Irina Derevko
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Irina Derevko (a.k.a. Laura Bristow, a.k.a. The Man), is a fictional character on the television series, Alias. Irina, played by Lena Olin, is the mother of the central character, Sydney Bristow.
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Biography
Irina Derevko was a long-term spy for the Soviet Union, assigned to marry Jack Bristow in order to get information from him, specifically concerning Project Christmas. Together they had a child, Sydney. A few years after her birth, Derevko disappeared, apparently dying in a car accident. At the end of the first season of Alias, it was revealed that Derevko was alive and well and was actually the leader of a criminal organization.
However, Derevko soon turned herself in to the CIA and was used as a source to help bring down SD-6, and also assisted with other important missions before eluding capture during a mission. Her subsequent whereabouts were unknown throughout season three, although she continued to be in occasional contact with Jack via e-mail, and arranged for her sister, Katya Derevko, to assist Jack and Sydney on occasion. It was also learned that Irina had an affair with Arvin Sloane and had a second daughter, Nadia Santos.
At the beginning of season four, it was revealed that Irina had hired a hit man to kill Sydney. Jack Bristow received permission from his superiors to execute Irina, and we learn in "Another Mr. Sloane" that he carried out the act himself. Sydney later identified Irina's body in a Moscow medical facility and arranged for her burial in a Moscow crypt.
The shooting of Irina occurred 18 months prior to the season finale of the fourth season and sometime prior to season three's finale, "Resurrection". The fourth season finale revealed that, in fact, a genetic modification procedure known as Helix (and introduced in the second season of Alias) was used to create a double of Irina, and it is this woman who Jack shot dead. Jack was set up by Irina's second sister, Elena Derevko, who used Helix on one of the followers of The Covenant who had volunteered to be executed.
The real Irina was imprisoned by Elena and tortured for her knowledge of Rambaldi's secrets. After 18 months, she was finally rescued by her daughters Sydney and Nadia (whom she met for the first time since Nadia was a small child) and Jack. Although technically under arrest by the CIA, Irina was given permission to help stop Elena from bringing about her endgame. After the successful completion of the mission, Jack and Sydney allowed her to escape into the darkness rather than return to America and imprisonment, under the pretense that no one could hold on to Irina Derevko.
In the fourth season episode, "Ice", Jack reveals that Irina told him that she had a niece. This niece preceded Sydney and was supposedly why Irina wanted a baby of her own. When Sydney was born she held her daughter as she had in the photos. Several photographs of her as a young woman appear in this episode, however since Lena Olin was not available for the series at that time, Mía Maestro (who plays Nadia Santos) appears as Irina in the photographs seen in that episode.
During the fifth season, it is revealed that Irina is involved in the Prophet Five organization, although to what extent has yet to be revealed.
Sisters
Yekaterina "Katya" Derevko
Image:Katya Derevko .jpg Katya Derevko, played by Isabella Rossellini, was the first of Irina's sisters to be announced. She first appeared during the third season in Irina's stead as an ally for both Jack and Sydney Bristow. She was subsequently captured by the CIA, and currently serves a life sentence in federal prison. From her cell, Katya acts as a guide for both Nadia and Sydney during the fourth season. Katya is also key in helping Jack, Sydney and Nadia locate Irina once it was revealed she was still alive and being held by Elena Derevko.
Elena Derevko
Template:Splitsection Elena Derevko, played by Sonia Braga, is considered to be the most ruthless of the Derevko sisters and is the secret leader of The Covenant. Elena was first mentioned in the season three episode "Crossings" by Jack Bristow. Not much else is learned about Elena till the fourth season, when in "Welcome to Liberty Village" it is revealed that an unidentified Russian group is trying to find her. During the fourth season Elena is unveiled to have been Nadia's caretaker, Sophia Vargas, from over the years. Elena also infiltrates the DSR compound and steals all the Milo Rambaldi artifacts the CIA had in their possession. With the addition of the artifacts from the DSR, as well as the ones she had obtained from other sources, Elena finally had all the pieces to the Rambaldi device. She later taps the water supply and activates a device called the Mueller device ("big red ball") over the city of Sovogda, Russia. Irina along with Jack Bristow, Sydney, Nadia, and Michael Vaughn parachute into the city and deactivate the device. Elena, who was captured during this operation, is subsequently killed by Irina with a gunshot to the head.
Elena's Past with Nadia
Near the end of Season 3 old footage of Nadia as a young girl being subjected to the same Rambaldi fluid Sloane injected her with was found. It is probable that the child was taken away from Irina by the KGB after birth and placed into their custody where she was tested using the Rambaldi Fluid. It is footage in Episode 21 (Legacy) that shows an extremely young Nadia being tested.
With Nadia in their custody the Russians would always have access to the "Passenger" without trouble from her mother, Irina.
