But for many, the “you’ve been missing for almost two years” wasn’t nearly as shocking as the “why are you wearing that ring?” twist. More often than not however these cliff-hangers, no matter how good they may be, ultimately depend on the quality of the resolution to the story. And “The Two” is a bit of a mixed blessing.

Successfully establishing where everyone is since we last saw them, the episode dives straight into a journey of the characters themselves. People can change a lot in two years, yet they are all the same as they were before. J.J. Abrams does a rather good job of this and re-introduces each of the characters in turn (most likely for the benefit of new viewers as well as our own) and provides his usual blend of action and witty dialogue. The main problem however is that the show is so obviously missing something as a result of Lena Olin’s departure. It's only when she is gone that you can see how much she brought to the series and I'm sure if she were to return we would be seeing a very different Alias.

Sydney and Marshall’s re-introduction is nothing less than Kevin Weisman at his best. The actor is so obviously the comic-relief of the series and does more than any other to set the tone of her re-introduction to the CIA – it is a joyous and happy occasion. No one else could pull off the role with the hilarity that Weisman brings. Considering the dark nature of the episode, the scene was a nice break from the reality of the situation. And his "I've lost my keys..." poem does tend to strike a chord with the loss of Olin within the series and sits as a bit of an in-joke with the fans.

Although the re-introduction to all the characters does take a while, it is an interesting ride through their lives. But leaving Arvin Sloane's appearance until the half way point was a gross mistake. The man was the only major villain the show knows (I wouldn't class Sark as a villain, more of a henchman), so there is definitely something lost without him. The confrontation between Sloane and Sydney was also a huge let down. For thirty years the man has been on an odyssey to find Rambaldi’s master plan, and last we saw him he was on the verge of uncovering that plan. Waiting half an episode before the mission was even mentioned was a particularly bad move to make. What I wanted to see was The Telling device ans some diabolical masterplan designed by Rambaldi hundreds of years ago. It seems the romantic story of the central characters has become the predominant story, superseding the Rambaldi questions. But what makes it even worse is the fact that nothing new is touched – no details of the Rambaldi device, now details of what Sloane has been up to over the last two years, nothing of what drove him to become "good". Only that he was pardoned based on the word "Peace".

Having said that, giving away all the answers in a single episode would spoil the developing story. It will take Sydney time to discover what has been going on without her. The viewers journey will mirror her own. Even the action scenes of the show seem to have slowed their pace a little bit and lack the expected high profile beats. The end result is more drawn out and organised missions which are obviously focusing more on the character of Sydney than the actual mission objectives. It is a welcome change – the first season was often mission, mission mission with no real time to reflect on the larger issues of the missions aside from how it affects Sydney’s double life.

There is some nice dialogue between Sydney and NSC Director Lindsay at the end of the episode which was spot on, and it is something which was needed. With Dixon in command, the taskforce seems a little too happy and fluffy. A hard-ass hotshot is what’s needed. Especially someone who has had no previous association with Sydney Bristow. Again, the dialogue was short-lived.

But by far the most entertaining scene was the emotional, and well delivered outburst from Sydney towards the end of the episode. Jennifer Garner has had several roles in the past, and on Alias she has always proved how much she deserves the leading role. This scene surpasses all of that. Brilliant delivery with such raw emotion behind it is one of the many reasons the romantic story is taking such an active role in the shaping of the series – the cast has a talent for it and it should not be ignored.

So the series has changed…again. With the two course-corrections that took place in season two, fans were left with only a few episodes to become acquainted with the dynamic and the new situations the characters are finding themselves in before they changed again. So why do the writing team feel the need to constantly reinvent a concept which was still fresh and new? If it ain't broken, don't fix it.