Rosetta (104)

[GateWorld]

ALPHAS SEASON ONE ROSETTA EPISODE NUMBER - 104 The team must stop a Red Flag terror plot before it changes the existence of Alphas as we know it. (Syfy) VISIT THE EPISODE GUIDE >

[LtColCarter]

I actually enjoyed this episode. Last week, I was sure this show was gonna be a bomb...but I enjoyed this one.

[Commander Zelix]

Yep, great episode. Better than last week. I like how it open a new storyline with Red Flag (rogue Alphas organizations). Having some alphas working together to wreak havoc or accomplish a mission can provide some interesting storylines and challenges for our alphas.

[Gollumpus]

I liked aspects of the episode. Having a leader who is capable of understanding any language is an interesting idea. It is interesting to see the writers continue with the "gaining independence" theme with Gary that is being used with other characters.

This being said, I was somewhat bemused at how Anna could get anyone else to understand her own language (prior to Gary). How did anyone else get their marching orders on how to implement any plans she may have developed? I suppose there would have to be some other person who served as a Honey Huan (http://www.freebase.com/view/en/honey_huan) between Anna and the rest of Red Flag.

And how sophisticated a piece of software was on that little device that it could translate "scrape, rub, rustle, scrape, plonk" into, "My name is Anna!" I'm not saying it couldn't be done, but I am skeptical that it could be done that quickly, Gary or no Gary.

Further, because of how she would have been handled by her family and society, when would she have had the opportunity to actually learn anything significant? You can't get a Ph.D. watching TV.

regards,
G.

[morbosfist]

And how sophisticated a piece of software was on that little device that it could translate "scrape, rub, rustle, scrape, plonk" into, "My name is Anna!" I'm not saying it couldn't be done, but I am skeptical that it could be done that quickly, Gary or no Gary.

Gary didn't make that software. It was obviously installed on the tablet beforehand.

[Girlbot]

I enjoyed this ep. Had a nice twist with the fact that Anna was more than they thought.
I wonder if Gary's independent action at the end with the water, is going to change the characters personality for the future. Was the change from something Anna siad, or from the data stream, something tha changed his brain chemistry.
Curious to see how far they take this change in him.

[Gollumpus]

Gary didn't make that software. It was obviously installed on the tablet beforehand.

True, however, Gary did change/alter the program so that it could understand "scrape, plunk, tink, scrabble-scrabble-pop" didn't he? (At least, that is my memory of the episode) There would be limitations, and for purposes of moving the story along they cut a lot of corners.

And there is still the issue of just how was she able to communicate with the other members of Red Flag?

regards,
G.

[morbosfist]

True, however, Gary did change/alter the program so that it could understand "scrape, plunk, tink, scrabble-scrabble-pop" didn't he? (At least, that is my memory of the episode) There would be limitations, and for purposes of moving the story along they cut a lot of corners.

And there is still the issue of just how was she able to communicate with the other members of Red Flag?

He doesn't do anything. He is able to understand her by "watching" her sounds, but the computer came with the software. There's a whole sequence where she remote-boots it and pulls up the program. She's able to communicate with Red Flag because of that program.

[dtheories]

I am soooo into this show. This ep was remarkable. I'm thinking there must be some reality involved with the language Anna created that is known to those who work with people with special behaviors. I can easily imagine how those talents might be enhanced in order to be considered an ALPHA. The concept of being misunderstood through childhood and beyond, but persisting in reaching out till making a connection with someone who might understand her I find not that farfetched. Given the numbers involved in the 'movement' described in Gary's email, I'd say there are some incredible and varied skills coming our way.
The chemistry between Gary and Anna and Ryan Cartwright's acting ability make this an outstanding episode that I've rewatched several times!

[magictrick]

I think this was the strongest episode thus far.

[Gollumpus]

He doesn't do anything. He is able to understand her by "watching" her sounds, but the computer came with the software. There's a whole sequence where she remote-boots it and pulls up the program. She's able to communicate with Red Flag because of that program.

I suppose I was kind of knocked off sidewise. Gary did not write any software. I am aware of this. Perhaps I was unclear in my meaning. My intended meaning was that Gary facilitated the process which led to them being able to communicate with Anna, which he did do by using the phones so he could "see" her comments. The tablet (first seen in the opening scene) came into play later.

What I am still at sea about is:

1.) Who first recognized that Anna was an Alpha? How did they do this? While it is an interesting idea to have Anna as an Alpha, she would also be next to impossible to identify as such. I do not believe we have seen any kind of passive Alpha recognition sense which is generally available to all Alphas. Since she would likely not get out much in her day to day routine, Anna being recognized as an Alpha would have been a very low possibility event. And even if Anna were recognized as being an Alpha, there would then the problem of trying to communicate with her.

2.) Who re-programmed that tablet to speak Anna's language in the first place? I'm assuming it would be a "re-programming" as Red Flag seem like too much of a basement/garage organization to have any significant resources. If no one, prior to Gary, could understand Anna (from what we have seen), then what did Red Flag have to do to get a translation tablet to communicate with her? And what an interesting and time consuming process that would have been. There would have to be an inventory of acceptable sounds created from sources which the program would accept (hairbrush, water, massage rollers etc). They would then have to establish an alphabet from these sounds, and give them a corresponding character/sound value and finally create a vocabulary. And then they would have to fix it so that it could do an English to "Anna Speak" translation for the return messages (taking into consideration local dialects and and the like).

