reviewed by: Charity Bishop
      

The fifth and final season of Alias solved most if not all of the questions fans have had from the dynamic very first episode of one of the most popular spy dramas on television. The writers had a difficult task in attempting to work around their leading lady's pregnancy, and the result is a surprisingly good final season, the finest episodes being those just before the powerful and shocking conclusion.

Weeks after the car accident that brought about the abduction and eventual murder of her fiance Michael Vaughn (Michael Vartan), agent Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) is determined to bring down the organization that has left her child without a father. Pregnant with her first child and with more questions than answers, her investigation leads her to Prophet Five, a global terrorist organization determined to bring about the end times prophecies of a seventeenth century prophet and alchemist by the name of Milo Rambaldi. Recruiting the assistance of her formidable father Jack Bristow (Victor Garber), Vaughn's best friend Eric Weiss (Greg Grunberg), and tech wizard Marshell Flinkman (Kevin Weisman), Sydney begins to unravel the network of espionage surrounding the legends of Rambaldi as their enemies work against them to infiltrate APO.

As Sydney's half sister Nadia (Ma Maestro) lies unconscious in the hospital, her supervisor  Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin) desperately seeks a cure for his daughter's illness. Reinstated to a position of authority within the Central Intelligence Agency after his presumed betrayal of the nation, he is left in the hands of blackmailers, who desire him to sabotage as many field operations as he can, in exchange for a cure. In the meantime, Sydney has located and recruited the intelligent and talented Rachel (Rachel Nichols) from an elite criminal organization very much like SD-6. As Sydney approaches the birth of her child, and mourns the loss of the man she loved, her relationship with her father strengthens, and unexpected faces reenter her life.

Unraveling the tangle of clues, double-identities, and plot twists that make up Alias on the whole, much less an explosive final season, is nearly impossible, as new faces are introduced and the audience says farewell to others. This could have been a horrific final season with the cast's limitations, particularly considering Garner's unexpected pregnancy, but the writers included it with flair and made it one of the high points of the ongoing story. It is very easy to find her scenes with the baby and particularly her dad adorable. Jack even cracks a smile or two, which is virtually unheard of in his grim view of the world. As if that's not enough, we also get a decent dose of Lena Olin as Sydney's evil mother, who can be supportive and sweet one moment, and bloodthirsty the next. There's also the appearance of show favorite Julian Sark (David Anders), a suave Brit who loves nothing more than to make money, and the presence of Will Tippin (Bradley Cooper) in the 100th episode. But by far the best addition is Amy Acker as a delightfully evil villainess in high heels.

Most of the series has the normal amount of violence. There are numerous explosions and many losses of lives through terrorist acts and intentional bombings. Rachel is distraught having to enter the building where she lost most of her work associates. There are numerous scenes of various torture methods, the worst being someone's hand being shot at close range, and a man having his ear sliced off. Many people are shot and killed and/or wounded, including various main characters. A woman falls through a glass table, and the impact kills her; another falls from a great height. Hand to hand combat becomes vicious between adversaries. There is very little language (maybe a half dozen mild profanities altogether) and less sensuality than previous seasons. 

Rachel does have a one night stand, not realizing that her chosen playmate is actually the enemy; various revealing costumes are worn, and more than once female agents approach and lure men into back rooms through the veiled promise of sex, only to knock them unconscious. There's also a supernatural aspect. Enemy agents place Sydney under a mild form of hypnosis in order to manipulate her mind and extract information from her. The CIA uses a similar tactic on a terrorist held in custody. Rambaldi's prophecies are gloom and doom, and some of them come true. A man is granted immortality through his loyalty to the cause. It is unclear whether visitations from a character who has passed on are a figment of his fractured mind or a ghost, but the implication is that it is his conscience giving illusions.

There is much to like about this dynamic conclusion to a show so many of us tuned in to for five years running, wondering what new twist would be thrown our way; but on a few fronts, the scripts do seem to falter. We are never given the answers to minor plotlines that kick off the season, nor is it clear just when certain knowledge is passed on to the characters, or allegiances are changed. I guess it is with Alias as it is in life... you can never know everything that has transpired, only what you are allowed to see.