The opening of this episode, and series four, was clearly designed to grab the viewer's attention; the first we see of Sydney she is on a train wearing a skimpy négligé that barely covers her underwear. This is of course her intention as she is soon seducing a Russian scientist into opening his secured brief case so she can see the 'dangerous material' he is carrying. Once the case is open she knocks him out, gets dressed and leaves the compartment. She is soon being chased by a thug and after a fight in a baggage compartment it looks as if she is about to fall from the train. We don't get to see what happens just yet though as the words '72 hours earlier' appear on the screen and we see her and a fellow operative running through the streets of Shanghai being chased by Chinese agents. Their contact is killed and they barely get out alive, this leads to Sydney being transferred away from field duties to a more menial role within the CIA; she promptly resigns. The next time we see her she is on an underground train, when she disembarks she walks past the end of the platform and goes through a door marked 'Authorised Personnel Only' and finds herself in her new office along with her father, Vaughn, Dixon and her new boss: Arvin Sloane! She is soon given her first mission; along with Vaughn she is to retrieve an isotope from the man on the train. Back where we started we learn how Sydney managed to avoid certain death.
This was a fun season opener, while Sydney's costume, or lack of, in the opening scene wasn't strictly necessary the plot did justify it and it certainly grabbed this viewer's attention. As always with Alias the action was always exciting and it looks as if the characters are in peril even if we know they are too important to die. Jennifer Garner is great as Sydney, looking believable in both her action scenes and the more emotional scenes. While Victor Garber and Ron Rifkin might not be doing action scenes they put in some of the best acting as Jack Bristow and Arvin Sloane.
This was a fun season opener, while Sydney's costume, or lack of, in the opening scene wasn't strictly necessary the plot did justify it and it certainly grabbed this viewer's attention. As always with Alias the action was always exciting and it looks as if the characters are in peril even if we know they are too important to die. Jennifer Garner is great as Sydney, looking believable in both her action scenes and the more emotional scenes. While Victor Garber and Ron Rifkin might not be doing action scenes they put in some of the best acting as Jack Bristow and Arvin Sloane.
