Alias

Season 2 Episode 13

Phase One

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Phase One
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Sydney and Jack are confronted by the new director of SD-6 who replaces Sloane, whose whereabouts and intentions are unknown. Meanwhile, romantic sparks begin to fly between Francie and Will.
FAN RECAP

Fan Episode Reviews (26)

SUBMIT REVIEW

  • Alias at its best! An unforgettable episode.

    10
    By alias571, Jul 02, 2009
    'Phase One' is one of those unforgettable episodes of a TV show. In its 45 minutes or so we get Alias at its best with everything it's famous and loved for. From the first scene at the airplane to Sark's phone call to Sloane, it's impossible not to adore this episode, which brings big changes to the show, with the end of SD-6 and the beginning of Syd and Vaughn's relationship.



    Everything works here, from the acting to the writing to Sydney's hair and if you see it once, you will want to see it again. After one and a half years of waiting, Sydney finally finds a way to destroy SD-6 and the other SD cells around the world in a magnificent way. I'm afraid I'm repeating myself but after Phase One, Alias becomes a totally different show (although we still get plenty of wigs!)



    This is an episode that you need to watch to understand, and I assure you that you won't be disappointed. Definitely a favorite that made me jump from the couch and say: I love Alias! Yeah, I didn't jump from the couch.moreless

  • I love Sloane (part 2)

    10
    By napen, Jan 06, 2009
    AAAHHHHHH!!!!!!! No puedo poner un 11? Un 12? Este capítulo fue per-fec-to. Empezemos por el principio: Will y Francie están juntos, sí, qué loco. El nuevo jefe de SD-6 (recordemos que Arvin desapareció con su mujer) se entera casi enseguida que Jack y Sidney son dobles agentes. La CIA se apodera (mediante Sidney) de unos códigos de acceso a cada célula de la Alianza, por lo que (al Jack estar en peligro de muerte) deciden entrar en cada SD alrededor del mundo y terminar con esta organización. Lo logran y en el medio de SD-6 Michael y Sidney se besan. Bueno che, que lindo, todo terminó, todos felices. JAJAJAJAJA. Sark y Sloane planearon todo esto (ambos saben que los Bristow trabajan para la CIA) y además, como si fuera poco, un ¿clon? de Francie mata a esta para apoderarse de su vida. Uf...

    PD: Dixon se entera de la verdad.moreless

  • Syd:"What was wrong with the black one?Do you think it's comfortable wearing clothes like this!?"

    10
    By alias004, Sep 06, 2008
    Oh...my...God...



    Where to start...Syd in lingerie?The plane going down?Geiger finding the email that outs Jack and Syd?Dixon's life crashing down around his ears?Jack being tortured?SD-6 been stormed?Syd and Vaughn kissing?Will and Francie kissing?The revelation that this was what Sloane planned?That there's a Phase Two?Or the last shot,with Francie as dead as can be?



    Phase one is the most jaw-dropping hour of television I have ever seen.This episode is both an end to the series and a new pilot.It takes everything we've come to know about the show's main theme-the destruction of the Alliance-and turns it on it's head,creating an entirely new series by the end of it.I have to give some credit to all the producers and writers.Seriously,what other series would have the nerve to build up to something for a season and a half and then end it?



    I'm still trying to let this sink into my mind.A single episode containing the demise of SD-6,the end of Dixon's obliviousness to what Syd has been doing,a long-awaited kiss between Syd and Vaughn(and two other people who are far more surprising)and the death of a major character is the stuff of series finales,not midseason's episodes.And yet,by the end of "Phase One",I was on the edge of my seat,left with a huge cliffhanger.WOW...



    Ok,let's start with,in my opinion,the most amazing part of the episode,except for the raid on SD-6:the plane...It started with Syd opening a door,wearing the most sexy disguise to date.Then followed a cool fight and the destruction of the plane with some very special effects.Seriously,how much do they spent to make these gorgeous scenes?And how did they actually manage to do it?I don't have any words to describe it..



