Sentiment
by
Chris AndersonDisclaimer: Alias is the property of other people, including J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot productions.
Written for the Theatrical Muse 'character flaws' challenge.
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Sentiment weakens her.
It weakens her, leaving a chink in her armor that her enemies can strike at. But it also strengthens her, gives her something to fight for on the days when she might otherwise be tempted simply to give up. Not that she is in the habit of letting go of things- She holds on, perhaps past the point where she should.
Sentiment. Her affection for her daughters, her desire to protect them. The complex and sometimes contradictory things which she feels for Jack. Her desire to protect him, as well. She knows they do not need her, but this is the desire of the wife and the mother who still sometimes resides in her, to see her family safe.
Sentiment is a flaw in her world, but she cannot let it go. Her enemies know by now that to wound her they may strike at Jack, at Sydney or Nadia.
But they know, too, that they will only do so once.
She may cling to emotions of what should have been someone else's life, but Irina Derevko is absolutely unforgiving.
She tells herself that this is necessary, to guard the flaw she knows so well that she possesses. She tells herself that if she did not exact revenge for those who reached to strike her where she is vulnerable, they would see how deeply they might wound her. She tells herself this, but sentiment is not enough to blind her to the truth.
She enjoys hurting those who have harmed the people she loves.
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