Covert Affairs 310 Review - Moscow Mambo

In the final episode before Covert Affairs takes a short hiatus, "Let's Dance" felt like it never took time to catch its breath.

With Annie now out of the hospital, she was going a million miles a minute during the entire hour, attempting to seek revenge for what Lena did to her and Simon.  Eventually she got that revenge.

We've seen Annie shoot before. We've seen her kill. That didn't make this one any easier to watch.  She still has such an innocence surrounding her that when she was standing toe-to-toe with Lena, I was still expecting someone else to come in and save her from the traitorous agent.

Alas, our little Annie needed no such help.  When Lena finally made a move for her gun Ms. Walker took her down with no hesitation, firing a pair of shots straight into her chest.  Although there was no other move, like I said, it was surprising to see Annie do it.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Cover Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 309 Review - Unlucky in Lavender

How do you come back after a thrilling episode such as "Glass Spider?" Covert Affairs knew exactly what to do.  In "Suffragette City," the USA Network hit put the ball in Chris Gorham's court and simply let him do his thing. The results were fantastic.

We've seen Auggie get emotional before, but this might have been a whole new level. From the first moment he heard that his country thought that she was a traitor, he was as upset as we've ever seen. Auggie probably wouldn't have been more bothered if it were him in trouble with the department.

And that's why we love Auggie - and the Auggie and Annie relationship. He wanted to do anything he could to help her, and that included listening to and then breaking into Lena's polygraph session. When she claimed she thought Annie might have had something to do with Jai's death, it was the last straw for Auggie, but I still can't believe he jeopardized himself like that.

But that is how much he cares for his friend. He lost control a little bit, but thankfully he was still thinking rationally enough to figure out Lena was behind everything. If she didn't have to pile on the perfume, or if she didn't lay on the "I'm here to help" bit so thick, maybe Auggie wouldn't have picked up on it.

To read the rest of my review of this week's Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 308 Review- Mall, Rat

Annie- "This may have started out as a mission, but it turned into something more."

At the end of "Glass Spider," Annie Walker went back and forth on one of the most difficult decisions of her life, and then she was shot in the chest by a woman who has been integral in her decision-making for the better part of this season.

Sarah Clarke... you got us again! Maybe everyone and their brother saw this coming - heck, I even mentioned it in my review of the season three premiere because of Clarke's past as dirty 24 agent Nina Myers - but Lena was so good to Annie that I didn't predict it to ever end like this.

A couple shots to the chest?  Sure, Lena came in and took out Simon. That I get, but taking out her own quasi-protégé while she's at it? I was stunned. And I was absolutely devastated. What did she have in that file that she gave to Arthur?!?What other than Annie's love for Simon could be so incriminating?  Unless it's made up information, which will make me hate Lena even more!

If intensive care or a coma is where Annie is heading in the near future, it's a shame, because Piper Perabo was fantastic in "Glass Spider." Before Annie was lit up like a Christmas tree, she made that tough decision to leave everything behind and run away with Simon. Then she changed her mind and decided to head back into the DPD.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 306 Review- That's Persistence

Auggie- "The friction's so palpable I'm almost glad I can't see it."

After last week's exciting romp with Eyal, "Hello Stranger" wasn't as overtly entertaining, but there was still plenty to enjoy out of this midseason hour of Covert Affairs.

First and foremost was Annie's persistence. She set her mind to the fact that Sayid was a certain way, and Annie Walker didn't stop until she proved it. The Yemen Prime Minister's Chief of Staff was steadfast on keeping Annie and the CIA out of his life, but the operative was able to chip away at him.

Whether it was continuing to quote the article that she knew he wrote, and him denied having any part of, or finding enough time to make it so they were not actually strangers, Annie put in the work that eventually led to a phone call from the turned-asset to end the episode.

During Annie's mission, Joan told her to get out of town in order to remain safe, and she also came up short on providing safety for a potentially turned Sayid. Combine that with the fact that Annie figured Joan for the one who had Eyal profiling her, and you have one unhappy operative.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 305 Review- Spy Friends

Annie- "What about this job makes it perfect for you?"

Eyal- "Well I'm good with Americans."

