Definitions
Spoiler Alert! This page includes info for season five:
don't read if you don't want to be spoiled!
47: For some reason, 47 was a favorite number of Milo Rambaldi; the number appears frequently in Alias.
APO: Starting in season four, "Authorized Personnel Only" is the black ops division of the CIA that employs Jack, Sydney, Vaughn, Dixon, Marshall, Weiss, Nadia, and Sloane.
Department of Special Research: was created during World War II to investigate Nazi interest in the occult. After the war, an executive order was signed, empowering them to investigate parapsychology, remote viewing, etc. In Season One, they took an interest in Sydney because her image appeared in one of Rambaldi's books, along with a prophecy.
Echelon: A device that is capable of searching telecommunication transmissions and picking up certain words; the idea of this device is to locate sources of potential threats.
functional imaging test: A sophisticated lie detector
intel: Another word for information
K-Directorate: Rival organization to SD-6, K-Directorate also deals in "intelligence" - and shady dealings.
Medusa: an anti-satellite weapon
Mt. Subasio: According to Rambaldi, the woman in his prophecy will have never seen Mt. Subasio. To prove that she was not the woman in the prophecy, Sydney went to this mountain.
Project Christmas: In this program, children were secretly tested to see if they had the traits to make good spies. Those that passed were given spy training, and then hypnotized to forget it until they were reactivated.
Prophet Five: Vaughn learned that his father was a mathematician involved in the Prophet Five project. A man named Lehman, also involved in the project, explained that they decoded a 500-year old text containing information about advanced genetics. After the P5 project was complete, those who worked on it began to meet with mysterious deaths, so Lehman and Vaughn Sr. changed their identities. Vaughn was told that Mueller - of the Mueller Device (aka the Circumference) - was the one who originated the P5 project.
Provacillium: A medication usually taken by gene therapy patients to keep the body from rejecting the DNA mutations.
SD-6: Sydney's former employer. Part of the Alliance, SD-6 convinced its lower-level agents that it was a secret part of the CIA. Sydney learned otherwise, and after a long struggle she helped to bring them down.
The Alliance: Was composed of twelve cells, SD-1 through SD-12. Thanks to Sydney's efforts, attacks against all cells were orchestrated, and all were defeated. Later, it was revealed that it was Sloane's plan for The Alliance to fall.
The Covenant: A large, powerful, secretive organization filled with skillful although treacherous bad guys. The Covenant kidnapped Sydney and tried to brainwash her into becoming the assassin Julia Thorne.
The Chosen One: One of Rambaldi's manuscripts depicted a woman that looked like Sydney. Rambaldi described the woman as follows: "This woman here depicted will possess unseen marks. Signs that she will be the one to bring forth my works. Bind them with fury, a burning anger unless prevented at vulgar cost this woman will render the greatest power unto utter desolation." The FBI took Sydney into custody, fearing that she was the woman described, since she matched the three unseen marks - DNA sequencing, platelet levels, and heart size. Later, Irina's mother said that Sydney is the Chosen One of the prophecy.
The Passenger: Another person spoken of in Rambaldi's writings: Nadia Santos is The Passenger. Sydney's half-sister, Nadia is the product of a brief affair between Irina and Sloane. The Passenger is a descendant of Rambaldi. When she takes a certain elixir, The Passenger enters a trance-like state and writes one of Rambaldi's formulas.
The Triad: Loose coalition of organized crime entities. They deal in mainly drugs and prostitution, but they've also made a significant foray into weapons.
Yakuza: Japanese mafia
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Sydney bring down SD-6?
Sydney discovered the existence of an airborne server that tied the twelve cells of the Alliance together. By accessing the server and downloading its security codes, she was able to grant the CIA access to all twelve SD cells.
A worldwide raid was staged, and all SD and Alliance Members were taken into custody. What Sydney didn't know, however, was that this was all part of Sloane's Phase One.
Why are Jack and Sydney so dysfunctional as a family?
Mostly because of Jack's emotional unavailability throughout Sydney's life. He was also absent for much of Sydney's childhood.
Sydney grew up to view her father as an unyielding man of independent mind, with an igloo-like exterior. After Sydney learned the truth about her employer, she was shocked to discover that Jack worked for them, the bad guys, as well. After that, she uncovered other startling info about her father, and she told him, "Just when I think I know how bad you are, I learn something worse."
