I just see Lauren realizing she's on the wrong side and wanting to do the right thing. She did feel sorry for Dixon in the last episode.
I see Sloan as kind of the Emperor of the Alias universe. He is secretly controlling and manipulating everyone to his advantage. He most likely the head of the covenant. He could still be trying to get the Rambaldi device. Remember at the beginning of this season he said something about how Jack should trust how seriously he gets into his obsessions. (I really mangled that quote!)