Michael Vaughan's father then found and rescued Nadia from the KGB before his death in 1979. The character Brill tells Michael Vaughn about his father's involvement with Nadia in the episode "Bloodties." Brill further explains that Bill Vaughn took Nadia to a place where she would be safe with Followers of Rambaldi. In the season 4 episode, "The Orphan" the audience learns from the head of the Orphanage, later revealed to be Elena, that Bill Vaughn brought Nadia to her when she was a very young child. Presumably Bill knew she was a Follower of Rambaldi and assumed she would be safe from the KGB and anyone else wanting to use her as a conduit to Rambaldi.
The facts as stated above are often confused because it has been generally assumed that Nadia was born after 1979. Therefore Bill Vaughan could not have saved her because he died. However, the audience is never told that she was born after 1979. This confusion mostly developed when the audience began wondering how Irina kept her pregnancy secret from Jack and Sloane. (This is still unknown) Nadia was most likely born in 1976/77.
That Nadia was born before Bill Vaughan died is further supported in the season 3 episode "Blowback." In "Blowback" Sloane wonders if Sydney could be his daughter because of his affair. His affair with Elena's sister, Irina, seems to have been sporadic. Irina used Sloane when she needed information, and could not obtain it from Jack. Therefore, Irina could have had Nadia anywhere between the year Sydney was born and shortly before Bill Vaughan died.
In the season 4 episode "The Orphan" Nadia is revealed to be an early teenager when she runs from ther Orphanage in 1992. If she was born in 1977 she would be 13/14 when she ran away. The footage depicting the events before she runs is dark, preventing the audience from seeing exactly how old the character appears to be.
We learn more about Nadia and her life after running away from Elena and the Orphanage in the episode "The Orphan." She becomes invovled in crime with a number of homeless kids and is eventually arrested and asked to be part of the Argentine Intelligence. It is here that Elena enters her life again, encouraging her to take the job. She most likely thought 'spy' training would aid her in her future, although Elena's true motives in encouraging Nadia are unknown.
Despite these answers the Passenger and Elena story lines continue to be a source of confusion and debate among fans:
If Elena has ties to the Russian scientist who works on the Nightingale project, why would she need Vaughn to steal a coil she already had access to? And if that was just a ruse to use him to get the Rambaldi Manuscript, why would she need him if she was more than capable of breaking into the DSR without anyone's help?
One hypothesis regarding the timing of Elena's DSR break in is that she used to the DSR to keep the many captured Rambaldi artifacts safe from theft, destruction or loss until she needed them. As the head of the Convenant she used manipulation (The 'Resurection' of Bill Vaughn), black mail (the kidnapping of Dixon's daughter in order to retrieve the "Irina" box) and brainwashing techniques (Arvin Clone) to capture artifacts whenever they were needed. She also needed Nadia's clearance to break into the DSR facility. Meanwhile all other artifacts in the DSR were kept relatively safe. As Elena's five year plan leading to her endgame came to a close and she needed the rest of the artifacts she led the invasion into the DSR facilities. Until her visit to Los Angelas she had not been ready to reveal herself or her plans. Beforehand she kept herself hidden from all who knew her. Breaking into the DSR and stealing all of the items before she needed all of them could have led to the premature discovery of her true identity. She is known to be extremely cautious, yet deadly.
As the head of the Covenant, what was the point of using the organization to find the "Passanger" if Elena already knew (1)it was Nadia and (2)where Nadia was?
The most likely answer is that the Covenant was used to uncover Rambaldi's secrets about Nadia before the CIA or any other group could do so. Without the clues everyone else would remain relatively clueless regarding Elena's agenda. Essentially this woman was a genius.
Other theories:
Despite her past with Nadia it is possible that Elena was unaware of Nadia's location during season 3 due to Nadia's position with Argentine Intelligence. Discovered by Sydney, Jack and Sloane in a detention center in Chechney, Nadia never revealed the reason for her imprisonment. It is most likely that she was captured on assignment and brought to the prison. During this time she was using the alias 'Talia.' Because she was imprisoned and using an unknown name, it would have been difficult for anyone, including a woman as powerful as Elena to uncover the girl's location. Therefore, she relied on Rambaldi's devices and prophecies to search out Nadia. (It is also possible that Argentine Intelligence thought Nadia to be dead. Elena of course, having much faith in Rambaldi's prophecies would not have believed the news.)
External links
- Irina Derevko
- ABC: Irina Derevko Profile
- Timeline of Irina Derevko's Relationship with Sydney Bristow
- List of Irina Derevko's missions
| Alias |
|---|
| Episodes: Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 | Season 5 |
| Characters |
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Jack Bristow | Sydney Bristow | Francie Calfo | Irina Derevko | Marcus Dixon |
| Organizations |
| Authorized Personnel Only | The Covenant | Alliance of Twelve |