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Alias Season 3 Episode 2

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AIRED: 10/5/03

Sydney's search for her past leads to a jailed Sark, but their Q&A is cut short when he becomes the ransom for a pair of abducted CIA scientists, whose kidnappers may be tied to the murder of his father. Jack contacts an old friend of sorts for info on Sloane's new world-peace project, and Vaughn makes a decision about his future as an operative.moreless

Fan Episode Reviews (5)

Syd tries to settle back into a routine...as if things are ever that easy on this show!

7.0

By MovieMark, Apr 15, 2009

Much more satisfying than the premiere, what I enjoyed about this episode the most is its character moments: the covenant plot as of now hasn't really made any impact on the show as far as being this year's big bad, although to be fair it is only the second episode of the season. And as introductory episodes go, nabbing Sark and 800 million dollars aint a bad way to kick-start whatever eveeel plans they have brewing.

There are so many memorable bits: Jack gets some fantastic scenes with Sloane - his dialogue was brilliant and oh-so quotable (''A world relief organization. The sheer audacity of your alleged turnaround would be laughable, if you weren't so dangerous.''). It's genuinely thrilling having Syd and Jack come face to face with the man that essentially destroyed their lives and be finally able to say what they've always wanted to say (''I will bury you'').

In fact, the confrontational scenes in general were written with extra bite in this episode. Syd questioning Lindsey's loyalties and his masculinity was a sight to behold. Even better, however, is that Lindsey managed to get the last laugh by assigning Vaughn's wife to oversee his investigation - very ouch. And that final scene? Awwwkward.

Overall, this episode worked in reviving some semblance of order in Syd's life (Weiss being her new BFF, for example) while unveiling further developments that will shape the remainder of the season - Sark is a free man and looking better than ever (it would appear that solitary confinement does wonders for your tan, he was simply glowing wasn't he?) and the last piece of the puzzle is introduced in the form of the very foxy Lauren Reed.moreless
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9.2

By cavanagh15, Aug 09, 2007

The only complaint that I would have with the first part of season 3 so far is how fast everything is coming back together for us. Sydney has been gone for almost to years, how is it in that the week since she has come back her father has been realeased from prison which he was in for over a month and Vaughn comes back to the agency. I wish one of those would have waited a few more episodes to come into play. Jacks conversation on the laptop with Irina was interesting, as you almost want to say he is going to betray the CIA but at the same time you dont really know what to make of Sydneys mother. Is she co-operative with the CIA, obviously if they are letting them talk to her. Without seeing her and having a few scenes with her there is really no way to tell. Will is the only real mystery left as far as people who she hasnt seen yet and Im sure thats bound to be interesting (if only for an episode)

Vaughns wife coming in at the end was something that you almost expected to happen. You knew Sydney was going to have to go through change and meet her eventually, but once again it felt very rushed and too fast to have all that happen at once though. All the action was still very good though, season 3 still running strong for me it just doesnt have as much credability as the other two seasonsmoreless
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Vaughn and Sydney's relationship gets new definition.

9.1

By murmurt, Jan 04, 2006

This was one of my favorite episodes. We got to see a side of Vaughn that we don't usually get to. He is usually a light natured funny guy but we got to see how much he actually cared for sydney. "I loved you so much I almost drank myself to death." I don't blame him for moving on but to get over someone who you cared for so much and then get married to someone else in less than two years is a liitle fast.moreless
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The mans room: only man allowed

8.0

By Makiki_89, Dec 01, 2005

My one big thought about this episode: Dixon is not a leader. I was just watching the first few minutes of this episode, and then it just hit me. I even said it out loud. I understand they wanted to give Dixon a different roll then he had in the first two seasons, but he just doesn't fit the leader roll. he should go back to being an agent, and let other people be the boss.

They're also was a little Vaughn emotion. He really missed her, and almost lost his life because of it. The speech was touching, Sydney is mad but she should realise that Vaughn went trough a lot. I'm a big believer of these two, and you'll probably hear me say a lot this year that I think they'll get back together. I won't loose hope. Lauren should go and find someone else ;)

Jack and Sydney's relationship has hit some bumpy roads in the last few years but it always showed that they love each other. They were so cute, this episode. They dead agents thing was sad, and Jack and Irina's MSN talk was fun. The family is getting closer and closer, while the rest of the world goes further and further away. That's irony.

