So the 3rd season of Alias has started, and it’s now Alias v3.0. Let’s recap:

1st season: Sidney works for SD-6, where everyone thinks they’re a supersecret subset of the CIA. They’re actually terrorists.

2nd Season: Sidney, having become a double-agent for the CIA in Season One like her father, still works for SD6.

In January, having the post-Superbowl timeslot, Alias v2.0 comes out. SD-6 is dismantled, and Sidney now works for the CIA (still) as a regular agent, with her father, and now, her love interest / handler Vaughn.

Season Finale: Blow up Alias and start over for Season 3, v3.0. Sidney has a climatic battle with her former best friend (who had been replaced with a double), and at the end of the show wakes up and two years have gone by unknown to her, with Vaughn breaking the news to her. And he’s now married.

3rd Season (now 2 episodes in) Alias v3.0

Thoughts so far: I was pretty annoyed with blowing it up at the end of the second season, after they had just done it. Said I’d give it one more change. (Ok, be real, who can’t watch Jennifer Garner?) I agree with critics / ratings that the show was too serial and hard for new people to jump into who hadn’t seen it before. The show still has that challenge, in my opinion. But it is a little less action oriented so far.

Things that irk me:

  1. After being gone for 2 years, not only is Sydney an agent again, but she’s already out in the field. (I know, her mystery is central to the plot again).

  2. In the first episode this season, she goes rogue and gets the item the CIA wants. She uses this to get her father out of false imprisonment he’s been in for a year since she was gone.

  3. Her father is a senior agent again already. After being gone for a year in lockup.

  4. Another love triangle. Last year, it was Will and Vaughn. Will is now in the Witness Protection Program (good excuse since he’s not on the show anymore I suppose). Now it’s Sydney, Vaughn, Vaughn’s new wife (who is the NSC liasion to the CIA in their office). Oh, and Vaughn had left to be a French teacher. He’s back in the CIA now. And saved Sydney on the second episode.

Overall, it’s a well-written, tight show. I just wish they’d stick with a plot line. But I do understand that as good as it is, it hasn’t pulled in the amount of viewers ABC has hoped for. Let’s hope this formula works (this time).