Sloane wants a program named Echelon, which he can use to gain access to an incredible amount of worldwide intel from many sources. Only one person is capable of acquiring it, however: Marshall. Therefore, he's sent with Sydney on her mission, unaware that because of his photographic memory, he will be picked up by the CIA on his return…

And that's only part of it. As we could have seen coming, Sloane has become suspicious of missions going wrong, and blames Sark for poor quality intel. Under torture, Sark claims that it's not him, but Sloane decides to pair him and Sydney on a mission to see what happens. It's a tense mission, with some great stunts, especially for the constantly impressive Jennifer Garner, and you're not quite sure if she'll get away with her countermission without Sark working out what's going on. The torture scene beforehand is also especially nasty, as Sark gets the chance to tell the truth or swallow a ball of glass. In pieces. I worry about where the writers get these ideas from.

Meanwhile, Jack has problems of his own when Sloane brings in Ariana Kane to investigate Emily's alleged return, and Jack becomes the prime suspect. It seems as though she won't be giving up especially easy on him, but whether she becomes a friend or enemy remains to be seen. If nothing else, Faye Dunaway is excellent, coming across as someone more than able to get what she wants from Jack, and convinced he's hiding something. Of course, while Jack is under investigation, Irina is making progress. I'm increasingly suspicious of everyone in this series, especially her, and when she hugs Sydney I'm convinced she's planted a bug on her. Everything else in this story, however, suggests that she's on the up and up. She's increasingly helpful, seems genuinely sympathetic to her daughter, and seems to be making her peace with Jack. I still think the second I trust her is when the rug will be pulled out, but I'm really starting to think she has turned herself in to atone for her past. I just can't quite believe it.

Of course, the highlight of the episode is Marshall's mission. Surely it was only a matter of time, but it's great to see him in the field, having fun wearing a tux and enjoying the secret agent lifestyle. He adds some welcome comedy to the mission, which becomes more tense as a result, as he gets tranqed and starts to fall asleep until Syd kisses him to wake him backup. The thought of him being taken back to the CIA and working for them is great, as he'll finally get the respect he deserves, although the fact that he's picked up by someone else entirely isn't wholly unexpected.

It doesn't spoil a fantastic episode that has everything. Oh, except for Dixon again, who seems to have gone on an extended holiday…

****

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