Alias TiVo Buffer Cleared!

My wife and I finally caught up with Alias on our TiVo last night. Only 24 remains, and we should be done this week.

After dismissing Alias as past its prime earlier this season, I admire the writers for trying to tie everything in the four seasons together. The past several episodes gave us glimpses at Bill Vaughn, SD-6, The Covenant, the Blackwell Index, the Helix Protocol, Rambaldi, Arvin and Nadia on the run, The Derevko Sisters (coming to a dinner theatre near you!), Jack's poignant past, and Arvin's poignant past. Here are some quick comments and questions:

• Are we going to see Elena, Irina, and Katya together? That would pretty much rock.
• Why oh why must Michael Vaughn still be referred to as "Vaughn" by those closest to him? I cringe every time Sydney says "Vaughn."
  
• With both the Helix Protocol and Brainstorm, someone would be capable of completely duplicating an individual, which forces me to ask why Elena didn't completely duplicate Arvin Sloane rather than duplicate his memories.
• We see the softer sides of Jack Bristow and Arvin Sloane -- two episodes in a row! And, we now know that Jack confided in Laura/Irina about his real job.
  
• While the Mueller Device (Big Angry Red Ball) is a bit silly, it works within the mythology of the show. At least we finally see it doing something rather than just for the sake of awe.
• I appreciated the science-meets-religion aspect of Rambaldi brought to the fore by the Mueller Device and the apiary. One could argue that when Man originally fell, God changed the DNA in all creatures to exhibit some natural aggression towards Man, including Man himself.
• The writers poked fun at themselves with the whole "endgame" talk. We're sick of it, too.
• I would express remorse at Lena Olin not returning to the series last season, but I think ABC's meddling in the unguided writers' affairs did more damage than her holding out.
• If only the writers could have something for Will to do. So he's not necessary as there's no love triangle. Fine, but his character was really good!
  

With Alias renewed for a fifth season, not everything need be tied up, and I doubt the season finale will give many answers, if they even exist. As Alias is airing against Survivor next season, I can only imagine next season will be the last, so I hope they have a reasonable roadmap and an (gulp!) endgame. If Jennifer Garner were pregnant as is rumored, the show might take some odd turns.