For the second-to-last episode of a strong, engaging sophomore season, I was underwhelmed by this installment of Covert Affairs.
The main story of Annie being ordered to serve as a double agent for what appeared to be at first blush an MI6 recruiter had promise, but watching scene after scene of Annie and her British sidekick Kenneth sneaking around the Smithsonian wasn’t exactly Night at the Museum entertaining. It got pretty old pretty fast.
After a while, I started losing interest in what Annie and her new pal Kenneth were doing and why. The only riveting scene they shared was the one where they were trapped inside a car trunk together and Annie went all MacGyver just as a bad guy was preparing to shoot them both. This was one of the first times when I’ve felt like yawning during Annie’s ops. Not a good sign going into the season finale.
Meanwhile, the intra-CIA power struggle between Jai and Arthur — a contest that’s being heartily encouraged by Jai’s father who’s clearly bored by retirement and by the mundaneness of perfecting his drive — definitely has potential, if the Covert Affairs writers give it enough screen time to play out. Speaking of Arthur, I’d like to see more of him as I think his character has great possibilities, particularly his backstory and what he’s been having Ben Mercer doing. I could see Arthur become a more user-friendly Jack Bristow if they’d let him.
And when Auggie wasn’t calling Annie “Moneypenny” or joking about her joining Her Majesty’s Secret Service, he spent most of the episode rolling around in bed with his soon-to-be-departing girlfriend. Will they keep her around just to complicate any budding Annie-Auggie relationship (which the writers would be foolish to consummate)? Parker’s no Ben Mercer (Is he going to make an appearance in the finale?) but she’s a good obstacle for Annie and Auggie nonetheless.
Clacked by Meredith O'Brien 
on Nov 30, 2011 @ 13:50 EST5EDT
