The Evolution Of Covert Affairs

I wrote earlier about Falling Skies and about how it didn't grow and evolve. Many shows fail to do this, Covert Affairs is not one of them. I recently went back and watched the first couple of episodes of it and although I still enjoyed it it feels like a completely different show to the one that exists now, it's managed to leave behind the light and fluffy feel of the earlier seasons and become a more serious, serialised drama.

Theres nothing wrong with how it was originally, it was a decent piece of television. We followed the protagonist, Annie Walker, as she attempted to balance her new position at the CIA with her personal life with her family life. She was also investigating the disappearance of her lost love, Ben Mercer, who turns out to be a former CIA agent. Sure it had an on-going storyline but in all honesty it didn't really matter whether I'd missed an episode or not. It was episodic as many shows tend to be early on in their run, but it went on for a lot longer than it should have. It only really lost it around season 3 I think, when it became a highly serialised show with so many twists and turns that you couldn't even miss five minutes, let alone a few episodes. 

The show has become incredibly daring which is witnessed when it killed off Jai Wilcox who was one of the main characters since the beginning and that completely changed the tone and the course of the show. After that the show was not just about Annies mission of the week, her hiding it from her sister, then going on a date with some doctor she met. It was about Annie Walker, CIA agent tasked to find a killer, or whoever the villain of the season it. No more fluff, it became a serious drama that dealt with politics and corruption and wasn't afraid to say goodbye to characters (Jai Wilcox, Henry Wilcox) and welcome new ones (Calder Michaels, Ryan McQuaid) to keep it fresh and innovative. Having watched the mid-season finale of season 5 I can tell that they aren't slowing down, as a larger conspiracy has begin to unfold and McQuaid's life hangs in the balance. I am eagerly awaiting the return and will most likely be up at the crack of dawn after it airs to watch it, unlike before when I was quite flakey when it came to watching the show. I hope for many more seasons of the new and improved Cover Affairs.

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