Covert Affairs – Speed of Life

I loved this episode of Covert Affairs, heartbreaking as it was. Now in its 3rd season, this feel-good USA spy drama has really started to grow up.

(And no, I’m not referring to how this and other 10PM USA shows are starting to embrace the full parameters of their TV14 rating – I’m kind of annoyed by that, as I’d still like there to be some excellent shows I can enjoy watching with my younger siblings. It’s not bad so far, but I’d really rather not have USA pushing the envelope becoming a regular thing. Sorry, rant over.)

Spoilers below!

The first season of Covert Affairs was more of a guilty pleasure – frothy and fun, with a slightly annoying, slightly two-dimensional protagonist. Plus I wasn’t a big fan of the whole Ben storyline. Auggie was what kept me around, and he’s still the best part of the show. The character, the acting, the dialog – all meshed for Auggie right away while the others took a bit to catch up – and in this season you’re started to see that pan out more and more. Jai’s death and Lena’s recklessness are also adding a darker edge, and there are more unknown factors (instead of characters just keeping secrets from each other, most of the time we viewers are in the dark now, too).

Considering how much of a favorite Auggie is, it made Parker walking out on him especially mean. While it did feel a little out of character for her (though we do hardly know her), having her destroy Auggie like that completely closed the door on her as a likeable person. I felt like it was just as cruel as disappearing on Auggie in the middle of the night. (And now I’m picturing him waking up with her gone, fumbling around, calling her name, finding the ring. Should be a heartrending alternate scene option on the DVD set.) Gorham played Auggie’s emotions perfectly in those final two scenes with Parker.

So why did Parker ditch him anyway? You could see the hesitation in her eyes when they made up at the end of the last episode, but with however much time skipped over between that episode and this, it’s possible there were other signs. Of course Auggie seemed to be oblivious to all the warnings, but who knows how much was due to his physical blindness, and how much due to his emotional. In a sad way, there was sort of a symmetry to the lack of information shared between them. Parker didn’t voice her doubts, therefore hiding them from Auggie just as effectively as he hid his CIA involvement from her.

As much as I like Auggie and Annie together, I can see why she’s starting to fall for Simon. British accent, bad boy with a romantic side, hidden motives (yeah, basically this show’s version of Spike – lol). How much of her trying to prevent the meet was wanting to save the operation, and how much was wanting to save the guy? I’m curious how the final twist will impact the rest of the season, but I’m super glad Annie’s back at the DPD, even if she had to blow a mission and get “fired” by Lena to do so.

At least, amid all the downs of this episode, Annie got the chance to say goodbye to her sister. Their scenes in this episode had an extra emotional punch for me, as I just found out one of my closest friends is moving 5 1/2 hours away. The ice cream scene put the perfect finishing touch on their arc – a callback to early episodes coupled with the ridiculousness of using a spatula to eat.

With Jai and now Danielle gone, I’m wondering if the writers plan to bring in more reoccurring roles (like Lena and Simon), and perhaps add one or two to the regular cast by next season? Who’s a character you’d like to see return? If you could pick any actor you want to guest star or join the show later on this season, who would it be, and what would you have him/her do on the show?

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Covert Affairs – Unrealistic But Fun

Few people would claim that the TV show Covert Affairs gives an accurate picture of CIA. Rookie operative Annie Walker sees far too much action for that to be possible. Yet, much like summer blockbusters tend to take viewers on adventures of suspended belief, Covert Affairs turns on the charm and offers a fun ride if you promise not to nitpick.

The fact that season two begins mere days after the season one finale does establish the events in a more reasonable time frame (spacing 11 action-packed episodes over a full year instead of a few months makes things more plausible). But enough of analyzing the realism. Is Covert Affairs worth watching? Yes!

This is a USA Network show, so as you’d expect, it’s the characters that make this show worth watching. Piper Perabo does a decent job as Annie, but it’s Christopher Gorham’s role as Auggie Anderson that really makes the show shine. Auggie used to be a field operative, but after an explosion left him blind he was moved to an analyst position (complete with a bunch of cool toys). He helps Annie through her first rough weeks at the Agency and becomes a close friend and confidant. It’s Auggie she turns to when she decides to ignore protocol to protect an asset or catch a bad guy, and he jumps at the opportunity to do a little field work.

Their boss and their boss’s boss are a married couple, which makes things interesting. Sometimes their disagreements and mistrust just seem to fill time on an episode, but Peter Gallagher and Kari Matchett are such excellent actors you don’t really mind.

Caution – spoilers for season 2, episode 1 beyond this point!

The promos for the season premiere did a good job of not letting you know the outcome of the season one cliffhanger. I was a little surprised they decided to keep Ben Mercer alive. I was kind of hoping he would be gone this season. Both Jai and Auggie make far superior romantic interests for Annie (though I foresee – and prefer – Auggie staying just a friend for the next season or two). I don’t understand why Ben wasn’t able to say goodbye to Annie – they were together for all those days, and it’s not like the CIA couldn’t orchestrate a simple secret meeting. But at least it seems like Ben won’t be getting much screen time for the next while.

One of my biggest disappointments about the premiere was how little we saw of Jai (Sendhil Ramamurthy). Though since he’s now in the credits (and Ben isn’t – yay!), I imagine that will change in future episodes.

The new credits are a nice mix of old and new. I love the theme song (though it seems spliced a bit awkwardly this time). I’m glad the rest of the main cast gets to show their faces. I hope Anne Dudek (who plays Annie’s sister Danielle) has more to do this season, and rumors about her growing suspicions indicate that will happen.

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