The WORST episodes of Alias

Every episode of Alias ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Alias!

Sydney Bristow, an agent who has been tricked to believe she is working for the U.S. government is actually working for a criminal organization named the Alliance of Twelve. Upon learning this, Sydney becomes a double agent for the real CIA.

Last Updated: 2/27/2024Network: ABC (US)Status: Ended
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Time Will Tell
star
7.35
865 votes

#1 - Time Will Tell

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/2/2001

Sydney must undergo an extensive lie detector test to satisfy Sloane's frantic search for the SD-6 mole. Meanwhile, with nemesis Anna Espinosa following her every move, Sydney seeks out the connection that a device may have to the 500-year-old prophetic Rambaldi sketch. The mystery of Kate Jones deepens as Will continues to investigate Danny's death; and Sydney discovers that a keepsake from her mother Laura contains more disturbing connections into Jack's past alliances.

Directors: Perry Lang
Writer: Jeff Pinkner
Watch Now:Apple TV
A Free Agent
star
7.36
676 votes

#2 - A Free Agent

Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/9/2003

Sydney must make a life-defining decision regarding her future with the agency, while Sloane re-emerges and continues his obsessive quest to piece together the mysterious Rambaldi artifacts - with the reluctant aid of a kidnapped scientist. Meanwhile, Dixon's marriage is put to the test after he tells his wife the truth about his occupation.

Directors: Alex Kurtzman
Watch Now:Apple TV
Reunion
star
7.36
692 votes

#3 - Reunion

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/12/2003

Sydney and Vaughn are reunited again as a team to prevent Sark from destroying the nation's satellite communications system. Meanwhile, Jack must find a way to stop Marshall from uncovering the identity of a familiar murderer. Sydney accompanies Vaughn and Lauren as they meet with Sloane to ask for a favor.

Directors: Jack Bender
Writer: Jeff Pinkner
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Orphan
star
7.37
592 votes

#4 - The Orphan

Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 3/23/2005

Nadia puts her own life - as well Sydney's and Weiss's - in danger after failing to unveil her past through a dangerous criminal. Meanwhile, Vaughn finds a person who is somehow connected to his father and Nadia as well.

Directors: Ken Olin
Watch Now:Apple TV
A Higher Echelon
star
7.39
699 votes

#5 - A Higher Echelon

Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/5/2003

After completing his first mission with Sydney, Marshall's life is placed in mortal danger. Meanwhile, Ariana Kane suspects Jack as being the prime suspect in the disappearance of Sloane's wife. Vaughn learns the truth about Jack's involvement in the murder of CIA agent Haladki and Sydney confides in Francie about her feelings for a fellow co-worker.

Directors: Guy Bee
Watch Now:Apple TV
Masquerade
star
7.39
798 votes

#6 - Masquerade

Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/7/2002

While on a case to track the activities of Khasinau, a.k.a. "The Man," Sydney runs into her ex-lover, Noah Hicks, who broke her heart and left without saying goodbye five years earlier. Meanwhile, Sydney tells Sloane that she wants to find her mother; Jack is ordered to see CIA psychiatrist Dr. Barnett to help him deal with his churning emotions after discovering that his wife may still be alive; and Will and Francie become suspicious of Sydney's activities after finding one of her airline ticket stubs.

Directors: Carl Zisk
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Mockingbird
star
7.39
560 votes

#7 - Mockingbird

Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/20/2005

While Sloane awaits the outcome of his sentencing, Sydney's life is put in grave danger when Gordon Dean discovers that Rachel is still alive.

Writer: Drew Goddard
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Solo
star
7.41
643 votes

#8 - Solo

Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/10/2005

Rachel receives a little help from Syd for her first solo mission.

Directors: Jeffrey Bell
Writer: Jeffrey Bell
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
So It Begins
star
7.41
1277 votes

#9 - So It Begins

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/7/2001

Sydney returns to SD-6 and is assigned with Dixon to travel to Moscow to retrieve some stolen files. But when Sydney discovers that she has inadvertently given SD-6 access to a nuclear weapon, she is forced to travel to Cairo and face a deadly foe. Meanwhile, Will begins to question the circumstances surrounding Danny's death, and Sydney learns of her father's involvement in the murder.

Directors: Ken Olin
Writer: J.J. Abrams
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Nightingale
star
7.42
620 votes

#10 - Nightingale

Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 4/6/2005

Sydney and Vaughn risk their lives trying to find out the truth about Vaughn's father. Finally, we find out why Jack and Sloane seem to be conspiring together against Sydney and Vaughn.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Nemesis
star
7.42
722 votes

#11 - The Nemesis

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/2/2003

Sydney's emotions are turned inside-out when she comes face-to-face with Allison, Francie's doppelgänger, who was presumed dead but is now a key figure in The Covenant. Meanwhile Lauren's search for Lazarey's murderer leads her closer to discovering a connection to Sydney, and Sydney begrudgingly is assigned as Sloane's CIA handler.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Dead Drop
star
7.42
731 votes

#12 - Dead Drop

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/20/2002

Sydney's dealings with her mother lead Jack to take drastic measures to ensure his daughter's safety. Meanwhile Will is confronted by a mysterious woman about resurrecting his story on SD-6.

