It was a family affair in the second series of JJ Abrams' wonderfully inventive Alias, as super secret agent Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) came face-to-face with the mother of all super secret agents--her own mother, Irina Derevko (Lena Olin), a former KGB agent, presumed dead, and more dangerous than ever. After shooting poor Syd, Irina later shows up at the doorstep of the CIA, offering to turn herself in and work for the good guys. But can she be trusted? Alias set up so much duplicity in its second series that it might have been hard to keep track of who was doing what to whom, but thanks to a great ensemble cast, fast-paced writing and direction, and some cannily cast guest stars, the show rode a stunning emotional roller-coaster and never broke its momentum, even when halfway through the season, it reinvented itself. With episode 13, "Phase One" (which aired after the Super Bowl to the show's biggest audience), Syd's original nemesis (and employer) SD-6 changes forever, yet the kick-butt agent still finds herself going up against the malevolent leader Sloane (Ron Rifkin) and his ever-changing set of henchmen. Action fans got plenty of fighting, while romantic Alias watchers swooned as Syd and the dashing Vaughn (Michael Vartan) finally consummated their unrequited love.

The critically acclaimed show owed a debt to Buffy the Vampire Slayer for its mix of action, romance, mystery, and moral quandaries, but in this series Alias truly came into its own--with a climax that came as a total shocker and prepped the show for an emotionally volatile third series. Guest stars included the phenomenal Amy Irving as Sloane's wife, Faye Dunaway as a nefarious bigwig, Christian Slater as a kidnapped scientist, and Ethan Hawke as a fellow CIA agent (or rather, two of them), but it was the dysfunctional nuclear family of Syd, Irina, and father Jack (Victor Garber) that gave Alias its heart and its strength, whether the three perfectly cast actors (all Emmy nominated) were just bickering or undertaking deadly hand-to-hand combat. --Mark Englehart

season 1 was very good...but season 2 is a genuine classic era of the show,with Lena Olin as Sydneys mother!?!?!
the enemy walks in-5/5
trust me-5/5
cipher-4/5
dead drop-4/5
the indicator-4/5
salvation-4/5
counteragent-4/5
Passage(1)-5*/5-stunning
passage(2)-5*/5
abduction-4/5
higher echelon-4/5
the getaway-5/5
Phase One-5*/5-simply the greatest episode of the show...EVER!!!
Double Agent-5/5
a free agent-4/5
firebomb-4/5
a dark turn-5/5
truth takes time-5/5
endgame-5/5
countdown-4/5
second double-5/5
the Telling-5*/5-AMAZING!!!!!!!!

buy today for these stunning episodes.

We've just finished this and can honestly say enjoyed it even more than the first one. It had a lot of "wow" moments that you won't see coming and is pretty much unputdownable. There's development of the mother's character and some new faces, all of which enhance what we saw on Season 1. It's the usual rollercoaster ride of high action and unbelievable stunts, but by now you'll have come to expect and enjoy all that. I still can't believe that I never heard of this at all on TV, as it's so like 24. Can't wait to settle down to Season 3 in a day or so.

This season of 'Alias' ranks as the best.
Actually, i think this is the best season of any tv-show i have ever seen.
Fast paced, well acted. Great action.
And some wonderful story-lines.
The episode 'Phase One', is probably the best thing i have seen on television yet.

This box-set comes highly recommended !

The Alias series is just incredible, so there is no reason not to buy this item.

But, to all of you who don't come from an English speaking country, this would probably be nice to know before you buy.

These DVDs have subtitles in: English / English for the hearing impaired / French / Swedish / Norwegian / Danish / Finnish / Icelandic / Dutch

In the second season of Alias, Sydney???s life becomes even more tangled and dangerous, when she finds out the real truth about her mother, and her friends take on new roles.

It is also in the second season that Sydney and the CIA break into SD-6, which means the end of SD-6, but not the end of Arvin Sloane.

Season 2 also has the most shocking season finale.

See it for yourself! You don???t want to miss it!

Season 2 is definately the best season yet as it has the most action and more going on than the other seasons (which are also great and definately worth buying). The cast is great with the legendary Victor Garber and beautiful Jennifer Garner to name a few. All of season 1 builds up the sydney/vaugn relationship which finally kicks off half-way through season 2, which is a great relief.
There is high tension at the end of the season with Francie's scary betrayal (or Allisons), and great fight sequences (eventhough they would both be knocked out after the first 10 seconds of each fight in real life!). I own all of the seasons but I keep lending them to my friends because they are so addictive! This is a cool,fun DVD boxset- JJ Abrams at his best.