A Broken Heart is the fourth episode of Season 1 of Alias. Sydney and Dixon go on a dangerous case involving the safety of the United Commerce Organization. Francie confronts Charlie about his secret date with another woman, and Will continues to get closer to the truth about Danny's murder.
Plot Overview
In the final moments of a cooperative mission, Sydney and her Russian nemesis Anna memorize a 500-year-old binary code written by Milo Rambaldi before it is destroyed. Sydney's inner conflict – as to whether she should give the correct sequence to SD-6 – is confronted by Agent Vaughn, who makes it clear, in no uncertain terms, that her role as a double-agent is in constant jeopardy.
Then, in a moment of decision, they help an SD-6 associate, Declan, to escape an attack by feeding him escape coordinates via world-band radio...another sign that Vaughn's loyalties may occasionally lie outside the CIA.
The completed code represents a geographical location for a church in Málaga, Spain, where Sydney and Anna once again meet up – this time as opponents. Sydney bests Anna in a brutal fight, and recovers a gold circular crystal from the church's stain glass window.
She returns it to SD-6, where Marshall's analysis discloses a synthetic polymer, also invented by Rambaldi...The 15th century seer's progressive inventions now appear to be at the root of a much deeper mystery.
Sydney and Dixon are sent off on their next mission – to investigate a plot to eliminate the United Commerce Organization. In Casablanca, Morocco, Sydney adopts the guise of a tourist.
In a crowded marketplace, she attempts to get near Luc Jacqnoud. The client is named Malik Sawari whose bodyguard has had a previous run-in with her. After a powerful battle, Sydney arrives to Dixon's aide, and is crushed to find that their contact, Mokhtar, has only just been slain -- another friend, whose life did not escape harm this time.
At SD-6, Jack is interrogated by McCullough – but we reveal, in a dreamlike sequence, that a unspoken truth about Sydney's mother continues to haunt him. Meanwhile, Vaughn's feelings for Sydney, in a moment of briefing, show through even further – finally, when she breaks down to him about the heartbreaking conflicts in the career of a dual agent, Vaughn offers her his support as a friend.
Meanwhile, Francie's suspicions grow of Charlie's infidelity, so she and Sydney stake him out, CIA-style, until they spy him kissing another girl. And Will unravels further clues about Danny's death and struggles with his own feelings for Sydney.
SD-6's latest clues lead Sydney and Dixon to São Paolo, the location of the next UCO conference, where Sydney witnesses the method to Jacqnoud's scheme. While Sydney observes, a small bomb is surgically implanted into the pacemaker of Patel, the Edgar Peace Prize winner, scheduled to speak at the UCO conference. Sydney, turns around, only to face a heavy blow to the head from the same bodyguard as earlier.
Cast
Main Cast
- Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow
- Ron Rifkin as Arvin Sloane
- Michael Vartan as Michael Vaughn
- Bradley Cooper as Will Tippin
- Merrin Dungey as Francie Calfo
- Carl Lumbly as Marcus Dixon
- Kevin Weisman as Marshall Flinkman
- Victor Garber as Jack Bristow
Guest Cast
- Miguel Sandoval as SD-6 Agent Anthony Russek
- Gina Torres as Anna Espinosa
- Evan Parke as Charlie Bernard
- Faran Tahir as Mokhtar
- Maurice Chasse as Luc Jacqnoud
- Bernard White as Malik Sawari
- Angus Scrimm as SD-6 Agent Calvin McCullough
- Cass Asher German as SD-6 Agent Schwartz
- Haley Gilbert as Rachel
- Subash Kundanmal as Dhiren Patel
- Arabella Holzbog as Sydney's Mother
- Hector Aristizabal as Waiter
- Tony Sears as German SD-6 Agent
- Alex Veadov as K-Directorate Officer
- Søren Hellerup as Doctor
- Sayed Badreya as Vendor
- Jeff Chase as Bodyguard
Trivia
- The UCO in this episode and the next was written as the World Trade Organization, but was changed in post-production following 9/11.
- Sydney states that Anna Espinosa has been her enemy for three years.
- Mistake: The picture from Malaga, Spain is actually from Stockholm, Sweden. The building with the clock tower is The City Hall, where the Nobel Prize Banquet takes place.
Aliases Used
Music
- "Halfway Home" by Bill Bonk
- "If I Was An Angel" by Nina Storey
- "Angel" by Sarah MacLachlan
Allusions and References
- Vaughn: When you first walked into my office with that stupid Bozo hair, I thought you were crazy.
- Bozo the Clown is the most famous clown character in the United States. Created in 1946 he is widely recognizable for his oversized red hair.
Quotes
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Alias Season 1 | Season 2 >
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| #01 | Pilot | #07 | Color-Blind | #13 | The Box (Part 2) | #19 | Snowman | |
| #02 | So It Begins | #08 | Time Will Tell | #14 | The Coup | #20 | The Solution | |
| #03 | Parity | #09 | Mea Culpa | #15 | Page 47 | #21 | Rendezvous | |
| #04 | A Broken Heart | #10 | Spirit | #16 | The Prophecy | #22 | Almost 30 Years | |
| #05 | Doppelgänger | #11 | The Confession | #17 | Q&A | |||
| #06 | Reckoning | #12 | The Box (Part 1) | #18 | Masquerade | |||