Directors: Guy Bee
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Solution
star
7.43
768 votes

#13 - The Solution

Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/21/2002

In order to catch Khasinau and get closer to finding her mother, Sydney and Vaughn set up an undercover transaction for a Rambaldi artifact with Khasinau's representative, Mr. Sark. But Sydney's cover may be compromised when a SD-6 agent is sent in to thwart the sale. Meanwhile, Will is enticed to continue his investigation of SD-6 when he learns the identity of one of his kidnappers. Emily tells Sydney that she knows about SD-6, which forces Sloane to make the most difficult decision of his life.

Directors: Daniel Attias
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Parity
star
7.44
1102 votes

#14 - Parity

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/14/2001

Sydney's life is in mortal danger as she is sent to Madrid to retrieve a 500-year-old sketch that contains a set of numbers and meets up with her deadly nemesis, K-Directorate agent Anna Espinosa. Meanwhile, Will delves deeper into the cause of Danny's death and discovers a very strange anomaly.

Directors: Mikael Salomon
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Second Double
star
7.44
697 votes

#15 - Second Double

Season 2 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/4/2003

Sydney begins to question Will's identity when he's arrested for espionage, under suspicion of being a double. Meanwhile Sark and Irina plot to recover the Rambaldi heart, and Sloane makes Jack a business proposal.

Directors: Ken Olin
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Mea Culpa
star
7.44
862 votes

#16 - Mea Culpa

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/9/2001

Sydney's life is placed in mortal danger when Sloane is informed by his superior that she is the SD-6 mole. Meanwhile, Dixon's life hangs in the balance after he is shot on a mission, and Will realizes that his discovery of Kate Jones' pin could uncover some unexpected information.

Directors: Ken Olin
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
...1...
star
7.45
627 votes

#17 - ...1...

Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/6/2005

Sydney teams up with Renée - a fugitive on the CIA's most wanted list -- to track down the murderer of a close friend before the killer can strike again. Meanwhile, Jack enlists a reluctant new agent, Thomas Grace (Balthazar Getty), and Weiss struggles to decide whether or not to accept a promotion that would force him to leave his colleagues.

Writer: J.R. Orci
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Nocturne
star
7.45
677 votes

#18 - Nocturne

Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/9/2005

After being infected with a hallucinogen, Sydney starts to lose touch with reality. Vaughn and Jack must rush to find an antidote before Sydney puts her life - and others next to her - into danger.

Writer: Jeff Pinkner
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Shed
star
7.46
624 votes

#19 - The Shed

Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/13/2005

Sydney is forced to partner on a mission with new APO agent Thomas Grace. They discover that Rachel Gibson -- a spy suspected of being involved in activities against the U.S. -- has something shockingly in common with Sydney.

Directors: Tucker Gates
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Confession
star
7.48
855 votes

#20 - The Confession

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/6/2002

Sydney is grateful and proud of her father after he saves her life while on a case in Havana. But her admiration is short lived when Vaughn discovers further evidence that Jack may have been responsible for the deaths of over a dozen CIA officers many years earlier.

Directors: Harry Winer
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Ice
star
7.48
626 votes

#21 - Ice

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/19/2005

Sydney and Vaughn go undercover to track down a deadly new bio-weapon. Meanwhile, Sydney is concerned about Vaughn not having yet put Lauren behind, and Nadia turns to a Jack to find out the truth about her mother.

Directors: Jeffrey Bell
Writer: Jeffrey Bell
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Out of the Box
star
7.48
618 votes

#22 - Out of the Box

Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/27/2005

Sydney and Tom discover that Renie has stolen the cryo container, and soon find themselves under siege by a group of mercanaries who want the contents of the container. Meanwhile, Sloane takes matters into his own hands to get himself back into APO.

Directors: Jay Torres
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Abduction
star
7.49
700 votes

#23 - The Abduction

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/15/2002

Jack meets Alliance counterintelligence head Ariana Kane, who is sent in to investigate Emily's disappearance and to discover who is trying to blackmail Sloane. Meanwhile, Marshall is sent on his first mission with Sydney as his partner. Vaughn schedules Will to take a CIA psych test. Francie gets suspicious over Sydney and Will's secretive behavior.

Directors: Nelson McCormick
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Box (2)
star
7.49
785 votes

#24 - The Box (2)

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/10/2002

Vaughn disobeys orders and attempts to help Sydney and Jack avert the destruction of SD-6 headquarters and all its occupants. Meanwhile, McKenas Cole continues his vendetta against Sloane and searches for a mysterious device. A desperate but determined woman convince Will to continue his investigation of SD-6 and the imprisonment of David McNeil.

Directors: Jack Bender
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Reckoning
star
7.49
931 votes

#25 - Reckoning

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/18/2001

Sydney goes undercover in a mental institution to get information from Shepard, a man who has been unconsciously programmed to be a deadly assassin. Meanwhile, after Sydney becomes convinced that her father was responsible for the death of her mother 20 years earlier. Will discovers the true identity of the woman who claimed having an affair with Danny and Francie is relieved to learn that Charlie is not having an affair other woman. Marshall finds the computer worm planted in the SD-6 mainframe by the CIA.

Directors: Daniel Attias
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV