ALIAS – Episode 6 – SYDNEY
SOLO
“You want the world to be safe.”

Your columnist is now in Palm Springs writing this week’s column, so it might be a little late due to various outside events, i.e. golf, the movies, shopping. I will have it up though before Thursday’s adventure. However, it may not be as long as I usually write since vacation is a vacation.

Naturally, Alias has the previous week’s lead in, but this week’s episode starts when we see a family watching TV and discussing their daughter who has not called them as expected. Suddenly the lights go out and there are sounds of scuffling and then silence.

Next, we see Sydney and Rachel watching through a one-way window. We know now her family was abducted. Moreover, it wasn’t Gordon Dean’s group, but APO who did it. Rachel could know her family was safe from any possible trouble because of her turning ‘traitor’ to him. They will have to go into the witness protection program. Sydney tells her to go be with her family, because it may a long time before she sees them again.

Meanwhile Dean and Sloane talk about Rachel and her family. Sloane insists he isn’t going to hurt anyone, but Dean tells Sloane he’s working for him and he has no options. Dean is looking for a Janos Vak who is a weapons designer. Obviously he has one he’s finished and it’s on the market. Dean wants to know where he is and he wants Sloane to get APO to find Vak for him.

Sloane talks to Sydney about Nadia. He will do, he says, whatever it takes to save his daughter. He is distraught over the fact she is hooked up to so many machines. However, he is unable to bring himself to enter her room because it was his fault.

At a briefing, Sloane mentions Vak as one of Rachel’s names in her original de-briefing. He is a weapons designer and his newest is targeting software that would allow a change in the direction of an incoming missile.

So, the group decides to look for him. They are going to use an Algerian connection of Vak’s. Sydney contacts Renee to have her get the information of where Vak is. In Marseilles, Renee finds the Algerian and learns the whereabouts of Vak.

At APO Rachel is doing some boxing as a part of her training. Tom Grace watches her and offers to teach her to fight dirty. There are times when it becomes necessary to save her and it might be the only way.

“If you can’t, then you shouldn’t be here.” He says. She hits him.

The team is briefed about Vak and that he has a weapon that has been sold to the Chinese. They learn the man is going to be married and there is a big engagement party for him in Bombay. Sydney, Tom, Dixon, and Rachel are sent to get the information. The general is having second thoughts. Using Dixon’s nutty proposal to the stunned Indian woman as a cover, Sydney slips upstairs to the General’s office. She tells the guard he’d better let her in or else she would have a nice talk with the bride-to-be. She says this as she pats her stomach with the ‘baby’ inside.

Inside, she tries to open the safe but can’t. Marshall says he needs to get a stronger signal and Rachel goes with the equipment. It works and Sydney gets the information and leaves safely. Meanwhile, a guard accosts Rachel and she runs. Tom rescues her. Rachel tells him she’s “freaking embarrassed.”

They find out that Vak is on an oil platform in the China Sea working on finishing his program and that once every second weekend, a high-priced call girl visits him. APO sets up the mission with Sydney running it as Rachel goes in solo to obtain the information about the weapon. Sloane, of course, tells Dean who doesn’t trust Sloane to give him a copy of the weapons design. Dean sends Kelly, who reminds him that Rachel and she were best friends.

“Show her the professional courtesy of putting a bullet in her head.” Dean says.

Meanwhile, Jack is sending in Rachel solo. Sydney says it’s too dangerous—that Rachel isn’t ready.

“You can’t do it. I had Vaughn to help me.”
“Rachel will have you,” responds Jack.


At the oil platform, Rachel dressed the part arrives to give Janos Vak a ‘good time’. Sydney is on the Com link with her to give her moral support as well as direction. Chinese soldiers lead Rachel to Vak’s room. She tells Vak her name is Mandy. She sets up an S and M ‘get together’, which obviously Vak is thrilled with. Tying him down, she makes a disk of the weapons design from his computer. He is upset, but, of course, can’t do anything about it.

Meanwhile Kelly arrives and shoots several soldiers. Rachel notifies Sydney she has the disk with the information. As she walks out, Rachel realizes something is wrong. First indication is the dead soldier. She climbs up the rig to the helo pad. After she sees her boat is gone and a dead soldier near by. She tells Sydney who says she will be sending the back-up helo to extract her.

However, before she can get far, Kelly catches up with her and plans to kill her. They fight and Rachel uses the brush with knife and gives a good accounting of herself. Soldiers find them and start firing. Rachel grabs her ex-friend and they fall behind some oil barrels, much to Kelly’s surprise. Dixon in the helo kills the soldiers. For a moment, Kelly is about to take Rachel’s purse, which has the disk in it, but doesn’t when Dixon points the automatic at her. Kelly takes a high dive off the rig, dropping feet first into the ocean about six stories up. Rachel is rescued with the disk.

Dean and Sloane argue. Dean threatens Nadia if Sloane doesn’t cooperate. He wants a copy of the software that the team brought back.

Rachel tells Sydney that Jack is scary. Sydney laughs in agreement. “Thanks for being in my head,” she says to Sydney. Sydney tells her that Vaughn’s voice in her ear was the only thing that kept her going.

Sloane goes to visit Nadia. For a moment he stands outside, looking at the monitors, and then goes inside, sits by her bedside and holds her hand.

At her APO desk, Rachel looks at her family’s picture, wondering if she will ever get to see them again.

At home, Sydney plays a telephone message. It’s Vaughn. She hold’s the receiver to her stomach, so the baby hears his voice.


REMARKS

I thought we would see more of Mia Maestro. I was disappointed as I know many of the rest of you were in her non-participatory role.


DISCUSS

Does Irina Derevko know she is going to be a grandmother? I miss that woman and I wonder how she would handle this new, but beloved title.

Will Tom Grace teach Rachel to be a better, dirtier fighter than Sydney? After all, she does those roundhouse kung-fu kicks that he sneers at.

Do you think Sloane will get even with Gordon Dean? How?

Should we believe that Sloane has moved over to the good guy status, or is he the bastard we loved to hate.

Will Sloane betray all the people at APO if he can find the cure for Nadia?

Gordon Dean is the front man for who? Any guesses?

I was very touched by the scene where we see Syd playing the tape to her baby.

I too was disappointed by MM's appearance. I mean, being spoiler free, I wasn't expecting to see her and was very excited to read her name in the begining of the show...until I saw her. Let's hope we'll see more of her soon, conscious maybe!

I miss Irina like crazy too! What happened to Katya? Is she not out of jail now? Yeah, I wonder who Gordon Dean works for. Please, don't let it be Irina! Maybe just a new player...

I feel like questions add up and we don't get answers to them.

I think Irina knows and is excited
as excited as she will show us

gordon dean is fronting for likely yelena;s second in command or mckenas cole or olivia reed

as for sloane we got those answers this week LOL

bren who also wants to see nadia some more