My Own Worst Enemy: Newfound Knowledge

Nothing spoils the day quite like the possibility that your wife could be a spy like every other Joe Schmoe in your life. Tonight on My Own Worst Enemy, both Edward and Henry face their pasts and set out on a quest for answers. Edward questions the identity of his parents’ killer. (Surprise! They didn’t die in a car accident.) And Henry, having caught his wife in a lie, questions whether she is a sleeper agent. The biggest giveaway is when Henry uncovers an old photo of him and his ex, Sarah, with a hidden code. (We learned that Sarah and Angie were college roommates, and he dated Sarah first. Sarah’s sudden death was actually the catalyst that brought the two together.)

Their investigations are set to a mission involving a kidnapped Kazakhstan politico, vying for the country’s presidency, and his wife Marian, an agent of the KGB. (She was a sleeper agent herself.) This woman not only aided the Janus mission with her unwavering desire to find her husband, but she also holds the key to the answers our dual spy sought both literally and figuratively.

With our spy in Edward mode, Marian calls for a little quid pro quo. If Edward helps rescue her husband, she’ll give him information on his parents’ killers. When Henry comes to, she helps him by using her spy prowess to crack the photo code. (The photo does, in fact, say that contact with Henry has been made.) But instead of letting Henry go off the deep end, she applies her own experience as a sleeper agent to his concerns. Even though his wife may work for Janus, she could still truly love him. She is living proof of this. (And I believe her. She must really be in love if she’s willing risking her life for her snatched hubby.)

In the end, Angie lied because she met up with an old ex and didn’t know how to tell Henry. (A little anticlimactic, but it gave Madchën Amick some much needed screen time to flex those great skills of hers.) And with the help of Dr. Skinner, Henry finds out that Angie is not a spy, but his old college flame Sarah was. With this newfound knowledge, Angie and Henry have a heart-to-heart about their relationship. Angie even thanks him for the recent changes in their relationship and finally feeling appreciated again.

Edward, tangled in a cold romance with Norah, realizes that you can have both love and a secret identity, and openly shares this information with her. (Even though she never asked, you knew she wanted more. Guess the doc’s a real girlfriend now!) And Edward finally has the clue he needs to pursue his parents’ killer and even a thank you from Henry for his part in rescuing Henry’s marriage. (Edward should enjoy it while it lasts because I don’t see that happening often. Has he forgotten the hummingbird because it’s burned into my brain?)

Who would have known that a one-episode Russian agent would have such an effect on our boy(s)? So far, this episode has been the best blend of real life issues, secrets and danger that My Own Worst Enemy has managed to muster. It’s sad that the show is seemingly coming into its own just as the guillotine falls. There will be no new episodes ordered. (That’s TV executive lingo for canceled.) Don’t worry. I’ll still be here until the bitter end.

Season 1, Episode 5: The Night Train To Moscow (originally aired November 17, 2008)

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Photographs courtesy of NBC