When Auggie and Annie are sent on a mission together, things get all kinds of dramatic and, not surprisingly, pretty great.
I don't know why the writers of the show haven't just done it already. You know, the thing they should have done a while ago.
Put Auggie and Annie together for good.
I don't mean as a romantic couple. I mean as partners. Because the episodes where they are working closely together tend to be the best ones.
Sure, the will-they-won't-they element of their relationship amps things up, since we know she has deep feelings for him, but that stuff can easily be left to another season. The show doesn't really need them to be together as a couple anyway when it is probably more fun to see them working together.
And it works because we know they love each other as friends. We believe that Annie runs to help Auggie, even though he is a capable spy, because she can't stand the thought of losing him. He thinks it is about her not having confidence in his abilities due to his blindness but the audience knows the truth.
The episode as a whole works even apart from the Auggie and Annie relationship because it is very well structured and paced, plus the story feels like it could very well be part of a real world covert operations mission. Also, these characters are dealing with a death from the previous episode that shapes their decisions, and the audience believes in these decisions because THEY MAKE SENSE (hello TV writers in general!).
Auggie is rushing into a proposal because life is short for a spy? Check. We get it. Annie lets a mission essential element be taken because she doesn't want to lose her best friend? Of course. That's what we would do too. The two operations bosses have competing interests, one more conservative, the other more liberal, and those interests conflict with some mission goals? I believe it because the show sticks with character development instead of conveniently moving the pieces on the chessboard to fit some wacky agenda of the writer-of-the-week. Even the bit with Annie's sister and her need to piece things together works because one would expect her to wonder about such things.
It is as if the writers didn't miss anything that needed to be covered. There's even an excellent, if short, fight in an elevator that isn't made any more dramatic or action packed than it needs to be since the stakes are already high enough due to Auggie's blindness and the need for Annie to be his eyes.
Not to mention the fact that Annie shoots a gun! And not in the air. That was pretty badass.
If I had to rate this episode, and a half-naked girl testing my blindness demands I do, then I'd give it:
93 out of 100
Excellent episode. Currently the best show on USA and arguably the best written spy show on TV.
