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Welcome To CIA...Honest! An original review of "The Shed". When the previously on Alias… backstory played showing Nadia transforming into the Resident Evil zombie creature from “Before The Flood”, I was almost giddy at the thought that Mia Maestro might be back in Alias. With her unquestionable grace, she brought so much to season four and helped set Alias on one of it’s greatest re-directions. I was a huge fan of the sexy spy sisters kicking butt each week while unravelling the Rambaldi mystery. But it soon became apparent that Maestro would not be appearing in this episode, nor would Nadia Santos. Fortunately, within the opening minutes of “The Shed” I was given another reason to swoon – Amy Acker. If you’re a fan of the vampire drama Angel, you know her as either Winifred Burkle: science whiz and crime fighting extraordinaire, or Ilyria: slightly evil demon with ultra cool hair. Or you might know her from one of her many other acting gigs. Regardless of which, she is an genuine star and brings new depths to all of her roles. Focusing primarily on Rachel Gibson (played by Alias newcomer Rachel Nicols), “The Shed” serves as a way of finally putting a name to a face (remember, we’ve seen her before) and also letting us see what Thomas Grace (yet another newcomer) can do. It seems that Gibson is actually an operative for an off the books CIA operation known only as The Shed (a tad similar to ‘The Shop’ from Stephen King’s Firestarter, don't you think?). Recruited from college, she quickly rose through the ranks and became a full field agent and technical specialist. Sound familiar? It should. And like that other tale you might remember, it turns out The Shed is not part of the CIA and is in fact a criminal organisation posing as the CIA. But I think the best part of the set-up was how Thomas Grace was introduced into the show – he is not Vaughn and he never could be. Which is fine, because he isn’t trying to be. He is not Vaughn’s replacement. He may have the same job at APO, but he is treated as an addition to the division and not a replacement. He might actually become a fan favourite and he might eventually get a solid storyline of his own. After all, Gibson has The Shed and the absent Renee Riene has Vaughn and the Fifth Prophet mystery. But for me, this episode was all about Acker. Her character, Kelly Payton, is in actual fact the complete opposite of any of her Angel alter egos. Payton is evil. And not just ‘I was once treated as a God and I miss the old times’ evil, but pure cold-blooded murder evil. After stealing a deadly virus and murdering two scientists using the very same pathogen they were working on, there is no question that she is one of the bad guys. It is exactly this that brings the whole shade of grey to the episode. After her encounter with Sydney Bristow, we are made aware that Gibson was sold the same lie as Syd was and she now thinks she is working for one of the good guys. She is a good person and a patriot. A patriot who is best friends with a terrorist. Yes, Payton helped sell the lie that The Shed is part of U.S. Intelligence, and yes she actively commits acts of terrorism on a daily basis. With Payton set to return, I’m sure we’ll be seeing some very exciting and very entertaining clashes between the two friends. With so much action happening on Alias, it is easy to overlook the developing background story – Dixon has become the chauffeur for Sloane on his 72 hour quest for Nadia’s cure. I was actually hoping he would find the cure in this episode. The sooner her finds one, the sooner we get Mia Maestro back…hopefully. But then I remembered this is Alias, the show that likes to keep you hanging. Sloane will find a cure eventually, but it won’t be anytime soon. So until then, lets just hope they keep Amy Acker around.
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