What happened to Sydney's memory in Season Three?
Apparently after the fight with the Evil Francie (in the Season Two Finale) Sydney was captured by The Covenant. She was subjected to extreme torture; after she escaped from them, she underwent an experimental procedure to have the memory of the last two years erased.
However, when she later returned to the CIA, she tried hard to regain those memories. Ultimately, it was Kendall who told her what happened; she had confided in him after her escape from The Covenant, and she had asked him not to tell her the truth, if the memory-erasing procedure worked.
Read more about it in the season three recap.
What were in the papers that Sydney found in the Season Three Finale?
In season four, Syd tells Vaughn that the papers were an official request from Jack to execute Irina Derevko. The request was approved, and Jack killed Irina. That doesn't explain why the papers were titled "Project SAB" with a start date of Syd's birthday, but I don't really care, as long as Jack's not evil.
What happened to Irina? Is she really dead?
Early in season four, we learned that Jack killed Irina because she had hired an assassin to kill Sydney. Irina's death prevented the hit on Sydney from being carried out.
However, later developments revealed that Irina did not hire the assassin - she was framed by her cruel sister, Elena. The person Jack shot was a genetic double of Irina. While everyone believed Irina was dead, Elena tortured Irina into helping her build a Rambabli device.
After learning that Irina was alive, Jack, Syd and Nadia rescued her. She helped them stop Elena, and then Jack let Irina go.
What happened to Vaughn? Is he really dead?
In the season five premiere he was shot: read more about that situation here.
In season five, when did Sydney find out that Vaughn wasn't dead?
Jack and Sydney faked Vaughn's death. In Maternal Instinct when Jack is holding the baby on the plane, he says, "I'll take care of it," after Sydney mentions Vaughn's eyes; I think this was our first clue that they know - and have known - that Vaughn is still alive.
I think the scene in There's Only One... with Sydney and Jack talking about lying to Will is the second clue that Syd and Jack have been covering up the fact that Vaughn's still alive.
Jack confirmed this in I See Dead People when he explains that Vaughn has been in hiding to be safe while he recovered from his wounds.
What does <o> (the Rambaldi symbol) mean?
In episode eight of season four, Sydney tells Nadia about Irina's explanation of the Rambaldi symbol:
"There was an audiotape, surveillance from a hotel room in Hamburg. [Irina] was talking to a man - his voice was never identified. She was describing the symbology of this. The mark of Rambaldi. She said the outer markings represent her two daughters. The center is the object over which they will do great battle . . . with each other. "
Doesn't the show mention Alice in Wonderland a lot?
Yes it does, and thanks to Jaya for pointing this out! She wrote: "When Sydney returns from her two year absence, she moves into a new house since the old one burned down. Weiss asks her what is the one thing she wishes she hadn’t lost (of course other than Vaughn), she says the first edition of Alice in Wonderland that her mother gave when she was little. So Weiss gives her a third edition (because he says the first edition cost way too much, I think he says $40,000; not sure) to make her feel better. I thought this was interesting because Sydney is an Alice herself going deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole."
Jaya's comments reminded me how in season 1, Sydney dressed up like Alice for Halloween. And in season four, Vaughn is directed to "Through the Looking Glass" when he is searching for something in the library.
When will ABC update their Alias FAQ page?
ABC has taken down their Alias site. I have saved their episode summaries; I will add them to this site as soon as time permits.
Isn't this FAQ kind of short?
I suppose it is, but don't forget that besides the other info on this page, there is also info on the characters and a recap of the show's history. If/When you see something in all of those pages that I've failed to add, please let me know.
Other Alias Trivia
* No one on this show is really dead.
* Vaughn and Sydney met on October 1st.
* Sydney's middle name is Anne. (Thanks to Ann Bristow for reminding me of this!)
* The day Vaughn met Sydney, the watch that his father gave him stopped working.
* Vaughn's father told him that he could set his heart by that watch.
* Vaughn's dog is named Donovan.
* Jack's real name is Jonathan Donahue Bristow.
* Jack was transferred to the Los Angeles CIA office when Sydney was two.
