We’re only six episodes in to the first season of Covert Affairs, but the show has had a strong start. One of the things that has been particularly impressive is the guest stars the team has brought in each episode. This week, the trio of “short time” actors are experienced and talented enough to headline their own show. After last week’s performances by Eriq La Salle and Gregory Itzin and the group this week, Covert Affairs is setting the gold standard for what guest casting should look like.
When you’ve got the likes of All My Children’s Lauren Holly (This credit won out over my original choice of Picket Fences … thanks CJ), True Blood’s Anna Camp, and perennial awesome guest star extraordinaire DW Moffett (My favorite his is performance on Friday Night Lights) you know things are going to shape up well. I actually expected Camp’s Ashley to be guilty, somehow manipulating the Senator into giving her information, but I couldn’t have been farther from the truth. I just didn’t see her being the victim, either of her boss’ manipulation, or his wife’s treachery.
I did like how Annie and Auggie’s stories eventually came together. I’ve mentioned before how much I like how his struggles are slowly being played out, and this week was more of that. While it may have seemed like he wanted to do a good job to support “his guys,” what things were really about was him proving himself; not to Joan, or any of the other rear-echelon folks, but proving himself to the men he used to work beside who, as he said, had “hesitation” in their voices.
Having Annie’s brother-in-law found to be in an affair this week, the story centering on a marriage in trouble would be a bit obvious (in the same way that seemingly every patient on every medical show has some connection to the doctor’s treating them), and I’m glad the story went in another direction. I’m still a bit leery as to how Annie’s home life will eventually balance out in entirety that is the show, though. Anne Dudek is great, but really hasn’t been given much to do. As the show grows, I’m not sure venturing in the direction away from work will be good in the long run.
Did Joan really give Annie advice against “office romances?” Let’s step away from the hypocrisy of that said by a person married to her boss just long enough to remember another fact: The CIA encourages dating co-workers. It was mentioned at the Covert Affairs Comic-Con panel, and I’m pretty sure it was also mentioned in the pilot, but hey; let’s not let the truth get in the way of a good indignant statement, shall we?
Notes & Quotes
Clacked by Ivey West 
on Aug 18, 2010 @ 09:10 EST5EDT
My guess is that he uses it to show sighted people stuff that he’s working on.
Just sit back and enjoy the show–it is one of the better ones. Especially for a 1st season show. It is also one of the few “action” shows that I can even get my wife to watch with me, and believe me–that is something.