So Sydney killed Sark's father? Well, they weren't best friends anyway so that's okay.. But it's the fact that Lazarey is Sark's father that changed things. First off, the enemy is rich now. And they have Sark, and I think it's clear that he won't get killed. For Syndey the death is going to have some major consequences because the CIA will obviously find out. Too bad the girl can't remember what happened.

Some small things:

- Sydney has a BIG house now, and she lives near Weiss. Fun.

- Vaughn as a teacher.....no.

- Vaughn's back to the CIA thing, went to fast. Why is he back? Please explain dear writers. it is clear that he didn't loose his touch though :)

- Even Dixon knows Sloane is evil

- Jack is seriously going to hurt Sloane, you go man!

*nods* Good.

moreless
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The mystery deepens.

9.0

By archangelcory16, Oct 03, 2005

I'm really enjoying season three, and it's still hard for me to understand why anyone could think it sucks, because this is on the exact same level as the first two seasons.

In this episode Vaughn returns to the CIA. Sydney threatens the annoying White House liason in the mens room, after using her and fellow CIA agents as bait during a mission to release Sark, and the W.H. sends someone new - Vaughn's wife (who is pretty cute, and I do believe she previously appeared in "Roar".). Sydney also meets a dying man on a mission who remembers her. He's obviously of The Covenant, but he dies before Sydney can question him.

Overall a good episode, very enjoyable. But no surprise, as only a couple of episodes in the series so far have bored me at all.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Greg Grunberg	Eric Weiss
Kevin Weisman	Marshall J. Flinkman
Jennifer Garner	Sydney Anne Bristow
Carl Lumbly	Marcus R. Dixon
Ron Rifkin	Arvin Sloane
Michael Vartan	Michael C. Vaughn

