This is no A.L.I.A.S.

I like my heroines flawed. A sense of vulnerability makes them more human in the eyes of the viewing public. The first few minutes of Covert Affairs certainly did not give me that impression on Annie Walker. One would even be annoyed at how perfect she was. Seasoned traveler, polyglot, strikingly beautiful, single... quite the perfect candidate for someone the CIA wants within its people. It was Sydney Bristow all over again. Or so I thought.

Plucked out from The Farm during the last few weeks of her training, Annie finds herself assigned to the DPD to help retrieve classified intel from a high-profiled Russian assassin. There she discovers fields ops isn't quite the walk in the park she expected. Her first assignment ends in gunfire and she is almost killed in the subway. How's that for a typical first week on the job? The CIA, as it turns out, wants her in their ranks  to lure her ex-boyfriend out of hiding. The ex, Ben Mercer, may have been a former agent gone rogue but no one really knows for now.

Piper Perabo is no Jennifer Garner. The way she plays Annie makes you annoyed and amused at her at the same time. She wears her heart on her sleeve yet her persistence is quite infectious. Perhaps the most refreshing presence in the pilot was Christopher Gorham. The man is effortlessly charming. Now if only his current physical condition is temporary. It would be awesome to see him kick some ass in future episodes.

Sendhil Ramamurthy joins the cast in Episode 2. I’m checking it out to see if he’s a worthy replacement for Eric Lively who barely made his presence felt in the pilot. The show is promising and I hope it can sustain its momentum.