* When Sydney was four, Jack nearly burned down their home by forgetting about some bread in the toaster after drinking too much with Laura.
* Jack keeps stockpiles of weapons and cash for emergencies.
* Jack and Sloane met in 1971 at the CIA in Langley.
* Sloane was Jack's superior at the CIA when they met.
* Sloane is usually a bad guy, but sometimes we're not so sure.
* Marshall's son is named Mitchell.
* Dixon speaks nine languages. Techno isn't one of them.
* Dixon's children are named Steven and Robin.
* Dixon accidentally shot Emily, Sloane's wife. Dixon was aiming for Sloane.
* In retaliation, Sloane had Dixon's wife, Diane, killed.
* Talking in her sleep, Sydney said, "Don't frost the pie."
* According to Sydney, "There's no drug like adrenalin."
* Sark was sent to school in England at a very young age.
* Sark says that what he wants is "that which I never had."
* Sark's favorite wine is Chateau Patreuse, 1982.
* Sark's father, Lazarey, was a Russian diplomat.
* Sark remembers his father as being physically abusive.
* Marshall says that the voice analysis he did on Sark's voice when he first appears on the scene in season one revealed that he's from somewhere close to County Galway in Ireland.
(Thanks to Sarah for contributing this!)
* Lazarey says that The Covenant is "true evil."
* Marshall can play the drums.
* Sydney went to college to become a teacher.
* Sydney chose the teaching profession because she thought her mother was a teacher.
* Irina has two sisters: Elena and Ekatarina.
* Ekatarina prefers to be called Katya.
* Julia Thorne's Roman address is 1124 Piazza Barberini - the penthouse apartment.
* Lauren and Vaughn met when Lauren was asking the CIA agents questions about Irina Derevko.
* Lauren and Vaughn were married at the Reed farm in Virginia.
* Lauren was part of the team that arranged for Sloane's pardon.
* Lauren had Vaughn's father's watch fixed when she realized that she had forgotten the anniversary of his father's death. (Thanks to Sharon for this one!)
* Lauren tells her father that she believes in the cause she's working for (i.e. The Covenant).
* Vaughn burned down the home he shared with Lauren.
* Nadia's real birthday is unknown, so the people at the orphanage assigned her one.
* Nadia's APO code name is Evergreen.
* Sydney's APO code name is Phoenix. (Very clever, since the phoenix is said to "rise from the ashes.")
* Vaughn's APO codename is Shotgun.
* Marshall's APO code name is Merlin.
* Dixon's APO code name is Outrigger.
* Elena Derevko's code name is Sentinel.
* In season four, Sark reveals that The Covenant imploded.
* In season one, the number of Will's house was 47 1/4. (Thanks to "anonymous" for this one!)
* Sydney got a D in high school home economics for embroidering something on a sweatshirt that ticked off her "sexist pig" teacher. (#1)
* Sydney asks Danny if he got the Dave Matthews Band tickets. (#1)
* Danny called Jack to ask for approval to marry Sydney. (#1)
* Danny and Sydney have been dating for two years. (#1)
* Will was set up by his sister on a blind date with a woman whose all-time favorite movie is "Pretty Woman."(#1)
* Danny was a doctor. (#1)
* Syd tells Danny that she is an operations officer for the CIA. (#1)
* Sydney was approached in the fall of her freshman year about working for the U.S. Government. (#1)
* Syd didn't feel like she belonged anywhere, and she needed the money, so she accepted the job. (#1)
* Dixon and Diane have been married for 12 years. (#1)
* Diane believes that Dixon is an investment analyst who loves his job. (#1)
* Syd has worked for SD-6 for seven years. (#1)
* Will has a sister named Amy. (#1)
* Syd took 3 months off of work after Danny was killed. (#1)
* Before coming to Credit Dauphine, Jack worked undercover for SD-6 at Jennings Aerospace. (#1)
* After returning to work at SD-6, Syd declares that she's taking a week off for mid-terms. (#1)
* Syd underestimates the extent of the reach of SD-6. (#2)
* Syd and Vaughn meet in a van marked "L.A. County Blood Donor Drive."(#2)
* Francie's boyfriend Charlie received a job offer from Fleming Letterman. (#2)
* Vaughn has a girlfriend named Alice. (#2)
* Syd and Will have known each other for three years. (#2)
* Syd finds a nuclear bomb buried in a cemetery located at 1936 Lake Road. (#2)
* Charlie is the first in his family to go to college. (#3)
* Milo Rambaldi and Anna Espinosa are first mentioned in episode 3.
