If you’re a fan of superheroes like the X-Men and you’re not watching this show, I have two words for you:
Fastball special.
“Throw me!” Kat said to Bill in the season finale and it absolutely worked. That it did shows how well Alphas not only makes the enhanced powers realistic but how well-developed the characters became this season.
I’ve made no secret of my love for this show. It was good in season one, though not great. Season two started off very good and kicked into high gear about halfway through and became absolutely compelling.
The season ending was as perfect as it could be, made even more fun for me because part of it was set in Grand Central Station and I had just been there earlier this month. Extra bonus because I’m a fan of the History Channel series Cities of the Underworld, which shows the hidden tunnels and locations under famous cities.
The show is about a team of people with amplified powers, a la Heroes, who work uneasily with the U.S. Government to help keep the world safe from other alphas who want to use their powers for crime or, in the case of series villain Stanton Parish, to destroy regular humans so the alphas can take over.
It’s a premise very similar to X-Men but it works in its own right because the writing is strong and because the characters are so well-developed. David Strathairn’s Lee Rosen (a Professor X analogue) is a favorite of mine but I would hate to lose any of them. As the second season rolled along to the finale, we saw each character react to tragedy and fight anger that would have led them to be no better than those they were trying to stop.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
Is Parish really dead? What about the rest of the team, including guest-star Skylar (Summer Glau)? And is Rosen going to be killed or will he rise back up with some alpha ability of his own?
Earlier this season, the show used the death of a character to its advantage, providing one character with a heroic end that, nevertheless, nearly destroyed the team. But I don’t want to lose any more of them. Not Bill, the former FBI agent, not new addition Kate, who is somewhat like Marvel’s Taskmaster, not Rachel, who finally gained full control over her sensory abilities this season, not Nina, who still is on her own path to redemption, and not even Hicks, who’s been wrapped in pain for half the season because of the death mentioned above. At least, we’re assured of Gary being back, as he’s the last one standing. Literally.
Unfortunately, the show has not yet been renewed by Syfy, as the ratings were shaky in the second season. I’m guessing show runner Bruce Miller is optimistic about renewal or else he wouldn’t have left the fate of the entire team, except Gary, up in the air.
Here’s hoping. I haven’t been so hoping for a renewal of a show since Now & Again‘s season finale turned out to be a series finale. I don’t want to be left hanging like that again.