    Now,let's talk about the "Phase Two" subplot and the murder of Francie.Sloane was as always behind all these.I think that I'll never form a permanent opinion about this person.A few episodes ago he betrayed his friend,but then he helped him to escape.I was starting to like him,but then we learned that he helped Jack for his own advantage.Now,we learn that he knew for quite some time of Syd and Jack being double agents and that he was manipulating them all this time.By the way,did you see that creepy smile on his face when he learned of the destruction of the Alliance?What a j***.Anyway,I'll never forgive him for what he has done,especially to Syd.This is the second time he kills a loved one of hers.This was Francie's turn.I fell very sad with their decision to kill this character off.Now,we won't have this contrast between Syd's personal and spy life.But what I fear most is Francie's double.Actually,at first with the shot with her taking orders from Sark I thought that the writers had gone a twist too far and she had been a double agent all along and that the dead body was Will.It was very beautifully composed.



    Miscellaneous:



    --At last,the first kiss between Syd and Vaughn.They're finally together!!!



    --The torture scene with Jack was awesome.



    --Number 47:47 is the secret server of the Alliance and it is on a 747.



    --This episode originally aired immediately after Super Bowl XXXVII,which would explain the sexed-up bikini shots in the opening sequence.



    **Highlight**



    As I mentioned before,Geiger torturing Jack is particularly harrowing and excellent. --Rutger Hauer,who plays Anthony Geiger,is best known as the replicant Roy Batty in Blade Runner,the 1982 Ridley Scott film starring Harrison Ford.Hauer is outstanding in the movie and showed real promise,but after starring in the 1985 film Ladyhawke,he seemed resigned to taking B-movie roles.He has since appeared in several fantasy,science-fiction and horror films and has played many vampires(including Lothos in the series Buffy the vampire slayer).His last major role was in the 2002 George Clooney film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.



    --Weiss:"What's this the flirting corner?"



    --Weiss:There's a meeting.National Security?Remember that?It's important for the meeting!



    --Geiger:"You were engaged?Well,tell me something more.

    --Syd:I assume you mean how Danny died.



    --Vaughn to Weiss:"That's son of a **** swear I'm gonna kill this guy.



    --Will to Syd:"You know the weird part?The really weird part?It's not weird.



    --Lena Olin wasn't in this episode.



    --Jennifer Garner and Carl Lumbly did some excellent acting here.



    --This episode's injuries:Jack's drugged and tortured by Geiger,who subjects him to electric shocks in the "conversation room".



    --This episode's locations:Over the Atlantic



    --This episode's aliases:OMG...Syd posing as a call girl



    --This episode's very very hot look:Syd emerges for Macor wearing black bra and briefs,suspender belt and stockings,carrying a riding crop.Then she emerges again in red bra and briefs,with a matching split baby doll.She quickly puts on a flight suit.For the attack on SD-6 she wears full combat gear,quickly losing the balaclava the others wear.



    --This episode's gadgets:Syd has a Personal Digital Assistant(PDA) that can connect Server 47 to a terminal on a CIA plane.This link has a range of 5,000 feet.Her earrings contain an audio and video link to the CIA.



    I'm looking forward to "Phase Two".



    alias004moreless

  • The beginning of the end...

    10
    By GilmoreGirl47, May 23, 2008
    A very good episode. Fantastic, in fact, and very well-made. However, this was also the turning point in the series, where the original "double agent" idea was dropped since it was getting "too difficult" for new fans of the show to follow, and Sydney simply worked for just the CIA from then on. It set the ball rolling for the dumbed-down and predictable plot lines that follow in the rest of the series.

