Sloane has disappeared, and Sark lets slip that the new SD-6 head is bragging about the things he's found on a secret server. Discovering this source of information really exists, Sydney Puts it to the CIA that it is now possible to shut down all of SD-6's cells at once.

A real crowd-pleaser, I should point out that my opinion of this episode might be a little coloured by knowing what was going to happen. While I try to avoid all spoilers like the plague, the downside of my job is that sometimes I have to read things I'd rather not, so I already knew that SD-6 would be destroyed and Francie replaced by a doppelganger.

These are really major plot points, but I still really enjoyed this episode, even if I feel it would have got a higher mark and wowed me more if I'd gone in blind. Of course, it helps that I didn't know the whole story. The opening is certainly an attention-grabber, as Jennifer Garner slips into something saucy to acquire information. Well done, JJ Abrams. All men thank you. But the tension continues to rack up minute on minute, as the CIA desperately tries to verify their information in order to make maximum use of it before their timeframe runs out and the system is reformatted. The only thing that slows things a little is the inevitable discovery of Jack and Sydney's double agent status, especially as Rutger Hauer makes a poor choice of enemy. Gifted with few lines, a rather simplistic line in torture and no real feeling of menace in his scenes where he tortures Jack for information, it slows down the frantic pace of everything else. Frankly, he could take some lessons from ace torturer Jack Bauer, who is willing to do anything to get what he wants.

Of course, this also allows Dixon to save the day, as Syd finally comes clean to him and explains just what SD-6 is. It's really sad to watch the agent as his whole world comes crashing down, and his reaction to Sydney at the end shows there's going to be plenty of fallout to deal with now everything's out in the open. Elsewhere, Will and Francie making out is a neat little wrinkle, especially bearing in mind the ending, and comes totally out of the blue. As such, could it be something that will give her doppelganger away?

As part of the fan wish fulfilment, we also finally get Sydney and Vaughn allowed to give in to their feelings and, after a neat little scene towards the start of the episode in which Vaughn bemoans their intolerable situation, he's finally able to get his hands on the goods. The only worry here, of course, is whether or not this is a good move on the part of the show's producers. Personally, I'm for 'no', but Alias has never been a show to go down the path of least resistance, and this episode alone proves that there are people more than willing to shake things up and send the series down an entirely new path.

And then there's the revelation of the real masterminds behind SD-6 and The Alliance's fall. How much does Sloane really know, and how long has he been aware of the Bristows? What is his deal with Sark? Could Derevko fit into their scheme; indeed, does Emily Sloane also play a part? After last episode painted Sloane as rather a sweet character, this one flips everything back round again, confusing disorientating and providing much less of a visible enemy for Syd to deal with. This isn't an organization set in place; this is an operation epic in scale if it's taken down the Alliance. There's clearly a lot more to tell of this story…

****

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