Alias 5.9: "The Horizon"

Written by Andre Nemec and Josh Appelbaum
Directed by Unavailable

In which Sydney, in search of the reason for the theft of Vaughn’s CIA logs, is captured by Prophet Five and forced to remember key moments from her past and her life with Vaughn…


Status Report

When the topic of this episode was announced, there was a great deal of anticipation for Vaughn’s return, however short-lived it might be. But while the writers did a great job of using Vaughn and his history to suggest a link between Prophet Five and SD-6, thus tying the series mythology into a more cohesive structure, that wasn’t the best moment of the episode. What made it all worth the time was a very short but crucial moment near the very end, when one of the architects of Prophet Five revealed herself.

For quite some time, one question has been left unanswered: while several groups have emerged over the years with connective threads between them all, the identity of Irina’s organization was never revealed. This episode could very well answer that question once and for all. It would make a lot of sense, especially in light of Vaughn’s previous revelations in the season premiere, if Irina’s organization was Prophet Five.

Why does this make sense? Because Prophet Five was supposedly operating with relative ease on its own program related to someone who sounds a lot like Rambaldi. Things were working well for Prophet Five until SD-6 came along and things got a lot more complicated when Sloane’s endgame finally emerged on the scene. Shortly thereafter, Yelena’s Covenant rose to prominence. Members of the Magnific Order of Rambaldi seemed to have reason to oppose all three initiatives.

Does it make sense for Irina to run Prophet Five, in light of her previous actions? Certainly Irina had a desire to see the Rambaldi legacy fulfilled. At the same time, she had reason to stop Sloane (who used the Alliance and Omnifam) and Yelena (who used the Covenant) from taking control of that legacy. At the same time, she would have wanted to protect Sydney to ensure that the Chosen One remained in play.

Irina’s organization would have access to the genetic engineering necessary to create a cure to Nadia’s condition, especially since Irina would have the necessary genetic similarities. Irina would have a vested interest in keeping Sydney in the dark about Prophet Five until the right moment, when all opposition to her plans had been undermined or eliminated.

Of course, there are small questions (though none on the level of the continuity issues present in the third season timeline!). For instance, why would Irina have Vaughn executed? Especially since Irina was the one who insisted that Vaughn tell Sydney the truth? This certainly explains how Irina knew Vaughn’s secret (in fact, it’s rather obvious in retrospect). One possibility is that Irina knew that Sydney was pregnant, and thus recognized that Prophet Five’s goal was finally within reach.

It seems rather clear by now that “Full Disclosure”, standing at the center of the series as a whole and Sydney’s five-season evolution, provided the obvious roadmap for Prophet Five’s endgame. Rambaldi was supposed to be reborn in a child with Sydney’s DNA, and Prophet Five now has the means to transfer consciousness into another body. The question is where they would get the consciousness of Rambaldi to “download” into Sydney’s child. If that piece of the puzzle (Rambaldi’s consciousness) is revealed in relatively short order, then this theory will be even more viable.

What is perhaps best about this plot twist is how well it fits with the overall thrust of the mythology to date. While the writers sometimes abandon continuity in the desire to complicate things, this actually helps to explain some of the complex plans initiated and carried out by Irina Derevko. Each faction seems to have had a slightly different goal. Sloane wanted to achieve world peace through pacification, rebuilding the world under his apparent control. Yelena wanted to decimate the population and take control of the remnants, thus rebuilding the world in her image. This episode, and everything leading to this point, seems to suggest that Irina’s goal is actually the true culmination of Rambaldi’s endgame: a world with the mad prophet firmly in control.

That 30-second cameo, along with the growing evidence that Vaughn’s connections to Prophet Five did, in fact, bring the series full circle (even more than the events of the fourth season). It’s enough to all but overshadow the temporary return of Vaughn to the storyline. Granted, he’s only a figment of Sydney’s mind, but this episode reminds the audience that he remains incredibly important in terms of her psychology and the overall mythology.

The end of this episode also leaves the series at the perfect resting point. The plans of Prophet Five are coming together, Sydney seems rather likely to have her child in the worst possible place, and the time has definitely come for her to get out of the field. There are still a number of episodes left (at least 13), so there’s a lot of story left to tell.

Some of those elements have potential. The animosity between Peyton and Rachel promises to explode in the future, and Renee is actually beginning to get interesting. (In point of fact, when Renee does action material, it’s great; it’s the dramatic moments that trip her up.) The one problem is still Thomas Grace. The hints of a secret and dangerous past are not at all compelling, and in the interests of not replicating Vaughn, the writers may have created a completely needless character. He really exists solely as a plot device, an experienced pair of hands to get things done.

The upside is that this episode is a good test of the viability of the season as a whole. Vaughn’s exit was fraught with considerations above and beyond the plot itself, and that hurt the concept. Bringing Vaughn back could have reminded the audience of those troubled times, but instead, it demonstrated that the story has found its own place in the “Alias” universe. The transition has been far from seamless, but it has been successful.


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode finally puts to rest the many concerns about Vaughn’s exit by demonstrating why it works within the tapestry of the series’ mythology. A key moment near the end of the episode also places Prophet Five in a consistent and even clever context, something that should lead to a fulfilling culmination of the Rambaldi endgame, if the writers manage to stay on task. A good episode to close out this side of the maternity hiatus.

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

Final Rating: 8/10

(Season 5 Average: 6.6)