Alias season 2

The second season of Alias premiered September 29, 2002 on ABC and concluded May 4, 2003 and was released on DVD in region 1 on December 2, 2003. Guest stars in season two include David Carradine, Ethan Hawke, Richard Lewis, Faye Dunaway, Rutger Hauer, Christian Slater, and Danny Trejo. The thirteenth episode of the season, "Phase One", aired after Super Bowl XXXVII.

Alias
Season 2
Season 2 DVD cover
No. of episodes	22
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	September 29, 2002 (2002-09-29) – May 4, 2003 (2003-05-04)
Season chronology
List of episodes

Cast

Main

• Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow (22 episodes)
• Ron Rifkin as Arvin Sloane (22 episodes)
• Michael Vartan as Michael Vaughn (22 episodes)
• Bradley Cooper as Will Tippin (19 episodes)
• Merrin Dungey as Francie Calfo and Allison Doren (21 episodes)
• Carl Lumbly as Marcus Dixon (16 episodes)
• Kevin Weisman as Marshall Flinkman (21 episodes)
• David Anders as Julian Sark (15 episodes)
• Lena Olin as Irina Derevko (17 episodes)
• Victor Garber as Jack Bristow (22 episodes)

Recurring

• Terry O'Quinn as FBI Assistant Director Kendall (16 episodes)
• Greg Grunberg as Eric Weiss (8 episodes)
• Patricia Wettig as Dr. Judy Barnett (4 episodes)
• Faye Dunaway as Ariana Kane (3 episodes)
• Amy Irving as Emily Sloane (3 episodes)
• Amanda Foreman as Carrie Bowman (2 episodes)
• Christian Slater as Dr. Neil Caplan (2 episodes)
• Ric Young as Dr. Zhang Lee (2 episodes)
• Derrick O'Connor as Alexander Khasinau (1 episode)

