I think it’s time we had that “conversation”…

Right. So here we are. The Covert Affairs season 3 finale over and done with and…well…I for one am left with a bit of mixed feelings about the whole shebang!

First off, I really enjoyed this season. I thought the serialised arc(s) worked well for the show and served to keep it a bit more fresh than the standard procedural stuff (which in my opinion often gets a bit dull in the long run). I also thought it was clever to have more than one season-long arc; it kind of left you with the feeling that anything could happen and you were never exactly sure where or when the end would hit you.

We started out with Jai’s death and the mysterious symbol on his files and on the shoulder of the sexy Brit commonly known as Simon. Then Lena, the femme fatale, got added to the mix and before long everyone was looking suspicious as hell! Moving from that to Eyal and Mossad and the notion of family and friends, where Annie had to come to terms with her behaviour earlier in the season.

The whole season almost felt like 2-3 separate ones at some point there!

And season 4, which airs July 2013, promises a season-long arc focusing on one particular issue and, from the looks of last night’s episode, this one might be quite interesting.

But on with the show and all that…let’s explore the finale and some of the bad taste it left in my mouth shall we? Read the rest of this entry »

Operation Beer Buddy…

Considering that last night’s episode of Covert Affairs was really all one big exposition and a set-up for next week’s season finale, I don’t think this post is going to be very long! But you never know, I have a talent for saying a lot about so very, very little. It really is a gift.

Just to back-track a little bit: this season has been a bit of a wild ride! The first two seasons had a procedural feel to them, where it was one mission every episode and then some character growth, but as much as I enjoyed that format I have to say I like the serialised format of Season 3 so much more. The only thing I think could have been done better this season though is the relationship between Annie and Auggie. And by relationship I mean friendship. I miss the two of them confiding in each other and just being buddies! I hope this is re-established a bit next season.

In any case, from Simon to Eyal to Auggie, from Morocco to Russia to the Netherlands, from Joan to Lena…it’s all been very interesting! And definitely served as a character evolvement in Annie’s case. If we actually like the Annie we’re now faced with, well, that is a different question all-together.

But to this week’s mission!  Read the rest of this entry »

I’m not an American so I suggest you tell me what I want to know…

Regrets abounded in last night’s Covert Affairs, strangely titled Scary Monsters and Super Creeps, which is a nod to David Bowie’s 14th studio album and song of same name. Since all of the episodes of Season 3 are named after a Bowie song maybe a more appropriate title for this week would have been Never Let Me Down or Looking For Satellites?

In any case, everyone was feeling a little bit introspective and maudlin in the aftermath of the faulty intel that led to the drone strike last week. And nobody is too pleased about anyone! Yes, that’s a sentence I just wrote.

Megan is pissed at Annie for trying to blow up her boyfriend (can’t blame her for that). Joan is pissed at Annie because she never listens. Annie is pissed at Joan because she never listens. The Senate Intelligence Committee is pissed at Arthur for trying to kill a terrorist whose daddy (still) plays golf with someone from the State Department. Arthur is pissed at the committee for wasting his time.

And even Auggie is a little bit pissed at his old pal Kip who ambushes him with his duties as an American soldier.

But fear not fellow TV watchers, all this anger and frustration turns into regret and sadness in the end. Actually, come to think of it, last night’s episode was a bit of a Debby downer on so many fronts!

Here goes… Read the rest of this entry »

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! Read the rest of this entry »

Lonely Boy

Here’s the deal peeps. I woke up with a bitch of a migraine so this recap/reaction post will be written during post-drug-haze if that makes any sense to anyone! If I have too many feelings about Auggie, aka Lonely Boy (and yes I do watch Gossip Girl), then we’ll just agree to let it slide this one time, because of the drugs, right? Let’s look at this as a PSA on the dangers of migraine drugs to the rationality of the mind shall we?

OK then! To the mission!

Annie Walker and her Louboutins are safe and sound on American soil. The question burning on everyone’s lips is how the hell did she manage to keep those white sneakers squeaky clean during a boat ride to Stockholm and then, presumably, a flight to the motherland? Sadly, I believe it’s a well-kept CIA secret…

Fresh off the plane (and my mind just strayed off and landed here for a second) Annie is ushered into a black non-suspicious, FBI/CIA standard SUV and driven to an idyllic horse farm somewhere in Virginia.

