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ABC (Ended 2006)
Episode Guide > Season 5, Episode 12

Alias: There's Only One Sydney Bristow

 

Episode Score

 
9.2 Superb
269 votes

Your Score

Air Date

Wednesday April 26, 2006

Production Code

512

Episode Summary

One month after the baby is born, Sydney is taking time off from work. Will is what pulls her back in the field while she's on maternity leave. The enemies realize that the best way to hurt Sydney is through her friends. Anna Espinosa also returns.

  •  
    9 Superb

    Will's back and Vaughn lives hide show

    This episode offered some major surprises:
    Anne is back and is now trying to get back at Sydney through Will - who we saw for first time in I don't know how long. It was great that he appeared once more in this final season!
    And then we find out that Vaughn is alive, that his death was orchestrated by Sydney and Jack. When I first heard it, I didn't really get it, because it all sounded so casual... well, but I guess it makes sense. Sydney seemed so calm all the time and she didn't seem to be mourning much. I always wondered about that, but I thought she was just being strong, doing it the Sydney-way, you know. Of course I find it terrific that Vaughn is still alive, I was completely disappointed about the way things ended in the season 5 premiere.
    This season is getting stronger, I really liked this episode! It's great how all the old characters are having their last hurrah in this season, it's a great way to bring the storylines to an end and give all the great actors the credit they deserve!

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  •  
    9 Superb

    Review hide show

    Seeing Will return was a nice surprise, and it was also weird that Sydney seems to know that Vaughn is alive somewhere. I would have thought that Jack would have done this himself and that Sydney would not really know - though I guess it all makes sense now as to why Sydney had no emotion at the funeral in "P5"

    The only thing that confused me was the entire episode of "The Horizon". I guess because of the machine that they used in the episode it was never revealed that Vaughn was dead - all they said was that Sydney missed him. I dont know - was hoping for more answers in this epsiode, but good to know that Vaughn is alive somewhere.

    I thought the rest of the episode was pretty well done, with Anna and Will coming back and giving us some of that "Season 1 - Season 2" Alias that I would say was the strongest Alias episodes ever. The ending of another "Helix" type of surgery to Anna actually lost the episode points instead of gaining it any. The ending was pretty easily seeable from a mile away and Im not sure I like the wrtiers continuing to go back to this Helix thing. Either way - it was a pretty decent episode.

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  •  
    10 Perfect

    Sydney's back. hide show

    This episode really showed off Sydney and how good at her job she is. Meanwhile Slone meets with the leaders of Prophet Five in order to bargin for Nadia's recovery. Sydney is sent to rescue Will from Prophet Five member Anna Espinoza. By the end of the episode, Anna goesm into a bath of some liquid and after a process she appears as Sydney Bristow! This episode was a great 100th episode, at parts it was fun, at others it was tense and intresting. Shame Alais from here on in is all about closing off the series. Season 5 didn't have enough episodes like this.

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  •  
    10 Perfect

    Will my man! He is back and he is in action, you have to love this episode, oh and Sydney was good too. hide show

    Alright, so some of you may have noticed, I love Alias. But I really did miss Will Tippin, He returned for his one episode, which I don't really care, because it was an awesome episode. The explosive planted into the back of his head, genius... reminds me of M:I:III. Kudos to J.J. on that one. Also alright, Anna is back, every body seems to be back this season. Anna is back and she is worse than ever. Her mission was to take Sydneys DNA. None of us knew why of course, unless you made a guess to the Episode title. Then, there she was, Anna Espinosa as Evil Sydney Bristow...gotta love it.

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  •  
    8.5 Great

    The 100th episode of 'Alias' is finally upon us! And while it may not be as good as episode 99 (you just can't beat Lena Olin) it certainly did a good job of keeping me entertained for the hour. hide show

    The 100th episode of 'Alias' is finally upon us! And while it may not be as good as episode 99 (you just can't beat Lena Olin) it certainly did a good job of keeping me entertained for the hour.

    Having Will and Anna Espinosa back was very fun. I have to admit I've missed both of those characters and it seemed like the producers are really trying to go back to the good old days (Ana kissing the glass with lipstick on, which she used to always do in season one). They really are making these last few episodes just for the fans and it doesn't go unnoticed. Also Will got to prove himself worthy this episode, he saved Sydney's life not only once, but twice. It was fun seeing Will able to fend for himself and fighting the bad guys along with Sydney. He would have made a good agent.

