, dropping hints that his wife might not really be dead.

Confused yet? It's only the beginning. But that's a good thing.

As you can see, season 2 continued in the wonderful tradition of season 1 with multiple storylines per episode and so many twists and turns it's hard to keep everything straight. This is a show you had to watch with intense concentration. But it was always so worth it. The writing was excellent. The show assumed you could keep up with it, so it never once talked down to you. The characters were real. Okay, so the action was rather fake at times, it is an action show after all, but it never crossed the suspension of belief line.

Of course, it helped tremendously that the acting was top notch. All the main actors from season one were back, and they are once again fantastic. Special mention has to go to Jennifer Garner, as talented as she is beautiful, Victor Garber, who kept us guessing about Jack, and Ron Rifkin, who you just loved to hate. Joining the cast this season full time was David Anders as independent villain Sark, who constantly made Sydney's life miserable. But the strongest addition to the cast was Lena Olin as Sydney's duplicitous mother. There could never have been anyone to play that part. I would change my mind about the character multiple times an episode. Sometimes even multiple times a scene.

Unfortunately, this season had a major flaw. Half way through, they introduced a major twist in an attempt to simplify the show for new viewers. I know that twist had to come at some point, but the suddenness with which they did it is what created the problem. Additionally, I still haven't forgiven them for what they did to Francie. Even though the show wasn't as strong, it was still strong. The writers still kept me hooked every week. An episode of season 2 Alias is still better than many shows on TV then or now.

Fans of the show will love this DVD set. The entire second season is presented here in widescreen with surround sound. As you'd expect from a recently filmed show, it looks and sounds outstanding. The set includes 4 audio commentaries by various members of the cast and crew. These are fun and informative, even if they do degrade a few times into self-love fests. The bulk of the special features are on the final disc. These include deleted scenes and a fun gag reel. There is a 45 minute documentary on the making of the final episode of the season. It covers ever aspect of the production from script to post, but more time seems to be spent on the final fight of the season then on any other aspect. Still, it was fascinating. The featurette on the look of Alias covers both seasons and is an interesting look at the wigs and costumes Sydney wears on her various missions. There are only a few TV promos. The four radio interviews are old news to us by now, but still interesting to listen to.

Even with my complaint about the mid-season twist, this is still an extremely strong season. I tuned in every week without fail, and couldn't wait to get my hands on this set. Allow plenty of time to watch it before you start because you will be hooked.

Alias Reviews:
Season 1
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5