Vaughn has only a few days to live unless Sydney retrieves a counteragent constructed in a secret base which Sark is commanding. Caught, Sydney has one option: if she wants the antidote, she must give Sark access to Sloane so he can kill him.

There's an impressive amount prised into this one episode again, based around Sloane's efforts to improve his standing in the Alliance. His success rate has been low recently (although somehow he hasn't put this down to missions Sydney has been on) and after his unpredictable actions regarding Emily still being alive, he needs a victory. What he's going to get, though, is the chance to get killed.

This is one of those episodes which you know there should be from time to time; sooner or later, Syd has to cock up a mission so that she looks less suspicious. While she isn't visibly responsible for Sloane's success here, at least it pushes him away from suspicions towards her for the time being. The opening mission, where Sydney tries to obtain the antidote for Vaughn is tense, and you think she'll escape until she becomes trapped. It's an unexpected turnaround that Sark gets the upper hand at last, forcing Syd to help him or die along with any hope for Vaughn. The way she makes the decision that Vaughn's life is far more important than Sloane's so quickly shows not only her hatred of one man and affection for the other, but also how easily she is able to prioritize. It's rather disconcerting, as shows like this usually don't let the good guys have the bad guys made available for murder.

We also get a new Vaughn, who, after his near-death experience, realizes he can no longer continue to treat Sydney as simply an employee. Their scenes together are tense and touching, as each says so much without admitting their feelings. Vaughn's final rush after Syd at the end is exciting, because you think he'll finally make everything right between them, only for him to lose her round a corner. Nicely done. Of course, we wouldn't want to forget the latest impediment to their happiness: Alice, Vaughn's girlfriend…

Even better are the moments with Irina and Vaughn, where she makes the agent tell her of his feelings for Syd. Firstly it's good to hear him say these things openly, and secondly there's still an element of suspicion, as she now has information she can potentially use against Syd and Vaughn.

It also has one of the best shocks yet, as Syd wanders through SD-6 after Sloane's disappearance, the music suggesting everything has changed. Then she wanders into an office and comes face to face with Sloane – and Sark. I wondered how Sark was going to become more of a fixture in the series (and, incidentally, where has Dixon gone?), and now he's at SD-6, a lot more interesting possibilities open up. How much does he know about Sydney, how much has he told, and what was the deal with which he won Sloane over? A whole bunch of new questions, including Will's in relation to mid-Eighties school tests, and things are building to some major twists and turns later in the season.

***

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