State of Affairs Season 1 Episode 7 Review: Bellerophon

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There are so many secrets in this group! Charlie's CIA past puts her in defiance of orders if she shares too much knowledge those she works with so it's always a bit hairy.

In State of Affairs Season 1 Episode 7 President Constance Payton got the full story about Aaron's death, at least as far as Charlie can recall. Charlie wished many times POTUS would have asked directly about Fatah, because then she could have answered. She didn't so here we are.

Let's be honest, it's damn difficult to determine exactly what it happening on State of Affairs. While the story focuses on the presidency, her Briefers, CIA agents, terrorists and the whole darn package, it's almost impossible to believe there isn't some bigger story here involving Charlie and Aaron because, well, Charlie and Aaron.

If you're wondering why in the hell I'm bringing this up, it's because this is my first review of the series and I want to chatter about the overarching characters and theories. What happened during "Bellerophon" allows me to do that quite easily, so let's dig in.

The cast is great. There are a lot of well known faces who haven't necessarily hit their big break yet backing up Katherine Heigl's Charlie and Alfre Woodard's Constance Payton. Lucas Newsome, the newest member of Charlie's Briefer group is played by Adam Kaufman who is one of the few guys who treated Buffy like crap on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Chris McKenna is rocking Nick Vera, but also plays the criminally underutilized Detective Harding on The Young and the Restless.

Tonight, Cress Williams played an FBI agent working closely with Lucas. Who is Cress Williams? Oh, only Lavon Hayes of Hart of Dixie! The underlying mystery of Charlie's past, Aaron's death, the deeper relationship between Charlie and Nick and whether POTUS is truly acting on behalf of the United States or out for revenge in the death of her son are buffered quite well by these people we've seen before. They're comfortable.

Let's take Lucas. He was a concern the moment he joined Charlie's team. We looked at him warily, and his past with Buffy helped. Don't laugh, it's true. He's shady and we don't want to trust him. Maureen and her sudden rise from an assistant status to Briefer (as well as the peculiar way she questioned Charlie in State of Affairs Season 1 Episode 6) put her in the hot seat, as well.

It's impossible to trust everyone. Lucas and Maureen are my top suspects as people who might be filtering information to someone for unknown reasons (I don't think they're actually doing any texting themselves). That probably means they're the least likely culprits, but Lucas showing up at Maureen's door was shady. Was he drinking again, and how did his hair get so messed up? Maureen's questionable glance at David before the Al Moosari operation piqued my interest, too.

Last week, Kurt was given money as a finders fee to join Melissa in whatever she's doing. He failed in asking out Maureen; was that part of a bigger plan? Did Melissa want Maureen tapped as well? Could she have given a similar package to Lucas? Are they all being pulled in different directions? 

Nick was effectively allowed to escape from his little prison in order to reunite him with Charlie. Unless someone on the inside is helping whoever was wearing the Nick face mask, how else would they both have received the same hotel room key? Fatah is still an asset. Al Moosari was almost killed due to the information the Briefers compiled after Charlie was sent to Yemen.

How did both Nick and Charlie both end up in the same place at the same time? Charlie was given no support when she got there. Navaro gave his blessing to Nick to follow what the ad in the paper suggested: Send Vera. To Al Moosari. Navaro asked if POTUS wanted Charlie back as her Briefer, and I didn't like the way she said she was happy with Maureen. Did Navaro orchestrate the entire thing to get Nick into the hands of Al Moosari, Charlie on Fatah and a green Maureen in a place he can manipulate her? It's possible.

As for Al Moosari, when he meets with Nick and chuckles over their fellow status as Americans, what does he do? Punches him in the face and shoves another damn black bag on Nick's head. 

There are so many moving pieces. I'm not nuts on that, right? There isn't just a simple terrorism case we're running after here, but a much bigger story about all of the people who are working the cases, from POTUS to Charlie to Navaro to the entire team and Nick Vera. Who the hell knows where Fatah fits in, or Aaron? 

How did the case of the week really fit into the overall hour? The dude was painting Ar Rissalah signs on either photos or the actual landmarks all over the country. He infiltrated the Oval Office for crying out loud. A Professor Ahmadi was dragged in for questioning, seemingly solely so we could meet Lavon Hayes and see Lucas smack the crap out of Ahmadi. 

What's really cool is I just don't care. State of Affairs is damned engaging. It's no Homeland, but it doesn't need to be. It's its own animal and it's working really well keeping me entertained.

How about you? Do you enjoy the constant mysteries and what has turned into a hot relationship between Charlie and Nick? Do you want more answers and less new questions every week or is that part of the fun? Is the cast as much of a draw for you as it is for me?

Hit the comments and remember you can watch State of Affairs online via TV Fanatic any time!

Bellerophon Review

Editor Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 3.7 / 5.0 (9 Votes)

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.

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State of Affairs Season 1 Episode 7 Quotes

You broke my heart, Charleston, don't break your promise. Now get the hell off my plane.

Constance

You created the man who killed Aaron, you ran him for three years and never even thought to tell me that. You were nearly my daughter in law. You cannot begin to fathom the depth of betrayal I feel from you.

Constance