Who doesn't love them some Eyal? That's right, Oded Fehr returned to Covert Affairs for a guest appearance in "This is Not America." His charm and obvious chemistry with Piper Perabo made the hour much more entertaining than it would have been without him.

There were a couple of really fun moments between Eyal and Annie, including what I like to call a game of "Good potential employer/Bad potential employer." Not only did that moment make for an interesting dynamic between them and their new target, Isaac, but it also showed the different layers to the relationship.

They're acquaintances. Sometimes they are partners. They've had some intimate moments. Early on in this mission it was announced that they are officially "friends." All of that could have made things extremely awkward when Eyal revealed that he was evaluating her for the department, but like the rock that she is, it didn't seem to faze Annie.

She kept on keeping on, as the two of them continued on the mission, and they even had time to watch a bit of Eyal's son's soccer practice. It showed her that he isn't just this free wheeling spy without a care in the world. Eyal has things, and people, holding him back as well. It's moments like that that probably make Annie feel better about being a spy and having such close relationships with folks.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 304 Review- California, Here She Comes

Simon- "We're all spinning plates. One's bound to drop from time to time."

Who had episode four in the TV Fanatic pool for when Annie would be back working for the DPD? I sure didn't, but after getting the boot from Lena for apparently botching the Simon mission, that's exactly where Annie ends up in "Speed of Life."

This isn't setting the reset button, though. When I was worried that Covert Affairs might send all the stories back to the status quo too soon after the season premiere, I wasn't imagining this. This we can work with.

Annie was sent back to work at the DPD, but since Simon came back for her by the end of the hour, and she accepted his profession of "like," the situation is still very fluid. She might just go rogue at this point. Lena might HAVE to bring her back into the fold if she's spending just as much time with Simon as she was before.

Either way, this isn't the usual "blow the new stories up to get things back to normal so that fans don't get mad" issue. This was just one wrinkle in this season's longer running plot  Lena wasn't happy with Annie's performance so she had to drop her. Whether that sticks or not depends heavily on what happens after Annie leaves with Simon in that car.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 304 - "Speed of Life"
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Covert Affairs 303- Pirates; Wife For Me

Structurally, "The Last Thing You Should Do" was exactly what you look for out of an episode of television. There was a great mix of entertainment with Auggie's trip gone bad, and intrigue-building serialization with everything else that was going on at the home front.

It just never came together completely. The hour was filled with everything I asked for after the season premiere. We had Lena and Joan butting heads, as well as Annie continuing her relationship with Simon to serve some sort of end goal. I just couldn't have cared less about either situation.

Maybe it was simply because Chris Gorham was once again so engaging that everything time they put the camera on someone else it was disappointing. Seeing Auggie in the field is always good fun, but "The Last Thing You Should Do" was much more than that.

We were able to witness him loving life, and then quickly having to worry about the lives of others. He lost control, and then he took control.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 303 - "The Last Thing You Should Do"
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Covert Affairs 302 Review- Send Auggie On Over

Annie (to Auggie): "Bad news, one of us has a middle seat. I'd say I'd flip you for it, but do you really need a window?"

We all want it. We all got it. Annie and Auggie were sent to Spain on assignment together in "Sound and Vision." But did it live up to our expectations?

There was a moment here or there on the actual mission, but honestly, the best interaction between the two may have occurred before they even started it. Watching them play 20 questions, sitting outside Arthur's office like a couple of high school students in trouble with the principal, might have been my favorite part of the hour.

It's just the chemistry between the two characters, and how well Piper Perabo and Chris Gorham seem to gel as actors, that is so fun to watch. Take, for example, the banter just before the flight when Annie jabs that Auggie doesn't need a window, and the analyst hits back with the fact this "isn't the first time [Annie's] been under qualified."

That's not to say that the actual mission wasn't entertaining as well. The two of them teaming up for that hand to hand was pretty awesome! I know it's Auggie and Annie, and they're studs, but that guy got absolutely destroyed by a woman and a blind guy. He shouldn't tell anyone about that.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 302 - "Sound and Vision"
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Covert Affairs 301 Review- Marrakesh Impressed

Lena- "I'm Lena Smith. I'm your new boss."

Covert Affairs returned with a bang to start season three, but it was where things went after the shocking opening that made "Hang On to Yourself" a great beginning to this Covert summer.

