Alias 5.4: "Mockingbird"

Written by Drew Goddard
Directed by Frederick E.O. Toye

In which the search for Dean forces APO to place Rachel back in the field, which also serves to place Sydney in jeopardy, while Sloane must face the consequences of his recent actions…


Status Report

While there’s plenty of reason to complain about the awkward transition from the Sydney/Vaughn-centric material of the fourth season to this season’s shift to new characters, this episode is probably the best episode of the series yet. It’s still not perfect, and the new characters aren’t quite coming together as well as one might like, but there’s a clear process taking place.

Rachel is a lot more naïve about the business and her current situation than Sydney was in the first season, and that can be a little annoying. She can get a little hysterical, and while the actress pulls it off, it’s not the most flattering introduction to a character in the world. When the writers are trying so hard to get the audience to care about Rachel, they could do some things to make her a bit more sympathetic.

That said, this episode is about gaining the first hint of confidence, as Sydney slips more and more into the Vaughn-esque role. Speaking of Sydney, this episode is a good example of why her time as an active agent is going to come to a rapid close. It was very hard to rationalize her presence on a field mission while so obviously pregnant (and therefore, to an extent, more vulnerable than ever). She needs to step back and push Tom and Rachel into the forefront.

The problem with that, of course, is Rachel’s lack of training. Tom, however, can help with that by working with her in the field, not unlike how Noah Hicks must have helped Sydney get her bearing. That would fit into the parallels with Sydney’s life, in many ways completing the cycle of her experience. And there’s a good support system in place with Jack as the director and Dixon also in the field. It could work, but the writers need to get the story there organically.

This episode does a good enough job of that, though it relies on a few gimmicks and conveniences to do so. Skipping over the whole rescue at the end was either required for time or a huge writing mistake. That was hardly the only example of one. Sydney takes a lot of time to advise Rachel to stay in character while rummaging through the crime scene, yet both of them act like anything but their alias while on the scene.

So what did work? Dean is becoming a very interesting villain, and while his goals are still murky at best, he fits the bill as a post-Yelena Rambaldi fanatic trying to get something out of the situation that still hasn’t been fully resolved after the fourth season finale. This is, of course, assuming that the whole “Prophet 5” document is an indirect reference to Rambaldi.

But why else would Dean want to spring Sloane and get him involved, if he didn’t have some goal related to Rambaldi and the prospect of a cure for Nadia? It’s doubtful that Sloane would stay away from something related to Rambaldi yet again, especially since he would have the chance to do things right this time. After all, he was following the Rambaldi blueprint for more than 30 years. Why would he be compelled to change now?

While he claims redemption, having infiltrated Yelena’s organization to disrupt her plans, it’s important to remember that Yelena was definitely not following the Rambaldi endgame. Yelena perverted Rambaldi’s plans to her own ends, which is why Sloane wanted to stop her in the first place. Under no circumstances can it be claimed that the Rambaldi endgame is over and done with.

Of course, part of the problem with this episode (like all the episodes since the premiere) is the obvious attempt to leave Rambaldi out of the equation. There were about a hundred reasons to bring Sloane’s obsession with Rambaldi into his hearing, and the writers were clearly jumping through massive hoops to remain Rambaldi-free. By now, the network should realize that the invocation of the Rambaldi name is hardly a factor in the series’ success, and there’s really no reason to water things down by not bringing up the central piece of the series’ mythology.

A couple of other things are notable for this episode, which despite some of the nitpicks, was at least on par with the quality of the third and fourth seasons (which remain underrated). The first is largely for the men of the audience (and those with similar taste): just how hot is Rachel Nichols? Sure, she was a model before getting into the acting thing, but she is one highly attractive young woman. And that camera angle in the trunk was giving the audience quite the bird’s eye view, considering how low cut that top was! Oh, for the moment she starts getting into Sydney’s old wardrobe!

The ratings are also a matter of concern. As anyone with half a brain could have predicted, the series is getting crushed by the competition. A lot of industry insiders are talking about the series as if it were already dead, and that’s a real shame. The network is largely to blame, especially since they gave the series an early renewal last season and then botched its return this fall in nearly every way.

This season’s episodes have been cursed with the scent of decay, because too many outside issues were dragging on its premiere, it probably came back too quickly, and it’s on the wrong night to fit well within the schedule. It was bad enough when the series moved into the post-“Lost” slot. This new slot is just plain evil. The only benefit of the current situation is that the writers have plenty of warning to plot out the season finale as an end to the series as a whole. Unless, of course, the network delivers the ultimate betrayal and cancels the series before it gets a chance to end.


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode is another step in the right direction, though there are still some pieces that need to come together. The writers are still stumbling over the mandate to not mention Rambaldi, perhaps more than ever before, but it’s clear where the story arc is going and why things need to take time to get there. It would be better if the new characters were a little more sympathetic, but that could come with time.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 7/10