State of Affairs Season 1 Episode 6 Review: Masquerade
Krystal Sondel
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The truth finally came out tonight on State of Affairs Season 1 Episode 6.
For Charlie, it wasn't an easy journey, but she finally remembered what happened the night of the attack in Kabul.
In the closing seconds of the episode, State of Affairs left us with another big reveal that almost makes me forget everything else that happened during "Masquerade."
To get to that reveal, we need to take a moment to back up to the start: aboard Air Force One. Charlie, Maureen, POTUS and David were headed to Qatar to try to smooth things over with the prime minister. After landing, Charlie took another convoy route and pieces of her memory from the night in Kabul haunted her. She remembered Aaron pointing a gun at her and pointing her gun at Aaron. Nothing made sense and she would do just about anything to find out the truth.
It probably helped that her boss, the President of the United States, dismissed her. It would have to be something that big to make me get into an ice bath and fill my veins with god knows what.
Constance: I am dismissing you as my briefer. Effective immediately.
Charlie: Thank you for your time, madam President.
I asked after State of Affairs Season 1 Episode 5 how long it would take for a showdown between Constance and Charlie, and it all came to a head tonight. It was an absolutely intense scene acted brilliantly by Alfre Woodard, and followed up timidly by Katherine Heigl. Did Constance have the intention of keeping Charlie away for good, or did she hope it would spark Charlie to tell her the truth? It appears to be the latter.
As Charlie climbed into that ice bath, and Maureen injected her with the drug, it was ironic to see the top CIA briefer undergo her own form of torture to get the truth. As the Kabul attack played out before us again, the pieces fell into place.
To anyone out there questioning Katherine Heigl's ability to act, watch the scene in the bathtub a few times. It was a WOW moment for me – my heart was racing. I didn't need convincing that Heigl could act, but I was reaffirmed of her place on television.
Through her memories, we learned it wasn't Charlie who killed Aaron, but Omar Fatah, who was pulling Charlie to safety. Aaron, who I'm assuming saw Fatah pulling her, pulled his gun on him and Fatah pulled the gun from Charlie and shot Aaron.
I remember. I remember everything. Fatah is still my asset.
Charlie
Pegasus still flies. Which hopefully means this terrorist network he is creating all over the world is not really coming to fruition, but will result in the capture of Sheik Akam. I know we are supposed to hate Fatah, I mean he killed Aaron, but Charlie clearly had a softer spot for him throughout, leading me to believe maybe he is in this to help out the United States.
Everything else that happened (because a lot of other stuff actually happened, too)...
- Charlie has a soft spot for assets. Even fake ones. We don't know how things will play out with Fatah, but maybe having a softer spot is the key to being a good CIA operative. Charlie can kick things into high gear and kill a potential threat, but she has also appears to be more caring and invested than many other CIA operatives.
- We had the chance to see more of Maureen and watch her relationship with Charlie. There is a little part of me that isn't trusting Mo. Could she be behind the text messages? She has turned into my leading suspect.
- Kurt and Lucas "faced off" tonight too, and it ended in a threat from Kurt to leave Maureen alone. I rolled my eyes a little bit. That relationship seems doomed before it even starts. Will Lucas stay away? Does Kurt even need to threaten him?
- Speaking of Lucas, his battle with alcoholism seems to be getting the better of him, and it wasn't helped any by Kurt handing him a bottle of liquor.
- Nick Vera is being tortured as a masked man tried to get information about Fatah. In typical Nick Vera fashion, he was a complete smart ass and didn't say a word. I laughed out loud when Nick said, "blow me," after we saw the torturer light a blow torch. I don't have a clue who is keeping Nick and what they stand to gain by getting his information.
That's it for State of Affairs until the New Year; we have plenty of time to discuss our theories in the comments below. Do you think it could be Maureen who has been texting Charlie? What piece from the previews have you most intrigued?
Krystal Sondel is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.
