Succession is the second episode of Season 3 of Alias and the 46th episode overall. Sydney's search for her past leads to a jailed Sark, but their Q&A is cut short when he becomes the ransom for a pair of abducted CIA scientists, whose kidnappers may be tied to the murder of his father. Jack Bristow contacts an old friend of sorts for info on Arvin Sloane's new world-peace project, and Michael Vaughn makes a decision about his future as an operative.
Plot Overview
In Berlin, a helicopter lifts an elevator carrying two CIA agents out of its shaft. Satisfied that Syd is not brainwashed, Jack dissuades her from admitting to the CIA that she killed Lazarey. Later, Weiss helps Syd move in to a neighboring apartment. He says that Vaughn was reluctant to return to the CIA.
The team learns The Covenant, a loose affiliation of Russian nationals, is behind the kidnapping. They will execute the men unless their demands are met. Syd volunteers to retrieve a package in a Munich adult movie theater. Dixon informs Syd of a therapy group for those who have lost their memory. Jack tells Syd that she was cremated and Vaughn spread her ashes at sea.
In the theater, Syd opens the package — it's the head of one of the CIA agents. Shoved in his mouth is a note demanding the the CIA exchange Sark for the remaining agent. Syd objects but Lindsey says Sark has no more secrets and, based on info provided by Sloane, believes they want to kill him.
Syd visits Vaughn at his classroom; he's a French teacher. She tells him she could cope with his return to the Agency. After her death, Vaughn says, he lost control and started drinking. He was deeply in love with her, but he doesn't regret moving on with his life.
Jack confronts Sloane, doubting his redemption and blaming him for Syd's disappearance. Jack offers to stop his efforts to invalidate Sloane's pardon if he gives details. Sloane gives Jack a disc with his own leads into Syd's death. Despite Sloane's denials, Jack says he'll bury Sloane for his involvement.
In a CIA jail, Sark denies knowledge of Syd's death. At the exchange in the Sonora desert, Sark is unsure why The Covenant wants him. The trade is interrupted by a Lindsey-ordered Delta Force helicopter. In the confusion, Sark and the CIA agent, a scientist, are taken by the Covenant. Syd later threatens Lindsey in the men's room for pulling that stunt. A man named Ushek San'ko says that Sark killed his brother, and demands $800 million. He says Sark, unbeknownst to him, is worth that much. Vaughn is reinstated while Jack discovers that Sark and San'ko withdrew $800 million in gold bullion from a Grand Cayman bank. The money belonged to Lazarey, a murdered Russian diplomat and descendant of the Romanov family. When he died, it went to his son … Mr. Sark.
Weiss tracked the scientist to a Frankfurt nightclub, run by Otto Edel, a drug dealer. Jack believes The Covenant is responsible for Syd's two year absence and compelled her to assassinate Lazareey. He's contacts Irina, who offers her help.
At the club, Syd poses as a chemist offering to triple Edel's sales by making his drug more addictive. She threatens to overdose him, but he locates the alarm terminal. Vaughn remotely helps her deactivate the alarm. Syd opens the torture room where the scientist is held, shoots the torturer. The dying torturer remembers her, said she kept her promise to kill him. He says that she was his favorite because she never broke.
At therapy, others discuss their amnesia and ensuring nightmares. Syd later interrupts Dixon to tell him that although she still has feelings for Vaughn, she won't be a part of the group. Dixon introduces Syd to the woman to whom he was speaking, Lauren Reed, the new NSC liaison, who'll be investigating Lazarey's murder. She's Vaughn's wife.
Cast
Main Cast
- Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow
- Ron Rifkin as Arvin Sloane
- Michael Vartan as Michael Vaughn
- Carl Lumbly as Marcus Dixon
- Kevin Weisman as Marshall Flinkman
- Melissa George as Lauren Reed
- Greg Grunberg as Eric Weiss
- David Anders as Julian Sark
- Victor Garber as Jack Bristow
Guest Stars
Trivia
- International titles:
- German: Erbfolge
- French: Succession
- As part of his cover, Vaughn becomes a French teacher. In reality, Michael Vartan was born in France.
- First appearance of Melissa George as Lauren Reed.
Aliases Used
Gadgets
Music
- "Bad Day" by R.E.M. (changed in the Netflix version)
Allusions and References
While Jack met with Sloane in his Zurich World Health Organisation headquarters to question him about the 2 year disappearance of Sydney, Sloane decided not to answer the question whether he had anything to do with Sydney's disappearance, to which, Jack says: "then you have just made the worst mistake of your life, because I'm going to bury you." This is an allusion to the last episode in the series, where Jack triggers an explosion which buries Sloane for all eternity.
Quotes
 < Season 2
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Alias Season 3 | Season 4 >
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| #01 | The Two | #07 | Prelude | #13 | After Six | #19 | Hourglass | |
| #02 | Succession | #08 | Breaking Point | #14 | Blowback | #20 | Blood Ties | |
| #03 | Reunion | #09 | Conscious | #15 | Façade | #21 | Legacy | |
| #04 | A Missing Link | #10 | Remnants | #16 | Taken | #22 | Resurrection | |
| #05 | Repercussions | #11 | Full Disclosure | #17 | The Frame | |||
| #06 | The Nemesis | #12 | Crossings | #18 | Unveiled | |||