Mark Watches ‘Alias’: S05E12 – There’s Only One Sydney Bristow

In the twelfth episode of the fifth season of Alias, oh. OH NO. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Alias. 

Oh, I should have seen that coming. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN. 

I have appreciated that this final season of Alias has had so many references to what has transpired over the course of this show. “The Horizon” analyzed Vaughn’s relationship with Sydney, and this episode brings back Will Tippin to reflect on how far these two have come as well. Look, y’all: I MISS THEM BEING ON MISSIONS. Granted, they weren’t on many together, but whenever they were, they were so FUN. We get to see a glimpse of that here as Will gets to ham up his performance as a demanding train patron, and y’all… I miss Will. I really do! 

But that’s the whole point. I now see just how expertly designed this manipulation was. Prophet Five, with just the slightest nudge from Arvin Sloane, helped Sydney believe that Anna had kidnapped Will in order to hurt her. But the goal wasn’t really to cause her any direct harm. Oh, Anna was petty enough to do so ANYWAY, but that’s because it was her way to get back at Sydney for having her locked up. Aside from drawing her blood once, Anna just had to provide a believable misdirection. AND WHAT A MISDIRECTION THAT WAS. This was all an attempt to steal Sydney’s genetic material!!! PROPHET FIVE ACTUALLY WANTS TO FULFILL RAMBALDI’S PROPHECY!!! Y’all, I genuinely thought that stuff was completed. (And bless Rachel for being the sole voice in this episode to say, “Hey, what the fuck are y’all talking about???) But it’s an interesting take on the prophecy. If Sydney herself won’t take part in it—if she’s refused her place within it all—then Prophet Five is just going to double her, and Anna AS Sydney will just do it anyway. Do I know what that actually entails? Nope. I don’t know what this changes, and I don’t know what the next steps are. Is the end of this season going to be an even bigger apocalyptic nightmare than last season’s finale???

I’m interested, then, to see if Arvin feels this has all been worth it. Kelly hands over Nadia’s cure, but is it really permanent??? I AM WORRIED IT IS NOT. But let’s say it is, that in the coming episodes, Nadia is finally cured. Arvin still paid a terrible cost to get this, and you better believe that Nadia isn’t gonna be cool with that. And exactly how long is he gonna be able to keep it a secret from here? Oh, Arvin, you may have saved Nadia’s life, but I suspect this’ll backfire on you. AGAIN. 

But let’s get to the single quietest reveal in the show’s history. I’ve now convinced myself that I did NOT mishear that bit of dialogue between Jack and Sydney while they discussed Will. Y’all: Sydney has known the whole time that Vaughn was alive and in hiding??? My memory might be shaky on this, but it would explain a large component of this story. Yeah, I was so worried that Sydney would be furious at Vaughn for orchestrating this and making her suffer. But he didn’t! Well, sort of, and I can see how all the lonely moments of grief aren’t negated by this reveal, but merely re-contextualized. Because that was my first gripe with this: why would Sydney be upset PRIVATELY if no one was around? She had no reason to sell this performance! (I am just now realizing that this is easily the greatest alias of the whole show. She has convinced everyone but her father that she is a widowed mother-to-be.) Well, I think there’s still an easy explanation for this: she is still sad that Vaughn has to miss out on all of this. They might have mutually agreed on this plan, but that doesn’t mean that Sydney can’t miss him or wish he was still around for all these milestone’s in her life and Isabelle’s life. 

I’m interested to see what the next step is, because it’ll either justify this technique or make me angry. I DO NOT KNOW YET. 

The video for “There’s Only One Sydney Bristow” can be downloaded here for $0.99. 

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