In tonight’s summer finale, a time-jump puts Annie (Piper Perabo) back in the action and on the hunt for Lena (Sarah Clarke).
Annie the Avenger
I really enjoyed seeing Annie go full-on Emily Thorne in tonight’s episode and seek revenge against Lena for her betrayal. (And as a bonus, it allows Piper Perabo to give a truly phenomenal performance.) Annie has always been a very emotional character but she was usually able to separate her feelings from her mission. That changed when Simon entered the picture. We have already seen Annie make several questionable choices thanks to her relationship with Simon so it makes sense that his death would be the thing that pushes her over the edge.
Most of these agents have gone rogue at some point during the series, but Annie takes things further than ever before in tonight’s episode. Not only is she risking her own life and career but her actions are also putting Joan (Kari Matchett) and Arthur (Peter Gallagher) in hot water. And yet, it would have felt wrong if Annie did not go after Lena, given everything Lena did. While it could have been off-putting to see the show’s main character kill someone, the writers walked that line really well by having Annie wait until Lena tried to pull a gun on her. So while Annie technically kills Lena in self-defense, she still manages to get justice for herself and for Simon.
So Long, Sarah
The writers took a lot of gambles this season but introducing Lena as Annie’s new mentor is probably the one with the best payoff. Sadly, it seems like we’ve seen the last of Sarah Clarke’s treacherous spy — at least in the living, breathing capacity — and while that is certainly a plus for Annie and her team, it feels like a bit of a loss for the audience. Lena may have been a bit unhinged but she was an excellent villain and a great match for Annie.
The final confrontation between Annie and Lena was so fantastic and Clarke once again brought her A-game. But there are still some questions about just how much Lena accomplished during her many years as a double-agent and what effect her duplicity will have on the agency in the long term, so I don’t think we are truly done with Ms. Smith just yet.
Where Do We Go From Here?
Now that Lena is down for the count and Annie has the closure she needs, where will the writers take Annie and co. for the rest of the season? Well for one thing, the show’s executive producers revealed that Oded Fehr’s Eyal will return for a multiple-episode arc in the back-half of season 3. But what will bring Eyal back into Annie’s orbit and how will their close friendship impact Auggie (Christopher Gorham) and those ‘important things’ he needs to tell Annie? And what about Joan and Arthur? Will Annie’s actions force one of them to step down or will Lena’s death be seen as a success for the agency? Luckily, we won’t have to wait long for those answers, as the show returns on October 16th with six brand-new episodes.
Megan Cole
Contributing Writer
(Image courtesy of USA)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
