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in: Season 5

5.1 Prophet Five

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Prophet Five
501
Season
Episode

1

Production code
501
Airdate
September 29 2005
Written by
Alison Schapker
Monica Breen
Story by
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Teleplay by
{{{teleplay}}}
Directed by


Prophet Five is the 1st episode of Season 5 of Alias and the 89th episode overall. After learning that the man she has known as Michael Vaughn is under investigation and suspected of being a double agent, Sydney begins to question whether their business and personal relationship over the years had all been a lie. When she discovers that she's pregnant with Vaughn's baby, she becomes determined to uncover the truth about him. Meanwhile, because of Jack's past betrayal by Irina, he begins to worry that his daughter may suffer the same fate that he did.

Plot Overview[]

Sydney regains consciousness after the car crash and instinctively suspects the motives of the paramedics. When a man tries to inject her with a tranquilizer, she swipes his hand away and eludes the other "medics." Hiding in a cornfield, she sees Vaughn airlifted by an unmarked helicopter.

Later, as doctors evaluate Sydney, she meets Gordon Dean from the Office of Special Investigations, who grills her about Vaughn's whereabouts and activities. Jack explains that Vaughn is a suspected double agent, and the car crash may have been an extraction.

A bloodied Vaughn, referred to as Mr. Michaux, is given a strip of paper with coded numbers. When Vaughn denies knowing anything about the cryptic sheet, a man named Curtis threatens to cut "the girl's finger off." Vaughn agrees to cooperate and asks for a pencil.

Before Vaughn can write, however, he asks to have his dislocated shoulder popped into place. When Curtis accommodates him, he punches Curtis and makes his escape. He contacts Sydney and asks her to trust him -- and to bring his father's watch when they rendezvous.

At APO Dixon tells a troubled Sydney to give Vaughn the benefit of the doubt - as Dixon did for her years ago when he first realized that they worked for SD-6. Meanwhile, Gordon Dean instructs Marshall to pull Vaughn's files.

When Sydney arrives in Rome, Vaughn explains that his real name is Andre Michaux and his father was a mathematician involved with a top-secret project called "Prophet Five." He gleaned this info seven years ago from a woman named Renee Rienne and has been working with her since.

They meet James Lehman, a friend of Vaughn's father. Lehman explains that brilliant scientists and linguists were recruited for Prophet Five in the 70's and were asked to break the code of a 500 year-old document on advanced genetics. After this group succeeded, its members were systematically murdered. As precaution, Vaughn's father changed his identity, as did Lehman. He warns that the murderers are relentless. He tells them the location of a book containing more Prophet Five intel.

In Cape Town, South Africa, Sydney and Vaughn, posing as a French couple attending a party at a mansion, try unsuccessfully to steal the book from the home's vault. As they run towards a cliff, Sydney receives a phone call from her doctor, who tells her that she's pregnant. Sydney shares the good news with Vaughn, who has a muted reaction. They jump.

Meanwhile, Sloane combs through medical journals in jail, desperately trying to find a cure for Nadia, who is still in a coma after being subjected to Rambaldi's device. He denies knowing anything about Vaughn's treachery to Jack, but says that Renee Rienne, an ex-CIA agent, could be a possible lead.

As Sydney and Vaughn sit in a car waiting for Lehman, they talk about her pregnancy. Vaughn says his initial hesitation was because of the complicated world they live in, but he can't wait to be a father. Seeing Lehman in the distance, Vaughn jumps out. Suddenly another car drives by -- Gordon Dean steps out and fires at Lehman and Vaughn. They drop in a hail of bullets.

Waiting in the ICU, Sydney tells Jack she's going to stand by Vaughn. As Jack reprimands her, Sydney reveals her pregnancy. Jack softens. Later, he goes to APO and instructs the team to research Prophet Five and retrieve the records in Cape Town.

Later, as Sydney watches over Vaughn, he flat-lines. Sydney is frantic as the doctors work on him to no avail. He slips away.

After Vaughn's funeral, Sydney travels to shady London bar, where she speaks to the bartender. After an initial denial, the bartender admits she's Renee Rienne.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Special Guest Star[]

Guest Starring[]

Co-Starring[]

  • Lindsey Haun as Miranda
  • Art Chudabala as Dr. Parks
  • Dominic Comperatore as Doctor
  • David Jean Thomas as Butler
  • Nico Samano as SWAT Team Member

Trivia[]

  • In Season 2(A Dark Turn) Vaughn in under investigation by CIA Counter Intelligence for unapproved contact he was making for foreign intelligence operatives while he was investigating Irina Derevko. That investigation did not uncover any of the backstory for Vaughn that this episode shows.
  • Vaughn being shot at close range with an automatic weapon was intended to make it clear that the character was dead (eliminating the loopholes previously used to bring back dead characters) because Michael Vartan no longer wanted to do the show. When Season 5 was determined to be the end of the series the character was brought back along with other returning characters (such as Anna Espinosa) to give the show a good send off.
  • It is inconceivable that airbags would not have deployed when the car Sydney and Vaughn were in was hit. Given that the car looked relatively new, it would have been equipped with airbags, yet they did not appear at any point.
  • Signs appearing in the episode should be in Italian (they are in Rome), however they are wrong. When they meet Lehman, a sign over a door says "Esito" instead of "Uscita" (Exit). At the railway, a sign says "Alto" instead of "Stop".
  • This is the last time Director Chase, who was played by Angela Bassett throughout season 4, is directly mentioned in Alias. The last time she actually appeared on the show was season 4
  • First episode that Rachel Nichols was in
  • Before this episode aired it was rumored that Michael Vartan would be written out of the series because of his relationship with Jennifer Garner.
  • Sydney's Pregenancy was icorportated into the series in order to mirror Jennifer Garner's real life pregenancy, However series creator J.J Abrams had originally Planned not to do so.
  • This episode had two themes one was the theme for the season and Prophet Five episode only.
  • This episode has an audio commentary.
  • This is first season premiere not written by J.J Abrams

Aliases Used[]

Gadgets[]

Music[]

  • "Lay Lady Lay" by Bob Dylan
  • "Dirty Little Secret" by Sarah McLachlan
  • "Dirty Little Secret Remix" by Sarah McLachlan

Allusions and References[]

Quotes[]

  • Vaughn: …Yeah!, you’re going to be an amazing mom… And I’m going to be a disaster, I’ve never changed a diaper.
  • Sydney: Neither have I, we’re going to have to call Marshall for an assist.


  • Marshall: He's not gonna find Sydney and Vaughn, not from what I gave him. I encrypted Vaughn's files, 4096-bit - it'll take him years. I mean, he's an ass. Deal with it.


  • Sydney: You're waltzing!
  • Vaughn: Yup. I've been practicing for our wedding.
  • Sydney: With whom?
  • Vaughn: Weiss.


  • Vaughn: "Owen. Sounds like something you name a gerbil."
  • Sydney: "Clementine is cute."
  • Vaughn: "For a fruit."
  • Sydney: "It's also a name."
  • Vaughn: "It's also a campfire song."


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