Over the last few episodes, a lot of work has gone into establishing where all the characters are, what their agenda’s are and more importantly, how those agendas clash.

Lets recap: Sydney wants to find out where she’s been for two years and why she murdered a Russian diplomat named Andrian Lazarey, Jack wants to protect her at all costs and Vaughn wants a normal life. But that is made more complicated by the fact that his wife, Lauren Reed, works for the NSC and is attempting to uncover who killed Lazarey. And to top it all of in a truly ironic way, Sloane is now a double agent working for the CIA.

So as you can imagine, everyone is working against each other…and some of them don’t even know it. “Prelude” acts as a catalyst – with all these schemes and secrets floating around it was only a matter of time before a couple were uncovered. And that’s exactly what happens. Only instead of a couple, virtually all of the characters agenda’s are exposed, except of course for those belonging to Alias’ devil you love to hate, Arvin Sloane.

Indeed the episode seemed to be focused on two fronts: Sydney’s relationship with Sloane, and that of Vaughn and Lauren. Both stories are brilliantly executed and leave just enough questions to draw you back again for the next episode.

Having Sloane sit in on a CIA briefing was a clever twist – other than the Bristows, we haven’t really seen the main characters work with their old boss since the destruction of SD-6. Throwing them all together under such an intense situation is nothing short of mind-gripping and compulsive viewing. Although you can’t help but feel a little bit sorry for Carl Lumbly: his character, Dixon, was always on the forefront, rushing about foreign countries or taking shots at enemy agents in life or death missions. And now? He’s Mr. Briefing. It would be nice to see him out of the office and in the field once and a while.

But perhaps the most ironic development was having Sydney and Sloane partnered and put into the field for a mission. It was good to see Syd vent some of the anger and frustration on Sloane after all he’s put her through. The experience of both Jennifer Garner and Ron Rifkin was evident, and was no doubt fuelled by their time together in the previous two seasons, particularly the tail-end of season two. The dynamic was incredibly entertaining and helped make the situation as explosive as possible.

And as for Vaughn and Lauren, having Lauren not only find out that it was Sydney who murdered Lazarey but also that Vaughn has been aware of that for over six weeks was a risky move. One might wonder if perhaps Alias is moving too fast. Its only been seven episodes since this story began, and only four since it went into full force. Is Alias moving too fast, or is the high speed evolution of the plot, characters and entire dynamic what’s keeping it on track?

Ultimately, the gamble worked, and it resulted in some of the most enthralling scenes the series and the most emotional eruption the series has ever put forth. And with a good old fashion cliff-hanger, this time very well balanced with action and the progression of the missing time story, “Prelude” is nothing short of suspenseful and utterly spellbinding story-telling!