Now, were Anna the leader of Red Flag she could direct her minions to do this work for her, however, how would they understand what her directions were in the first place?

3.) As I previously noted, Anna's street smarts seem a bit too extensive. She came across as being far too normal, perhaps a bit too worldly, for someone who had likely spent a lot of time in less than normal circumstances. My assumption is that she would have spent a lot of time in less than mentally stimulating surroundings (sort of like we were set up for when she was first introduced). Yes, there is nothing wrong with her cognitive abilities, but to have her as leader of Red Flag seems a bit preposterous.

4.) How/why did the house get in her name? This just seemed like an unnecessary back-story complication. Who cares if Anna owned the house (outside of the continuing sub-plot of independence)? At some point someone would have had to sign any of the various deeds, insurance papers et al which go with home ownership. It was mentioned that she had no family and no legal guardian or agent who could sign for her was mentioned, so, we can only assume that an accomplice went in her stead. What does this say? It suggests that "Anna" is an alias, because if she used her real name/identification then that would have raised some red flags... the other kind.

5.) And wouldn't there have been some kind of care-giver left in the house by Rosen and company? While we can assume that Red Flag had someone staying with Anna to provide some support (cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc), why wouldn't there be some kind of 24-hour assistance provided for Anna by the DoD, other than visits by Gary and Nina, and a couple of guys with guns out in the driveway?


regards,
G.

[Giantevilhead]

Anna's movements aren't random. One of the (most effective) treatments for the developmentally challenged, especially those with autism, is behavior analysis and that involves daily sessions lasting several hours. It would only be a matter of time before the therapist notices certain meaningful patterns in Anna's behavior.

[Gollumpus]

Anna's movements aren't random. One of the (most effective) treatments for the developmentally challenged, especially those with autism, is behavior analysis and that involves daily sessions lasting several hours. It would only be a matter of time before the therapist notices certain meaningful patterns in Anna's behavior.

A therapist might be able to determine certain meaningful patterns in Anna's movements, however, could that therapist determine that what Anna was doing was an actual language, rather than merely making noise? I am assuming that without a frame of reference, a therapist would be lost and assume that the sounds for which Anna was responsible were nothing more than noises which were pleasing to Anna's ears, but lacking any meaning to Anna or to the therapist. It might even be determined that Anna found the tactile sensations of running her fingers over a brush to be pleasing and that the noise was unimportant.

A therapist, who assumed that Anna was more cognitively capable than what would have been the norm for someone in her condition, might actually try to teach Anna some form of basic "sign" language as a starting point. I assume a recognized form of sign language would be used as that is what the therapist would know. I am assuming that this process would take a long time and would have limited success due to Anna's inability to control a lot of her movements.

I suspect it would be highly unlikely that Anna could teach her language to a therapist due to Anna's limited ability in the direction in her movements. Further, I suspect that it would be extremely difficult to try to understand Anna's language and differentiate what was noise and what had meaning ("Was that a double T or did she just have a finger cramp, again?"). I think teaching someone the basics of "AnnaSpeak" would be necessary to assist in programing the tablet so that it would respond to Anna's communications. If not, just how much longer would this process take?

So, after all that time, Anna would finally be able to talk to the members of Red Flag and they would recognize her as their leader...

I'm not buying it. The timeline is far too truncated. She is far too young and lacking in experience. And this is not just an ageist thing. I just do not see the Anna character being that young for all the time I think would have been needed to communicate with her, and I do not believe Anna would have been able to accumulate enough experience, ability, what-have-you to be able to lead an organization like Red Flag. And where did all of her anger/hate towards non-Alphas come from? I can understand her being angry about her personal situation, but how did that evolve into her leading a group of terrorists and cold blooded killers?

I suspect that she is a valuable part of Red Flag, and perhaps her saying that "Red Flag works for me" was merely a conceit on the part of the character. Anyhoo, I suppose it will be interesting to see what is done with the character in future episodes.

regards,
G.

[Skydiver]

it kinda suggests that, at some point in time, she had a keeper that set stuff up for her. that wrote that translation program and bought her the house, etc. she also - given the mental state we saw - potentially had a personal assistant to help her with dressing, etc....unless she was playing dumb to make them trust her.

[Gollumpus]

it kinda suggests that, at some point in time, she had a keeper that set stuff up for her. that wrote that translation program and bought her the house, etc. she also - given the mental state we saw - potentially had a personal assistant to help her with dressing, etc....unless she was playing dumb to make them trust her.

Yup. It suggests to me that there is some kind of power behind the throne in this situation. There had to be someone who organized all of the effort it would take to get Anna up to speed with regard to the tablet, getting her a house, caring for her day to day needs, and so on.

And I'm still at a loss to explain the lack of care which the DoD gave Anna while she was in their care. One would think that if they went through the trouble of finding out that Anna had no family and was the registered owner of the house, that they would then look to see how her bills/taxes were paid and if she had some kind of domestic worker to assist her, and assuming they found none (because it would was being done by Red Flag), that might have raised a red flag or two. In any event, I believe they should have supplied some kind of care worker.

regards,
G.