Is there anyone else out there who thinks that all the wrong characters ended up in the wrong spots? <br /><br />Sloane<br /><br />Arvin Sloane was perhaps the most interesting character on the show. It's not often you get a morally conflicted character in a story. To have him end up bad just did not work. Of course we were all rooting for him. Conquering temptation is a story everyone's going to be behind. Sloane should have redeemed himself.<br /><br />Sydney<br /><br />Sydney Bristow was the least interesting character on the show. She's always good, always righteous. Kind of like the teacher's pet, Sydney is the "writer's pet," and it's just way too obvious to relate to her. Everything is about Sydney. It gets old. How many stories with a prophecy and a "chosen one" do we really need? Writers have got to learn that audiences are sophisticated enough now to find such clichés embarrassing, rather than cool.<br /><br />She has no chemistry with her love interests. Her delivery is stiff, which gives you the sense that she's shallow and therefore faking her emotions to seem like a genuine person. She aces just about every mission, and she's the star, so you know she's not going anywhere. Therefore, there's no suspense in the action scenes.<br /><br />I didn't know who Jennifer Garner was before I watched this, so I googled her. I read she's married to Ben Affleck. (Pardon the social commentary, but it seems like mediocre talent who make ridiculous money like to hang out to ease their collective consciences for coasting through le dolce vita while everyone else works their asses off?)<br /><br />How many times did we have to hear Sydney tell Sloane she knew he was really evil? It wasn't cool, dramatic, or interesting the first time and yet it kept happening, as if it were the most dramatically meaningful thing that ever happened.<br /><br />Vaughn<br /><br />Vaughn was equally boring, although the actor did a slightly better job of delivering his lines. He was fine as a bit part.<br /><br />They should have left Vaughn dead or minimized his role. Sydney should have quit the business and become a side character. The romance between Sydney and Vaughn was flat and mechanical, so it should have been sidelined.<br /><br />Jack Bristow<br /><br />Moderately interesting. If they had made the show about him, from his perspective, I think it would have been a more interesting story. I agree with other comments he was a bit stiff, but that was an intentional part of his character.<br /><br />Will Tippin <br /><br />Moderately interesting. The story could have shifted to the viewpoint of Tippin or Jack as the main character. The audience could do a better job of identifying with Tippin, because he was "an average Joe," who was introduced to the spy life. He should have gotten field training and become a main part of the show.<br /><br />Irina<br /><br />Irina should have turned out to be an interestingly good character, who did lots of good behind the scenes, but was misunderstood. For example, she could have been collecting the Rambaldi artifacts for a good cause, maybe to help a sick person. That would have been the twist that preserved the series. Lena Olin did an amazing job as Irina, at least early on, and really brought the story to life. I believe just about everyone wanted to find out Sydney's mom did abandon her for no good reason.<br /><br />Devlin <br /><br />I don't know why, but even though Devlin was a bit part, his self-righteousness was annoying. He should have been the covenant mole who went down in Jack's rampage.<br /><br />Summary<br /><br />This was a story with decent potential that just took the wrong turns with its characters and left its viewers with a bad, anti-climactic aftertaste.<br /><br />It's hard as a writer to know who your good actors are going to be and which characters are really going to come alive and be interesting. Ideally writers should analyze the talent and re-think the stories to emphasize the best talent. Unfortunately, Alias just couldn't let go of its original vision enough to realize where the real assets were, to give this story a truly satisfying ending.