You would think Christopher Gorham actually worked for the CIA, the way he either denies or sidesteps questions about the fourth-season finale of his USA Network series of “Covert Affairs,” which airs tonight on USA Network.
The episode deals with the battle that’s been waged all season between CIA agents Auggie Anderson (Gorham) and Annie Walker (Piper Perabo) with the shifty Henry Wilcox (Gregory Itzin).
“While Henry has been the focus of this season, the show has always been about Annie and her career and life experiences. Regardless of what happens at end of each season, you can look forward to more about what Annie’s going through next year,” Gorham said.
Perabo offers a little more detail when she explains that a final confrontation has the potential to be deadly because Walker and Anderson no longer have the broad protection of the CIA, while Wilcox has a private army at his disposal.
Will there be a battle? No one’s saying.
Perabo stresses that a bigger problem will be what has been the cost to the characters for trying to bring Wilcox to justice.
“Part of the fallout is what it cost Auggie and Annie to hunt him down. It’s cost their relationship. Can she get back to what she was before? Can she salvage her relationship with Auggie?” Perabo said.
No matter what happens in the finale, there’s plenty that’s gone on this season to impact the lives of both characters. Among the highlights are: Annie faking her death and going rogue to track Wilcox; the arrest of their boss (Peter Gallagher) and the pregnancy of their other boss (Kari Matchett); a new leader (Hill Harper) who mistrusts and then trusts the pair; and Auggie’s cheating on Annie with the wife (Michelle Ryan) that he thought was dead.
Gorham again takes a neutral stand, suggesting that “cheating” is an unfair way to characterize what happened.
“It’s tempting to say Auggie cheated. It’s not as cut and dry as you present it. They did break up,” Gorham said.
Perabo laughed and added, “They were on a break. Your wife being alive is an extenuating circumstance.”
Their relationship wouldn’t have even been a topic the first season. Although fans wanted the two characters to get together, it took time for Auggie and Annie to go from a student-mentor situation to being peers and finally lovers.
Their relationship was pushed past the breaking point this year when Perabo’s character went out on her own. Even if she completed her rogue mission, there were never any promises she would come back in out of the cold.
If, or when, they patch up things will be fodder for the fifth season. As will Walker’s future with the CIA, which remains a mystery. And, returning to her old life will be even more complicated because her family even thought she was dead.
Gorham, who remains guarded in what he says, does suggest that this year for Walker is a lot like the time his character spent in the military. Both had to learn how to survive in hostile environments with little or no support.
Gorham says that because they have had that similar experience, “they are on more equal footing” and that’s a positive sign.
It’s a positive sign — but no guarantees on what will happen next.
Watch it
Season 4 of “Covert Affairs” ends at 10 tonight on USA.
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