Alphas Season 2 Discussion

[Ahriman238]

Something else occurred to me when watching this last episode that I really, really should have thought of sooner. Kat's memory issues are profound enough that while she learns physical skills ultra-fast and retains them, she actually doesn't remember what skills she has. She had no idea she could play five finger fillet til that guy showed her, she had no idea she could drive a truck until she tried. That could lead to some...interesting situations, and if I were Bill or Dr. Rosen I'd be rather interested in making an inventory of her skills and filling in any obvious holes (like swimming) so I and she could have an idea what she's capable of.

[Alkaloid]

That was actually the first thing that came to ming when Cam surfaced without her. Holy shit she can't swim and doesn't know it. Which seems odd given its the sort of skill that should be pretty easy for her to pick up and seems like the sort of thing she would realise in a hurry she might need to know, but hey, it was still kinda funny.

Also, on the latest episode. Bugger me. Parish, you really should not have killed that mans daughter. Is it entirely fair to think that that you should have predicted the man would go from mild manned doctor/secret agent to Jack Bauer with super powered friends? No. But in hindsight it seems kind of obvious that Rosen is capable of going a long way to get things done.

[Ahriman238]

Yeah. Normally I'd ask why anyone this personally involved is even allowed to continue on the Parish case. The answer of course is that there's really no one else who can deal with Parish and all his Alphas like the team, and the team needs the Doc to function.

Still, I'm surprised Bill or even Rachel haven't gotten a whiff of all this and pulled Dr. Rosen aside for a serious chat. Nina's "I'm being the person you wanted me to be." is the closest anyone's come to calling Rosen out on his recent behavior.

[CaptainChewbacca]

I think after Rosen torturing Scipio that there's going to be a conversation coming. Whether or not thats going to happen in the face of Parish supercharging every alpha in a dozen major cities is anyone's guess.

[Ahriman238]

And with 'God's Eye' the second season of Alphas is over.

What an ending it was. I'm glad that Dr. Rosen remembered himself. Sort of wondering how the government can possibly cover up after this. Killing the National Grid is big enough, but how many people died that night?

I admit to cracking up just a bit when "the only living boy in New York" started playing. I am a horrible, horrible person.

For that matter, was I the only one to shout "son of a bitch" at the screen when Parish's master plan was revealed last episode?

Here's to hoping the team is alright and the show gets renewed for a third season.

[Adrian McNair]

Well, that was...disappointing. After taking the season in a such solid direction ripe with ambiguity and shades of grey they resorted to one of the most tired cop-outs in the history of fiction. I utterly despise that cliche. Hate, hate, hate it. It's shithouse, lazy writing. And no amount of persuasion or platitudes from anyone will convince me otherwise. The hallucination of Dani guiding Rosen along was irritatingly spiritual but it didn't hold a candle to the other mind-numbingly stupid and corny story problem.

"We'll be no better than him if we kill him"? How about the fact that you will be better? You'll be alive and still be able to do good while his nefarious scheming will be brought to an end. "He'll feel the pain of her death"? What about after a hundred years when he's moved on, Rosen? When he's outlived you and your entire team? What then? He sure as shit has watched more of his children and grandchildren pass away than you have. I think he's accustomed to loss by now.

But gee, thanks for telling me that killing the villain is on the same level as the crimes said villain commits. Thanks for the lesson, Alphas! Of all the examples to emulate, why go with bullshit comic book morality? For fuck's sake, all I wanted was follow-through not flinching. Was that too much to ask?

You know there's something seriously wrong with the plotting on a show when the hallucination of a dead character makes more sense than the living one. Keeping Parish alive has absolutely no benefits and will only lead to dire consequences in the long-run. The man's mission involved mass-murder on a scale unseen since the second World War. In the paraphrased words of Mike Ehrmantraut, Rosen "took a half-measure when he should have taken a full one." What utterly horrible and lazy writing.

io9 is right on the money here.

Nonetheless that was quite the cliffhanger. It's interesting that Gary wasn't affected by the mini-stimulators. Given how they dealt with the Parish situation I fully expect them to weasel out of it and reveal Rosen to be a latent Alpha. I doubt they'd have the balls to get rid of the highest-profile actor in their ensemble.

Still, in spite of my gripes, I will be here for the next season (if there is one). If only to find out how they resolve the immediate situation.

[Ahriman238]

My first thought was that Dr. Rosen, knowing he had a minute or less, simply closed his eyes. On the other hand, if he did that there'd be no reason for him to be unconscious.

I actually like the idea of Rosen coming full circle, regretting all he's done in Dani's name, and trying to make amends. I just think it was too rushed, and can easily forgive that for the need to maintain suspense. The show has been fairly consistently about Dr. Rosen trying to get his team to be more than another group of feds, and it's shown by his compassion even when being held hostage or pursuing an (apparently) dangerous fugitive.

