When an agent is assassinated, the CIA sends Sydney and Vaughn to retrieve her partner, James Lennox. But what they don't know is that Lennox might actually be the murderer…

It's a very underhand little trick going on here. Now we've seen two Francies, we're not expect two of someone else to turn up, so the premise of the episode really is something of a surprise. Sadly, the rest of the story doesn't work as well as two Lennoxes wandering about, each trying to convince Sydney that he's the real deal. While Ethan Hawke is no doubt a good actor, and has an Oscar nomination to prove it, he doesn't seem to be trying very hard in this, instead preferring to downplay everything and show very little emotion, something particularly odd since his partner, and fiancée, has just been murdered. Of course, while we believe he's the killer, we expect him to show very little emotion, but this seems odd looking back, as he'd surely be a lot more cut up than he is.

There's also something just a little off about this episode, and that's the fact that there's no sign of SD-6. Somehow, Syd and Vaughn actually working together on a mission in plain sight just seems wrong, although I'm sure I'll get used to it in time. Their relationship may also get tiresome after a while, as even if Francie watching them have sex is undeniably sinister, we could do without endless romantic interludes on a weekly basis. I'd rather they were out battling the forces of evil.

Maybe it's simply the fact that without SD-6 there's not as much tension generated. There's no counter mission to explain and then either achieve or fail, there's no concern about a rival organization's next move, there's no worry about the discovery of someone's double agent status; basically, it's just a straightforward op, robbing Alias of one of its most distinctive qualities. At least Sloane is still in the picture, working on the sidelines, but things are going to need to draw together awfully quickly or this is going to become a formulaic spy show, something that's never looked likely before. I still have faith, but this episode, while certainly enjoyable, demonstrates that it's not quite what we signed on for.

***

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