The parents do not approve…

First of all, congratulations to Covert Affairs for being picked up for a Season 4! It didn’t really come as a big surprise but I’m happy that it has been confirmed nonetheless. Here’s to another explosive and spy-filled summer in 2013!

Actually, the pick-up makes me even more curious to see where exactly this season will end up taking Annie. Judging from last night (and even before that), Annie might be in a bit of a pickle. Her progression from someone who’s all about family to someone who’s all about “da attitude” is definitely something that’s going to end up having severe consequences on her relationship with those closest to her.

Continuing that line of thinking, I believe it’s safe to say that last night’s Covert Affairs was all about family and complicated relationships! And Annie being a brat! And Arthur reclaiming his status as alpha male. And Parker is back.

Yes indeed, the relationships of our little CIA family can be mighty dysfunctional at times.

Oh, and congratulations Chris Gorham on his directoral debut! Well done!

As always, the mission wasn’t really the focal point of the episode but rather the similarities between that and the realities of our favourite spies. So, let’s not care too much about Khalid, whose daddy is the golf buddy of some hot shot within the State Department, or the counter-terrorist measures.

After all the most important thing to take from this episode is that no one seems to be able to keep their personal life separated from their professional one. If you want to know all about the mess Annie, Auggie, Joan, and Arthur are currently in, just keep on reading!

The episode opened with a sleepy Annie who immediately goes for a knife when there’s a knock on the door. The door that belongs to Eyal’s apartment, in case anyone forgot!

In true spy fashion, someone slips a brown envelope underneath the door and then disappears. Turns out the envelope, curiously marked “One mitzvah deserves another,” contains secret info from Mossad, the same stuff Eyal had told Annie about Khalid and terrorism the last time they met. It also contains info on Khalid’s American girlfriend.

Obviously we’re to believe this information comes from Eyal, as a thank you to Annie for sharing the intel on the watch.

And really Annie? You’re a spy, why on earth would you peek through the peephole? Haven’t you seen all the bad things that happen to people who do that?

Annie, instead of heading to Bluebonnet farm for her evaluation, takes the info to Joan and insists she can turn Khalid’s girlfriend and get the info needed to intercept some terrorist plotting. Joan, fresh from her AA meeting and rebuffing Seth’s advances, is less than impressed with intel gathered by a competing spy agency. I tend to agree with Joan. Especially when she points out to Annie that the whole Eyal thing is starting to look too much like the whole Simon thing. And that can’t possibly end well.

But Annie being Annie, continues to be a brat and to excel at being insubordinate and goes over Joan’s head and straight to Arthur’s office. Such an eager beaver our Annie is.

While Annie is busy stabbing Joan in the back, Auggie gets a visit…from Parker! Ugh! Can’t believe that woman! She just casually knocks on his door after breaking his heart and then hugs him! This is not one of those magic hugs like last week you guys! Nononono, this is more like a Dr Evil kind of hug!

And then she asks for a favour! That (feel free to add your favourite expletive here) woman! How dare she? And then she uses emotional blackmail to boot! Booh Parker, booh!

Back at the office, Arthur tells Joan she’s been bumped down the hierarchy a little bit and hence doesn’t have all the intel she needs to make informed decisions. Such as the one about Annie and Mossad intel. Apparently Joan is in the tiniest bit of trouble after having allowed Annie to go on a revenge vacation to Russia and then not wanting her to rot away in an underground prison.

Annie approaches Megan on two occasions and tries to convince her her boyfriend is an evil, evil man who needs to be stopped. Girlfriend has hearts and stars in her eyes and refuses to believe such nonsense about her beau.

And here’s where we head towards the heavy handed comparison conversation between Megan and Annie. Everything Annie says to Megan can more or less be used against her. According to Megan, she and Khalid do not discuss work related matters when they’re together. They have a somewhat unspoken agreement not to do so. So they operate on love and trust.

If this can’t be turned right back around to Annie and her Simon days, then I wasn’t listening very well.

