“Covert Affairs,” Season 2, Episode 14, “Horse to Water” begins and ends with a gunshot. The first gunshot occurs in the middle of Red Square in Moscow when an American double agent is gunned down by one of his peers as a traitor.
Spoilers follow.
The key to the mission is a miscreant named Langford who is locked up in a maximum security prison on multiple convictions of treason. It seems that he had a lucrative business as a CIA analyst selling secrets to the highest bidder. Arthur believes that he is running an operation out of his prison cell, using a chess game he is playing with one of his daughters, Grace, as a code.
Annie’s job is to get close to Grace in the persona of a reporter working for a horse breeder’s magazine; Grace is a horse vet who specializes in fixing broken legs, a serious affliction for a racing thoroughbred that usually is resolved by euthanizing them.
To make a long story short, Grace seems to be in the clear and it is the other sister, BB, who appears to be the outside contact. Joan suggests a plan to turn the sisters against one another. Annie balks at the tactic as her emotions are clouded by her complicated relationship with her own sister. Joan finally relents and tells Annie she has carte blanche as to how she gets the jobs done.
Thinking outside the box for a CIA operative, Annie tries the truth. This proves to be dangerous, because, as it turns out, both of the sisters are in on it, though BB more than Grace. Annie and BB fight in the horse barn, which frightens the horses and frightens Annie even more when a gun goes off. But, once again, Annie saves the day and the plot is thwarted.
There is a subplot with Annie and her own sister finally starting to reconnect, involving a marathon which Annie is unable to complete but her sister is. Also, Jai tries to recruit Auggie to his little operation, unsuccessfully.
Annie finally breaks down and puts in for weapons training. The last scene is of her potting off shots on the target range. It looks like there is going to be a more lethal Annie in the future. One wonders how she is going to feel about taking a life.