Observer.

Later, when they leave, Worf's statements in the transporter room would imply that they are broken up, but neither Seven nor Raffi confirms or denies it. It just feels ambiguous at this point.

1.03 | Bury the Lede

"You don't know me."

When Elena tells Val all of the things she knows about her, she says them as if she knows these things for herself rather than just receiving second-hand information from Owen. I hope we get more insight about how Elena knows what she knows.

1.09 | Beauty and the Beast

1.09 | Beauty and the Beast

"No, I don't think she deserves that."

1.09 | Beauty and the Beast

"I'm gonna destroy you."

This scene felt ambiguous at first. Was Doak talking to Val or was he talking to Elena? At the time, my guess was Val considering the conversation he just had with the Director about having to take orders from her, but now it seems like his statement was definitely meant for both of them.

There was so much good stuff in this episode, but one of the main aspects I liked was that Val was very much against using Elena’s child as a pawn and even criticized the Director for considering it. I think Director Real will back down from using Sophia as a pawn, but now that Doak knows about her, it will probably happen anyway.

When Val first mentions Elena's daughter, you can see (very subtly) that it's a sore subject for Elena, but she keeps it together pretty well and changes the subject back to the story about a king.

Val is usually pretty good at humoring Elena, but during their last conversation, you can see that she is out of patience, desperate even, to make Elena realize how serious things are getting. And this is when we finally see the crack in Elena's armor.

This scene had a lot going on. At first, it could be read as Val just doing her job and trying to figure out where the real gold is, but it seems that she is actually more concerned about what they will do to Elena's daughter. Also, the fact that Val went against the rules to try and warn Elena says a lot.

1.04 | #1 with a Bullet

Elena being impressed by Val.

Part 4

I also like this scene because Val seems to enjoy the back and forth with Elena more than she admits. It seems like they forget they have an audience sometimes and Val relaxes a little when they talk. When Director Real taps on the door, you can see Val kind of transform back into the serious FBI Agent, but Elena still has a smirk on her face as if she knows she is slowly getting through to Val.

Bonus Compliment from Elena

In the flashback, Elena told Sergey that she would never have a vulnerable moment again when they found out who Natalia really was.

But in the present, we see Elena having a vulnerable moment with Val by telling her about the future she wants for her and her daughter.

Thinking about the relationship between mothers and daughters and how Val was so affected by the violent death of her own mother, it makes me wonder if this will be one of the ways in which she comes to Elena’s aide in the near future. Now that she has a lead on where Elena’s daughter is, I imagine people like Doak will try to use that information if he finds out, especially with his newfound authority from the Chief of Staff.

Maybe a situation arises where Val has to make a decision about protecting Elena so her daughter doesn’t have to lose her mother in a violent way like she lost her own mother. I could imagine Doak trying to kill Elena in front of her daughter, or greatly abusing his authority in some way, and Val stepping in to stop it. This would also be a real turning point for Val. Considering how loyal she is to her job and her duty as an FBI agent, she would be making a decision that counters those things, especially if it meant going against a fellow agent.

Elena has been slowly, but surely, revealing to Val the level of corruption that is within the very organization she upholds, so I imagine there will come a point when Val will have to make some pretty big choices that are uncomfortable for her, which tends to happen when you become more conscious. And based on Doak's conversation with the Chief of Staff, it seems like the corruption goes higher than just the people in the photo. The Ghost also made a comment about being there under the highest possible authority.

It seems like Val is truly starting to see Elena as more than just a criminal. She seemed concerned for her at the end of the ordeal.