A Bit of a Stumble at the End

This set is the fifth and final season of spy show Alias. The show combines elements of fantasy with the action and adventure of the world of spies.

The series stars Jennifer Garner as CIA agent Sydney Bristow. By this point in the series, she is working for APO, a black operations unit. She works there with her father Jack (Victor Garber), fiance Michael Vaughn (Michael Vartan), and former enemy Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin).

Season 4 ended with quite a cliffhanger. Vaughn was going to reveal a major secret about himself. "My name is not Michael Vaughn." Before he can explain, Vaughn and Sydney are in a car crash.

This season opens with the aftermath of the crash. They are whisked to the hospital, where Vaughn eventually explains his cryptic comment. That revelation leads APO to Prophet Five, a secret evil organization out to solve the mystery of Rimbaldi, a medieval prophet.

Meanwhile, Sydney gets the wonderful news that she is pregnant. Unfortunately, that news is followed by a personal tragedy that leaves Sydney with one focus, destroy Prophet Five.

I have been a loyal Alias fan since day one, but I felt this season was the weakest of the series. We've already fought against multiple secret organizations, so that plot felt old to me. The biggest problems, however, were the actors who left. We lost three of season 4's main characters. The producers brought in potentially interesting new characters to replace them, but with only 17 episodes, they didn't get the time to develop they needed.

Jennifer Garner was pregnant in real life, so that was written into the show. Actually, the pregnancy added much to this season and made the plot more personal again. The need to give her maternity leave contributed to the episodes being cut from a full season to the shorter 17 episodes.

Not to say the season is a complete loss. Once I got over the "been there, done that" feel, the storylines are still interesting. The decision that this would be the final season came early enough that the major storylines from the series could be resolved. And lots of old friends and enemies come back for a final appearance. I thought this was an especially nice touch as the show wound down and loved seeing Will, Anna, Irina, and Sark again. The acting, as always, is top notch, not only from the returning actors but also from the newbies. And I especially enjoyed getting to see Amy Acker ("Fred" on TV series Angel) show up as one of Prophet Five's leaders.

The set contains the format and extras series fans will expect. The shows are presented in great looking widescreen will full surround sound. Extras include a handful of commentaries, a look at the music of the series, an interview with new actor Rachel Nichols, and the standard blooper reel.

Ultimately, I just couldn't get over the loss of characters I already knew and loved to fully enjoy this season. The show is still entertaining, and its fans will want this set to complete their collection.

Alias Reviews:
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4