Alias: Relive the spy drama's top 10 twists

By the time J.J. Abrams’ globe-trotting, mile-a-minute spy drama signed off a decade ago, it had reinvented itself more times than most series ever dare. Like its heroine, Alias defined itself by its willingness to take risks, and while some stuck the landing better than others, the show was never more exciting than in the moments it decided to jump. In honor of the anniversary of the series finale, EW counts down Alias’ 10 best twists.

As Vaughn’s (Michael Vartan) wife, Lauren (Melissa George) was easy to hate. And when the blonde roadblock to Sydney (Jennifer Garner) and Vaughn’s romance turned out to be a villain, it became even easier to do so. Still, as much as it thrilled fans to see Lauren as a double agent for the Covenant, the twist ended Syd and Lauren’s frenemy dynamic, which had given the game-changing third season an added spark. Good thing Lauren left with a bang — and a safety deposit box number containing intel that would change the Bristows’ lives. — Shirley Li

As evidence mounted that Jack (Victor Garber) was the KGB mole who had killed Vaughn’s father, Sydney became so convinced of her father’s guilt that she went to the CIA to turn him in. But what she thought would be a private meeting turned into a parade of agents — including, finally, Jack himself. Jack revealed that the KGB mole was in fact Sydney’s mother, whom she had believed was an English professor who died during her childhood. By the end of the first season, Sydney’s mother would prove to be alive, a revelation that set up Irina Derevko (Lena Olin) as both an enemy and ally to Sydney throughout the series. — Derek Lawrence

The biggest surprise in Alias’ series finale wasn’t a death; it was an unexpected life. The show’s final hour granted Sloane (Ron Rifkin) the immortality he thought he wanted, but in the ultimate knife twist, Jack — who was already critically wounded — sacrificed himself to blow up Rambaldi’s tomb, sentencing Sloane to an eternity trapped under a rock. Rambaldi may have been right about a few things, but he never counted on Jack Bristow. — Kelly Connolly

“Phase One” was one of the biggest Alias episodes of all time, and not just because it aired after the Super Bowl. After what should have been a huge win for Sydney (we’re getting to that), the episode’s last scene revealed that her roommate Francie (Merrin Dungey) had been killed by a genetic doppelgänger. Before Sydney could catch on, Evil Francie would kill Dixon’s (Carl Lumbly) wife and leave Will (Bradley Cooper) for dead. The twist marked the end of Sydney’s double life, as everyone close to her now knew her true profession. — Derek Lawrence

Alias didn’t pull any punches in this pivotal showdown against SD-6. Not only did the CIA take down its Biggest Bad halfway through the second season in a rat-a-tat, shoot-‘em-up scene destroying the entire operation, but it also gave Syd and Vaughn their moment of make-out glory and revealed that “Phase One” was complete, opening up the story to something… more. (Poor, poor Francie.) — Shirley Li

In the moment that kickstarted Sydney’s entire journey of revenge, redemption, and Rambaldi, Jack finally told his daughter he was working for the CIA to bring down SD-6 and the Alliance of Twelve — the exact mission she’d just been approved to pursue as well. With the truth out in the open, the pair began to heal their fractured relationship, eventually becoming the most kick-ass father-daughter team in spy history. — Shirley Li

Milo Rambaldi was just a 15th-century architect until the CIA found a way to read the blank page in his manuscript. After uncovering the invisible ink on page 47, the usually cool-headed Vaughn canceled all of his meetings and called for Sydney. A drawing of her face was on the ancient page. It was a turning point for Sydney, who found herself at the heart of a centuries-old prophecy, and for the show, which took its first steps into sci-fi territory. Like that page, there was more to Alias than met the eye. — Kelly Connolly

At the end of season 4, it seemed like Sydney and Vaughn would finally get their happily ever after. Engaged and en route to Santa Barbara, they were discussing the prospect of eloping when he made a confession: “My name isn’t Michael Vaughn.” Before he could reveal more, a car crashed into theirs, and the season cut to black. The audience was left wondering what this meant, whether the love of Sydney’s life could be a bad guy, and who would survive. The accident and the truth of Vaughn’s identity would become central to the show’s fifth and final season. — Derek Lawrence

Some dramas use time jumps to shock viewers; Alias, however, used one to shock its own heroine. At the end of season 2, Vaughn reluctantly revealed to Sydney — who had just woken up in Hong Kong scared and lost — that she’d been presumed dead for a whole two years, two years that upended the status quo of the show. (Vaughn even got married!) It was brutal, it was dramatic, and, most importantly, it showed us Syd at her most shaken. — Shirley Li

As if anything could top this moment. A half-season after Francie was replaced by genetic double Allison, Will left Sydney a voicemail that clued her in on the truth. To test his theory, Sydney offered her roommate a spoonful of ice cream — then disappeared to grab her gun. Cue Francie’s face in the doorway: “I just remembered. Francie doesn’t like coffee ice cream.” The fight that followed was the best of the series: a brutal, drawn-out brawl that destroyed the apartment, literally crashing through Sydney’s last illusions of a normal life. (Her next memory after the fight would be of waking up in Hong Kong two years later.) In one exquisitely ordinary line, Alias turned the everyday on its head and left it there. — Kelly Connolly