Alias

A Dark Turn

Season 2, Episode 17, Aired 3/2/03

Episode Summary

Sydney begins to question where Vaughn's allegiances lie when she learns through CIA Agent Yeager that he is under investigation by the Agency. Meanwhile Irina and a crucial Rambaldi manuscript are used as bait to try to catch Sloane, and Sydney welcomes Dixon to the CIA.

9.3

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Cast & Crew

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Kevin Weisman

Marshall J. Flinkman
Jennifer Garner

Sydney Anne Bristow
Merrin Dungey

Francine 'Francie' Calfo

Fan Episode Reviews (5)

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Syd:"I have to go in." Vaughn:"Of course you do.It's your day off."

10

"Perfect"

By alias004, Sep 06, 2008 Report Abuse

At last the episode I'd been waiting for so long.An episode with Irina in action,and it was something more than I had expected.Totally awesome!Irina was just amazing here.Where to start?From the mission in Bangkok where she performed some great moves,her manipulation over Jack and Syd or her ultimate betrayal...

After several episodes of guest stars and side plots,we return to the complex relationships of our core characters in this exciting episode."A Dark Turn" is an hour about intimate trust between Jack and Irina and Syd and Vaughn."I've had 20 years to reflect on that woman's ability to deceive.Trust me.If she lies to me again,I'll know it."Yeah,sure..Ahh..poor Jack how could you let this happen?I understand you.Irina is smart,sexy and soulless.I have to give her some credit.As we watch Jack's face as the bitter realization of what is happening washes over him,we can't help but feel for him.He is deceived for the second time and he must be crushed.I'm sure that the next time he sees her,he'll kill her.

So,Sloane and Irina together.I really didn't see that coming.The writers are amazing and they worth some credit,too.Irina couldn't have the chance to speak with Sloane in any way except for Echelon,but Vaughn said that he had checked it and she was clean.This means that their collaboration began last year.This doesn't makes sense:Firstly,Irina would surrender to the CIA.Then Sloane would set up the Emily plot to steal money from the Alliance for the Rambaldi research.Then he would destroy the Alliance with Syd and Jack's aid to free himself.Afterwards,he would continue his research undisturbed,but there's a question:Why had Irina to turn herself into the CIA?To steal as much information as she could?I can't understand.What are they up to?

On the other hand,we had Syd and Vaughn.Syd,for once,stays at home.Her 'plot' this week doesn't have the action and explosive revelations of the Jack and Irina story,but it's good grounding for her relationship with Vaughn.Syd has had to live with the knowledge of what happned between her parents for the past year,and it has undoubtly caused more than a little paranoia in her own life about whom to trust and whom not to.So we can't blame her for being confused when a counterintelligence officer suddenly shows up and tells her that Michael Vaughn is a suspicious person.And by the way,I absolutely did not believe that he could be a traitor neither did Syd although she almost fell into the temptation of checking his laptop.If she had,she would have become like her mother.And in the end there's the great irony that just as Vaughn concludes that he's been torturing himself over nothing because Irina's on the level,Irina is smiling and joining Sloane..

Finally,the subplot with Evil Francie is getting even better.When I saw her and Will discussing about the CIA I freaked out.I said "Will,what are you doing"?.This woman is so evil and she kinda scares me.She was hypnotizing him in order to take some info about the CIA and his subconcious was trying to tell him something.Poor Will,he's the only good guy on the show and he's manipulated all the time.And who is the person behind Francie's face?

Miscellaneous:

--Number 47:The lift at the beginning is heading for the 47th(and top) floor.Also,Will gives the satellite codes as X8-47-1-GY79863.

--Where's that blonde agent Phillips?I haven't seen her since "Double Agent".

--Again,the main theme song was ommited.I miss it.It's cool.

--What's happened to Caplan?Does Sloane intend to keep him in order to construct another Rambaldi artefact?

--I like the fact that Syd and Vaughn have some fun as all other couples.Syd deserves it.

--Sloane has some kind of personal connection to Rambaldi?Sloane is obssesed with him.What if Sloane was Rambaldi incarnation?

--The scene with Marshall and Irina was really funny."Hey.How you doin'?.You're Sydney's mom.That's really cool.Cos your daughter...Awesome,by the way".

