“The Orphan.” The name pretty much explains it all. There is only one orphan on the series and this is essentially her story. And it’s about time too. When she joined the series last season, Mia Maestro received some intriguing, if not a little bit short, screen time. But those few episodes served as her introduction to the series through the Rambaldi story-line and failed to give much in the way of a glimpse into her past. In the opening episodes of season four, Nadia was successfully integrated into the cast, forming her own relationships with many of the key characters.

Written by Buffy veteran (and Alias newcomer) Jeffrey Bell, in conjunction with Alias’ own Monica Breen, this episode served not only to fill that void of knowledge but also to give Mia Maestro a chance to shine like never before. “Détente” was a good episode for the actress, as was “Echoes”. But again, these failed to give any real level on insight into how she got where she is now.

Nadia’s own Argentinan equivalent of SD-6 was a tad disappointing in terms of originality, however it did the job required nicely. Perhaps even a little bit more believable than the original SD-6 story. All of the flashbacks more or less seemed to coincide with the action in the present, and coupled with the performance of Sonia Braga, they were just as compelling as the developing APO story.

The mission to obtain the amplified glass is exactly what Alias missions should be – visually stunning, emotionally suspenseful and completely realistic. Some TV shows often have the “Oh My God, that can’t happen” factor. Thankfully, that response seldom occurs in Alias, and as this operation proves it is possible to create a fantasy world whilst also keeping it in the here and now. With such a large team to work with, missions regularly seem to forget certain characters. Not this one – everyone had something to do. Even Marshall (Kevin Weisman) provided his trademark humour on a very intense and equally explosive situation.

Kevin Alejandro’s role as Cesar was marvellously performed, creating an atmosphere not unlike that of David Anders as Julian Sark. The scene in which he casually strolls through the heavy gunfire, brandishing a glass of champagne, done more for this character than anything else – this is a man who knows what he wants and knows how to get it. The chemistry between him and Maestro was astonishing and he will undoubtedly be known as one of those Alias villains we love to hate. With a little luck, we’ll be seeing him again.

In addition to the intriguing baddies and highly entertaining antics of the leading cast, the episode finally saw some significant developments in terms of Vaughn’s quest to uncover the truth about his father – an aspect of the show which has only begun to take off, but has thus far remained more of a distraction from the main plot. The decision to have Sydney and Vaughn work together on this was not completely unexpected, but it does help to increase the emotional presence between the two actors. Because lets face it, since “Authorised Personnel Only”, the on screen presence of their romance has steadily declined to the point where it is more of an off-screen relationship.

But that is a completely different issue. Vaughn’s quest leads to an unexpected door with a prior relationship to Nadia, clarifying a few matters regarding his father, whilst also giving the impression that this new found connection might have something more to do with his father’s “death” and also Nadia’s new found life in the United States. Of particular interest is when Braga’s character utters the phrase “Nightingale”, the title of an upcoming episode signifying that this quest for Bill Vaughn could become a major plot development spanning several episodes instead of just a smaller story for Michael Vartan’s benefit (like in the third season).

So over half a season in and with no re-direction, the pressure is really building…and it’s only a matter of time before it all blows.