Eric Weiss: Character Discussion
Eric Weiss: Character Discussion
This discussion does encompass all 5 seasons so there are very MILD spoilers only in the last 2 paragraphs about this season.
CIA Agent Eric Weiss is your typical Boy Next Door. He’s the friend who will be honest with you, the friend who will cover your ass, the friend who will stand beside you, and the friend who just wants to find a date. He’s tall, dark, and handsome and worked his way into our hearts from the very beginning.
Weiss enters the picture during the Pilot episode very quietly. He appears to be nothing more than Vaughn’s sidekick. We first see him when Sydney goes to the CIA with her flaming red wig. She is in the conference room writing her statement and Weiss is looking over her shoulder. Vaughn comes in and is amused by her and can’t quite figure her out. Weiss says nothing and when she states she needs a new pen, he pulls one out of his pocket and hands it to Vaughn to give to her. Vaughn tells her to let “Mr. Weiss” know if she needs anything. At this point, one may think that there is no importance to this character.
During the Second Episode, we see a little bit of Weiss again. He begins to see that Vaughn is really much more worried about Sydney than a handler should be and hence the teasing begins. We start to see the Eric Weiss who is a jokester and a fun loving character that takes care of his partner. Vaughn and Weiss have a close relationship and one of my favorite scenes is the one where Vaughn is going out to help Sydney and he and Weiss are bickering over Weiss feeding Vaughn’s dog. Weiss is worried about him doting on Sydney and getting too close and Vaughn is simply worried about the dog being fat when he gets home.
All through the first season, I see Weiss being built as the character that is the dependable partner and always using sarcasm to lighten a mood. He’s a tension breaker and guy who says himself can never find a date and can’t figure out why. Weiss stays in the shadows of Vaughn’s character, yet we all seem to fall in love with him. I think Eric Weiss is the friend that everyone wants to have.
In the next to last episode of Season One, we see Weiss as the protector who has his friend’s back. He covers for Vaughn at the risk of getting in trouble himself. After all is said and done he confronts Vaughn and basically tells him that he cares about him and he cares about Sydney but he’s gone well beyond the place of being her handler and that he has got to find a way to not make it personal. During their intense discussion, I think we see a friend, Vaughn, who is falling in love and another, Weiss, who is worried that this particular situation could cost his friend and partner his career.
There is a point where Weiss takes things into his own hands when he suspects Sydney is not being honest. After he feels Vaughn isn’t listening, he goes to Devlin and tells him what Vaughn said. Now, my initial reaction to this was to be completely angry with Weiss and stare daggers through him just like Vaughn did. I have to point out though that even though Weiss butted in as a friend and possibly, OK probably overstepped his bounds……he was doing his job…… and he was doing whatever it took to protect his friend and at that point he felt like Vaughn was drowning. I loved his quote to Vaughn, “Trust is a tricky thing.”
I think the character of Eric Weiss edges his way deeper into our hearts during “The Enemy Walks In” Season two’s premiere. During this episode while they are all chasing Spy Mommy, Weiss is in the field with them. One minute he is interrupting their flirting on the radio, inviting the whole team to their romantic dinner and the next minute he is not answering Vaughn and we find that he has been shot in the neck. It only takes something like that to pull your heart strings and make you realize, “Damn! I love this guy!”
We don’t see Weiss again until episode 2 x 12, “The Getaway”. This episode brings a recovered Weiss back in just in time to ease the tension between a fighting Syd and Vaughn. This scene houses my all time favorite Eric Weiss quote! He comes in and tells them he is joining them in France. Syd says a simple hey because she is all focused on fighting with Vaughn. Weiss looks dramatically shocked and says, “Three months in a hospital and all I get is “hey”? How about some sugah?” This comment brings Sydney into a smile and a big hug. I think at that moment I couldn’t get my “Awwwwwwwwww!” out of my mouth because I was too busy laughing. Eric Weiss has got to be the king of the funny one liners. He and Sark are in a close tie for that, but good old Eric………….he holds his own.