--Irina:"Syd,I love you".The scene where they joined their hands was very touching.She was so obviously getting ready to leave.

--Did you notice how Irina was watching and touching the manuscript?She is really obssesed with Rambaldi.

Highlight

Stuka playing the knife game with Irina and her response.Despite being evil,she is so much fun to watch when she's in the field that it's too bad they don't let her out more often.

Nitpicks

While it might have been a good call to let Irina out for the Bangkok operation,why did the CIA let her hold on to the Rambaldi manuscript and take notes?What Rambaldi wrote in his journal is volatile stuff,and not exactly information you want in the hands of a terrorist.And now that Syd and Vaughn know that Syd's place was bugged,why aren't they going to his appartment just to be on the safe side,since it's clear Syd's being targeted?

Favourite Quotes

Irina:"Why haven't you tried to convince Sydney to leave the CIA"?
Jack:"Sydney can be stubborn.Where she got that from is anyone's guess".

Marshall injecting Irina:"Wow.You're strong".

Syd:"Weiss.Have you seen Vaughn"?
Weiss:"That's all I am to you.Just a conduit to Vaughn".
Syd:"I'm just..."
Weiss:"Have you ever seen Vaughn and said 'Hey,where's Weiss'?

Irina:"I love games".

Irina:"I never understood how you managed to avoid getting caught up in it".(Rambaldi)
Jack:"I had something neither of you did".(Irina and Sloane)
Irina:"Sydney".

Syd:"Ask yourself.Would you betray someone you love"?
Yeager:"Well,I guess we have an answer to the intimacy question".

Kendall:"Jack,you make this happen,you can have my job".
Jack:"No,thanks".

Irina:"We should get to bed".
Jack:"Yeah,we should".

Syd:"I need to talk to him".
Weiss:"No,no,no...whoa.You do that and you're breaking six different laws".

Sloane:"It's good to see you again Irina".
Irina:"Thank you for extracting me".

--This episode's injuries:Irina has a trcking device injected and then cut out,without apparently feeling any pain.

--This episode's locations:Bangkok,Thailand;Hong Kong,China;Panama

--This episode's language skills:Irina speaks Thai and Chinese

--This episode's alias:Irina goes to Stuka's bar dressed in a tiny leopard-print dress and black choker.Totally sexy!

--This episode's special device:There's a new Rambaldi manuscript in play-his study of the human heart,which comes wrapped in a leather satchel.It's part of the Rambaldi'sobssesion with immortality.

--This episode's gadgets:Irina is injected with a subdermal tracking device.Also,a fake radio mike that sprays knockout gas.Jack has a pen that squirts acid that he uses to cut into a display case.Yeager gives Sydney a tiny scanner that can read the hard disk of a laptop.

Very good..

alias004moreless

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Review

9.3

"Superb"

By cavanagh15, Aug 02, 2007 Report Abuse

I liked the way that this epiosde panned out, with Irinda being the traitor that Jack said she would be. The fact that the two of them got intimate the night before made the betrayal even better, as you could see the look in Jacks face (amazing acting) that he knew exactly what happened when the Limo door opened and she was not in it. Vaughns investigation kind of came out of nowhere, which kind of surprised me this episode. It was a filler part to the episode and will now be over - but Sydney and Vaughn had a little fight that is sure to be felt in the next episode even though his investigation should now be over. Francie and Will finnaly got a little scene together - which I thought was very well done. Having her use Will like that in order to get the information to hack the satelitte was good writing. Good episode overall, standard Alias experience.moreless

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Jack was right! Irena did have a master plan. That woman is so evil. I just love her.

9.9

"Superb"

By aussieforgood, Mar 27, 2006 Report Abuse

Jack was right! Irena did have a master plan. That woman is so evil. I just love her.

I still can't believe that Irena was working with Sloan. I thought she was working with Sark, against Sloan & the CIA, but it turns out that she was in cahoots with Arvin all along. I just loved the "Thanks for extracting me" at the end.

I love how she managed to fool them all, the CIA, Syd & even Jack who still has feelings for her. It was a little obvious when she said goodbye to Syd that she was up to something. And her *special* farewell to Jack.

Vaughn is being investigated & Syd is led to believe that he may be a double agent. Come on, sweet old Vaughn, a traitor? No Way. It turns out he was investigating Irena and he could find nothing on her, she's *clean*. Irena's covered her tracks really well.

