Covert Affairs - Grounded - Review

This was a great episode with so many highs, lows, and frustrating moments galore...which only shows how much we root for this group of wonderful characters.  Let's review and discuss the whole "Annie Exposed" ordeal, as well as the way almost every character was on their worst behavior this week, with some catastrophic results.

After seeing Auggie in a clinch with Tash last week, Hayley was quick to track down Calder and fill him in on Annie's heart condition.  When she arrived at work later, Annie was called in for a meeting with Calder and Joan. Calmly and tersely, they explained that Annie would now work a desk job.  Due to the combination of this news (which is Annie's worst nightmare) and the blasé delivery of it, Annie immediately slipped into her angry toddler mode, giving a speech about how she's given her life to the agency and they just throw her away when she ceases to be useful.  I love Annie a lot, and I understand that like James T. Kirk of Star Trek, she needs to be out there in the fight, as working in the field is her "first best destiny."  But she does tend to be a bit annoying and ungrateful when she throws a fit in moments like this, with Joan of all people, who has been nothing but endlessly supportive of her.  And Annie was endangering herself, others, and the missions by staying in the field with her condition.  Still blowing her top, Annie questioned how Joan and Calder could be so cool about this.  Well, Joan was pretty mad, but she wasn't about to feed into Annie's need to be unhelpfully melodramatic, since Joan is the best and wisest boss ever (in fact, she is usually too nice to Annie in situations like this).  

Of course, despite this decision from the higher-ups (wherein I really do sympathize with Annie being placed in an office barely bigger than a cubicle) and an impending meeting with the higher-higher-ups about her suspicious conduct and the recent mission involving Mueller, nothing was going to stop Annie from launching directly back into field work.  Even though she's sometimes groundlessly self-righteous and whiny, Annie's passionate dedication to finding the truth and bringing villains to justice is what makes her so awesome.    After learning that Roger needed a hundred thousand dollars to garner more information on the Chicago attack, Annie strolled right into Ryan's office and he gave the money to her like it was no big deal whatsoever.  Having already noticed McQuade's infatuation with Annie, Caitlyn became irritated by him giving his quasi gal pal such a large sum.  I'm still not sure what Caitlyn's deal is, but she seemed genuinely surprised and concerned, in her own shamelessly nosy way, about Ryan's clear attachment to Annie and how easily he will give her whatever she wants.  

Once Annie gave Roger the money, she had to coach him through a scary meltdown after he saw a bicyclist in his building who he insisted did not live there.  Of course, even though the implication was that this man was an innocent neighbor and Roger was just being paranoid due to his mental illness, it was hard not to suspect that the eccentric former agent might actually be right that he was being followed.  That line that McQuade later said in the helicopter, that if a spy thinks he is followed, he probably is, certainly seems more complexly accurate after the end-of-the-episode reveal regarding Ryan himself.  Annie decided to trust Roger and follow through on his leads despite his fluctuating grip on reality.  So when he called her for some help while he was in Brunswick with the intel in hand, Annie turned around and left the big important meeting about whether she's actually an honest agent, heading off with McQuade via helicopter.  As if bailing on that meeting wasn't bad enough, Annie ran into Hayley on her way out and got tattled on yet again by Auggie's ex as soon as she left the building.  So awkward and problematic!

Speaking of, after Annie and Ryan raced to save Roger from his supposed pursuers and get the all-important intel, they couldn't find him anywhere.  But then poor Roger was struck and killed by a car, his papers strewn everywhere.  After mournfully ascertaining the demise of her friend, Annie started looking through the papers, with McQuade's help...only to find that they contained some typical conspiracy theories that had no connection the the investigation.  This seemed a little convenient in someone's likely plot to continue setting Roger up to look like he had never really had the inside scoop on Chicago.  Everything was falling apart, from Annie's ongoing mission to her career (she was suspended)...everything except for her relationship with Ryan.  Well.  Wait for it...

Yup, I had a feeling that the growing bond between Annie and Ryan was heading for a rough patch as well.  There was maybe something a little too eager and enabling in the way McQuade kept agreeing with Annie's every complaint about the CIA's treatment of her.  And then there have been his slightly sketchy moments in past episodes.  His alone time with Borz.  The pause in time between when he left Annie at the Russian embassy, drugged and harassed by Kravec, and when he found them later and saved her from the baddie.  He gave explanations for these incidents, but could we 100% believe him?  And Ryan's line about how maybe Mueller didn't realize he'd gone over to the wrong side until it was too late, in last week's episode might have been telling, too.  Even though McQuade is a fantastic and highly likable character and a terrific love interest for Annie, there have been possible red flags all along.

Hence, after a gorgeous and adorable montage of Annie and Ryan having an all-night-long marathon of talking, eating, drinking, and flirting, the other shoe was about ready to drop.  At least we got a sweet first kiss between Annie and McQuade (because t.v. characters never have morning breath) before the next calamity occurred.  When someone showed up at Ryan's door (moment-destroyer!), Annie glimpsed through the window that it was none other than the mysterious bicyclist from Roger's building.  If McQuade was having a chat with this guy at his house, it seems horrifyingly apparent that he may have been involved with Roger's death and might be plotting evil deeds, either as the Postman or with the Postman.  Dammit!  I'm still holding out hope that there's more to the story - and Ryan - than just that he's a charming villain in disguise.  Not only do I like him and his relationship with Annie too much to want to think he could be evil, but I also find that plot "twist" a little too predictable.  We shall see!

Elsewhere in the episode, Auggie had a couple of confrontations with Hayley, and I really had to hand it to her in the last argument they had outside his apartment door.  It is true that Auggie used her and strung her along, lying to her and then accusing her of being underhanded.  And even though Hayley's not exactly innocent, since she might never have spilled the beans about Annie if Auggie hadn't cheated with Natasha, she does have a point about Auggie's own hypocritical attitude.  Poor Auggie's having a tough time of it lately with the ladies...he also didn't seem too thrilled that Annie was at McQuade's house first thing in the morning.

Joan had a serious conversation with Arthur, who was trying to comfort her under the assumption that she was stressing out over Annie's situation.  Actually, Joan was darkly mulling the fact that the CIA could turn on their own agents the moment some kind of questionable information about them came to light.  And apparently, Joan has a big secret of her own that she's frightened might ruin her career if it becomes known.  Hmm, what can this be?  I'm always intrigued to learn more of Joan's backstory, but her fears as she confided them to Arthur make this situation worrisome.  


What did you think of this episode?  Share your thoughts in the comments!

About the Author - Virginia Mae Fontana

Virginia is happy to be reviewing The Vampire Diaries, 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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