As the room 47 door opens, the key to Sydney’s missing time is revealed…Will Tippin! As far as shocking twists and intriguing developments go, this is brilliant! Another knock out by Alias!! You can ignore the fact that his first scenes of the episode are taken from a previous Alias instalment (season two’s “A Higher Echelon” I believe) because lets be honest, who cares…Will (Bradley Cooper) is back, and it isn’t a flashback. Cooper, who brought so much to the show in the first two seasons with his investigative reporter talents bringing out some of the finest pieces of drama to hit the screens, is back!

And to top it off, the episode was penned by Alias veteran Jeff Pinker (who has previously spoiled us with such episodes as “Page 47”, “The Getaway” and “Countdown” – all the Alias classics with some of the very best dramatic outbursts the show has produced). Bravo Pinker!

Although it comes as no surprise that after waking up from her dream sequence, Syd rushes off to find her friend (now in witness protection). Will’s response to her re-appearance in his life was very well acted by both Cooper and Garner and just shows how much is missing from Alias without him. Both Cooper and Garner are brilliant together in the field – both missions they embark upon were brimming with excitement, lavish costumes and wonderfully performed accents. Too bad the same couldn’t be said about both of them in the bedroom. Will and Syd a couple? The concept was cute at the beginning of the series, back in it’s less experienced days but now its just plain awful. Still, it was nice to see Syd doing something (or someone as the case may be) other than mooning over Vaughn.

But by far the most satisfying scene of the season so far is Jack’s little confrontation with Director Bob Lindsey. Who knew spy-daddy could pack such a wallop?! I think every Alias fan has been waiting for that to happen sooner or later. It’s an honest surprise why it hasn’t happened already. When he finally vented his anger on Lindsey’s face I literally clenched my fists, leapt out of my chair and shouted “YESSS!” It was so satisfying to watch Lindsey finally get his.

There is also the added, is slightly disturbing, addition of Sark’s chilling torture of his own father, especially just how easy it was for him to butcher the man. The same could be said for his dealings with Dr. Brezzel (special guest star David Cronenberg) – death by his own narcotic cocktail…the irony was not lost by any means. Anders hasn’t had much development in general this season – he’s been running about playing baddie because The Covenant’s got his money, but there’s something so superficial about that. Sark is young, talented and has all the connections he would need to re-build his financial profile in a less high profile circumstances. But he doesn’t. Perhaps it has something to do with Allison Doren. Great to have Dungey back on the screen too, although it did seem a little half hearted – bring her back to kill her? Rather than a shock it felt more like cutting the cord and tying up loose ends. However having Will be the one to do it was a rather poetic turn of events.

So as expected, the episode dealt with some loose ends from season two - Cooper and Dungey are gone from the series in a very neat and tidy manner. But it is obvious that was not the complete intention of the episode. Just like “Phase One” last season, after resolving the loose ends more is unravelled from the current story. Rambaldi’s return, the missing ‘Telling’ device and the unfortunate end of Bob Lindsey (a pity, I was beginning to like him as Syd’s constant pain in the ass) all helped make this an unmissable episode of the series. Now if only Will could return on a more permanent basis…