Yes, Jai Wilcox was blown up by a car bomb in the early moments of the episode, and I was very surprised by it due to the fact that I hadn't heard anything about Sendhil Ramamurthy leaving the series.

Other than scaring the crap out of me - and freaking out Annie enough to make her afraid to start her own car even after checking thoroughly for bombs - Jai's death led to a number of new developments for the rest of the Covert crew. We can only hope that said developments keep the stories going in new and interesting places, and that the series doesn't simply bring everything back to the status quo within a few episodes.

That happens far too often on shows like this. New and different avenues will present themselves, the series will explore them for a bit, but then everything will go back to normal after a short while. It's as if the writers are too afraid of changing what is working for them, but thankfully Christopher Gorham has assured us this won't be the case in Season 3.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Covert Affairs season premiere, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 301 - "Hang on to Yourself"
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Covert Affairs Season Two Report Card

With so many shows either on hiatus or having just wrapped up their most recent seasons, TV Fanatic is taking a look back... along with a slight look forward.

We've already handed out grades to 2 Broke Girls, Supernatural and The Walking Dead, among other shows. Now, critic Dan Forcella takes us through the highs and lows of season two of Covert Affairs...

Best Episode: "Half a World Away." This was the best of episode of the second season, and the greatest in Covert Affairs' history. Finally learning how Auggie lost his sight, and getting more of a back story on this lovable character, was a long time coming for fans. The hour did not disappoint.

Worst Episode: "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" Covert Affairs has yet to swing for the fences and miss, but occasionally the series will just spit out a less than interesting episode. "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" was a bit too boring to keep our interest as we waited for the second season to come to a conclusion.

Best Character: Auggie. His talent, his charisma, and, let's face it, the way he looks with his shirt off, combine to make Auggie Anderson the most fun character to watch on Covert Affairs. None of that changed during this second season, as Christopher Gorham continued to help Annie, and even had time to begin a serious relationship of his own.

To read the rest of my report card for the second season of Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 216 Review- Many The Milestone

Danielle- "Indiscretion is the chicken shit way of saying you boinked your fat assistant."

The Covert Affairs season finale was filled with personal milestones for Annie, an emotional disappointment for Auggie and a painfully selfish - yet strategically savvy - maneuver by Mr. Jai Wilcox.

Annie Walker has been a CIA field agent for a while now, but not until "Letter Never Sent" had she killed a man. In an effort to save herself, and especially her sister, our favorite blonde American took down the guy coming after them with a few shots to the chest. Thank God for that recent gun training.

I was always a fan of Annie's lack of gun use on the show, but here it was necessary, and the writers did a good job building up to this moment over the course of the second season. Without her newfound ability to use a firearm, Danielle would probably be dead, and Annie would be a complete mess.

Thanks to Danielle and her big mouth, Annie started to think about Auggie in a way the fans have been dreaming of since Jump Street. Recognizing that there may be a romantic attachment between them was certainly a milestone for Annie and the show.

To read the rest of my review of last night's second season finale of Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 216 - "Letter Never Sent"
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Covert Affairs 215 Review- Not The Thinker

Auggie- "Annie Walker, welcome to her majesty's secret service."

When the news broke, I wasn't a fan of Covert Affairs splitting up its second season into summer and winter segments, especially knowing that the back half of the order would consist of only six episodes.

Following the third straight mediocre hour - "What's The Frequency Kenneth?" - I stand by my prior claim: this was a bad idea.

Three out of six is a troubling trend, one I'd rather not see out of Covert Affairs. Luckily, next week's season finale - previewed HERE -can make up for most of that with an all-out classic.

It's not that "What's the Frequency, Kenneth" wasn't enjoyable. It just didn't force any emotions out of me. I wasn't excited during the few action sequences, I didn't get mad at Jai for his lackluster efforts to pull a fast one and I certainly didn't get sad that Parker had to leave Auggie for the Peace Corps.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 215 - "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?"
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Covert Affairs 213 Review- River of Dreams

Annie- "What is it with you and cell phones?"

Eyal- "What is it with you and always checking in?"

After a couple of exciting episodes to start Covert Affairs' winter run, "A Girl Like You" was a much more dialed back, dialogue-heavy chapter.

