I figured it out!

"It" being the entire purpose of this entire season of Alias.

I'll tag it because I promised, but there aren't really any plot-related details. The most you could be spoiled for is the name of an actor who may or may not have been on this season.

[spoilers, kinda.]
I don't think the show is aimed at its audience. Oh, sure, lots of the love angst probably is, but the main story arc? It's a message. Roughly translated, it says, "Lena Olin! Please come back! We love you and we're just going to get weirder and weirder about this stuff until you do a guest spot!"
[/spoiler]

You know I'm right. After all, there is really no other excuse.