* Vaughn describes Rambaldi as "Davinci meets Nostradamus." (#3)
* The CIA temporily assigns (senior officer) Lambert to replace Vaughn as Syd's handler. (#3)
* Repulsed by Lambert, Syd orders to CIA to reinstate Vaughn, or she will give them nothing. (#3)
* Danny was murdered on June 8th between midnight and six a.m. (#3)
* Will has an aqua blue Chevy with a hula girl on the dash. (#3)
* Will is legally blind without is contacts in. (#3)
* Charlie cleans while naked. (#3)
* When Syd drinks tequila, she likes an ice cream chaser. (#3)
* While drunk, Sydney and Will kiss. (#3)
* Lambert reads a copy of Pipe Collector's Monthly. (#3)
* Sydney and Anna have been enemies for three years. (#4)
* On a mission, Syd recognizes a guard who broke her arm two years ago in Corsica. (#4)
* One of Syd's aliases is Kate Jones. (#4)
* Vaughn gives Syd the CIA file on Jack. (#5)
* Francie decides that she and Syd will have a Halloween party. (#5)
* At the party, Sydney is Alice in Wonderland, Francie is as a cheerleader, and Will is dressed as Richard Nixon. (#5)
* Pages related to case 332L are missing from Jack's file. (#5)
* Sydney's mother died in 1981. (#6)
* From license plate 663STF, Will tracks Eloise Kurtz to 223 Whitley Place, Hollywood. (#6)
* FTL is one of SD-6's rivals. (#6)
* Vaughn says that he was eight when his father died. (#6)
* Eloise Kurtz says she was paid $2,000 to lie about having an affair with Danny. (#6)
* Charlie can sing very well. (#6)
* The trigger phrase for Martin Shephard is by John Donne: "No man is an island, entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent."(#6)
* Shephard checked himself into a mental institution in Bucharest, southern Romania. (#6)
* Syd poses as "Miss Dicamila" a bipolar patient at the mental hospital. (#6)
* Vaughn meets Jack for the first time at a Chinese restaurant. (#7)
* Martin Shepherd is color blind. (#7)
* Eloise Kurtz was found shot to death in Echo Park. (#7)
* Sydney learns that Shepherd was the assassin who killed Danny. (#7)
* Vaughn spent Thanksgiving with his mom. (#7)
* Vaughn reports that he and Alice broke up. (#7)
* Syd poses as Molly Zertan "with the Marissa Foundation."(#8)
* Jack is one of only five agents at Credit Dauphine who knows the truth about SD-6. (#8)
* On Flight 816, Daniel Hecht was assigned seat 11A; Jack changed Seat 11B from Kate Jones to Zachary Cohen. (#8)
* Sydney says that her mother was a teacher. (#8)
* Jack would Laura books -- first editions, one a month - from a bookstore they discovered on a trip to Prague. (#8)
* Syd's CIA code name is Freelancer. (#9)
* "Angel of Mercy" is an SD-6 hospital. (#9)
* Sloane has known Jack since 1971. They met at Langley. (#9)
* Sloane attended Jack and Laura's wedding. (#9)
* Will's cell phone number is 310-555-0153. (#9)
* Will became a reporter because of the movie "His Girl Friday."(#9)
* Sloane believes that Sydney will confess if her colleague Rusik is threatened. (#10)
* Jack frames Rusik as the mole. (#10)
* Amy, Will, Syd, and Fracie play Boggle. (#10)
* Will first hears about SD-6 in episode 10.
* Syd poses as the spoiled and rich Victoria King. (#10)
* Severin Driscoll is in suite 350. (#10)
* Sloane says that two years before he and Jack met, he could feel a darkness coming. (#10)
* Syd admits to not being very good at Morse code. (#11)
* Vaughn's father was William C. Vaughn. (#11)
* Vaughn knows pi to six digits. (#11)
* Sydney learns that her mother was a KGB agent. (#11)
Note: The (#) number indicates what episode the trivia is from.
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