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Bill Bolender	Oleg	Guest Star
Fabio Serafini	Peter Klein	Guest Star
BK Kennelly	Bartender	Guest Star
Kurt Fuller	Lindsey	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (8)
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- Goof: When Sydney is holding a syringe filled with some liquid and a bubble in it to Otto's neck to get the alarm terminal location, she threatens to give him an aneurysm if he doesn't give her the location. Actually, the medical term for an air bubble in the blood is an (air) embolism. An aneurysm is an abnormal bulge or balloning of a blood vessel.
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- Vaughan has become a French teacher. The actor who plays him, Michael Vartan, is French.
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- Irina is still alive.
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- Number 47: (inverted) The numbers that the code hacker displays is 746F70686174.
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- Jack's screenname is "Mozart_182" and Irina's is "Handel_4Me".
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- Will is in the Witness Protection Program.
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- When Sydney is talking to Sark with the cell's glass wall between them, you can see the reflections in the glass do not match what Sark is saying; on occasions, you can see his mouth moving in the reflections while no-one is speaking.
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- Though the show continues to use the same setting for CIA headquarters in this season, this is the last time we see the infamous glass jail cell that is located inside the same facility. In this episode Sark is seen in the cell after becoming the fourth person to be held and interrogated inside the particular holding cell in the Season 2 finale. The very first was Irina, the second was Elsa Caplan, and the third was Will.
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QUOTES (17)
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- Sark: If I'm to understand what you're saying, you have no idea where you've been for the last two years... None?... Unbelievable! I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh, it's just... I'm speechless. Sydney, if Sloane had intended to abduct you, I wasn't privy to it.
  Sydney: What if I said I still don't believe you?
  Sark: I'd say it'd make no difference. In twenty-four hours I'll be free, and... you'll remain in the dark.
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- Sydney: Where was I buried?
  Jack: You were cremated. Vaughn spread your ashes at sea.
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- Sydney: Without knowing why these people want Sark, how can we even consider this?
  Lindsey: We think we know why they want him. They want him so they can kill him.
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- Dixon: (To Sydney) I want you to accompany the hostage rescue team.
  Marshall: Actually, I had an idea. I think Syd should go in as a biochem major. Harvard dropout, totally spoiled. You know, maybe she got kicked out because she was synthesizing ecstasy in her dorm room, or maybe crystal, crank...
  Dixon: Fine.
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- Marshall: The pickup location The Covenant specified is a theater in Munich in the red light district. Actually, it's an adult theater. Now, I checked, and today's feature... A rough translation, I don't speak German. It's "Penile Code Part Deux." If anybody cares, I have the times.
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- Weiss: (to Sydney) Is that a smile? It's good to see that again.
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- Vaughn: The other day you said that I gave up on us because I didn't have faith, that somehow you didn't mean enough to me.
  Sydney: When I said that I was...
  Vaughn: No, let me finish! After you died I used to talk to you... like you were still around. Literally, out loud, whole conversations about nothing, the weather, should I get a new car, should I have another drink. And one day you started answering. I mean I could hear you in my head like you were right next to me Sydney. Although rationally, I knew I was a guy who stayed up nights drinking, talking to his dead girlfriend. Still I couldn't stop.
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- Vaughn: (To Sydney) First, is that I was so in love with you, it nearly killed me. And second, that I don't regret moving on with my life.
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- Man at Group Meeting: How long have you been back?
  Sydney: A little over a week.
  Man at Group Meeting: The dreams start yet? Nightmares?
  Sydney: Nope.
  Man at Group Meeting: They will.
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- Lindsey: Who the hell do you think you are!?
  Sydney: I'm the person who's going to hold you accountable if they kill him!
  Lindsey: Oh, you're going to hold me responsible!?
  Sydney: Did I stutter?
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- Jack: Every morally questionable thing I've ever done has been to protect Sydney. You don't have the same excuse.
  Sloane: Really?
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- Jack: A world relief organization. The sheer audacity of your alleged turnaround would be laughable, if you weren't so dangerous.
  Sloane: I was wondering when you'd come to see me, Jack.
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- Weiss: You're sure you're okay with this? I mean, are you going to be all right? By yourself?
  Sydney: I just can't wrap my head around it. I mean, Francie's been dead for two years, but I feel like I saw her a few days ago. And now that Will is in the witness protection, I can't even contact him. All my friends are just . . . gone.
  Weiss: Not all your friends.
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- Sark: Eight hundred million dollars? I have nowhere near that amount in my nest egg.
  Covenant Agent: In fact, Mr. Sark, you do.
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- Lindsey: If you're finished, this is the men's room.
  Sydney: Who let you in?
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- Sark: Sydney... you know how highly I regard your abilities as an operative, but... even I didn't think you were capable of cheating death once your remains had been identified...
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- Jack: (To Sloane) Personally, I would have found it anticlimactic that after expecting to assemble a weapon of ultimate power, you ended up with a revelation you could have acquired from a fortune cookie.
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NOTES (4)
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- This episode was nominated for the 2004 C.A.S. Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television - Series".
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- The "Agents Killed in Action" plaque shows also the name "Thoman, Phillip", the On-set Dresser for Alias.
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- Music from this episode includes:
  "Bad Day" by R.E.M.
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- Below Sydney's name on the "Agents Killed in Action" plaque are:
  "Chambliss, Scott" - Production Designer for Alias
  "Destefano, Cece" - who won and Emmy for "Art Direction on a Single-Camera Series" for her work on the Alias pilot.
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ALLUSIONS (1)
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- Jack: However, a source of mine has provided evidence indicating he was a descendant of the Romanov royal family in Russia.
  
  The Romanov family was the dynasty that ruled Russia from 1613-1917. The end of their rule was made by the rise of the communist party. According to records the royal family in 1917 (Nicholas II, his wife and children) were taken to a remote area away from Moscow. When a revolutionary group tried to escape Russia to rescue, the revolutionaries decided to kill the entire family, including the dog. This was the end of the Romanov line. Many years later a woman claimed to be Anastasia, one of Nicholas' daughters. For many years, there were rumors that she survived the slaughter; however, as of April 30, 2008, the remains of all of the Romanov children have been positively identified by DNA tests. In Alias's world, someone obviously did survive the assassination.
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