    Rimbaldi came back in this episode and once again ASS got to prove her lack of knowledge. "Uhh..guys, what's Rimbaldi?" Okay I'm being a little too harsh on her, after all it was nice to get a recap on who Rimbaldi really is as we go into, what will probably be, Rimbaldi's ultimate end game.

    And Sydney got doubled! It wasn't really a huge shock like it was back in season 2 with Francie but I still think the producers made a good choice. They couldn't end Alias without bringing up that doubling protocol again and what better way to end it all then by having Sydney herself be cloned. I look forward to seeing Jennifer Garner's dark side.

    All-in-all it was a fun episode but I look forward to seeing some good drama and action next week.

    Final Quotes and Notes:

    - We finally got to see the 12 leaders of Prophet 5 in this episode. It looks like Joseph doesn't go too high up in the ranking though. He wasn't allowed in the same room as Sloane.

    - The bit with the super-trained C.I.A. babysiters was amusing. In fact the whole episode seemed to have a lighter tone to it.

    - Sydney: "Delicate porcelain lily?" Will: "Leave me alone. I was on a roll."
    - We finally got a glimpse of how the process of doubling works. Intersting method except how do they hold their breathe under water for so long?

    - Will (to Sydney):"...There's only one Sydney Bristow." Not anymore.

    - Did you see all the extra pictures I had for this review? Only for Alias.



    Final Rating: 3 out of 4 stars.



    - Tim Bronx

    Find this review and many others at: www.motionpicturereviews.com

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Episode Cast and Crew

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  • Number 47: The room Will is taken from is room 147. No. 47. []
  • Sydney's daughter's name is Isabelle. []
  • The entire 'train' set, as well as the exterior CGI shots of the train were recycled from the fourth season opener, "Authorised Personnel Only (Part 1)". []
More Trivia
  • This episode was nominated for the 2006 Emmy Award for "Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series". []
  • International Air Dates:
    Australia: Sunday, September 2, 2007 on Network 7 []
  • Bradley Cooper's final appearance on the show. Although credited in 46 episodes (44 as a main character and 2 as a Special Guest Star), he appeared in a total of 43 episodes. []
More Notes
  • (Peyton visits Anna in her holding cell)
    Peyton: Mrs. Espinosa, my name’s Kelly Peyton, I work an independent organization interested in obtaining your services.
    Anna: Get out of my cell.
    Peyton: If I’m interrupting your busy schedule of invasive interrogation, I do apologize… this facility you’re in doesn’t exist on Government records… you’re being held here without charge which means you don’t exist anymore, I can’t imagine that thought’s appealing to you. My employer will secure your immediate release, in exchange you will undertake a long term deep cover operation for us.
    Anna: I told you to get out of my cell… which means if you don’t take your skinny little ass down that hall, you won’t exist any more either. []
  • (Will tells Sydney he’s getting married)
    Sydney: How can you be marrying a girl I haven’t even met?
    Will: Well… you know, I think Government mandated isolation might have something to do with it. []
  • Will: What!?- What does that mean?
    Marshall: Well it means they put a bomb in your head.
    Will: What!?
    Marshall: I know- I know- But there’s good news, the charge is small so the blast will be localized.
    Will: Wait- Wait- What so it might not kill me?
    Marshall: No it’ll definitely kill you, there just won’t be any collateral damage. []
More Quotes

Allusions

  • Angel Connection: Amy Acker (Kelly Peyton) and Gina Torres (Anna Espinosa) acted together before in the last third of the fourth season of the show Angel (they played Fred and Jasmine respectively). Drew Goddard (writer of the episode) was one of the main writes of Angel. []
  • During his captivity Will had a small explosive device implanted in his head that can be triggered to detonate at any time. This was also done twice in the movie "Mission Impossible III", directed by Alias series creator J.J. Abrams. []
  • Title: "There's Only One Sydney Bristow"

    On the first season finale of One Tree Hill, Karen Roe(Moira Kelly) tells her son Lucas(Chad Michael Murray) "There's only One Tree Hill", when he tells her he is leaving Tree Hill to go to Charleston with his uncle. []
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