In order to make way for the new APO direction the series has adopted a lot of the previous plot lines and trademarks of the show had to be removed or reduced tremendously. Among them was two central characters to the series: the insidious Mr. Sark (David Anders) and Milo Rambaldi.

That’s right! After seven episodes developing the Authorised Personnel Only unit, exploring Nadia Santos’ (Mia Maestro) place in the series and setting up the new and fresh dynamic of all the characters, the mysterious Rambaldi mystery is back.

And that’s not all – Sark also returns to the series, once again running rings around Alias’ leading man Michael Vartan just as he did last season by sleeping with his wife. Speaking of which, the revelation that Sark was actually in love Vaughn’s wife Lauren Reed was an interesting development, and will no doubt bring new depths to the character. Attached to Sark was also revelations regarding The Covenant, the terrorist cell which Syd and co spent so much time last season trying to bring down. The specifics were left a little vague, most likely a deliberate attempt in order to allow some greater story-telling in the future.

Unfortunately however, Anders’ involvement in the episode was more of a cameo than the expected guest appearance, probably in order to naturally phase him back into the Alias equation. Although it can easily be overlooked by everything else which is going on - in addition to Sark, Anna Espinosa (Firefly’s Gina Torres) makes a very striking come back, receiving more screen time than ever before.

When we last saw her in the first season, she was usually only involved as a thorn in Sydney’s side, foiling her missions and making life that little bit more complicated. And now? She’s turning Syd’s life upside down in a whole new level. Her re-introduction was handled excellently, serving to re-introduce the entire Rambaldi storyline for the new viewers who have obviously came aboard this season whilst also delving straight into the loose threads from last season, namely the prophecy regarding The Passenger and The Chosen One.

Daniel Attias makes a good job of the direction, particularly in the briefing scene surrounding Nadia’s kidnapping. The rotational approach gives a greater effect of urgency to have her returned, and also help increase the level of tension tremendously.

The decision to have Sloane step down from APO as long as Anna is on the run was an intriguing twist, and almost as captivating was Jack’s agreement to take control of the unit. Among the scenes involving his command of the team, Sydney states that Espinosa is supposed to be dead. Jacks response: “so are a lot of people”. To the casual viewer this could simply be a sarcastic retort. But to many Alias fans it will no doubt be the answer to their longing – is Irina Derevko really dead? Granted the level of finality in the way she was written out is enough to make you believe otherwise, but you can’t help but wonder. After all, it’s a rare occasion that anyone stays dead on Alias.

So in the first mythology episode of the season, not only are several loose ends tied up, but the entire experience is left just stand alone enough for new and casual viewers to enjoy. And with direction her character has taken, its clear that Gina Torres has a home on the series, and that Anna Espinosa can be just as good a villain as Sark ever was. With any luck, we’ll get more of these kinds of episodes in the future...echoes of times past.