And evil Francie, hypnotizing Will & making him think that they're sleeping together, and then extracting secrets from him. Clever.moreless

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Jack: I've had twenty years to reflect on that woman's ability to deceive. Trust me. If she lies to me again, I'll know it.

8.3

"Great"

By Makiki_89, Nov 22, 2005 Report Abuse

Irina says Bye, bye. But we'll obviously see more of her.

It was clear from the beginning that Irina was saying goodbye. The fact that she did shows to me that she truly cares. The cute way she said goodbye to Sydney, and the way she thanked Jack for raising Sydney. She loves that girl and so does Sloane. Maybe there's a connection ^-) Anyway some farewell sex too. I really feel for poor Jack. This must hurt...like hell.

Vaughn had suspicions of Irina, and he clearly was right. He just didn't know. Offcourse he wasn't a traitor but he did have something weird with him this time. Maybe that's logical, he obviously couldn't tell Sydney. And the CIA wasn't really an option too, because they would be annoying. It's good like this but he shouldn't keep secrets *-). I loved that Sydney and Weiss choose Vaughn above the CIA. Also loved the interview. And heard a hidden "I love Vaughn" in one of Sydney's sentences ( red.: "Would you deceive someone you love?" )

Did I mention I don't like the double-Francie story? It's just weird. And I love Will, and I hate to see him being used like that :S. He's such a good guy, and he's brilliant in what he does. If this comes out the CIA maybe won't trust him anymore :(. I really want him to stay in the storyline.

I've been watching some old epi's today ( It was about 'The Man')and it just made me realise how much of a continues story this is. Because Sark worked for Irina, and later for Sloane. It seems to me that all this has been planned from the beginning. Somewhere in season 1, these people got together and we didn't see it. I love it :)

I can't wait to see what happens next!

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Irina in action, enough said already!

10

"Perfect"

By ritterkreuz39, Nov 02, 2005 Report Abuse

In this episode we get to see Jack and Irina in action. This episode is the testament of both Victor Garber and Lena Olin's greatness and their on-screen chemistry. It was also an opportunity to see Lena Olin wrap her Swedish accent around Thai. (What she said IS Thai, the accent is just horrible.) With Jennifer Garner doing an episode of Saturday Night Live, the viewers are treated with an hour of pure Jack/Irina action. The SpyRents are on a mission to trap Sloane, but ended up with a lovely night in a Panama hotel room. This is exactly why I watch the show, the great relationships between the characters and the jaw-dropping plot twists. Alias at its best.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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Trivia
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- Number 47: In the beginning, Luri Karpachev and his bodyguards are in the elevator and hit the button for the 47th floor. Edit
- Number 47: The orbital location and the operational control of the KH-11 satellite is X48471 - GY798623. Edit
- Goof: In the opening sequence when the elevator begins to drop suddenly, Karpachev and his men hit the floor hard. In fact, the force would have immediately thrown them upward, in the opposite direction the elevator was going. Edit
Notes
ADD NOTES
- At the hockey rink you can see the Canadian flag and the Olympic flag featured prominently, and an American flag has been added to the other wall. Later, in "The Telling", the Olympic flag has disappeared and the Canadian and American flags are the only ones there. Edit
- Music from this episode includes: "Blue" by LaTour "Righteously" by Lucinda Williams Edit
- Once again the standard opening title sequence wasn't used for this episode. Edit
Quotes
ADD QUOTES
- (Will dreams he tells Francie about Sydney and the CIA) Vaughn: It's common to dream about work, have anxiety over keeping it a secret, especially in the beginning. Will: Really? Vaughn: Yeah, but don't worry, it goes away after a while. Will: The excitement? Vaughn: No, the dreams. Edit
- Vaughn: (about Irina) I had to find out if she was deceiving us again. I mean, I could not sleep at night knowing I was doing nothing. That somehow, I was helping her. Sydney: And did you find anything? Vaughn: Nothing. She's clean. Edit
- Irina: There's one thing. The tracker you put in my shoulder. Jack: You want it removed? Irina: If they discover I've been tagged, it's over. We both know that. Edit
Allusions
- Help by adding allusions to this episode. Add allusions