Episodes

See also: List of Alias episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	US viewers (millions)
23	1	"The Enemy Walks In"	Ken Olin	J. J. Abrams	September 29, 2002 (2002-09-29)	11.31[1]
Sydney finds herself face-to-face with her mother, whose intentions for her daughter are made chillingly clear. Meanwhile, Sydney continues her search for Vaughn, not knowing if he is dead or alive after being swept away by a wall of water in Taipei. Will's life is forever changed when he learns the truth about SD-6 and Sydney's life as a double agent. Marcus Dixon must decide whether or not to inform Sloane of Sydney's suspicious activities.
24	2	"Trust Me"	Craig Zisk	John Eisendrath	October 6, 2002 (2002-10-06)	9.73[2]
Sydney must decide whether her mother's goodwill gesture was sincere or an attempt to kill her. Will witnesses Francie discussing her restaurant plans with a man whose affiliations are questionable, and Sloane is made a full partner in the malevolent Alliance of Twelve.
25	3	"Cipher"	Dan Attias	Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci	October 13, 2002 (2002-10-13)	9.44[3]
Sydney must outwit Sark in order to find a crucial piece of intel. Meanwhile, Jack faces Irina for the first time in almost 20 years. Will finally meets Vaughn and Sloane is haunted by his wife's death. Sloane, who drinks only water is seen drinking whiskey in his office. We are told that Emily's garden is dead but Sloane finds it in full bloom.
26	4	"Dead Drop"	Guy Bee	Jesse Alexander	October 20, 2002 (2002-10-20)	10.08[4]
Sydney's dealings with her mother lead Jack to take drastic measures to ensure his daughter's safety. Meanwhile Will is confronted by a mysterious woman about resurrecting his story on SD-6.
27	5	"The Indicator"	Ken Olin	Jeff Pinkner	November 3, 2002 (2002-11-03)	10.60[5]
Sydney discovers a terrifying secret when she's sent on a case to track down a new generation of weapons. Meanwhile, Vaughn suspects Jack of setting up Irina to take a fall. Sloane tells Jack the truth about Emily's death.
28	6	"Salvation"	Perry Lang	Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci	November 10, 2002 (2002-11-10)	9.33[6]
Sydney's trust in her father begins to fade. Meanwhile, Sydney and Vaughn may have been exposed to a deadly virus while in Taipei. Sloane, haunted by Emily's death, begins to unravel. Vaughn enlists Will to help research a case.
29	7	"The Counteragent"	Dan Attias	John Eisendrath	November 17, 2002 (2002-11-17)	9.65[7]
Sydney races to find a cure for Vaughn, but in order to find the antidote, Sydney must make a deal with Sark that could endanger Sloane's life. Meanwhile, Will continues his research for Vaughn and discovers some disturbing inconsistencies involving 20-year-old standardized IQ tests. Sydney finds out that Vaughn has a girlfriend.
30	8	"Passage (Part 1)"	Ken Olin	Debra J. Fisher & Erica Messer	December 1, 2002 (2002-12-01)	9.10[8]
Sydney, Jack and Irina must put aside their differences and go undercover as a loving family in order to seize six nuclear warheads from an abandoned facility in Kashmir. Meanwhile, Sloane announces to a suspicious staff that Sark will be working with SD-6, and later he is contacted by an unknown group claiming that Emily is still alive.
31	9	"Passage (Part 2)"	Ken Olin	Crystal Nix-Hines	December 8, 2002 (2002-12-08)	9.21[9]
Sydney and Jack continue on a mission to take control of six nuclear warheads. Irina meets up with Gerard Cuvee and we discover where Irina's loyalties lie. Meanwhile, Sloane informs the Alliance that Emily may still be alive.
32	10	"The Abduction"	Nelson McCormick	Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci	December 15, 2002 (2002-12-15)	9.59[10]
Jack meets Alliance counterintelligence head Ariana Kane (Faye Dunaway), who is sent in to investigate Emily's disappearance and to discover who is trying to blackmail Sloane. Meanwhile, Marshall is sent on his first mission with Sydney as his partner.Vaughn schedules Will to take a CIA psych test. Francie gets suspicious over Sydney and Will's secretive behavior.
33	11	"A Higher Echelon"	Guy Bee	John Eisendrath	January 5, 2003 (2003-01-05)	9.66[11]
After completing his first mission with Sydney, Marshall's life is placed in mortal danger. Meanwhile, Ariana Kane suspects Jack as being the prime suspect in the disappearance of Sloane's wife. Vaughn learns the truth about Jack's involvement in the murder of CIA agent Haladki and Sydney confides in Francie about her feelings for a fellow co-worker.
34	12	"The Getaway"	Lawrence Trilling	Jeff Pinkner	January 12, 2003 (2003-01-12)	9.42[12]
While Alliance counterintelligence head Ariana Kane tracks Sydney in order to catch her fugitive father, Jack elicits Irina's help in finding Sloane's blackmailer. Meanwhile, Sydney and Vaughn risk exposing their covers to SD-6 when they share a romantic dinner together while on a case in France.
35	13	"Phase One"	Jack Bender	J. J. Abrams	January 26, 2003 (2003-01-26)	17.36[13]
Sydney and Jack are confronted by the new director of SD-6, one Geiger (Rutger Hauer), who replaces Sloane, whose whereabouts and intentions are unknown. Sydney learns of information that could destroy SD-6 and shut down the Alliance. Francie is killed by what looks like her doppelganger.
36	14	"Double Agent"	Ken Olin	Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci	February 2, 2003 (2003-02-02)	11.39[14]
Sydney, Vaughn and Jack must determine whether CIA agent Lennox (Ethan Hawke) is who he says he is after his deep cover mission is compromised in Berlin. It is discovered that an agency has built a machine capable of replicating a human being's appearance. In this case, there are two agents Lennox at large and Sydney must discover which one is the real one and which one is fake. It is hinted that the machine has been used before to replicate someone else this way (Francie).
37	15	"A Free Agent"	Alex Kurtzman	Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci	February 9, 2003 (2003-02-09)	10.28[15]
Sydney must make a life-defining decision regarding her future with CIA, while Sloane re-emerges and continues his obsessive quest to piece together the mysterious Rambaldi artifacts—with the reluctant aid of a kidnapped scientist named Neil Caplan (Christian Slater). Meanwhile, Dixon's marriage is put to the test after he tells his wife the truth about his occupation.
38	16	"Firebomb"	Craig Zisk	John Eisendrath	February 23, 2003 (2003-02-23)	8.61[16]
This is the episode in which it is revealed what some of Rambaldi's mysterious artifacts really are: the pieces to build a reusable neutron bomb in the 15th century. Sloane is the one who controls it. Meanwhile, Vaughn begs Dixon to aid the CIA in rescuing Sydney, Will is called upon to participate in a crucial CIA briefing session, and Sydney notices that something with Francie is not quite right.
39	17	"A Dark Turn"	Ken Olin	Jesse Alexander	March 2, 2003 (2003-03-02)	10.69[17]
Sydney begins to question where Vaughn's allegiances lie when she learns through CIA Agent Yaeger (Richard Lewis) that he is under investigation. Meanwhile Irina and another crucial Rambaldi manuscript—this one about the secret of eternal life—are used as bait to try to catch Sloane. It turns out Vaughn had only been investigating Irina through his own means because the Agency was slow and he wanted to see if he could catch her in a lie or discover additional information. Sydney also welcomes Dixon to the CIA.
40	18	"Truth Takes Time"	Nelson McCormick	J. R. Orci	March 16, 2003 (2003-03-16)	9.66[18]
Sydney faces off with her mother, while Emily must decide whether to side with her husband or betray him.
41	19	"Endgame"	Perry Lang	Sean Gerace	March 30, 2003 (2003-03-30)	9.89[19]
Sydney defies her father in her attempt to rescue kidnapped scientist Neil Caplan, while Sloane, seeking revenge for the assassination of his wife orders that Dixon's wife be taken out. Meanwhile, Allison in the guise of Francie manipulates an unsuspecting Will for his agency connections.
42	20	"Countdown"	Lawrence Trilling	R. P. Gaborno & Jeff Pinkner	April 27, 2003 (2003-04-27)	8.03[20]
A Rambaldi manuscript prophesizes that an apocalyptic event involving a heart will soon take place. An agent (Danny Trejo) is sent after one man in Panama in order to steal his heart. Dixon's grief leads Vaughn and agency psychologist Dr. Barnett to question his intentions, as his thirst for revenge on Sloane intensifies. Meanwhile Sloane receives a life-changing revelation from a mysterious monk (David Carradine) in Nepal, Sydney and Dixon hunt for the killer who stole the heart from his victim.
43	21	"Second Double"	Ken Olin	Story by : Breen Frazier Teleplay by : Crystal Nix-Hines	May 4, 2003 (2003-05-04)	10.10[21]
Sydney begins to question Will's identity when he's arrested for espionage, under suspicion of being a double. Meanwhile Sark and Irina plot to recover the Di Regno heart, and Sloane makes Jack a business proposal.
44	22	"The Telling"	J. J. Abrams	J. J. Abrams	May 4, 2003 (2003-05-04)	10.10[21]
Sydney confronts her mother, who reveals her true motivation. Sloane, for his part, begins to execute his new grand plan, Will struggles to figure out who's behind his set-up. Sydney and Allison have a vicious confrontation, which in turn leads to a starling revelation by Vaughn to Sydney!

