Covert Affairs’ Chris Gorham Previews Critical Episode, Auggie’s Hard Road

Thursday’s Covert Affairs is one fans won’t want to miss, according to its star Chris Gorham.

Building on the mid-season premiere of last week, fans will see a distraught Auggie determined to track down those responsible for murdering his military friends, but as he gets closer to the truth he also finds himself in the line of fire.

With Annie in Europe chasing a lead on a mysterious chemist, Auggie is left to deal with his rage – and McQuaid, who, under instructions from Annie, becomes a little over-protective of his charge.

The episode, titled “Starlings of the Slipstream” will see Gorham stepping behind the camera for another directorial spin.

“I’m proud of this episode. This may be the best one I’ve done so far,” he says. “I’ve been acting for a long time and I still really love being able to craft my own performance and tell the story from my character’s point of view, but the joy of directing is that you get to expand that and influence the storytelling behind the whole episode, not just your individual character and your individual scenes. You get to be the guide for the audience and their experience and that’s such a privilege and very rewarding.”

Last week’s episode saw Auggie reacting with feelings of deep anger and frustration over the supposed accidental death of his friend, and as fans know, angry Auggie is sometimes not the most clear headed person in the room.

“Auggie tends to get himself in trouble when his emotions get away with him,” agrees Gorham. “We’ve seen that multiple times over the years. Where we find him at the beginning of this episode is a perfect example. That being said, at the end of the episode he’s left without the ability to control much of his fate. He’s at the mercy of others. He gets put in a really tough spot. This episode is a catalyst for what happens in the rest of the season. There are pieces in this episode which pay off later. It’s an episode you have to pay attention to.”

He laughs. “It’s tough. He’s got a hard road for the rest of the season. He’s been losing some friends this year. As we saw in our Fall premiere he lost a close old friend and that takes its toll mentally. He has a high physical price to pay as well in these episodes. Auggie will be in a new place by the end of this season.”

The episode will also see McQuaid (Nic Bishop) and Auggie  coming face to face for the first time.

“That was really fun,” the actor previews. “I was really happy that I got to be director for the moment when Auggie and McQuaid meet. I had a lot of fun teasing Nic about how I was just not going to shoot his coverage,” he laughs. “But it’s nice to see those guys interact because it’s a complicated relationshp. You have the two men who at this point in our story care the most about Annie in the world. These are her two rocks – her ex lover and her love right now. They’re trying to be grown ups but they’re competitive and some of that bleeds through. So it’s complicated and really fun to watch!

With Covert Affairs now in its fifth season, Gorham describes what it’s like being under Auggie’s skin for this long.

“I’ve never played a character this long,” he explains. “And the rewarding and unexpected thing about it is that we’ve been able to continue to find new facets to [Auggie’s] life and personality. And it’s fun to keep digging.”

The actor divulges that were are about to learn more about Auggie’s earlier life this season too. “We have an upcoming episode with an Auggie flashback where we reveal more to his backstory. Being able to dig that deep – which you can only get by doing 5 or 6 seasons – is a real privilege.”

Catch the Chris Gorham-directed “Starlings of the Slipstream” Thursday November 13 on USA Network (10-11 p.m. ET).