Contributor: John Keegan
I’ve been rather disappointed with the past few episodes, which I felt represented a bit of a slide backward in quality. I was pinning a lot of hopes on how well they could snap back to the strengths of the second season with the finale. Thankfully, the writers went exactly the right direction, because not was this one full of great moments for Annie, but it also managed to make other subplots worthwhile.
I’m convinced that part of the problem with these final six episodes, held for the fall, was the disconnect created by the short but substantial hiatus. Before the break, while Annie was the focal character, the rest of the cast was growing as a support team. Auggie was her handler, Jai was tactical support, and so on. These past few episodes have pulled the team dynamic apart, and this has left the storytelling at a disadvantage.
One highlight, of course, has been the focus on Annie’s relationship with her sister, which comes full circle by the end of this episode. Danielle, who seemed to comprehend the threat that Annie’s job posed to her family but little else, finally gets a glimpse at the realities of Annie’s job. While I certainly question the logic of subsequently inviting Annie to move back into the house, I think it makes a certain amount of sense. Annie has proven herself capable of handling threats to her family, after all.
Surprisingly, the bulk of the episode is focused on the sisters’ relationship, when there was every reason to think that it was going to be about Annie and Auggie. And yet, in many ways, it was about Annie and Auggie. Annie is at her best when Auggie is there, ready to back her up, and Danielle helped push Annie to recognize her own feelings about that trust. Beyond that, the chemistry between Annie and Auggie has never been better, especially towards the end.
That made Auggie’s part of the episode all the more intriguing. In a way, I’m glad that Auggie isn’t going to regain his sight. Let’s face it: Auggie kicks ass while blind; imagine how fast they’d send him into the field if that MRI had turned out differently and the treatment had been successful. I’m less enthusiastic about his decision to go chase after Parker. The writers never even tried to convince us that it was a solid relationship, and it’s clearly a plot device to keep the Annie/Auggie pairing from moving too far too fast.
I even liked how the writers finally ended the threat against Arthur by having Jai turn on his own father. Since Arthur’s troubles were hardly a well-rendered plot thread, it mostly serves to define Jai’s character and return him to the fold, all while keeping his enhanced deviousness intact. I have no doubt that Jai will continue to be a wild card in the third season, but I’d rather he was a wild card within the active mix of Annie’s CIA world.
Perhaps more importantly, this was the first episode since the mid-season fall premiere that really grabbed my attention and kept me fully engaged. (Annie’s slinky little black dress with the eye-catching zipper certainly didn’t hurt!) If the writers can take a page from the better moments of the second season and use that as inspiration for the third, then I think the show can continue to improve.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 8/10
(Season 2 Final Average: 7.0)