Thursday, September 29, 2011

What I’m Watching: Alphas (Season Premiere)


Alphas: Season 1, Episode 11 “Original Sin” (B+)

The end of last week’s episode had nothing to do with this week’s installment, but that didn’t make it any less superb or thrilling. The return of Dr. Rosen’s daughter, who has the ability to evoke great sadness in people, made for an interesting character analysis of Rosen, someone who always seems to have everyone’s best interests in mind but who clearly didn’t have the same skills with his own flesh and blood. Gary going to meet Anna made for a great scene, and it’s sad that she didn’t manage to survive the raid later on, which prompted such extreme anger and sadness from the often unemotional Gary. The revelation that Red Flag’s leader, Stanton Parrish, has been alive for centuries, is absolutely enticing, and it was even better that he came almost right away to visit Rosen and tell him exactly what it was that he had in mind for the future of Alphas. I’m eager to see more of John-Pyper Ferguson’s Parrish next season, as well as to learn about Danielle’s connection to him. This episode drew two “Star Wars” parallels for me, from Dr. Rosen’s “It’s a trap!” realization to the attempted takedown of all of the Alphas in one fell swoop, which is sort of like fighting an army of Jedis. What made this episode awesome, however, was the episode-ending speech by Dr. Rosen revealing the existence of Alphas, broadcast to the entire world thanks to the team. I can’t wait to see where next season takes us.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Ryan Cartwright as Gary

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