The final season of Alias goes out with a bang

Considering all the challenges the creative staff were faced with this year, Alias’ fifth and final season is a remarkable success. Jennifer Garner’s real-life pregnancy meant that she would not be able to do her head-spinning martial arts moves as she had done in the past. Series creator J.J. Abrams was busy writing Mission Impossible III and working on his other TV show, Lost, leaving the rest of the writing staff to wrap up the numerous storylines. Michael Vartan (Vaughn) and Mia Maestro (Nadia) had their roles dramatically reduced, and newcomers were introduced to give the show some fresh blood. As a result of Garner’s pregnancy, ABC cut the episode order from 23 to 17 and announced the series would not return for a sixth season.

Somehow, with all the swirling changes surrounding the show, Alias’ final season sends the series off on a high note.

The creative team can be proud that Alias didn’t die a slow, painful death in obscurity. Instead, season five’s storyline is both grand and serves to tie up all the loose threads from the previous four years. A terrorist organization called Prophet Five has secretly infiltrated governments around the world, and the main objective of Sydney Bristow and the rest of the APO team (that’s Authorized Personnel Only: the secret black ops unit within the CIA- and the goofiest code name I’ve ever heard) is to put an end to the most powerful terrorist network of all. Prophet Five is intent on harnessing Rambaldi’s ultimate device and bring about devastation on an unprecedented scale to further their own ends.

To help combat this emerging threat, APO enlists the help of two new agents. Rachel Gibson (Rachel Nichols) is a fragile young agent, who, like Sydney, is tricked into believing she is working for the CIA instead of a terrorist front. Tom Grace (Balthazar Getty) is supposedly an agent with a temper and a cloudy past, but neither of those elements are really explored to any extent. His secret past ends up being a lame and underdeveloped side story. Nichols’ character was originally written to be very similar to Sydney in case Jennifer Garner requested a more limited role for a sixth season, with the idea that Rachel would take over as the main protagonist. The writers even tried to create a romantic bond between Rachel and Tom, which seemed forced and contrived. These two characters exist mainly to further the plot and carry out the action sequences in place of the pregnant Sydney.

As always, many familiar faces return and continue to play a pivotal role in season five. Among them is Arvind Sloane (Ron Rifkin), the merciless, scheming Rambaldi devotee who tries to make amends for his past crimes by assisting APO in bringing down Prophet Five. Rifkin is great fun to watch, and he seems to enjoy playing the devious character that is constantly pursuing his own ends at the expense of everyone he cares about. Jack Bristow (Victor Garber) again serves as director and mentor of APO, and the show’s writers regularly poke fun at his no-nonsense approach. Marshall Flinkman (Kevin Weisman) adds a splash of humor as the nerdy computer technician, while Dixon (Carl Lumbly) acts as a steadying force on the team and protector of Sydney. With this being the final year, many of the show’s famed characters drop by for one last go-around, including Will, Sark, and Irina Derevko. Clearly the well-balanced cast is one of the show’s strongest points.

As much as the stellar cast is an asset to the series, there are definitely some areas in need of improvement. One of the most obvious problems that has plagued Alias since the beginning of season four is the strong sense of familarity in the episode setup. Episodes typically unfold the same each time, with the APO team getting a lead on what the bad guys are doing, having to secretly acquire an object or information that usually ends in an explosive action sequence, only to remain a few steps behind the terrorists at the end of the day. This routine has been in place since the inaugural season, and there are only so many ways to keep this espionage setup fresh, most of which have already been tapped in the previous seasons. This design makes some episodes a little laborious at times, and while it is not as painful to watch as season four, many episodes would benefit from a change to the show’s format.

Despite this handicap, season five has no shortage of first-rate episodes. In “Mockingbird” Sydney is trapped in a car suspended a hundred feet in the air by a crane, and the terrorists threaten to drop her unless APO gives in to their demands. “Maternal Instinct” features the return of Irina and the long-awaited birth of Sydney’s daughter. “S.O.S.” is a nifty but stupendously unbelievable episode where the APO team breaks into CIA headquarters to retrieve critical information and avoid detection by the mole within the agency. Finally, the series finale, “All the Time in the World” is an immensely satisfying send-off episode, where everything is brought to a conclusion. It also features the death of a prominent character, while the fate of another is sealed once and for all.

Looking back on Alias, it’s clear that the show has maintained a high standard of excellence over the years through the layered storylines and the committed cast. It was a star-making role for Jennifer Garner, and despite her diminished role in season five, the other cast members manage to pick up the slack and keep the show pointed straight ahead. This final year is full of the same jaw-dropping surprises and relentless action scenes the show is known for. It serves as the final, and ultimately rewarding, farewell to the characters we’ve come to know and love through the years. This is a must-buy DVD set for long-time Alias fans.

Further Reading:
Alias: Season One
Alias: Season Three