CIA assassins. Secret code names. Attacks on U.S. soil.

Perception Season 2 Episode 13 rolled the dice by dropping Daniel and Kate in the midst of a spy game complete with a twisty conspiracy theory. Or was it?

The initial concept of Daniel involved in a spy thriller was cool, especially because conspiracies are right up his alley. But for the first half hour, the campiness of it all from the cheesy codenames (“Cobra” and “Greyhawk”) to the noir-styled hallucination was too over the top. I was taken out of the story.

But the uncovering that “Cobra” was really just a pathological liar allowed the hour to get interesting again. And how did Daniel’s friend wind up dead from a CIA assassin who wasn’t actually one?

And that’s where Daniel came in to really help make things shine.

Eric McCormick nails the role of Daniel every time, and watching his facial expressions and subtle actions make you want to believe the severity of the situation. He encapsulates the role that continues to make Daniel stand out as the lead.

Seeing him clutch his bag, angrily try and debate with the CIA agent over things like aliens and the truth, and even using his intelligence to realize something like a bird in a video changed the “proof” of the situation.

Plus, giving Daniel one on one time with “Cobra,” the liar, allowed him to further show off why he is an asset to the FBI. In general, it’s just nice to see Daniel show his skills in a calm, determined and smart manner rather than the frazzled guy following around Kate.

It was a bit unnecessary throwing in one more twist, that the girlfriend of “Cobra” was so blinded by her love that she killed the professor, but it neatly wrapped up the episode’s plot. But once again, it was great seeing Daniel figure it out and without the help of his hallucination.

And while DJ Quall’s tech had a very small part in the hour, I always appreciate consistency with those minor characters. It allows them to eventually become something more than just "FBI guy" for two episodes to disappear and never be heard from again.

As for the Donnie and Kate relationship, while I have enjoyed their chemistry, it felt so jarring to the case at hand during this episode. And Kate’s insecurity in needing to know Donnie’s past sexual history and details before even possibly getting back into something with him really was a mood killer. Glad Donne recognized that too.

But it didn’t stop there. Kate felt it was necessary to confront her best friend to quiz her about how many times she had sex with Donnie, etc. C’mon, Kate.

I know it was supposed to provide some insight into their past but it felt like a waste on the characters trying to give them unneeded drama. It was a major step back for these two. It’s fine that Kate can’t move on, Donnie did cheat on her after all. But if that’s the case, Kate really should move on from Donnie.

I just can see Donnie and Kate getting closer again and then Kate checking his emails or phone and not trusting him at every turn. And we don’t want to see Kate like that or a relationship for her like that.

But I’ve got a feeling that things falling apart here was because things had been going relatively well for Donnie and Kate during Perception Season 2, and the writers want to keep the will they/won’t they going for the next season.

It's hard to believe that there's only one episode left, but let's hope it leaves fans eagerly awaiting the summer episodes to begin.

Do you think the CIA will call on Daniel next season?

Sean McKenna was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. He retired in May of 2017. Follow him on Twitter.