Read the rest of this entry »

I could do with some quality R&R right about now…

I have to say I’m really, really liking this season of Covert Affairs. I think the serialised arc has served the show well and made it a lot more fast-paced and interesting than in the past. So I was happy to see it back on my screen last night! Especially since last episode left us in limbo after Annie had shot and killed Lena the evil spy queen in a remote cabin in the Russian woods somewhere.

How was our girl Annie going to get herself out of this one?

First things first: Annie was in absolute REVENGE mode when she pumped Lena full of lead. And who can blame her really? After all Lena killed Simon and this is unforgivable!

But before Annie could click her heels together and head on home she was caught by the Russian military (gun butt to the head, that must’ve hurt) and delivered to a dark, dark hole, which we later discover is a super fortified underground prison, completely impregnable…for all but one!

I’ll come back to that in a bit.

As is the custom when one’s ass gets thrown into dark dungeons, torture tactics are the name of the game. Poor Annie has to deal with some serious shit: constant sounds blaring so she can’t sleep, lights blinking, no comfy bed to rest in, and then the cherry on top, a creepy guy interrogator who uses psychological torment involving Simon and threats to harm his sister. But Annie doesn’t give in, she’s a stellar agent!

All in all, not such a great day, or rather two weeks, to be Annie Walker. Read the rest of this entry »

Mom, Dad, I don’t want to break curfew but…

Oh Annie! You really should have done what Auggie asked you to and just gone home! But revenge must have felt good!

The summer finale of Covert Affairs didn’t slow down much from the previous couple of episodes. We skipped the whole “Annie gets better” and jumped straight into “Annie has recuperated and is mad.” I would have thought the CIA would have sent Annie to see a shrink or something after such a traumatic event? Instead it seems like she’s just bottled everything up inside and is boiling over with frustration over the slow workings of interagency bureaucracy.

And who can blame her really? I mean, Simon is DEAD! I repeat, there will be no more Simon on our TV screen! I’m making a sad face while typing this.

So, obviously, Annie is back from her coma but not back to work, at least not officially. She’s pissed as hell at Lena for killing Simon and for giving her battle scars. And she’s hellbent on revenge (she keeps referring to it as justice but we know better).

And everyone is in a heightened emotional state because of Annie.

Oh the drama! Read the rest of this entry »

Oh please you two, we all know who’s the top bitch in this establishment!

Wow. Just wow! Anyone else left with that feeling after watching last night’s episode? Because I’m pretty sure that was the only word coming out of my mouth for a loooooong time after the credits rolled by on the screen! When Covert Affairs kicks into gear it does so BIG TIME! And this time around we certainly can’t complain about a filler episode! And yes, there’ll be an inordinate amount of exclamation marks in this post, my apologies!

Where to start though?

Auggie confides in Annie about Jai’s safe house and when they go there Annie finds files upon files with pictures of Simon in them. She does the right thing though (because Auggie is there?) and calls Arthur to come take a look. It takes her a wee bit longer to admit to the gang that she actually knows Simon pretty well and can bring him in to Langley for them.

I was surprised she admitted it but then again she really didn’t have a chance since Lena would probably have outed her to Arthur anyway. Oh Lena…we’ll come back to her in a bit!

The gang (Joan, Arthur, and Auggie) decides to go along with Annie’s plan to woo Simon to come into Langley by using their love connection, even though meeting at the mall isn’t very romantic. Not to mention how awkward it is to have a couple of ears listening in on your most heartfelt confessions at the same time. And my oh my, how cute is love spy talk?

Also, thank you Simon for the shoe remark. Annie can always use more shoes.  Read the rest of this entry »

Ain’t love grand?

Love, lies, and disastrous dinner parties all formed a part of last night’s Covert Affairs. We finally met Simon again and made some headway on the Little Dipper Tattoo Mystery (I’ve been referring to it erroneously as Big Dipper, fixed now!) while discovering that Arthur Campbell has seriously bad table manners. And Annie had some lovely Louboutins on.

I really want to raid her shoe collection.

So what was the theme of the episode? Love? Or the balancing of business and pleasure? Obviously Annie has some serious feelings for Simon and he clearly seems head over heels in love with her. Seems like Annie is not very good at balancing her spy side and her romantic side. And what is a girl to do when her lover kills someone for her?

After months of canoodling together, Simon finally asks Annie to come with him on a business trip, an opportunity our girl Walker has been dying to get. But, since she’s officially not working on this case anymore, she has to keep her involvement off the CIA radar, which Lena is of course more than happy to help with. Fake passport secured, Annie heads to Cuba with Simon in the hopes of uncovering some juicy details about what Simon is up to these days.  Read the rest of this entry »