The Solution

Episode Number: 1.20

Original Air Date: April 21, 2002

Written By: John Eisendrath

Directed By: Dan Attias

Summary:
Last week, Sydney finds out the Noah was the freelance-assassin known as "Snowman." He dies in her arms. Today, we find Sydney letting out some frustration in the gym, as her voice-over talks to Vaughn about Noah. She feels guilty, and Vaughn tries to convince her Noah was evil. That it wasn't her fault. She questions why she continues doing what she does, and she questions if she's still doing it for the right reasons. Vaughn reminds her that she's done amazing work in the short time she's been a double agent, and that she can't back down now.

Back at Sydney's place, Francie and Will hire an exterminator to find a mouse and Will agrees to wait for the exterminator. Will gets another phone call from his mysterious source. Will tells him he isn't interested anymore, but his source tells him that the man that kidnapped him was Jack Bristow, to which Will is completely taken aback. While the exterminator is doing his work, Will finds a picture of Jack in Sydney's kitchen drawer. He draws a black mask over Jack's face and sees the eyes are the same as the man who kidnapped him.

Elsewhere, Sydney hatches a plan to force Khasinau out of hiding by producing a fake Rambaldi sample that he would want, baiting him. They would have to use a bit of the real Rambaldi liquid, to pass tests, but then they could make a switch to the fake liquid, which they could trace. Sydney arranges a week's vacation from SD-6 in order to go on the mission with Vaughn. Sydney visits Emily, where she finds that Emily knows Sloane isn't a bank CEO. Sydney is completely shocked. Although Emily still doesn't know the full truth (she believes Arvin works for the CIA), she still knows too much, and security section finds out. They want Emily killed. Sloane finds out and is visably upset.

On the mission, Sydney and Vaughn pose as French specialists, testing a museum's security. Vaughn speaks lots of French, and, again, the female population passes out. When we wake up, we see the Sydney is stealing some artifacts in order to plant a story that 'something' had been stolen from the museum. They want Khasinau to believe that a second Rambaldi liquid was stolen and he will be able to buy it on the black market later. The plan almost goes to hell when the museum manager orders Sydney and Vaughn to leave, but they manage to finish the job.

Back in LA, Will gives his assistant a story that's only to be published in the event of his death. He's going to have a talk with his kidnapper. Later, Will walks into a bar and sits right next to Jack, who seems surprised to see him. In one of the best 'Will' scenes to date, he blurts out that he knows Jack kidnapped him, and he isn't sure what it has to do with SD-6. The word 'SD-6' coming from Will has Jack genuinely shocked. Jack tells Will he doesn't know what he's talking about. Will tells Jack he'll help him find out who this deep-throat is. Jack later tells Devlin that there's a security leak, and mentions Haladki, but Devlin blows him off. Later, Will gets a message at his office to meet Jack. Jack agrees to work with him to find the CIA mole, but that he won't tell Will anymore than that. When Will questions about Sydney's involvement, Jack lies and tells him she has nothing to do with it. All he will tell Will is that he works in intelligence, and that's all he needs to know. Jack tells Will that he will do as he says, when he says it. There will be no questions.

Back at Sydney's place, Sydney tells Francie that she slept with Noah. Francie remembers Noah from a while back when he and Sydney dated publicly. Francie didn't like him, and Sydney agrees they will never be together again. Back at SD-6, Sloane accidentally finds out that there is another sale of the Rambaldi liquid on the black market, and he's sending Dixon to retrieve it. Of course, Dixon has no idea that the whole sale is fake, and it's only being done to draw Khasinau out. The fake ampule they'll give Khasinau will have a radioactive tracer in it, so they can trace where it goes and find Khasinau. On the mission, Sydney is dressed in robes and is covered in make-up as Vaughn looks on with binoculars. She's met by Khasinau's right-hand, Mr. Sark, and to prove she is who she says she is, they duel. Sydney proves her worth, much to Vaughn's worry, and they proceed with the deal. Vaughn spots Dixon entering the yard, and warns Sydney to hurry up and get out. But she can't. Before Sydney can make the switch, Dixon bursts in. Sark places the Ampule in his pocket, as Dixon looks directly at Sydney...till next week!