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Covert Affairs
S1.E8
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IMDbPro

What Is and What Should Never Be

  • Episode aired Aug 31, 2010
  • TV-PGTV-PG
  • 1h
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
299
YOUR RATING
Piper Perabo and Eion Bailey in Covert Affairs (2010)
Covert Affairs: What Is And What Should Never Be
Play trailer0:31
1 Video
11 Photos
ActionCrimeDrama
After Annie witnesses a suspicious purchase at an art auction, her follow-up brings a surprise visitor - Ben Mercer - back into her life.After Annie witnesses a suspicious purchase at an art auction, her follow-up brings a surprise visitor - Ben Mercer - back into her life.After Annie witnesses a suspicious purchase at an art auction, her follow-up brings a surprise visitor - Ben Mercer - back into her life.
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
299
YOUR RATING
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Rod Hardy
    • Writers
      • Matt Corman
      • Chris Ord
      • Brett Conrad
    • Stars
      • Piper Perabo
      • Christopher Gorham
      • Kari Matchett
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Rod Hardy
    • Writers
      • Matt Corman
      • Chris Ord
      • Brett Conrad
    • Stars
      • Piper Perabo
      • Christopher Gorham
      • Kari Matchett
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 2User reviews

    Videos1

    Covert Affairs: What Is And What Should Never Be
    Trailer 0:31
    Covert Affairs: What Is And What Should Never Be

    Photos11

    Piper Perabo and Eion Bailey in Covert Affairs (2010)
    Eion Bailey in Covert Affairs (2010)
    Anne Dudek in Covert Affairs (2010)
    Piper Perabo in Covert Affairs (2010)
    Piper Perabo and Sienna Guillory in Covert Affairs (2010)
    Piper Perabo in Covert Affairs (2010)
    Sienna Guillory in Covert Affairs (2010)
    Piper Perabo in Covert Affairs (2010)
    Piper Perabo in Covert Affairs (2010)
    Sienna Guillory in Covert Affairs (2010)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Piper Perabo
    Piper Perabo
    • Annie Walker
    Christopher Gorham
    Christopher Gorham
    • Auggie Anderson
    Kari Matchett
    Kari Matchett
    • Joan Campbell
    Anne Dudek
    Anne Dudek
    • Danielle Brooks
    Sendhil Ramamurthy
    Sendhil Ramamurthy
    • Jai Wilcox
    Peter Gallagher
    Peter Gallagher
    • Arthur Campbell
    Noam Jenkins
    Noam Jenkins
    • Vincent Rossabi
    Evan Sabba
    Evan Sabba
    • Michael Brooks
    Eion Bailey
    Eion Bailey
    • Ben Mercer
    Sienna Guillory
    Sienna Guillory
    • Sophie Jacklin
    James Thomas
    James Thomas
    • Handsome Man - Russ Hilbun
    Kent Staines
    Kent Staines
    • Auctioneer
    David Huband
    David Huband
    • Balding Man
    Ho Chow
    Ho Chow
    • Mick
    Wes Berger
    • Cop
    Brad Austin
    Brad Austin
    • Federal Agent
    Milton Barnes
    Milton Barnes
    • Security Guard
    Mathieu Ledoux
    • Bad Guy #1
    • Director
      • Rod Hardy
    • Writers
      • Matt Corman
      • Chris Ord
      • Brett Conrad
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The episode is named after a song by Led Zeppelin.
    • Goofs
      On the computer, when Annie is searching for information on Ben Mercer, there's an error message that reads "Acess is Denied". It should have said "Access". Also, the Communications check box reads "Comunications".
    • Quotes

      Ben Mercer: You changed things for me, Annie.

      Annie Walker: And you left me. I was in love with you, and you skipped out with a note.

      Ben Mercer: If I would have stayed any longer, you would have been in danger.

      Annie Walker: From what?

      Ben Mercer: My mission. I was with the Agency.

      Annie Walker: [softly] I knew it. With Stas, on the train tracks. It was you who saved me.

      Ben Mercer: I was tracking him. I'm on my own now.