The rest of the season, Eric Weiss quietly but firmly becomes a stronger presence. He goes on missions with them and protects and builds that friendship. He tells anyone who will listen about his near death experience making us laugh with amusement at his attention seeking antics. He gives Marshall dating advice. Now that was a funny scene! We also get to see him meet Will. I think this may very well be the first time that I realize he has a first name! His introduces himself to Will as “Eric Weiss.” Well, hello Eric…………..ahem………..anyway. Weiss tries to show Will his magic tricks and Will is too busy trying to check out Francie/Allison. This season seems to be Weiss getting involved with each character on the show and you know he is going to bloom.
…………..And Eric Weiss, bloom he does. Season 3 is a good season for Weiss. When Syd is in the hospital and no one seems to give her answers, Eric becomes the friend she needs. My heart endears to him even more in the scene where Syd wakes up from sleeping and Eric is in the chair asleep beside her. There for half a second, I saw a Syd/Weiss ship forming in my little mind. Vaughn is married, Dixon is the new boss, Will is in Witness Protection, Francie’s dead, and there is Weiss. He is the anchor in the storm. She moves in next door - hence my boy next door image again comes into literal play! ;-) I love that Syd and Weiss hang out. They cook and they drink and they just hang out and he listens to her. Where are all the men like that??? And why the hell doesn’t he have a girlfriend??? Sydney tells Weiss while downing a bottle of alcohol in her living room that she hated she lost her “Alice in Wonderland” book that her mother gave her. I think one of the neatest things on all of Alias history was when Syd walks in and finds a copy of “Alice in Wonderland” on her desk. I knew when I saw the book on the desk and started crying in anticipation. What a sweetheart Eric Weiss was at that moment!!! How thoughtful and awesome I thought that was! And he humbly tells her it is a third edition rather than a first edition. She shuts him up with a really tight and emotional embrace. Come on! Somebody tell me at that moment I wasn’t the only Syd/Weiss shipper in the room???? It passed quickly, but at that moment………I was all over that! Eric Weiss spends season 3 being a good field agent, a dynamic friend to Syd and Vaughn both, and a blessed peacemaker that was often needed.
End Season 3 and Season 4 - Enter Nadia, Sydney’s sister, and immediately we all think (don’t we?? Didn’t you guys do this too??) finally we are going to have a girlfriend for Weiss! I absolutely love Season 4 because Weiss finds himself smitten over Nadia. I love the various conversations between Vaughn telling him to slow down and Weiss being just overly excited about how wonderful Nadia is. It was like a schoolboy crush and I, for one, thought it was awesome. I was cheering them on from the first glance. We get bits and pieces of this romance throughout the season.
My humor meter from Season 4 has to mention the Season Finale where Weiss and Marshall are running things from the office and Weiss speaks HORRID Russian on the phone. That was an old Boy Next Door Eric Weiss moment. Highly amusing!
We did get a peak of Eric at the hospital with Nadia at the end of S4, but I have to tell you that I have not been impressed with the lack of explanation of no Eric/Nadia references this season. I realize the girl was in a coma. I am OK with Eric moving on (I guess.) I’m not enjoying the fact that he just seemed to drop out of Nadia’s world with no reference. This season he gets a promotion in D.C. He talks to Syd about it, but what about leaving Nadia?
Neither here nor there, this season we have Weiss in a higher up position, but always there to help his friends. I hope before the end comes that some of the Weiss/Nadia romance will be resolved. He deserves love. He’s made us love him and want to see him win.
Eric Weiss is the character I think that we want to live happily ever after. He spends most of the series looking out for everyone else and being the boy next door best friend. He slowly made us love him and laugh at him and with him and etched his way forever into our hearts. I was so hoping that the boy next door and the Spy Sister would hook up and be the couple next door and have the kids next door……………….and live happily ever after!
Of course, every bit of this was solely my opinion! What are your thoughts?
