“I want you to lead them” – Stanton Parish to Dr. Rosen

For someone who is a manipulator and a pathological liar, the only time you can really count on their being truthful is during that brief moment when they know they are about to die. We’ve been trying to figure out Stanton Parish (John Pyper-Ferguson) since the beginning of the season, and with only minutes left before what he thought was going to be the end of the world, these words may offer the only true glimpse into his grand plan.

Stanton Parish is indeed a mystery and a master at hiding his true colors. He’s had Dr. Rosen (David Strathairn) and this team chasing their tails since the season 1 finale. First, everyone thought he was trying to create a “super race” of Alphas. The next novelty theory was that he was trying to play God by starting the next world war and wiping out a good majority of the human race. But, with Parish’s final statement, it appears that his motives may have been much simpler.

From all appearances, it seems Parish and Dr. Rosen aren’t that different. Both are very protective of alphas and very passionate about their being treated as first class citizens and not being persecuted. The only difference is their methods. Dr. Rosen is the type who tries to do everything peacefully, like going in front of a Congressional panel and telling the world that alphas exist, like he did in the season 1 finale.   In contrast, Parish has been on this earth for nearly two centuries, has seen over and over again how cruel people can be to each other and especially to people who don’t fit in (like alphas).   In all likelihood, he knows that if there is any hope of alphas and humans being equals, it’s going to take a lot more than a speech in front of Congress to do it.

The writers have done an excellent job in developing this character, and with the journey we have been on with Parish this season, I think we finally get to see who this man really is and the path he has chosen. I don’t believe Stanton Parish is some monster like we had originally thought, whose mission is to wipe out humanity. Parish is a very brilliant and thorough man. Do you really not think he would have known that Rosen’s team would shut down the power grid across the country? Parish has always been 10 steps ahead of Rosen, and I can guarantee you he knew it. So, his nationwide plan of destruction would be neutralized before it got out the door.   And, do you really think Parish didn’t know that with Skylar (Summer Glau) on Rosen’s side, she would figure out how to kill the power to Manhattan? There is absolutely no way he did not know these things.

So, the only thing that is left is Grand Central Station, and I think that was Parish’s sole target all along. How many people would be in that train station? A few thousand, tops? Such an attack would be on the level of Osama bin Laden and certainly big enough to get people’s attention. Again, Parish’s sole purpose is to help alphas, and if a few thousand people die while trying to achieve that, it is a fair price to pray.

Parish had everything planned down to the very last detail, and I think the only thing that he didn’t see coming was Dr. Rosen’s refusal to kill him.

“I want you to lead them” – Stanton Parish

This quote clearly indicates he was fully aware of Dr. Rosen’s intentions of murdering him, but he didn’t care because as he put it himself, “I will have served my purpose”. Parish was content going to his death knowing that perhaps he made a difference and that he had a good leader (Dr. Rosen) at the helm.   The look on Parish’s face when Dr. Rosen refuses to kill him is priceless, and I think it is probably the first time in a very long while that Parish had been wrong about someone.

All in all, this was an excellent finale, and in fact, a very good season as well. If season one was about introducing us to the alphas, this season has been about the characters, and more specifically about Dr. Rosen and Stanton Parish. It can be very difficult focusing an entire season on a couple of characters while keeping the viewers interested, but the writers pulled it off. We still got to meet some cool new alphas this season, had plenty of car chases and bar fights, but all of it was smartly written to enhance the primary Rosen/Stanton storyline.

The only negative thing I have to say relates to a statement that was made last season pertaining to what this series was about and the direction it would be going. It was promised that this series would not be another Heroes nor would it mimic X-Men, but the similarities between Rosen/Stanton and Xavier/Magneto are too obvious to ignore. The only difference is in contrast to Xavier, Dr. Rosen is very flawed and very frayed. He’s arrogant, he manipulates people to further along his own personal missions, and he has actually become somewhat unlikable this season. Given the fact that alphas are on the outskirts of society and are virtual outcasts, we always knew people would end up picking sides – I just had hoped the creative team would have been a little more original in how they created the storyline.

After it is all played out, we have no idea who survived Parish’s attack, and we may never find out given the fact that SyFy hasn’t announced yet whether there will be a season 3 of Alphas. The only person we know for sure survived is Gary (Ryan Cartwright), who as always, delivers a superb performance walking through the train station completely lost, without the mentor and friends he had grown to view as his family. Assuming most of the team survives, I would really love to see the aftermath of this catastrophe — how everyone on the team is impacted and how much of Rosen’s ability to lead the team has been impeded given some of the shoddy decisions he has made lately. I would even love to see Stanton Parish survive, as I think there is still hope for these two men to coexist and even work together.

We are expecting a renewal decision to be made soon, and so, keep checking back at “The Voice of TV” for the latest news and updates.

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