Mirage (4 May 2005)

Jack's illness has caused him to hallucinate about a cure among other things. As a result, Sydney must recreate the time when Jack was working for the CIA and hid the only man who might be ... See full summary »

Director:

Brad Turner

Writers:

J.J. Abrams (creator), Steven Kane

Stars:

Jennifer Garner, Ron Rifkin, Michael Vartan

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jennifer Garner	...	Sydney Bristow
Ron Rifkin	...	Arvin Sloane
Michael Vartan	...	Michael Vaughn
Carl Lumbly	...	Marcus Dixon
Kevin Weisman	...	Marshall Flinkman
Mía Maestro	...	Nadia Santos
Greg Grunberg	...	Eric Weiss
Victor Garber	...	Jack Bristow
Sonia Braga	...	Sophia Vargas / Elena Derevko
Michael McKean	...	Dr. Atticus Liddell
Vladimir Mashkov	...	Milos Kradic
Oz Perkins	...	Coke Bottle Glasses
Taso Papadakis	...	Aleksander Petrovich
Hans Schoeber	...	Bodyguard
Ori Pfeffer	...	Anthony

Storyline

Jack's illness has caused him to hallucinate about a cure among other things. As a result, Sydney must recreate the time when Jack was working for the CIA and hid the only man who might be able to help him now. For this, Sydney must role play her own mother. Meanwhile, Sophia moves in with Sydney and Nadia.

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Plot Keywords:

illness | consciousness | illusion | doctor | hallucination | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 May 2005 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 4, Walt Disney Studios, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, US

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bad Robot, Touchstone Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

41 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jennifer Garner became the sixth actress to portray Irina Derevko/ Laura Bristow. Largely associated with Lena Olin who was a season regular in Season 2, the character had been portrayed by different actresses before Olin was cast and, later, after she was unavailable to resume the part.

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Goofs

When Nadia and Sophia are talking, the handle on Nadia's mug switches sides between shots.

User Reviews

Brilliant .. if Only You're Family !

Yes, this one is fairly good, putting in mind (J.J. Abrams)'s main formula for (Alias) as a modern melodramatic continuous copy of (Mission: Impossible) because by knowing that you may catch on this episode's and this season's real fun.

Here while (Jack)'s illness came to a deadlock honestly it was a fascinating twist when we discover that the whole sequences of (Jack)'s funny doctor were his own hallucination all along ! The discovery of that was one of the most surprising twists I've ever seen whether in Alias or any other show ! It made clear that this series had some gifted potentials that had been gone to naive irrational status lately. Actually despite your enjoyment you'd find yourself in the sorrow zone as this good work isn't in the right place among the presence of too many wrong things, for instance : (Sloane) who gone sweet, the (Rambaldi)'s endless curriculum, the APO crap as a CIA secret branch which had been directed by the CIA's oldest enemy like it's the SD-6 again but with the good guys and for noble purposes !, and whatever had been made just to put Alias on air and utilize its earlier success. But anyway if you measure the last 3 seasons not by the first 2 seasons' quality but by their own desire to make enjoyment and how they were successful at it, then you may feel how good they were as absolute fun however without a sense of solidness or persuasion.

After James Bond's movies (one man), and Mission Impossible's shows (one team) (J.J. Abrams) made the fourth season of Alias like (one family) ! And regardless of that being so terribly unbelievable and against any fact at any intelligence it's how it was running and you may buy it or not ! Therefore (Alias) at that time seemed more like a reproduction of (Dallas) but as a troubled less richer family which all of its members are working in the spying business (as if Sloane is the vulpine J.R who is trying to redeem himself !), with all the same old melodrama (cheater wives, amnesia, I have a daughter from a long past, I slept with my wife's sister !, my father is murdered ?, No.. my father is alive ?, who is my real mother ?, who killed my mother ? ..etc). In addition to the best action/ sci-fi/ adventure you'll ever have from TV at the first half of 2000s. By sticking to that, and sticking to that only, you'll get the intended meanings of Alias as pure thrilling yet sentimental time.

In (Mirage) you'll have one great storyline (according to the certain previous measures) as the team made (Jack) return to the year of 1981 in his house with his wife and his young daughter just to make him remember the place of the one and only doctor who has the ability to cure his rare fast destroyer illness. It's a clever one indeed making all the thrill without the usual action sequences and further than that it fulfilled a look to (Jack)'s history as a loving father who couldn't have a time to spend with his family, his weakness as a spy so his confession to his wife (the enemy's spy after while) about all his work's secrets (so the long disordered relationship between him and his daughter was a result of that fault of him as he doesn't hate his traitorous wife in Sydney's image only, he hates himself too), and then we have the marvelous finale of this charade as the only chance for Sydney to see herself in a loving moment with her father as a child (the smart part of the piano's playing). Ladies and gentlemen ; this is drama.

There was strong performance from quite everybody, especially (Jennifer Garner) and (Victor Garber). Both of them made me unable to know who was better than the other !

Of course there was also the loose end of the previous episode (which we watched its end briefly at the start of this one), and the other storyline of (Mirage) about (Sophia)'s dark powers, but nothing compared to the emotive charade which simply utilized the original good building of the characters to expose their history in the same old formula of Alias (some thrill – some emotions). And it's so brilliant here if only you're familiar with the show and used to be part of that unique new (Dallas)'s family !, or part of Alias's big family of fans.