Sloane gets away and demonstrates a weapon that allows him to make people spontaneously combust, and Sydney must retrieve the device before it is used to hold the world to ransom.

After last week's cliffhanger, there's a fantastic conclusion to the tense stand-off between Syd and Sloane, resulting in a fantastic car chase sequence in which both Sloane and Syd are receiving information from their colleagues on how to escape. What's especially exciting is when Sark turns up and facilitates a car-to-car transfer. After this, things calm down a little again until Sloane's weapon is demonstrated. The sequence where people within a church are burnt to death is horrific and shocking, demonstrating just how far Sloane is willing to go. The one question it begs is where Christian Slater has gone; after doing next to nothing last week, this week he's just been reduced to a couple of mentions. Considering his character is still around, it seems odd that he isn't.

The other element of the plot here is, of course, Dixon. When Sydney is captured on her mission, Vaughn is refused permission to extract her without reliable intel, which only Dixon has. This is tricky when he is forced to choose between his family and his job, and Carl Lumbly plays it so well that you really feel for him, especially when he arrives alongside Vaughn to help rescue Syd and we see her reaction to what he's done, knowing full well how vital a decision it was. Quite where Dixon will go after this, we'll have to see; Syd seems to have so far been partnered with Vaughn, but it remains to be seen if the CIA will create the 'classic' team-up.

Finally, though, just what is replacement Francie's plan? So far there doesn't seem to be a great deal of point in what she's doing; she's certainly very carefully biding her time so far…

****

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