Callen and Anna: After the Lie

 

 

Consider this an ode to Callen and Anna.

While the episode "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" was a disappointment overall, the work of the cast wasn't--as is usually the case--and this was particularly true for the work of Chris and Bar, especially Chris because he makes it believable that Callen--a character who's always been a lone wolf, a man who doesn't trust others easily, and who's been hurt by almost all the women in his life--is attracted to Anna, both physically and emotionally. This is not easy to do, especially when Anna averages three appearances a season and few of those have allowed Callen and Anna personal time alone. Since Anna's first appearance on the show, the chemistry between Callen and Anna has been obvious and only grows stronger through the seasons. This is my personal view and not everyone agrees; however, I don't think there's any debate that this has been the most complicated, overwrought, and tumultuous relationship on the show. There have been several inexplicable and even contradictory actions and reactions between these characters that have made the path of this relationship almost tortuous--and not always in a way that's made sense. At times, it seems that the writers themselves have no idea where this relationship is going or how these characters feel about one another, and different writers seem to have different destinations and create different paths, all leading to nowhere stable. It can all be very confusing and frustrating and frankly, exhausting. But the actors have stuck with these characters and have managed to create a relationship that is complex and (depending on the writer) cautious, distant, passionate, icy, open, confused, angry, or a combination of these and more. The final scenes in this episode between Callen and Anna were reminders of how Chris and Bar are able to use the most subtle movements and expressions in portraying these characters, a necessity since Anna so seldom appears and when she does, she usually has minimal one-on-one time on screen with Callen as his love interest. To  develop a complex relationship between two characters who spend so little time together on screen over so many seasons is both a challenge for and an achievement by the actors, and in the case of Callen and Anna, this relationship has not been helped by either the writing or the endless plot twists. 

At the end of the shootout in "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," Callen finds Anna alive and unhurt. We can see through her expression that she is relieved, but troubled: not only is Katya still a threat, but of more immediate concern to her is her relationship with Callen. Anna realizes she's made a horrible mess of this relationship by lying to him. And while Callen was anxious to find her and relieved that she's unharmed, his reaction is not particularly affectionate when he sees her. He doesn't give her a hug or a kiss or hold her hand or touch her shoulder. He doesn't even smile at her. He keeps his distance, both physically and emotionally. He loves Anna deeply (she's the only woman in 12 seasons he's been involved with seriously enough to want to marry), but she's lied to him for months and would probably still be lying to him if he hadn't found her out. Trust is precious to Callen and one of the most valued qualities in a relationship, and Anna has broken it. Anna knows that what she's done may cost her a future life with the man she loves. When Anna wants to talk to Callen here, he shuts her down, and the opportunity is lost when the woman from the DOJ arrives. Now, they both have to live with the consequences of what she's done and either work through it or let it tear them apart.

Later, in the boatshed, Anna asks only that Callen call Arkady to tell him what's happened and to not leave his house and to take her warning seriously. She doesn't try to restart the conversation he shut down earlier. When she hands him her phone, their hands touch, and she rests hers on his for a moment. In that touch is both a longing for a return to their relationship before her lie, an apology for lying to him, and a fear that she has damaged this relationship forever. Callen's expression is unreadable, but it's significant that, just as happened earlier, he remains detached physically; he doesn't return her touch. His expression isn't one of anger, but neither is it one of obvious affection. Has she lost Callen? Will he be able to forgive her, or will he see her lie as just one more in the string of the many lies he's been told by women throughout his life, from Hetty to Tracy to Joelle and now Anna?

Whatever path the writers have given this couple to travel--and often the path is simply one that uses this relationship for an easy, cheap dramatic twist--both actors have been up to the task. In this relationship, where neither character expresses emotions openly or easily, and the writers have given them few opportunities to express their feelings for one another without a complicating circumstance, it's the little things that matter, and both of these actors do the little things very well.