      Annie Walker: And... and somehow that's my responsibility?

      Ben Mercer: I was in love with you, Annie. That was it.

      Annie Walker: I've thought... so long about what I would say to you if I ever saw you again, and now, I realize I don't wanna talk. I want you to talk. Why are you here... now?

      Ben Mercer: The Cole painting at the auction.

      Annie Walker: You marked it on my programme.

      Ben Mercer: There's more there. Keep digging. Just... push it hard.

      Annie Walker: What kind of cryptic nonsense is that? You show up two years later, out of the blue, and you expect me to "push it hard"? You push it hard!

      [turns away]

      Annie Walker: I don't believe you!

      [walks past]

      Ben Mercer: There's an arms dealer. Seraf Murat. The auction is one of the ways he moves his money.

      Annie Walker: That's why that guy over-bid so much.

      Ben Mercer: Murat's Number Two, Russ Hilburn. He wasn't just buying a Thomas Cole painting. He was buying a Cole and schematics for a Russian missile guidance system.

      Annie Walker: That doesn't make sense. The CIA would wanna stop that. Why would...

      Ben Mercer: They want to control it. They wanna control him. I want to stop Murat.

      Annie Walker: So, just to be clear. You're not asking for forgiveness. You're asking me for a favor. What do you want me to do?

      Ben Mercer: Go to Sophie Jacklin, the Bramble's director. Ask her about February 22nd, Lots 19 and 75. It may take some coaxing, but I think she'll come into Langley with you. And if you have to use my name, you use it.

      Annie Walker: You know her?

      Ben Mercer: Call her "Mona Lisa" and she'll know you're not bluffing.

      Annie Walker: [shakes head] No.

      Ben Mercer: [whispers] Annie. I know this is a lot to take in.

      Annie Walker: The CIA would...

      Ben Mercer: Forget protocol. The Agency is using you to get to me. You can't believe anything they say about me or anything I've done.

      [emphatically:]

      Ben Mercer: Do not trust Joan and Arthur.

      [as she walks past, grabs her arm:]

      Ben Mercer: Maybe I don't deserve this, but I'm asking you to trust me. Trust the man you fell in love with in Sri Lanka.

      [and the beads are there to remind Annie]

    • Soundtracks
      Can You Save Me
      Written by Apple Trees & Tangerines

      Performed by Apple Trees & Tangerines

    User reviews2

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    pin-up heroine CIA Barbie, yeah, but everything she is cracked up to be!
    I notice that the only other reviewer here, filmfan777, up there in Hollywood, mind you, mutters darkly here that she doesn't think much about our heroine with the big white smile.

    I beg to differ. A lot can be read between the lines of that review, and there are a considerable lot of people who aren't in the mood for a pretty thing running around on their TV-screens when they've had a bad day...

    The show kicks up a notch with this episode. In the pilot, we saw the Sri Lankan love affair, and Ben Mercer, clearly far from being a rat who dumped Annie by leaving a note on her pillow, coming through to dramatically save Annie, down in the subway, from being executed by professional assassin Stas. Three episodes back, "In the Light", we saw him again, doing things his way, taking out the brain behind a missile smuggling operation, against CIA protocol.

    In this episode, Ben is back in Annie's life. It seems that he sets up girls to.do what he needs them to do. I haven't watched up ahead, but I don't like this guy (who is, in any case, the weak link in COVERT AFFAIRS, he looks kinda, well, certainly not the James Bond debonair type, more Mom's blue-eyed boy).

    Absolutely noteworthy in this episode is the marvelous performance given by the stunning young actress, Sienna Guillory, who plays Sophie Jacklin, a total scene-stealer, AND bear in mind that almost all her scenes were with Piper Perabo, who is Grade-A Eye Candy Quality Export Class. Words fail me to describe this lovely vision. I'm gonna Google Sienna Guillory and buy damn well every show she's been in!!
    helpful•2
    3
    • RavenGlamDVDCollector
    • Nov 30, 2017

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 31, 2010 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Canada
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Hypnotic
      • Universal Cable Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 16:9 HD

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