Countdown to Thirteen: The Assets: Episode 3 – “Trip to Vienna” (2014)

This was a slightly odd episode – in some ways, it feels like a bit of a tangent, but it others, it most definitely feels like it’s setting the major wheels into motion.  I’m curious to see where we go from here.

Debriefing with the CIA’s new defector has stalled, as he’s making demands that are hard to fulfill.  However, intel he revealed in the previous episode has led the agency to put a pair of fresh eyes on Edward, a disgruntled ex-agent who may have given away state secrets.  Sandy looks for signs that an asset is reaching out, and another agent, Art, wants to hit the problem harder.  The episode ends on the introduction of what promises to be a new key player.

I don’t know why the flashback structure of this series feels so novel to me – plenty of shows use regular flashbacks.  I suppose the difference is that, while shows like Lost and Once Upon a Time use flashbacks to poke around in the backstories of their major characters, all of The Assets’s flashbacks, so far, have been story-driven, focus on less prominent characters, and feature only fleeting appearances from the main cast.  Here, for instance, we look at Edward and the circumstances that led to his dismissal from the agency.  It’s immediately relevant to the plot at hand, and what happened then has bearing on what happens now.  At any rate, I’m liking how the show is employing the technique.

After two episodes that had a pretty strong forward momentum, this one feels more like it’s spreading outward.  The different parts of the plot don’t all fit together quite as well, and even though there’s some interesting stuff happening, elements of it do feel like a detour.  This episode also has the smallest role so far for Jodie Whittaker, with Sandy occupying what’s probably the C-plot.  What she does is still pretty cool – using her instincts, knowhow, and tenacity to sniff out a potential distress call – but there isn’t much of it.  Since I’m already a definite fan of Sandy, that’s a little disappointing.

The ending, though, is solid, and it feels like a decisive action on the chess board, like things are coming together.  Plus, the final shot gives us a glimpse at another talented British performer gracing the scene:  Harriet Walter.  I’ve seen her in all kinds of stuff, from Downton Abbey to Call the Midwife to Little Dorrit, but I know her best as a pitch-perfect Fanny Dashwood in the Emma Thompson/Kate Winslet Sense and Sensibility.