Covert Affairs' Christopher Gorham: "You See a Deepening of the Auggie-Annie Relationship"

Awkward work encounters between exes are becoming a trend on Covert Affairs.
Weeks after a communications blackout reunited enigmatic blind tech expert Auggie (Christopher Gorham) with his computer hacker ex, Natasha, CIA newbie Annie (Piper Perabo) will be forced to work with her former beau, rogue agent Ben, on Tuesday's two-hour season finale of the spy drama.
"The finale is Annie's version of the Auggie episode. [That] was such an overwhelming and emotional episode for Auggie, and the finale is that for Annie," Gorham tells TVGuide.com. "She has to confront Ben and their past. A lot of different things come to a head. It's very poignant for Annie and wraps a lot of things, but also leaves a few loose ends hanging. In the second hour especially, there's a lot of Ben Mercer."

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That's because Ben (Eion Bailey), who first resurfaced two weeks ago, turns up at the CIA headquarters, and the former flames are dispatched to Sri Lanka to rescue Ben's former asset. Though Annie and Ben are the focus of the visually assaulting finale — part of which was shot in Sri Lanka — theirs is not the only relationship examined. "You see a deepening of the Auggie-Annie relationship. Auggie doesn't get to get out in the field very much, but he is very present on Annie's mission and definitely does his part to help her out," Gorham says.But that doesn't mean a romance is in the cards — yet. "I think it's a potential down the road. Auggie's tortured. He's very reluctant to let people in," the actor says, adding that Natasha is the person who knows Auggie best, even though she might not think so. "Of all the current characters in his life, he's closest to Annie, but she still doesn't know how he lost his sight, which is a conversation you would have early on in a friendship. He doesn't give up details like that easily."Besides, would ladies man Auggie even want a girlfriend? Since splitting with Natasha (Liane Balaban) years back, Auggie seems to be quite content with the bachelor life. He is, after all, running his own covert affair by romancing intrepid journalist Liza Hearn (Emmanuelle Vaguier), who last week reported classified information about the agency. 

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The real agency leak will be revealed in the finale, Gorham says, promising resolution for Auggie's sexy op."One of the advantages of the show being about Annie is that we can throw out Auggie stuff piece by piece, and this is one of them," he says. "I think the character has grown into the character we wanted him to be. [We wanted to] make sure they were going to do something interesting with him like we've done as opposed to have him be a stereotypical tech guy who is always behind his desk and is only there for exposition and the occasional punchline. ... He is a nerd and loves the tech stuff. But he's also a soldier through and through. He's like the toughest nerd you'll ever meet."Toughest and sexiest? Gorham, previously best known as Ugly Betty's geeky Henry Grubstick, has earned a new reputation as a TV hunk after Auggie's shirtless romp on the train with Natasha. "I don't really live in 'sex symbol' land, whatever that may be. It's fine. As long as it helps the show, I'm happy," Gorham says. "And really, I'm happy that people are seeing Auggie in the way that I see him because I do see Auggie as being sexy. I'm happy that I've succeeded in portraying him in the way that I think he should be seen."And what can fans expect to see in Season 2? More of the same, Gorham says, whether that includes shirtless Auggie or not.

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"I don't anticipate big changes for Season 2 and I don't think it needs big changes. One of the great things about our show is that it's not overly complex," he says. "What's complex are the characters, not necessarily the plot. I'm sure Auggie will be back in the field, but the key is it has to be organic. ... They've also talked about potentially doing a flashback episode where we actually see him before he lost his sight. I'm just excited to do another season!"Covert Affairs airs Tuesday at 9/8c on USA.