A special thank you to nepants for making my Boy Next Door Icon just for this post!
This discussion does encompass all 5 seasons so there are very MILD spoilers only in the last 2 paragraphs about this season.
CIA Agent Eric Weiss is your typical Boy Next Door. He’s the friend who will be honest with you, the friend who will cover your ass, the friend who will stand beside you, and the friend who just wants to find a date. He’s tall, dark, and handsome and worked his way into our hearts from the very beginning.
Weiss enters the picture during the Pilot episode very quietly. He appears to be nothing more than Vaughn’s sidekick. We first see him when Sydney goes to the CIA with her flaming red wig. She is in the conference room writing her statement and Weiss is looking over her shoulder. Vaughn comes in and is amused by her and can’t quite figure her out. Weiss says nothing and when she states she needs a new pen, he pulls one out of his pocket and hands it to Vaughn to give to her. Vaughn tells her to let “Mr. Weiss” know if she needs anything. At this point, one may think that there is no importance to this character.
During the Second Episode, we see a little bit of Weiss again. He begins to see that Vaughn is really much more worried about Sydney than a handler should be and hence the teasing begins. We start to see the Eric Weiss who is a jokester and a fun loving character that takes care of his partner. Vaughn and Weiss have a close relationship and one of my favorite scenes is the one where Vaughn is going out to help Sydney and he and Weiss are bickering over Weiss feeding Vaughn’s dog. Weiss is worried about him doting on Sydney and getting too close and Vaughn is simply worried about the dog being fat when he gets home.
All through the first season, I see Weiss being built as the character that is the dependable partner and always using sarcasm to lighten a mood. He’s a tension breaker and guy who says himself can never find a date and can’t figure out why. Weiss stays in the shadows of Vaughn’s character, yet we all seem to fall in love with him. I think Eric Weiss is the friend that everyone wants to have.
In the next to last episode of Season One, we see Weiss as the protector who has his friend’s back. He covers for Vaughn at the risk of getting in trouble himself. After all is said and done he confronts Vaughn and basically tells him that he cares about him and he cares about Sydney but he’s gone well beyond the place of being her handler and that he has got to find a way to not make it personal. During their intense discussion, I think we see a friend, Vaughn, who is falling in love and another, Weiss, who is worried that this particular situation could cost his friend and partner his career.
There is a point where Weiss takes things into his own hands when he suspects Sydney is not being honest. After he feels Vaughn isn’t listening, he goes to Devlin and tells him what Vaughn said. Now, my initial reaction to this was to be completely angry with Weiss and stare daggers through him just like Vaughn did. I have to point out though that even though Weiss butted in as a friend and possibly, OK probably overstepped his bounds……he was doing his job…… and he was doing whatever it took to protect his friend and at that point he felt like Vaughn was drowning. I loved his quote to Vaughn, “Trust is a tricky thing.”
I think the character of Eric Weiss edges his way deeper into our hearts during “The Enemy Walks In” Season two’s premiere. During this episode while they are all chasing Spy Mommy, Weiss is in the field with them. One minute he is interrupting their flirting on the radio, inviting the whole team to their romantic dinner and the next minute he is not answering Vaughn and we find that he has been shot in the neck. It only takes something like that to pull your heart strings and make you realize, “Damn! I love this guy!”
We don’t see Weiss again until episode 2 x 12, “The Getaway”. This episode brings a recovered Weiss back in just in time to ease the tension between a fighting Syd and Vaughn. This scene houses my all time favorite Eric Weiss quote! He comes in and tells them he is joining them in France. Syd says a simple hey because she is all focused on fighting with Vaughn. Weiss looks dramatically shocked and says, “Three months in a hospital and all I get is “hey”? How about some sugah?” This comment brings Sydney into a smile and a big hug. I think at that moment I couldn’t get my “Awwwwwwwwww!” out of my mouth because I was too busy laughing. Eric Weiss has got to be the king of the funny one liners. He and Sark are in a close tie for that, but good old Eric………….he holds his own.
