When Sloane goes missing for five days, the Alliance sends a ex-German Intelligence officer, Anthony Geiger (guest star Rutger Hauer, appropriately creepy), to replace him as the head of SD-6. Geiger immediately starts checking everyone's file, and even hacks into an Alliance server that Sloane had kept secret. When Sydney learns this, she informs the CIA and they send her on a mission to transmit the contents of that server back to their computers. What they discover is enough to finally expose all the SD cells and Alliance partners, and the CIA decides to simultaneously raid all the SD offices and destroy the Alliance once and for all. "Phase One" opens with a bang (the two dominatrix outfits Sydney wears on her mission are among her most famous ever, her fight scene inside the plane against a very skilled opponent is easily her best of this season so far) and closes with a bang (one....no, two....no, wait, THREE major - and I mean major - twists back-to-back), but what really makes it stand out is the big risk J.J.Abrams and co. are taking by "giving the people what they want" (Dixon learns the truth about SD-6, Sydney and Vaughn kiss, etc.) relatively early, and completely changing the entire premise of the show. Just like "Lost" was no longer "plane crash survivors want to leave the island" after "Through The Looking Glass", "Alias" is no longer "double agent Sydney Bristow works undercover to bring down the criminal Alliance" after "Phase One". Where we go from here is anybody's guess. There are those who believe that "Lost" never quite got back on the level of "Through The Looking Glass", though - and I'm one of them.... *** out of 4.
2 Reviews
Surprise after surprise!
Tweekums7 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This episode opens in an unforgettable manner with Sydney walking into a room wearing nothing but some rather sexy black underwear... the man in the room then says she should change into the red ones so we have to watch her entering the room again; this time in sexy red underwear! It soon becomes apparent that they are aboard an aircraft; once she is alone with the woman she forces him to reveal the location of 'Server Forty Seven'. Things appear to go well till she is caught and has to fight off an assailant; by the time he incapacitated the first guy is back with a gun... he fires and the action jumps back twenty four hours. It is now that we learn that Sloane has been missing for some time and has been replaced by new director Anthony Geiger. He mentions Server Forty Seven and Sydney surmises that it must be the secret computer linking all of the Alliance cells. After time catches up and we learn how she escaped from the plane it becomes clear that the computer contains information that could be used to bring down the Alliance once and for all; but only if they act within a week. Jack returns to SD-6 to get the necessary access codes but things don't go according to plan.
This was a great episode which started in a way that will have grabbed the attention of most viewers as Jennifer Garner in a costume was her skimpiest yet! If that wasn't enough she put in one of her best fight scenes before appearing to be shot. While I took it for granted that she would survive I didn't expect it to get to that point so soon; in fact most of the action took place afterwards and that featured surprise upon surprise as first Jack is captured, Sydney finally tells Dixon about the true nature of SD-6 and other surprised too good to reveal occur. It is however safe to say that things will be very different from now on... for better or for worse it is too soon to say. Most of the action looked great although the CGI used for the plane was a little too obvious. The acting was of the usual high standard; Carl Lumbly did particularly well as Dixon; the way he portrayed a man learning everything he devoted his life to was a lie was great. It was also great to have a guest appearance from Rutger Hauer as Geiger; it is just a shame we won't be seeing him again. One person we will certainly be seeing again is Sloane and I for one can't wait to learn what he is going to do next!
This was a great episode which started in a way that will have grabbed the attention of most viewers as Jennifer Garner in a costume was her skimpiest yet! If that wasn't enough she put in one of her best fight scenes before appearing to be shot. While I took it for granted that she would survive I didn't expect it to get to that point so soon; in fact most of the action took place afterwards and that featured surprise upon surprise as first Jack is captured, Sydney finally tells Dixon about the true nature of SD-6 and other surprised too good to reveal occur. It is however safe to say that things will be very different from now on... for better or for worse it is too soon to say. Most of the action looked great although the CGI used for the plane was a little too obvious. The acting was of the usual high standard; Carl Lumbly did particularly well as Dixon; the way he portrayed a man learning everything he devoted his life to was a lie was great. It was also great to have a guest appearance from Rutger Hauer as Geiger; it is just a shame we won't be seeing him again. One person we will certainly be seeing again is Sloane and I for one can't wait to learn what he is going to do next!
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