Alias Spoilers Clarification...
Since there has been so many different, conflicting opinions about the future of Alias, I thought I'd clear up what I know from my source (who is very high up on the foodchain):
Borrowed partly from Yahtzee...Michael Vartan will NOT appear in episode 5.07, which is titled, "Fait Accompli." His scenes shot with JG on the beach will appear in episode 5.09, titled, "The Horizon," which will be the last ep before the 8-week hiatus. He WILL also be appearing in some episodes following the December-February hiatus to allow for JG's maternity leave, although I will agree with the critics that that is not yet "set in stone". Contracts cannot be signed until they know exactly which eps he will appear in, which has yet to be determined.
David Anders will appear as Sark in 5.08. The next appearance for Greg Grunberg is not certain but may occur very shortly after the baby hiatus ends. The guest star in both this week's episode, 5.06: "Solo," and 5.07: "Fait Accompli" is actually Mia Maestro, so yay for that!
Also, it is possible that the episode order will be cut from 22 to 18. This is for a number of reasons: low ratings, the baby, other programming ABC wants, etc., but that issue is still up in the air, at this moment in time.
I hope that helps, although I know that some of you that were planning only to watch MV's eps will now plan to skip 5.07 altogether, but that's your decision. It's just that with the depth of the storyline going on this season, I think that by the time MV comes back on the show for that one ep, you'll be too confused to keep up. But that's just my opinion.
*hugs flist*