Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Covert Affairs - The Wake-Up Bomb


Covert Affairs returns from break with Annie (Piper Perabo) a little lost. Her sister (Anne Dudek) is still distant and hasn't yet come to grips with the truth of what Annie does for a living. Our covert spy has moved into a new apartment, and her recent unsuccessful mission to Venice, a simple pick up, leaves her shot at, bruised, and given a day off by Joan (Kari Matchett) to recover.

The opening sequence in Venice is particularly well done. It's a great locale for a chase sequence as anyone who has attempted to walk through the myriad maze of dead ends and canals can attest to. The montage of Annie putting together her safehouse, and at least temporary new home, work well, too.

Things seem to be momentarily picking up when our heroine meets a charming Spanish chef (Santiago Cabrera) but too much alcohol and pain killers lead to a groggy morning that is only further complicated when Joan informs that her new friend is a former member of a Basque terrorist cell and currently under survellaince by Spanish Intelligence who believe he might still be in contact with terrorists, including his brother (Matias Padin) who was recently released from prison.


After a couple of months off it's good to see Annie, and the rest of the team, back in action again. The episode's B-story involves the choice of Jai (Sendhil Ramamurthy) to reveal his father (Gregory Itzin) as the source of the CIA leak. The end result of which will get him everything he desires.

"The Wakeup Bomb" is a good first episode back for the show easing us into the same, but slightly different, state of affairs. I enjoyed that the show didn't choose a quick fix for the Annie/Danielle relationship. And Annie's dilemma of staying close to a man she's obviously attracted to without giving away too much of herself, especially at a time where she feels cut-off and vulnerable, was a nice choice for the first episode back.

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