Annie risked an awful lot when she was unable to separate her personal life from her professional one. She and Simon both knew that the other was working for the opposite side but it was never discussed.

Also, when Annie tells Megan she could lose her job because of conflict of interest, the same can definitely be said about Annie and Simon/Eyal. Annie was willing to give up her career for Simon and she is trusting intel from Eyal, an agent working for a competing spy organisation.

And, the clincher in all of this, Annie expects Megan to give up Khalid when she’s faced with evidence that proves he’s a shady character. Really Annie? Isn’t this a bit of hypocrisy on your end? Or have you just chosen to turn a blind eye on all of Simon’s dealings?

In reality, Annie can’t judge Megan for anything in this situation because Annie is not an angel herself! In fact, the conversation between the two does a good job of highlighting just how far off the straight and narrow Annie has wandered. If anything I feel Annie has become a bit unlikeable as a character because she’s taken to this “my way or the highway” thing when it comes to advancing her career. As Auggie rightly points out, she can’t continue to alienate her family, she might need it someday.

And that’s the heart of the matter. The CIA is Annie’s family. She needs to build bridges and mend fences instead of tearing the whole thing down.

While Annie is busy with the chip on her shoulder, Auggie does Parker a solid and fixes that problem for her. When he does that he meets an old army buddy who tries to convince Auggie to partake in Operation Proper Exit by becoming a battle buddy! A new job opportunity for Auggie on the horizon?

Parker is all overjoyed and what not but we don’t care ’cause we don’t like her. She attempts another magic hug but Auggie’s not having any of that shit! Instead he tells her, in a polite Auggie way, to get the hell out of his apartment and never knock on his door again! And then Parker does the unthinkable, she makes me like her even less than before and let me tell ya, that’s quite a feat. Self-righteous little girl, claiming she “tried” to keep the relationship going, blah, blah, blah…

Adios Parker, don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!

Back to the mission. Annie convinces Megan to help, Arthur invites Annie into the drone-strike vault, Auggie has never been there and is a little bit jealous I think. Joan doesn’t like any of this mess and makes it clear but of course nobody agrees with her and the drone strike goes ahead. Annie doesn’t seem to care too much about handing out Khalid’s death sentence. Drone strike fails to kill Khalid and he manages to escape.

And then Annie has to save Megan from retribution.

Now, can the CIA please order all female assets to carry a pair of sneakers in their purse so they have an easier time of getting away from all the mess the agency brings on them? Thank you.

Not so surprisingly, Megan is not too happy about Annie and who can blame her?

I’m not really happy about Annie either! Especially not after the little fit she had in Joan’s office. If only Annie would stop and think about all the things Joan has done for her in the past! Of all the people in the CIA there are only two she can always count on and that’s Joan and Auggie. So get off your high horse Annie!

Poor Joan. She’s just done!

Joan and Arthur are in a precarious place. He thinks she’s continuing an affair with her old lover, Seth, and she doesn’t want to admit to the AA meetings because she wants Arthur to have deniability in the house of polygraphs. Can’t fault her for that though I can yell at her a little bit for not at least looking slightly less guilty while trying to convince her husband she’s not having an affair!

Those two have so many issues!

Loved Arthur’s not so subtle threat to Seth in the vault: “Amazing how fast our friends become our enemies. There’s always collateral damage. ALWAYS.” Way subtle!

Anyway, the crazy kids work it out, Joan comes clean about the whole addiction thing (or so I assume) and is all teary and sad when Annie bursts into the office with the info that the intel she received from Eyal was faulty. What a shocker!

So obviously, some feelings about this episode! Annie has to redeem herself ’cause right now I’m not liking her very much! She keeps pushing everyone away. And then she makes questionable alliances, like the one with Eyal.

Next week: Annie realises Eyal is not to be trusted? And hopefully she finds some time to have a beer or two with Auggie. He’s not gonna keep on asking girl!

Thoughts? Please shout them out in the comments!