Reception

Despite earning critical acclaim from USA Today^[22] and attracting the largest audience of the series with 17.4 million viewers,^[23] "Phase One" retained just 19 percent^[23] of the Super Bowl XXXVII audience and has the dubious distinction of earning the lowest overall ratings for a program airing after a Super Bowl since at least 1987^[23] and the lowest rating ever (8.3 rating) in the age 18-49 demographic for a post-Super Bowl program.^[23] Much of this can be attributed to the fact that the episode didn't air until 11 p.m. on the East Coast, which also meant it was not eligible for the week's list of top primetime shows ranked by Nielsen Media Research and thus, the episode's viewership numbers were not factored in the series' overall 2002-2003 season average. This late slot was partially due to a decision to include a Bon Jovi performance in the post-game show.^[24]

In 2009, TV Guide ranked "The Telling" as #84 on its list of the 100 Greatest Episodes.^[25]

Home release

The 6-DVD box set of Season 2 was released in region 1 format (US) on December 2, 2003, in region 2 format (UK) on June 7, 2004 and in region 4 format (AU) on July 4, 2004. The DVDs contain all episodes of Season 2, plus the following features:

• Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel
• Audio Commentary with cast & crew
• The Making of The Telling – An In-Depth Look at the Season Finale
• The Making of the Video Game
• Featurette: Undercover: The Look of Alias – A Look at Costume Design, Makeup, and Disguises

(A skit filmed for Monday Night Football was advertised as being in the set, but was removed from the DVD set before release.)