    Bah-humbug.(Season one was superb for a reason--it was complex! Well, that UST between Vaughn and Sydney. It was never the same after this.) JJ and co--why did you sell out? You've kept us guessing with "Lost". Why couldn't you do the same here?moreless

  • Review

    10
    By cavanagh15, Jul 29, 2007
    Without a doubt the best episode of the entire series and certainly worth all of the hype that is was given. I like how the beginning started - with the plane scene giving us something to think about for the enxt little while while the rest of the episode was going on. I like how they made this a one part episode - no need to ruin an episode by making it two parts and adding filler scenes into the mix. The fall of SD-6 was a very good twist for the show I think and I think that the show could go almost anywhere from here. I like how Sloane and Sark seem to be in this together, wanting the Alliance to fall apart. I thought the scene with Arvin at the beach by himself was also interesting - was his wife ever alive in the first place or was the cabin simply away from where he was at the time. Francie being "killed off" the show was the biggest shocking cliffhanger ending of the series. The best part about it is that it likely wont be revealed to Sydney and Will for a while. The interactions among the three should be very interesting now. The way JJ wrote that scene was amazing. Thinking first that Francie was the traitor and that she killed Will, to Francie being killed and having someone else be put in her place. This episode defines JJ Abrams at his finest, a complete series changing epsiode. Everything from here on out will go back to this episode - the episode where SD-6 and the Alliance falls.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

Kevin Weisman

Kevin Weisman

Marshall J. Flinkman
Jennifer Garner

Jennifer Garner

Sydney Anne Bristow
Merrin Dungey

Merrin Dungey

Francine 'Francie' Calfo
Carl Lumbly

Carl Lumbly

Marcus R. Dixon
Ron Rifkin

Ron Rifkin

Arvin Sloane
Michael Vartan

Michael Vartan

Michael C. Vaughn
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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

Mark Golasso

Mark Golasso

Medic

Guest Star

Rutger Hauer

Rutger Hauer

Geiger

Guest Star

Elizabeth Penn Payne

Elizabeth Penn Payne

Techie #1

Guest Star

Kevin Sutherland

Kevin Sutherland

Techie #3

Recurring Role

Angus Scrimm

Angus Scrimm

SD-6 Security Chief McCullough

Recurring Role

Terry O'Quinn

Terry O'Quinn

F.B.I. Special Officer Kendall

Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (10)

    • Goof: Sloane's entire original email is actually visible on the computer screen for a brief moment while McCullough sits down in order to recover what was written. It reads as follows:


      "Alain,


      It is with serious concern that I must admit several leadership lapses at SD-6. The cause of which I can only attribute to my moral failings. My own sense of familiarity with two agents in particular has blinded me to some obvious leaks that are responsible for the lack of progress within this cell. Time and again, I have promised success, only to see it falter due to my own blind spot. And even though, many agents within SD-6 have cautioned me regarding the identity of these leaks, I refused to pay attention. But the recent tragedy regarding my wife has caused me to put my responsibilities in order. And I must admit, the blinders are now off, and my hubris will no longer intervene with my abilities to perform as the head of this agency. I have learned that Jack and Sydney Bristow are double agents, working against SD-6. Their true allegiances at this point are unknown. But I intend to make it my top priority to find the truth behind this and root out the threat - and I believe that one Bristow might be able to work against the other. At this point, it would be unfair to reveal the identity of the suspected leaks while I am still gathering intel. However, be assured that once I have incontrovertible evidence, the guilty parties will be made to pay for their transgressions against the Alliance."


      Of course, it doesn't make much sense in this form - the last two sentences contradict the rest.

    • Sydney mentions the time Dixon had suspicions about her being a double agent in "The Enemy Walks In."

    • Number 47: This episode has music by AC/DC in it. A = letter #1, C = letter #3.
      A+C = 4.
      And seeing how D is letter # 4,
      D+C = 7
      AC/DC equals 47.

    • Number 47: When Sydney accesses server 47, you can see several 47s in the scrolling numbers.

    • Sydney tells Dixon the truth about SD-6 on the same place she told Danny about her job in the first episode.

    • This episode marks the destruction of all SD cells, including SD-6.

    • Number 47: The Alliance purchased a 747 to keep the server airborne.

