Was Mike's Cover Blown on 'Graceland'?

Regardless of the risks they take when they're on duty, it's hard to deny that the Graceland agents are having fun as they lounge around in a beach-front mansion while they sip cheap liquor and watch The Town (again). Of course, there is more to the agents in Graceland, but they are also so good at doing nothing that it's hard to care. And that's Graceland in a nutshell -- it pushes it's darker angle but is way more fun when we're watching the gang chilling out by a bonfire.

This week, we got a little bit of both. We left off last week with Briggs pointing a gun in Mike's face but, as expected, Briggs didn't actually shoot Mike -- it was all part of a scheme to win Bello's trust. (It was a successful one... though gang member Eddie was not quite so lucky.)

The ladies of Graceland are the big players of this week (Johnny was barely seen in this episode at all, which was sort of sad) which was a change from the backseat role they've played in the last two episodes. Charlie's got a woodworker-meth-addict-informant named Whistler (whom she clearly has a great deal of affection for) to deal with. I knew that I liked Charlie from the previous two episodes, but this week she's become my favorite. She's got a soft spot for self-destructive people -- as evidenced by her care for her informant -- but won't let it destroy her job or her own well-being. Gotta love a girl who knows what she wants and sticks with it.

Speaking of knowing what one wants, Lauren's still hooked on the idea of Donnie's triumphant return to Graceland, so much so that she make a whole bunch of bad decisions (not to mention flat out lying to Briggs) in order to secure that her plan works out. While the rest of the agents are first and foremost "team players" (even Mike, who, let's be honest, is a total fraud in the house since, ultimately, his assignment is to keep tabs on Briggs) Lauren is all rogue, all the time. Someone should have informed Lauren to chill, as this undercover job -- with the beach mansion, the unlimited booze, the awesome closet -- is most fun thing ever. Too bad that she messed it up, royally. We'll bid farewell to Lauren this episode, and we can't say that we'll miss her too much.

Useless in this episode would be Paige, whose biggest accomplishment of the episode was pushing Mike into the arms of a girl far more boring than she. Of course, the question is left in the air as to whether it is Paige herself who may be snuggling up to Mike in the near future. Then again, Paige has chemistry with just about everyone in the house, so it's really hard to tell.

For an episode that started off with a gun in Mike's face, so little is learned about his conflict with Briggs. Which is, maybe, for the better -- Graceland works as an ensemble, and, yes, as a different kind of family. Let's not destroy that just yet -- if Graceland isn't a perfect show, it's a very fun one nonetheless.

[Image: USA]