Episode 6 of Alex Rider kicks off with James's return to the group, but something's clearly not quite right. His demeanor has shifted, and he's a far cry from the person he once was. When James extends his fist in a gesture of peace, Alex recoils in disgust, turning his back on the changed child and exiting the scene amidst suspicious glances from the other altered kids.
Meanwhile, Alex's suspicions are confirmed as he discovers Grief's sinister plans involving Kyra's abduction to Eva's office. Realizing the gravity of the situation, he braces himself for the worst. Using Kyra as a decoy, Alex sneaks down to the basement, where he stumbles upon a trove of files. Among them are pictures and detailed records of his own overnight surgery, triggering haunting memories of being strapped to a chair while experiments were conducted on him. Stranger still, the computer screens reveal bizarre images that hint at the possibility of the kids being cloned.
At school, Tom receives a mysterious phone call that spurs him into action, mistakenly believing it's his destiny calling. Little does he know, it's actually Mr. Langham who escorts him to Parker. The reception is icy, and Tom is immediately grilled about Alex Friend. Realizing he's in deep water, Tom tries to make a break for it but finds himself trapped in a precarious situation.
Elsewhere, Alex continues to delve deeper into the basement's secrets, stumbling upon a cage filled with the kids who have been replaced. The revelation hits him like a ton of bricks: the kids roaming freely above are actually clones. Among the captives is Stepan Serenkov, the missing operative from years past. But before Alex can free them, he's caught and tied up by Greif, who finally reveals the truth behind Project Gemini.
Meanwhile, Jones receives news of Tom's disappearance from a concerned Jack. As they observe the snowmobiles mobilizing outside Point Blanc through their drones hovering overhead, they realize something sinister is afoot.
Meanwhile, Greif interrogated Alex, demanding to know his real name and the purpose of his presence there. As Alex mentioned his uncle Ian, it became evident that Greif was unaware of his identity, and his attempts to extract information from Alex were futile as the latter began singing and resisting the effects of the serum.
In Greif's absence, Kyra returned unexpectedly and came to Alex's rescue. She freed him from his bonds and revealed that she had chosen not to flee but had doubled back after losing the guards in the forest. Once Alex confessed the truth about himself and his mission in Point Blanc, the pair hurriedly made their escape together.
Simultaneously, Crawley arrived on the scene and saved Tom, only to discover that Alex had been compromised. Langham had possession of Tom's phone, which contained crucial information that could reveal his true identity.
Back at Point Blanc, Alex and Kyra collaborated to fashion a makeshift snowboard. Alex hastened outside and raced down the precipitous mountainside, bullets flying dangerously close to him. His pursuers gave chase, but he managed to come to a halt in the midst of the forest, tumbling down and landing amidst the trees. Fortunately, the soldiers failed to locate him.
As Alex made his way to the main road, an approaching truck honked its horn loudly, startling him as he stood in its path. This unexpected encounter brought the episode to a thrilling cliffhanger.
The reveal of the clones was undoubtedly unexpected and propelled the series further into the realm of science fiction. This shift wasn't necessarily a negative aspect, and the snowboard chase sequence at the episode's conclusion was expertly filmed, making clever use of the fluffy snow despite the notoriously challenging conditions for filming in such an environment.
The series leaves plenty of unanswered questions and open threads for future episodes, but based on this installment, it appears we are gearing up for a highly dramatic and exciting arc in the coming episodes.