We've seen Dr. Rosen kill exactly one man once in the series (last season) and that was to save dozens of lives, in a situation where reason had already failed and he had no time for anything else. Still, he was clearly deeply troubled by it. So am I surprised he'd balk at killing a "helpless" (always a relative term with Parish) man in cold blood? No.

EDIT: added sentence for clarity.

[Adrian McNair]

My first thought was that Dr. Rosen, knowing he had a minute or less, simply closed his eyes. On the other hand, if he did that there'd be no reason for him to be unconscious.

Speaking of unconsciousness, it was odd that Parish was taking so long to regenerate. He wasn't incapacitated this long when he stabbed himself in the neck earlier in the season. Given that his power manifested after he had sustained a Minie ball to the head that would just be inconsistent. Perhaps a serious head injury takes longer to heal than a fatal neck wound.

I actually like the idea of Rosen coming full circle, regretting all he's done in Dani's name, and trying to make amends. I just think it was too rushed, and can easily forgive that for the need to maintain suspense. The show has been fairly consistently about Dr. Rosen trying to get his team to be more than another group of feds, and it's shown by his compassion even when being held hostage or pursuing an (apparently) dangerous fugitive.

There is a time and a place for compassion and this wasn't it. If they were going to do that then there should have been more build-up to it. It was too rushed, as you said. I'd also use the words "narratively convenient" and "cop-out" but at this point they would be redundant given that my opinion has already been made clear. It reminded me of all of the shitty excuses the writers of Heroes came up with to keep Sylar alive. They kept doing it and the story consequently suffered for it. It's just a tiresome cliche that's been done to death and it doesn't get any less annoying when it pops up.

Now, I'm not opposed to Rosen coming full circle but make it happen at a later date not at the eleventh hour. In fact, that could have been the premise for the third season. After killing Parish, Rosen's methods begin to become increasingly ruthless and darker to the point where even Cameron balks at his orders. The entire season could focus on Rosen's fall and eventual path to redemption. Given that this is purely a character-based series it would be a good fit.

We've seen Dr. Rosen kill exactly one man once in the series (last season) and that was to save dozens of lives, in a situation where reason had already failed and he had no time for anything else. Still, he was clearly deeply troubled by it. So am I surprised he'd balk at killing a "helpless" (always a relative term with Parish) man in cold blood? No.

Except Jonas Englin was a comparatively small-fry threat while Parish is of the long-term variety. Englin could still succumb to illness or old age. Parish doesn't. The fact that Rosen did kill Englin reinforces my point. If he hadn't done it before I might have been more understanding and slightly less critical of this episode. Parish still should have died, though. If not by Rosen's hand then by Cameron's. At this point we pretty much know everything we need to about his character. There's no need to drag things out even further by keeping him alive.

[Ahriman238]

I don't disagree with anything you said, Adrian. Except that it makes sense that Dr. Rosen would find it easier to kill a man who was an immediate threat to many lives than killing a man for revenge. And it has already been made clear that even in that situation, where Rosen was as unambiguously in the right as it is possible to be, he still felt terrible.

We don't really know how long it took Parish to recover from the Minie ball back then. I mean, we know he gasped and sat up a minute after the doctor passed him up as a corpse, but we don't know how long he was lying there before the doctor came. Plus, a brain injury can be incredibly complex, far more so than a bloody gash.

[CaptainChewbacca]

So I'm wondering what next season will look like. Parish is unconscious on the platform, there was a 'terrorist attack' on Grand Central Station, and there may be a few hundred new Alphas (also now in custody), but that doesn't really seem like the game-changer we were expecting.

[Ahriman238]

So I'm wondering what next season will look like. Parish is unconscious on the platform, there was a 'terrorist attack' on Grand Central Station, and there may be a few hundred new Alphas (also now in custody), but that doesn't really seem like the game-changer we were expecting.

What indeed.

I'm calling it now, Parish gets up first and escapes. I sort of hope we'll see his reaction when he finds out he only got the station.

The government can't keep a lid on the attack in the middle of New York, but they can maybe prevent anyone form making the Alpha connection and sit on that secret a bit longer. Expect lots of rumor, and I think most Alphas who've been around and aware of their abilities for a while will have a pretty good idea what happened.

There may or may not be a running subplot about a reporter recognizing Dr. Rosen at the station and digging into the team and their connection to the attack. Just speculation, but it's something I'd consider were I writing it.

I DO expect Bill to have it out with Dr. Rosen for everything he's done. I can see making a mini-arc next season about Dr. Rosen making amends for Scipio and Matthews, even trying to patch things up with the Senator. Yeah... ship's probably sailed on that one.

I expect Clay to explode over them having Parish on the platform, having the ability to kill him and stepping back.

Beyond that, I have a few vague guesses. We'll see, providing the show gets renewed.