After Six is the 13th episode of Season 3 of Alias and the 57th episode overall. Sydney and Vaughn are sent to retrieve the Doleac Agenda to gain an advantage over The Covenant. For this, Sydney and Weiss must convince rogue security systems designer Toni Cummings to help the CIA break into a Lethal Response System. Meanwhile, Sark approaches an unlikely ally to kill the Covenant's Cell leaders.
Plot Overview
At the CIA, the team discusses info gleaned from Lisenker, the Covenant defector: He had hidden a microdisc containing Doleac Agenda, a "playbook" detailing plans for the six Covenant cells, in an impenetrable Chamonix chalet. Syd and Vaughn are to travel to Athens posing as diamond smugglers seeking the aid of Toni Cummings, the criminal expert who designed the chalet's security system. Under pressure from Jack, Syd has Dixon replace Vaughn with Weiss.
Jack visits Sloane, who forgives him for the Katya incident. He says Emily absence is a void that all his charity work can't fill. Jack tells him to stay focused and maintain his cover as a double agent. Syd, talking to CIA psychiatrist Dr. Barnett, says she can't move past Vaughn, whom she calls her "soul mate."
Sark confronts Lauren and says he knows she killed his father. Knowing that she's Covenant too, and he proposes that they murder the six Covenant cell leaders, steal the keys to their respective headquarters, then meet with head of Covenant operations in St. Petersburg. They'll then demand more power within the Covenant in return for not turning the keys in to the CIA.
In Athens, Syd and Weiss lure Cummings to offer details of the chalet's lethal response security system. She gives them the schematics but says there is no way to pass the deadly obstacles. Marshall gets to work
Sloane shoots up, then calls Jack and tells him he needs a psychiatrist. When she visits him, he tries to manipulate her. She won't give in. Later, she says that she understands him. Sloane says he has a secret regarding Jack and Syd that wears on him.
Sark and Lauren travel to Berlin. As Sark watches from afar, Lauren seduces Johannes Gathrid, a Covenant cell leader, before killing him & stealing the first key.
Dixon, reporting that Covenant officials are being killed, believes it's because the Covenant knows they're after the Doleac Agenda. Syd and Vaughn leave for Chamonix immediately. Jack accompanies them in order to execute Marshall's plan remotely.
On the plane, Vaughn says he understands why Syd requested Weiss on the earlier mission. Syd stands firm and refuses to be "the other woman." Jack says the Agenda is encrypted in a microdoc hidden in the cork of a bottle of Chateau Margaux 1953.
At the chalet, Jack establishes a laser link to the security server, allowing Marshall to tap in. They have five minutes to get to the cellar. They inflate Marshall-manufactured inflatable Kevlar decoys, which trigger the machine guns to fire until they empty their clips. Carrie, Marshall's girlfriend, goes into labor and demands they get married before she has the baby. Weiss goes online and certifies himself as a minister and performs the ceremony while Marshall guides Syd and Vaughn through the chalet. They make it though an electrified tunnel and an acid kill zone, and find the bottle in the wine cellar as the alarm sounds. They barely make it out, as Jack kills two pursuing guards.
Believing Lauren to be in LA, Sark travels to St. Petersburg to meet the head of Covenant operations — it's McKenas Cole, the former SD-6 rogue. Cole knows Sark's game; Lauren's double-crossed Sark. He knows the CIA has the Doleac Agenda, however, and believes Sark's treachery benefited them. As thanks, he gives Lauren and Sark leadership of the North American cell. He then tells Lauren to stop her husband's extracurricular activities. At the CIA, Lauren tells Syd to stay away from Vaughn.
Cast
Starring
- Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow
- Ron Rifkin as Arvin Sloane
- Michael Vartan as Michael Vaughn
- Carl Lumbly as Marcus Dixon
- Kevin Weisman as Marshall Flinkman
- Melissa George as Lauren Reed
- Greg Grunberg as Eric Weiss
- David Anders as Julian Sark
- and Victor Garber as Jack Bristow
Special Guest Star
- Vivica A. Fox as Toni Cummings
Special Guest Star
Guest Starring
- Amanda Foreman as Carrie Bowman
- Ian Buchanan as Johannes Gathrid
- and Patricia Wettig as Dr. Judy Barnett
Co-Starring
- Laetitia Danielle as Saleslady
- Alex Stemkovsky as Tuxedoed Guard
Uncredited
- Timothy Slaske as Guard.
Trivia
- International titles:
- German: Neue Allianzen (New Alliances)
- French: Nid d'aigle (Eyrie)
- The location scene of Zurich is Amsterdam.
- Number 47: (hidden) Sydney's CIA number shown on her badge is 2568463-87.
- Vivica A. Fox and Quentin Tarantino were billed as Special Guest Star in this episode.
- The two signatures on Sydney's CIA badge are of then CIA Director William Casey and Alias series creator J.J. Abrams.
Aliases Used
Gadgets
Music
- "Give Me Up Again" by Jonny Lang (changed in Netflix version to unknown instrumental)
- "Panhandle Stomp" by Johnny Lee Schell (changed in Netflix version to unknown lyrical)
- "Starting Over" by The Crystal Method (changed in Netflix version to "River of Joy" by Black Lab)
Allusions and References
- Sark's compliment to Lauren was very similar to his compliment of Sydney's skill as a spy in Season 2.
- Weiss: No. I don't. However, I did have the same intense feelings for both Sport and Posh Spice. Referring to 2 members of the popular 1990's girl group "Spice Girls". The Spice Girls introduced the term Girl Power into popular discourse.
Quotes
- Eric Weiss: Euro celebrities and children of royalty. The kind of people you want to drop-kick.
- McKenas Cole: That's a good story. (raises his wine glass) To your hair.
- Toni Cummings: If you're interested in a job like that, those stones won't even cover the down payment. They barely cover this conversation.
- McKenas Cole: But in the meantime, (reaches into his breast pocket and pulls out an envelope and hands it to Lauren) May I suggest, and this is just a suggestion, that you put the kibosh on your husband's extracurricular sex-tivities.
- Lauren Reed (to Sydney): I see what's going on between you and Michael, so let me be clear... stay the hell away from my husband!
< Season 2 | Alias Season 3 | Season 4 > | ||||||
#01 | The Two | #07 | Prelude | #13 | After Six | #19 | Hourglass | |
#02 | Succession | #08 | Breaking Point | #14 | Blowback | #20 | Blood Ties | |
#03 | Reunion | #09 | Conscious | #15 | Façade | #21 | Legacy | |
#04 | A Missing Link | #10 | Remnants | #16 | Taken | #22 | Resurrection | |
#05 | Repercussions | #11 | Full Disclosure | #17 | The Frame | |||
#06 | The Nemesis | #12 | Crossings | #18 | Unveiled |