This episode opens with a flashback to the moment that Jack killed Irena; after Dixon's statement that he'd seen Irena alive I assumed there would be some ambiguity about her death but when we see it there is no doubt that she is dead, Jack shot her in the middle of her forehead. Looking through her contacts they discover one was involved with Project Helix so it looks as though the Irena Jack killed was just a copy. This is good as Elena and Sloane have activated a giant Rambaldi device in a Russian city and it has made the people loose control and the only person who can deactivate the device is Irena. It still isn't simple, before going to Russia they have to break Irena out of captivity and persuade the CIA but to lock her up again. Once the mission has been approved Jack, Sydney, Nadia, Irena and Vaughn head to Russia hoping to deactivate the device before the Russians launch an air strike which would have disastrous results.
This was a decent episode that was notable for not featuring Arvin Sloane. It was nice to see Lena Olin back as Sydney's mother Irena, I liked the scene between her and Mía Maestro's Nadia when she realises Nadia is her daughter too, it was emotional without overdoing the sentimentality. Mía was also great in the scene where she and Sydney helped their mother escape from captivity in a Central American jungle, she showed that she can handle the fight scenes as well as Jennifer Garner who has being demonstrating her prowess in such scenes for years.
This was a decent episode that was notable for not featuring Arvin Sloane. It was nice to see Lena Olin back as Sydney's mother Irena, I liked the scene between her and Mía Maestro's Nadia when she realises Nadia is her daughter too, it was emotional without overdoing the sentimentality. Mía was also great in the scene where she and Sydney helped their mother escape from captivity in a Central American jungle, she showed that she can handle the fight scenes as well as Jennifer Garner who has being demonstrating her prowess in such scenes for years.