Covert Affairs - Silence Kit and Elevate Me Later - Review

These two episodes of Covert Affairs dealt with a myriad of exciting and fascinating reveals and developments.  In "Silence Kit," Annie's medical condition was almost exposed by a car accident, even as she took out a major player in The Postman's game.  Then in "Elevate Me Later," the aftermath of Annie's confession to Auggie played out in the middle of an ambitious scheme to get help in catching The Postman from Auggie's hacker ex-girlfriend, Tash.  Meanwhile, Joan found out about Calder's um, relationship with Sydney, while Arthur continued to adjust to his new job with McQuade.  I think Season 5 is providing a perfect blend of sexiness, suspense, and action that makes each episode thoroughly satisfying.

"Silence Kit" was one of those episodes that had me feeling downright like a shipper polygamist with regard to Annie/Eyal and Annie/Ryan.  Firstly, the flirtation between Annie and McQuade is adorable and brings such a welcome bit of fun to Annie's life, which otherwise has very little of that quality.  And if McQuade is going to keep showing up in a towel or a tux in future episodes, that has my stamp of approval.  Secondly, we had a tantalizingly brief flashback sequence that showed how Annie sought help from Eyal after discovering her heart problem during her time off the grid.  As Eyal provided Annie with a mini-check-up, then referred her to a doctor who could diagnose her and keep a secret, I kept wishing she would leap into Eyal's arms. For more than a hug, that is.  And once Eyal gave her a super-wise speech (complete with his calling her "Neshama" multiple times, sigh) about the value of maybe getting out of the spy business (you know, if she did get out, she could always stay at Eyal's house.  No big deal!), and Annie still wasn't taking said leap, I couldn't believe it.  Except, I can believe it, because Annie is dead-set on avoiding emotional attachments and rededicating herself to being an agent in the field.  The tenaciousness with which Annie is sticking to this resolve is typical of her stubborn nature, and surely won't subside anytime too soon.

While trailing an NSA analyst named Wilson who was involved with The Postman's evildoing, Annie got into a bad car crash that led to Auggie confronting her about keeping a secret from him.  That's when Annie unfolded the tale of her diagnosis and subsequent decision to stay in the field anyway, and Auggie decided to do her a massive and totally against-the-rules favor by concealing the truth about her health from the CIA.  Unfortunately, Auggie felt betrayed when after putting his career on the line to help Annie, she pulled a fast one on him and Tash in "Elevate Me Later."   It was good to finally see someone (Auggie) directly telling Annie that her habit of putting the mission first no matter what is starting to damage her personal relationships.  That said, his feelings for Tash were stalling the mission, and their rekindled affair also led Tash to follow him back to the States!  Yep, and all the while Auggie's phone keeps saying "Incoming call...Hayley."  Awkward.

It was awesome to see Ryan's gift to Annie come full circle as she had to shoot and kill Wilson in a shocking confrontation at the end of "Silence Kit."  McQuade's company managed to get some government contracts that were previously CIA territory, though Arthur assured Joan that her agents would keep their jobs.  This compromise showed that while the "competing" jobs that Arthur and Joan now have may cause uncomfortable situations for them, there are some advantages.  At a fancy shindig, Calder (whose plotline this season is getting ever more salacious and delightfully cringe-inducing) saw Sydney slinking it up on the arm of a politician and swept her away for a coat closet tryst...only to get totally busted by Joan!  But let's face it, if any character on the show is to get caught doing something sketchy, Joan is the best possible person to be caught by.  

True to classy form, Joan gave some highly sensible advice without being overly judgmental or trying to get Calder in trouble (even though he has the job she wanted).  I'm really enjoying this subplot between the two, since Calder truly is adrift and he needs some good guidance (plus, Joan trying to set him up with a "nice girl" at the CIA was hilarious).  After all, as Joan realized, Calder really does have feelings for Sydney (who seems downright cold to me after reassuring him that he didn't have to pay for their party hookup. Brr!) and it's going to compromise him at work if he doesn't nip this dalliance in the bud.

Speaking of class, Arthur went away on a trip with Caitlin in "Elevate Me Later," and even though his co-worker had the flirtation turned up to maximum obviousness, he was not having it.  

These episodes raised a number of important questions to be answered in future installments.  How much longer can Annie remain as active in the field as she wants to be with her condition being what it is?  What's it going to take for her to mend fences with Auggie (because that coffee wasn't doing it!)?  How's Auggie going to juggle two assertive lady-friends, and what is Calder going to do about Sydney?  And of course, who is the Postman?  I can't wait to see how these mysteries are solved.  

What did you think of these two episodes?  Share your thoughts in the comments! 

About the Author - Virginia Mae Fontana

Virginia is happy to be reviewing The Vampire Diaries, Hart of Dixie, Nashville, Beauty and the Beast, Witches of East End, Covert Affairs, and Continuum for Spoiler TV. She enjoys obsessing over films and pop music - in addition to tv shows, of course! You can find her blog, SugarRushed, at http://virginiamaeblog.blogspot.com/ and her Twitter handle is @SugarRushedBlog

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