So far, the fourth season of Alias has been rather well done. Each episode features the usual thrills, twists and high powered action – all intertwined with the complex character dynamic which has been building since the first season.

But like everything else, there is an exception to every rule. “Nocturne” was it.

For fans of the fantasy genre, this episode is the equivalent to Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s “Double Meat Palace” or Dark Angel’s “Boo”. A truly disappointing outing for everyone involved.

There is an “interesting” threat to national security…yes, another one. That’s 5 so far this season. It seems ‘threat of the week’ is becoming the norm for this season, which isn’t so bad as long as the threat is handled properly. This time, there is a dangerous drug causing people to hallucinate through causing permanent damage to the brain has infected some CIA assets in Europe. Naturally, Sydney becomes infected with the Nocturne drug and it’s a race against time for APO to save her.

You can forget action – this episode has very little to speak of. The only fight worthwhile fight scene was between Sydney and Vaughn, and it had no where near the explosive potential that their previous round had in “The Two”. Even the undercover mission was lacking something.

Kevin Weisman barely made an appearance, and it seemed like the writers were struggling to find a reason to bring his character into the episode, much like they did in the third season with the insidious Mr. Sark who is now only a recurring star…lets hope that Marshall isn’t next on the list.

So Sydney is hallucinating thanks to her exposure to Nocturne. Alias has tried that kind of thing before in season three, and it worked. But this time all of the hallucinations seemed to be a little too grounded in reality, and never really went in any clear direction other than convincing Sydney that no one should be trusted, including Vaughn and Jack. “Conscious” in the third season was the opposite – every hallucination was included for a specific purpose in relation to the grander scheme, and each hallucination returned in later episodes to unfold naturally in reality. Maybe that is the problem – this season has no grander scheme to speak of. There has been the odd mention of Sloane and Jack having a timetable for something, but that’s about it. What is needed is a good Rambaldi puzzle.

But despite all of that, “Nocturne” had two saving graces.

Firstly, the developing romance between Weiss and Nadia is swiftly becoming the new signature of the series and is become just as addictive to watch as Syd and Vaughn were in the early SD-6 era. The real trick is keeping the two characters apart, rather than getting them together too soon. The Sydney/Vaughn relationship was at its peak in pre-“Phase One” when they wanted to be together but circumstances were keeping them apart. The tension between the two was astounding, and it will do the series some good to restore some of that tension, even if it is for different characters.

And secondly, the argument between Dixon and Sloane was compulsive viewing, finally giving both actors a chance to shine. Its usually Syd’s place to argue with Sloane, but having Dixon voice the same concerns was a good move, showing that the hard feelings towards Arvin aren’t Sydney’s alone. But what was even more compelling than Dixon’s short-lived outburst itself was how Sloane took that outburst. It showed a side of Ron Rifkin that we’ve rarely seen since the death of Emily, and it was nice to see it out and about again. When you compare this scene to how much time and effort went into developing Sloane as an ambiguously good character in season three it does seem like a complete waste – with this singular scene the writiers succeed in doing what twenty episodes could not.

As far as the fourth season goes, this was a disappointing instalment. But every series is allowed to have one.