Alias (TV Series) Resurrection (2004) User Reviews

Misdirection

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 8 August 2010]

As season three comes to a close Lauren leads an audacious operation to steal the Rambaldi documents from the CIA by wearing a latex mask that makes her look exactly like Sydney; of course she doesn't sound like her so when Marshall tries to have a conversation with her she shoots him. As she tries to escape Sark triggers a series of explosions which causes chaos in the CIA offices. She manages to escape but Sark is captured, Jack suggests that Vaughn should 'interrogate' him. He tells the CIA that Sark wouldn't talk when in reality he told her where he could find Lauren. Once he catches her he tells her how he is going to harm her but before he can do anything he ends up with a knife in him and Lauren is free once more. She heads off to the site of the Rambaldi artefact and after tricking Sark Sydney is on her trail once more. When they meet again Vaughn gets his chance for revenge but not before Lauren tells Sydney about a safety deposit box which contains important information about her. We don't see what that information is but see that it has clearly had an effect on Sydney.

This was a pretty good episode but was unusual for a season finale as there was less resolution than I expected. The Lauren story line was concluded but we learn that Nadia had deliberately given the wrong coordinates so the Rambali artefact is still out there, we also know little of Nadia's loyalties; I assume season four will be her story. Throughout the series we've seen Jack's willingness to break the rules but I was left feeling uncomfortable with Sydney and Vaughn's vindictive desire to kill rather than attempt capture Lauren. Thankfully when she was killed it was self-defence not murder so was morally justified. After the final scene I'm looking forward to season four to discover what was in the files Sydney found in the box Lauren directed her to.

Mixed feelings on this one....

[gridoon2024 · 8/10 · 24 December 2009]

On its own, "Resurrection" is good. As a season finale, however, it is a bit of a disappointment as well. The Rambaldi device - The Sphere Of Life - which supposedly contains his "essence", and which is the reason everyone was looking for "The Passenger" for so long, is still left unrevealed. Sloane and Nadia, who are now the only ones who know its true location, have too little screen time. Instead, "Resurrection" seems more focused on resolving the Lauren situation, with first Vaughn and then Sydney herself more determined than ever to kill her. The series creators probably knew that they couldn't top the Sydney-Allison fight at the end of season 2, so what we get is a much shorter, but still well executed fight most notable for the new pieces of information it provides. And those pieces lead to the ultimate season cliffhanger, which is a mere shadow of the stunning endings of the previous seasons, but does have a great close-up of a certain character, and does help explain that character's actions in the last 2 episodes. The best part of the episode is probably the (literally) explosive opening, followed by the completely unexpected Katya Derevko twist. Like they did in much of season 3, Lauren and Sark steal the show with their twisted relationship: they're both cold-blooded, conscienceless killers, but they actually care for each other. The entire (regular and guest) cast of "Alias" is excellent, but Ron Rifkin, Melissa George and David Anders were the standouts of this season (I'd like to add Mia Maestro to the list, if she had a bigger role). *** out of 4.