The rest of the season, Eric Weiss quietly but firmly becomes a stronger presence. He goes on missions with them and protects and builds that friendship. He tells anyone who will listen about his near death experience making us laugh with amusement at his attention seeking antics. He gives Marshall dating advice. Now that was a funny scene! We also get to see him meet Will. I think this may very well be the first time that I realize he has a first name! His introduces himself to Will as “Eric Weiss.” Well, hello Eric…………..ahem………..anyway. Weiss tries to show Will his magic tricks and Will is too busy trying to check out Francie/Allison. This season seems to be Weiss getting involved with each character on the show and you know he is going to bloom.
…………..And Eric Weiss, bloom he does. Season 3 is a good season for Weiss. When Syd is in the hospital and no one seems to give her answers, Eric becomes the friend she needs. My heart endears to him even more in the scene where Syd wakes up from sleeping and Eric is in the chair asleep beside her. There for half a second, I saw a Syd/Weiss ship forming in my little mind. Vaughn is married, Dixon is the new boss, Will is in Witness Protection, Francie’s dead, and there is Weiss. He is the anchor in the storm. She moves in next door - hence my boy next door image again comes into literal play! ;-) I love that Syd and Weiss hang out. They cook and they drink and they just hang out and he listens to her. Where are all the men like that??? And why the hell doesn’t he have a girlfriend??? Sydney tells Weiss while downing a bottle of alcohol in her living room that she hated she lost her “Alice in Wonderland” book that her mother gave her. I think one of the neatest things on all of Alias history was when Syd walks in and finds a copy of “Alice in Wonderland” on her desk. I knew when I saw the book on the desk and started crying in anticipation. What a sweetheart Eric Weiss was at that moment!!! How thoughtful and awesome I thought that was! And he humbly tells her it is a third edition rather than a first edition. She shuts him up with a really tight and emotional embrace. Come on! Somebody tell me at that moment I wasn’t the only Syd/Weiss shipper in the room???? It passed quickly, but at that moment………I was all over that! Eric Weiss spends season 3 being a good field agent, a dynamic friend to Syd and Vaughn both, and a blessed peacemaker that was often needed.
End Season 3 and Season 4 - Enter Nadia, Sydney’s sister, and immediately we all think (don’t we?? Didn’t you guys do this too??) finally we are going to have a girlfriend for Weiss! I absolutely love Season 4 because Weiss finds himself smitten over Nadia. I love the various conversations between Vaughn telling him to slow down and Weiss being just overly excited about how wonderful Nadia is. It was like a schoolboy crush and I, for one, thought it was awesome. I was cheering them on from the first glance. We get bits and pieces of this romance throughout the season.
My humor meter from Season 4 has to mention the Season Finale where Weiss and Marshall are running things from the office and Weiss speaks HORRID Russian on the phone. That was an old Boy Next Door Eric Weiss moment. Highly amusing!
We did get a peak of Eric at the hospital with Nadia at the end of S4, but I have to tell you that I have not been impressed with the lack of explanation of no Eric/Nadia references this season. I realize the girl was in a coma. I am OK with Eric moving on (I guess.) I’m not enjoying the fact that he just seemed to drop out of Nadia’s world with no reference. This season he gets a promotion in D.C. He talks to Syd about it, but what about leaving Nadia?
Neither here nor there, this season we have Weiss in a higher up position, but always there to help his friends. I hope before the end comes that some of the Weiss/Nadia romance will be resolved. He deserves love. He’s made us love him and want to see him win.
Eric Weiss is the character I think that we want to live happily ever after. He spends most of the series looking out for everyone else and being the boy next door best friend. He slowly made us love him and laugh at him and with him and etched his way forever into our hearts. I was so hoping that the boy next door and the Spy Sister would hook up and be the couple next door and have the kids next door……………….and live happily ever after!
Of course, every bit of this was solely my opinion! What are your thoughts?
A special thank you to nepants for making my Boy Next Door Icon just for this post!