What came first, the chicken or the egg? Did the CIA recruit Annie Walker because of her previous relationship with Ben Mercer, or did a smarter-than-your-average-bear Annie Walker join the CIA to find/learn about/murder in his sleep one Ben Mercer? Her little admission about “knowing” he was CIA (in that way that women are apparently nearly omniscient) was a little telling. I think Annie is smarter than the CIA probably gives her credit for, and has a better feel for what is going on than they think. More Ben Mercer, though, is a good thing for Covert Affairs, as the mythology of the show and of the characters outpace the case-of-the-week.
Now that we’ve finally really met Mercer, I can’t say that I care too much yet for his character. Did he leave Annie because she was in danger, as he said, or was it really just a matter of not wanting to admit the truth to her. Leaving her was, unbeknownst to him, a catalyst for her working for the CIA, so either way, you can’t say he was very successful. I’m curious as to the endgame of the arc — will Mercer be brought back in from the cold, or will he continue to work at counter purposes from the CIA? This double agenda worked on Alias because we knew that Syndey was working for (at least after she woke up and smelled the coffee at Credit Dauphine) the good guys, but what about Annie. Are we to eventually believe that the CIA as a whole is to be the antagonist? Or will, in a much more clichéd maneuver, Arthur turns out to be a Sloane-esque villain (A bit of casting that I think Peter Gallagher is definitely capable of). A bigger question, though, is will Covert Affairs be able to get past Alias comparisons (or will I be able to stop making them)?
Nope, not even for a second. I titled this post after the story telling technique that was employed tonight. “In medias res” literally means into the middle of affairs, and refers to starting the story after important action had already taken place (dead giveaway, is five minutes into the episode, reading the title card, “Two days earlier.” It is certainly not new, nor do I claim J.J. Abrams invent it, but it was in Alias that I first fell in love with it. Non-linear storytelling, when not so complicated that the audience can’t follow it, is one of my favorite ways of shaking things up.
I’m not sure how Annie could think, after having admitted contact with Ben, and gotten herself into (and more or less, out of) too much trouble, that the CIA is not following her is just plain silly on her part. She has got to realize that Joan, Arthur, and the rest of the Company is using her, “whether,” as was said, “she wants to be or not.” Considering I almost applied for a job with the CIA (as a very much Washington based analyst), I wonder if I would have been better served taking a year abroad and meeting some exotic, dangerous woman in Sri Lanka. It could happen … right? Right? Bueller??
I’m not a big Led Zeppelin fan (or hater, for that matter), but I listened to “What is and What Should Never Be” to see if I could garner some great insight into tonight’s episode. I had about as much success as I did when True Blood named an episode after Damien Rice’s “9 Crimes” earlier this season. Which was, if you couldn’t tell, what one would call an “utter waste of time.” It’s a shame no one has named a song “utter waste of time” yet, as that would be a completely uninteresting non sequitur. Zeppelin fans … did I miss something important?
Notes & Quotes
Clacked by Ivey West 
on Sep 01, 2010 @ 13:00 EST5EDT
love that write-up title. Good post too….a gem.
*POST AUTHOR*
I’m here for you, my friend :P
I don’t want an Auggie/Annie hookup. I like their platonic, mildly flirtatious relationship. It’s refreshing and different. (I say this as a huge fan of Bones and Castle.)
As far as the CIA being the Big Bad … it seems to be a few shades of gray. We’ve seen that it has been shady in the past (with the arms dealer), and they’re definitely using Annie. But Joan also stands up and defends Annie (to the agents who want to use her). Maybe it’ll set up the show to have its own mini civil war?
*POST AUTHOR*
Slow burn… You’re right in that they’re chemistry is 100% different from the couples on Castle or Bones.
Not a right now thing, because I think we’ll be working through residual (now) and eventually more (later) Ben Mercer stuff, but in the long run …
I’m with you on that. I think this is a relationship that I would prefer remain platonic. They are great “buds”. And, the trust they have for each other is a refreshing thing to see. I’d love to see their friendship deepen further, but not in a romantic or sexual direction.