    • Number 47: Sydney is to track and hack server 47, which is thought to be a network that links all the SD cells.

    • At the console connected to server 47, Sydney connects a Palm Pilot via a USB-connector, but the command she types would've sent the data to the COM(1)-port, not the USB.

    • Kendall says that they found seven SD cells, and there is a screen behind him that beeps as it changes spots on the map. You don't get to see all seven places because the camera goes into a close-up of Kendall's face, but you should hear the beeps. But you only hear five beeps, not seven.

  • QUOTES (12)

    • Sark: Sydney leaked the intel to the CIA and the rest played out exactly as you predicted it would. So congratulations, sir. The Alliance is gone.
      Sloane: We shouldn't celebrate yet. As you know, there's much more work to be done.
      Sark: I just wanted to let you know that phase one is complete.

    • Vaughn (About Jack): Did he get the code? Syd?
      (Sydney is starting to cry)
      Sydney: He was compromised.
      Vaughn: What?
      Sydney: He just said "Take the surface streets, they're doing some work on the freeway".
      Vaughn: I don't understand.
      Sydney: It's a phrase we came up with last year. A code to let one of us know if the other was ever discovered, to warn them to stay away. He's with Geiger now.

    • Sydney: What was wrong with the black one? Do you think it's comfortable wearing clothes like this?

    • Weiss: Hey guys! I just talked to base. We did it; we kicked their asses! (Sydney and Vaughn keep kissing) Hey! Guys! Did you hear what I said? Asses…kicked…

    • Weiss: There's no way that guy (The guy with Sydney on the plane) smells as good as you.
      Vaughn: Aftershave. I got new aftershave.
      Weiss: Well, I'd lighten up on it.
      Vaughn: Yeah?
      Weiss: Oh yeah... To the point of non-use.

    • Sark: When I met with Geiger this morning, I left his office feeling as unstrung as you look.
      Sydney: Just so you know, I'm fully strung.

    • Weiss: What is this, the flirting corner?
      Vaughn: Uh, we're talking.
      Weiss: Yeah, I figured that out. Uh, there's a meeting…National Security, remember that? It's important…for the people…
      Sydney: We'll be right there.

    • Weiss: OK, whenever you want to have that talk...
      Vaughn: What talk?
      Weiss: Uh, about the cologne, or whatever the hell you're wearing.
      Vaughn: I'm not wearing any cologne.
      Weiss: Well, something is going on. No man naturally smells as good as you do right now.

    • Sydney: What?
      Vaughn: I think you know what.
      Sydney: I need you to tell me.
      Vaughn: You need me to tell you what? That when you're on operations, I can't sleep at night. That when we're in debrief I have to force myself to remember what the hell we're supposed to be reviewing when all I want to do is kiss you?

    • Geiger: Jack, I know you are disloyal. I know your daughter is too. Both your files, there were so many red flags, I thought I was in a Russian airport.

    • Sark: The new boss has a dreadful personality, don't you think?
      Sydney: I've seen worse.
      Sark: Am I supposed to take that personally?

    • Vaughn: And the thing that makes me crazy every day is people that would kill us if we're seen together - the Alliance, SD-6, Sloane - are the very forces that brought you into my life to begin with. What kind of a sick joke is that?

  • NOTES (10)

  • ALLUSIONS (1)

    • Visual: Sydney looking like Princess Leia: the situation with Sydney and Macor on the plane; his lecherous and grotesque demeanor, her strangling him with the wire, are very much reminiscent of Leia and Jabba the Hutt in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Further, the outfit she changes into looks so very much like Princess Leia's suit for most of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, that it's almost uncanny. Even her hair suggests a correlation. Finally, when she is sucked out of the airplane it's almost exactly like when Luke is pushed through the broken window in the bowels of Cloud City.

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Ep 22
The Telling
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Second Double
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Countdown
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Endgame
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Truth Takes Time
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A Dark Turn
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The Counteragent
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Trust Me
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The Enemy Walks In

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