What I’m Watching: Covert Affairs

Covert Affairs: Season 3, Episode 14 “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)” (B+)

Things are just continuing to get worse for Annie as she gets deeper and deeper into this whole Mossad mess. Eyal purporting not to know anything about the false intelligence triggered Annie’s trusting nature, which enables her to give way too many chances to those with less than pure intentions, even though Eyal actually deserved much better. Explaining that the woman he fell in love with was killed by Khalid made perfect sense as his motivation behind trying to get the CIA to kill him, but, as has always been the case, Eyal isn’t entirely on board with Mossad’s plan, something that Annie was able to see clearly despite Eyal’s insistence to the contrary. Rivka throwing him under the bus and then assigning him to a desk back in Israel wasn’t kind, and it’s good to see him declare that he plans to quit in response rather than be treated so poorly. Annie meeting up with Eyal didn’t do her any favors with Joan, but, fortunately, that’s what the endearing Auggie is there for, to smooth things over and help get them both back on track. I’m not sure Auggie redeploying is a good idea, especially now that Annie is back full-time, but I suspect he’ll go anyway. It’s refreshing to see the eternally stressed Joan realize that she needs to take a few days off for the first time in a while, if not ever, and to see Arthur do something he so rarely does in response: crack a smile.

What I’m Watching: Flash Forward

Flash Forward: Season 1, Episode 6 “Scary Monsters and Super Creeps” (B)

A show like this really doesn’t need a Halloween episode, especially if it really only functions as an opportunity for Dylan to escape from the hospital and for Mark to embarrass himself again by chasing after people wearing masks. While Aaron’s Obi-Wan Kenobi costume looks normal on him, Mark dressing up just seems unnecessary, especially with the teeth. It’s just too light for the tone of the show, especially the other two major plotlines in this episode. Demetri and Gough’s search feels straight out of an episode of “CSI,” and in this case, it’s a good thing because it amps up the tempo of the show. The addition of Dominic Monaghan to the cast is fantastic because he’s really creepy. Putting a face behind the mystery of the flash forwards is great, and Monaghan brings a quietly threatening demeanor to the character. His end-of-episode meeting with Lloyd is good in that it connects him to the rest of the cast, but having him on his own on the train for most of it is effective at establishing him as a wild card. The most worthwhile moment of this episode is the inevitable meeting of Mark and Lloyd, and the look on Mark’s face when he realizes what’s going on is one of absolute fury. The characters are still allowing their lives to be ruled by what they saw in their flash forwards, but it’s compelling to see how it plays out. Dylan is certainly a bit of an odd kid, but his journey to the Benford household produced a pretty stunning scene.