It seems NBC's State of Affairs is stuck in a bit of a rut, with the mantra over the last few weeks being two steps forward, one step back.
Last night's episode went back in my book. Though we got a pretty good dose of the current storylines, most accomplished very little or nothing at all despite their decent screen time.
Titled "The War at Home" written by Susan Morris and Ari Briskman and directed by Nelson McCormick, I thought things were looking up during the opening minutes, which featured President Constance Payton addressing the nation regarding the terror threats. This was the best directed scene of the evening, as a few agressors hurled abuse and projectiles at Payton.
Back in the Oval Office, Charlie resumed her role as PDB. The severity of the homegrown threats were clearly taking a heavy toll on her. The team on Level 7 - minus Kurt - continued searching for the much-needed break, and later tracked down the location of the bombs that the friends of the recently deceased Stacey Dover had concealed. Rather predictably, the bombs went off, consuming the bomb technician in the process. Credit where it's due though - you don't see many bomb technicians being annihilated on TV these days.
Senator Kyle later met with Payton proposing the formation of a investigative commission into the actions of the CIA. Charlie later had to deal with Kyle, but the CIA's acting director stepped in and put a stop to that. Of all the happenings in this episode, this one confused me the most and seemed rather empty. But this series has a history of confusing the viewer before clearing it up later, though it's still tough to get your head around.
Somehow resurfacing in the Philippines with the squeaky-clean Omar Fatah, Nick Vera had a tough day and night at the office. Continuing their search for Sheikh Hakam, Filipino soldiers took exception to their presence, but the duo were looked after by a two man American recon team, though the CIA wasn't responsible for their presence. Perhaps they have something to do with Victor Gantry and his private military corporation. Controlled Outcomes. Gantry handed his newest employee Kurt his credit card, which Kurt promptly used to get himself a shiny new Mercedes. To his disgust the German saloon came with a bonus GPS tracker, and the ensuing confrontation between Kurt and Gantry led the latter to finally come clean with his motives - wanting Kurt's bank of knowledge on Omar Fatah, and Bellerophon. I must say I didn't pick Kurt staying loyal to the CIA for now, but there's still plenty of time for him to be forced to change sides
Finally, the Paytons had another of their wee chats, but yet again it ended in dispute, and like the Kyle arc, it didn't achieve anything apart from informing us that Marshall had had an affair. I can't say I'm that thrilled about this because there are now so many little things to keep track of that it makes my head hurt.
Overall, the hour started with promise but didn't amount to much in the end. Nevertheless, thanks for reading. Be sure to check out State of Affairs on my TV ratings website, www.seriesmonitor.com/stateofaffairs, and let me know what you thought of the episode in the comments below.
Jimmy.