I very much still enjoyed the hour, though, thanks in large part to another guest appearance by Oded Fehr as Eyal Lavine. When Covert Affairs is at its best, it combines the sweet understated moments with a good amount of action-packed car chases/fights.

I'm talking about understated moments like Eyal waxing on about letting the river take him on his journey, Jai recovering from his bonehead mistake of crossing Joan, or Auggie's admission that he wants to settle down with Parker.

The latter of those came as somewhat of a surprise to me. As I mentioned in my review of last week's "Uberlin," I don't foresee Auggie having a significant relationship on Covert Affairs. Parker having to leave for the Peace Corps in four months plays right into that theory.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Cover Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 213 - "A Girl Like You"
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Covert Affairs 212 Review- Back In The Field

Arthur- "Turn and face the strange."

Annie- "Brecht?"

Arthur- "Bowie."

With only six episodes in this back half of Covert Affairs' second season, you'd think they would want to pack a punch with each chapter in order to make a strong impression over a short period of time. You'd be right.

Last week's return of "The Wake-Up Bomb" was a solid start to the fall session, and "Uberlin" - chock full of action, CIA secrets, some Arthur backstory, and a love interest for Auggie - was just as powerful of a piece to the Covert Affairs puzzle.

It has been a long time coming for Peter Gallagher to take center stage for an hour. We learned about how Auggie became blind earlier this year, and while this episode wasn't nearly as entertaining or revealing, it was nice to learn more about the public face of the CIA.

We didn't flashback to 1989 - because, let's face it, I don't think Gallagher can pull off age 30 anymore - but we did dig deeper into a moment in Arthur's past in order to showcase how strong his love is for Joan.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 212 - "Uberlin"
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Covert Affairs 211 Review- The Champagne Boom

Annie- "How do you always know it's me?"

Auggie- "Some people call it a sixth sense. I like to call it a fifth, but that's just me."

Covert Affairs returned tonight after a long hiatus, and while "The Wake-Up Bomb" introduced some new concepts for the series, it didn't disappoint those of us that were eager to welcome Annie, Auggie and the rest of the DPD back into our lives.

The first difference was that Annie no longer lives with her sister. Viewers might have as much trouble adjusting to Annie on her own as this gorgeous spy had. It was easy to tell that she enjoyed coming home to a warm reception from Danielle and her family, and it was great to watch our heroine receive that love on a semi-nightly basis.

Those days are gone. Not only has Danielle kicked Annie out, but she spent the majority of this episode acting like a complete jerk to her sister. Thankfully, by the end of the hour, Danielle caved, and actually allowed Annie to take her time removing her stuff from the guest house.

As Jane noticed, this situation took its toll on Annie. She wasn't being herself, which is understandable considering the sibling feud and mission failure.

To read the rest of my review of last night's return of Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 211 - "The Wake-Up Bomb"
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Covert Affairs Mid-Season Report Card- B+

TV Fanatic's end-of-season Report Card series includes our favorite summer hits, as well. Today, we break down the second season of USA's Covert Affairs.

Are there enough superlatives to describe Auggie's greatness? What were the best plot lines, and which fell a little bit short? What's keeping the show from reaching the next level of truly must-watch TV instead of just a fun summer escape?

Here's our critic's postmortem of a summer of Covert Affairs ...

Best character: Is it too obvious to say Auggie? Is he not everyone's favorite? Maybe it's his dashing good looks, his relentless charm, or even his ability to his job with a ridiculous disadvantage, but it is extremely difficult not to love Auggie Anderson.

Best episode: If you find Auggie as interesting as I do, it is hard to go with any episode besides "Half A World Away." Finally learning how Auggie became blind was great, but watching Christopher Gorham play out those scenes with such conviction was even better. The fact that it was a subject we were anticipating since the beginning, and it still managed to knock it out of the park, is a credit to how good "Half A World Away" was.

Worst character: None. You might think that not hating any of the main characters on a series would be a positive thing, but I beg to differ. Having a jerk or two to hate on is one of the crucial aspects to any show. The way that I hate Kurt Hummel on Glee, Gabe Lewis on The Office, or Tara Thornton on True Blood, makes those shows more interesting. Bringing someone in to root against could make Covert Affairs better moving forward.

