On a side note, why is everyone assuming that Rosen dies after the Season 2 finale? It was shown earlier on that some people get powers instead of dying when subjected to the photostims. That's assuming he already doesn't have some crazy 'deep understanding of everything' Sherlock Scan super power that we just didn't know about because of his badassery. To me, Stanton Parish's plot was a bit like Albert Wesker's in Resident Evil 5 - those that survive would be part of a new world order. Also, given his position as The Chessmaster and him saying that Rosen should lead the Alphas revolution suggest that Rosen probably didn't die.
Someone failed to add Cassidymoon's discussion:
This series contains SEVERE values dissonance for anyone who values personal liberty or fairness of the law. Every monster of the week is a fairly normal human being who happens to have a superpower. No matter how minor the abuse of power (in multiple episodes there isn't even an abuse, per se, just the POTENTENTIAL for abuse), and no matter how justified and understandable the motivation is (and there's always a very human, very sympathizable motivation), the team of people around whom the show centers (who all have superpowers) hunt these people down, and turn off their superpowers. Permanently. Because superpowers are dangerous. In the episodes where these people did something wrong, this is morally analogous to cutting off someones hand because they stole something. In the episodes where they did nothing other than get noticed, this is analogous to cutting off someones hand because they COULD steal something. Finally, the issue of their essentially being no difference whatsoever between the protagonists and the villains is NEVER addressed. The injustice in this show made this troper sick.
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Add where? Why should we add? And this sounds like a discussion about Painkiller Jane, not Alphas.
Well, there is certainly is a "discussion" to be had here, but frankly, its so far off base I doubt the viewer even watched the show. One of the strengths of Alphas is to have this tension between personal liberties and security. Pretty much every "Alphas of the week" is on record of having having hurt of killed multiple people and not in self defense. Skylar is the obvious exception, but she wasn't going to a prison, the government wanted her in a "safe house" with compensation for her inventions, and she goes free at the end once the team knows she isn't working with Red Flag.
I never watched Painkiller Jane, but I could easily believe this discussion is about a different show entirely.
It seems Cassidymoon saw a leaked copy of "Wake Up Call." Mind Control chips ahoy!
Edited by Kalaong
Fair enough. Put Moral Dissonance and kind onto YMMV page. But I would argue, that government alpha program is morally ambiguous at best.
Oh, the government is definitely morally ambiguous. However, moral ambiguity does leave room for being morally justified, or its not ambiguous. Obviously. The Alphas targeted by Rosen's team and sent to Binghamton are incredibly dangerous individuals. Indeed, Marcus Ayer's prediction of Alphas as an "out of context problem" like the Conquistadors were for the Aztecs suggests that Alphas are the dominant force that could destroy the other's culture. This is further emphasized by Parish's speech at the end of the season 2 premier, when he and Danielle discuss a "better person" ascending.
Still, the show is almost a deconstruction of what an actual secret government group operating outside the law would devolve into. Those who are actually putting their life on the lines securing the bad guys start to dehumanize their charges. Meanwhile, bureaucracy and secrecy means some individuals slip through the cracks, or individuals capable of reforms (like Nina) don't get a second chance.
Your ambiguity is itself ambiguous there, given that the damn NSA stuck Gary in Building Seven for having an autistic fit. They pretty much demanded him because, "Hey! This is Rosen's one-man geek squad! GIMME!" And when he freaked out, it was, "OMG! He's a lunatic! Lobotomize it!"
My ambiguity is ambiguous? Huh? My water is also wet, my salt is salty, and my vacuum sucks. Glucharina actually said the government was morally ambiguous, a sentiment I agreed with. Certainly, the NSA completely manhandled Gary's assignment, but Gary isn't exactly a nice guy (autism as an excuse or not), and I can still say everyone in Building 7 is on record as having hurt or killed, since Gary did hospitalize two of his fellow employees. Or, to quote Clay from the season premiere, "the government is 100,000 feudal kingdoms fighting for funding and control." Meaning, don't blame everyone that works for the government for the screw ups of part of the government.
Meanwhile, the latest episode (s2.e4) reinforces my earlier point that Alphas are potentially very dangerous. Nina goes on a "push bender" and does the following (spoilers):
-gets a bank manager to steal half a million from his own bank, he is caught by police and will undoubtedly suffer fallout. -tells a father to leave his wife and child. -Pushes a chef to nearly drown himself to get some red pepper. -Tortures Rachel. -As a child, pushes her father to the point of suicide. -Finally, she decides to kill herself (she fails).
Nina is not a bad person, she just let her ability get away from her and leaves a trail of wreckage in her wake. The point being: Alphas are scary, the government's caution and heavy handedness might be justified (this is where the ambiguity comes in, since ignoring civil liberties isn't a good thing). That's just the kind of show Alphas is, grey and gray. If you want a portrayal of government as unmitigated evil, there's "V" for that.
'A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned.'
No matter what the government does in Alphas, they will NEVER be punished for it - unless Parrish wins, and that will most likely cause The End of the World as We Know It.
That should be emphasized more. Parrish is a monster, but prior to the end of Season One, he was balanced by an environment of moderates. The government killed all of those moderates. Waco cubed - especially as Anna and her allies wanted diplomacy instead of war. That will go down in history in their universe - that the government's first response to Alphas organizing is mass executions. And the government will be considered righteous for it.
The government handed Parrish an army. And put Rosen in prison for trying to take it away from him. I don't have words for how bad things will probably get.
Edited by Kalaong
Removed these temporarily:
- Freak of the Week: The basic premise. The show-runners said this would gradually fade out as the Myth Arc developed.
- Hate Plague: The power of the Freak of the Week in "Anger Management", induced through a pheromone response.
Freak of the Week has been renamed. Wick needs to change to Sick, Sad Subculture of the Week or Monster of the Week, whichever fits.
Edited by ArcadesSabboth Oppression anywhere is a threat to democracy everywhere.
I'm not sure whether this counts as a Hey Its That Voice or not... I recognised Scipio from somewhere and it took me a few episodes before I realised that he's the voice actor for Adam Jensen from Deus Ex Human Revolution after he deadpanned a line.
Edited by reno2200 Hide / Show Replies