To read the rest of my Mid-Season Report Card for Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 210 Review- Movin' Out (Annie's Song)

Annie- "I'm in the CIA. Nothing is different."

Danielle- "Everything is different."

Unlike what I predicted last week, the Covert Affairs summer finale did NOT leave us with a cliffhanger. Instead, "World Leader Pretend" simply - and rightfully - shoved our sweet protagonist in a new direction.

Yes, Annie finally told her sister about the two-year old secret she had been keeping, but it was Danielle's reaction that was the most interesting development.

I know we are supposed to side with Annie because she's the main character, but it was hard not to be with Danielle every step of the way as she packed up her sister's boxes. If you're keeping it a secret to protect your sister, then why are you telling her two years later?

You either never bring her into the fold or you tell her right away. Does Annie no longer care about protecting Danielle? Or was her entire reasoning for keeping the secret a lie?

To read the rest of my review of last night's summer finale of Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 210 - "World Leader Pretend"
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Covert Affairs 209 Review- Breaking News

Annie- "Compartmentalizing is the only way that some operatives can cope."

Finally! It has been a long time coming for Annie's guilt to take center stage on Covert Affairs.

During "Sad Professor," Danielle became increasingly more suspicious about her sister's crazy work habits, while Annie seemed to finally come to grips with the idea of telling her sweet sister the truth.

Whether it was Danielle's early suspicion and car chase with the super spy shades on, or her inability to get through to anyone at the Smithsonian about needing to find "ANN-NEE WALK-ERRR," Anne Dudek was terrific this week.

And in a nice bit of storytelling, the Covert Affairs team did a wonderful job coming up with an A plot that would nicely coincide with Danielle's suspicions. The parallels between Annie's relationship to her sister, and Professor Mark to his wife Safia, were enough to make Annie seriously think about telling Danielle the truth about her occupation.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Cover Affairs 209 - "Sad Professor"
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Covert Affairs 208 Review- In and Out. Nobody Gets Hurt.

Annie- "Goodbyes are overrated, but I'm glad we got one this time."

"Welcome to the Occupation" was different from last week's "Half a World Away" on two obvious accounts.

1. The Covert Affairs crew was back in the Americas.
2. It was not nearly as entertaining.

What can you expect, though, when Auggie Anderson is back behind his desk for the entire hour?

That is not to say that this chapter didn't have its own charm. Although Auggie was sidelined, she finally had some major growth as a character. Her answering Ben's proposal of kite surfing and relaxation on the beach with an I think I'll pass was proof enough that this is a different girl than the one we met at the beginning of the series, or even at the end of season one.

Annie wasn't just choosing her new doctor boyfriend over Ben. She was choosing to be rational, which is a sure sign of maturation. I'm sure Danielle and especially Dr. Weiss are happy with the decision because it means she will be back in town sooner. Then again, the more time she spends with them, the sooner they will have to figure out that something strange is going on. How many times can the mention of her long work hours add up before somebody close finally realizes she doesn't work at a museum?

Before Annie made the aforementioned decision to kick Ben to the curb, she and Joan were joined by him on a special mission in Mexico. It all paled in excitement and scope to Auggie's adventures from a week ago, but there were still things to enjoy.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 208 - "Welcome to the Occupation"
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Covert Affairs 207 Review- A Tale of Two Auggies

Auggie- "Thanks again, for everything. Goodbye Annie."

If the Emmys ever decide to recognize the USA Network, and the Academy takes rightful notice of what a fantastic performance Christopher Gorham continues to display on Covert Affairs, "Half a World Away" should be his submission episode.

With Auggie taking center stage, viewers - and Annie - finally learned how this tech went blind. This has been on Annie's mind over the last year or so almost as much as mine.

It was the grand scale of the material that made "Half a World Away" such a great episode, along with such a platform for Gorham to steal the show once again.

In essence, he was playing two characters. These were two extremely different versions of the same guy. In every flashback sequence, he became the freewheeling Captain Anderson of the Special Forces; a shirtless, short-haired, football-playing, sighted Auggie that was hard not to love just as much as the 2011 version. In real-time, he was a man on a mission, in search of the individual that blinded him way back when.

To read the rest of my review of last night's Covert Affairs, head over to TV Fanatic.

Covert Affairs 207 - "Half a World Away"
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