‘It was an intelligence operation, there was an accident …’
Saul, Allison and Dar gather for a high-level CIA debrief after last week’s plane incident to work out what happened and who might have pulled it off.
Allison: “Somebody betrayed us.”
Dar: “You think?”
But where did the breach come from: Berlin or Langley? That little look over her shoulder as Allison walks off says it all.
‘He’s a pussycat – put out the milk, he will lap it up …’
Just in case there was any doubt about Allison’s loyalties after answering her secret phone in Russian last week, here she is turning down a late night debrief with Saul (“don’t forget your bag!”) for an even later smoke in a car park with Ivan. She spells out her concerns, and explains a few things for us which is handy as things have been getting pretty murky so far on this season. “It was me who put Carrie Mathison’s name in that kill-box” she offers, before looking genuinely surprised to see that it (apparently) worked when Ivan shows her the proof of death shot of Carrie bleeding up against a wall that Quinn took on his phone.
Ivan’s got a nice line in keeping his cool: “almost there” he reassures Allison when she complains her nerves are shot, and steers things back on a proper undercover agent track with his pussycat/milk strategy for dealing with Dar. Is she also having an affair with Ivan – and is that enough to explain her double-crossing?
‘It’s hardly a smoking gun, sir.’
Cat, meet milk. Ivan’s plan is for Allison to nudge Dar towards Saul’s relationship with Etai (showing him some snaps of Saul and Etai meeting for a chat, and a passenger manifest showing that Etai was in Switzerland travelling under one of his pseudonyms, telling him details about a magnetic bomb virtually identical to Israeli tech etc), and to then double-bluff Dar by trying to suggest it might not be evidence that Etai and Saul (old pals who go way back) are behind it all.
“We didn’t have ears on?” Dar complains when he sees the pics. Which is a shame, as Saul and Etai’s back and forth contained some proper cold war gambits (mainly from Etai). “We didn’t murder the general that you never met to disrupt the coup that you weren’t planning,” he tells Saul, a line which is only just trumped by “maybe you should grow a pair of tits and go fuck yourself?”
‘Was machst du?’
There are some interesting moments of real-world common sense puncturing the intense logic of Carrie and Quinn’s off-book espionage this week. Laura points out that even if Numan has lost his copy of the stolen files, the CIA will have original files somewhere. “Who are ‘they’?” asks Astrid as Carrie starts off on what sounds like a paranoid rant about being the real target of the bomb. And Jonas seems thoroughly unimpressed with Carrie’s lifestyle: “assassination attempts, gun battles in the streets – you’ve got to find a way to stop all this, Carrie!”
Quinn vanishes while Jonas is on the phone; he’s got a drastic plan involving a concrete block and some plastic ties to get out of Carrie’s way. “Unfuckingbelievable” he manages to mutter as a German Samaritan walks past and stops him killing himself. But is it really “God’s plan” – or was he sent by the Russians?
‘You’re a runner now?’
Carrie and Saul, together for a proper talk at last – that we’ll presumably pick up next time …
Notes and queries
- Apologies for the late arrival of this week’s recap – technical difficulties in the Langley office (OK, we couldn’t get the preview link to work in time).
- “It’s me, Carrie Mathison”. Um, Carrie, everyone knows it’s you under that black mop.
- “Nice wig … very retro, you look like one of the Baader Meinhoff gang” – Astrid to Carrie. “Apparently Astrid likes to sleep in.” – Carrie to Quinn. There’s not much love lost between Quinn’s pals is there? Have to say, Astrid is sort of winning this one.
- I can’t be the only Homeland fan half-hoping the other Saul was going to show up after reading the title of this week’s episode. It’s definitely one of the goofier episode titles they’ve used.
- “How do you feel about armed robbery?” Ideas man Quinn.
- “Hello citizens of the world …” Anyone else wonder why everyone was dressed like MF Doom during the protest?
- “You’ve hardly said ten words since we left Geneva.” Allison is quite romantic for a double agent.
- “The simple answer is usually the right one.” Saul’s got a good point, but has he ever seen Homeland?
- “Another phone trick? I’m going to have to remember these.” Laura’s catching on.
- It’s not the first time Black Jack chewing gum has appeared in Homeland …
- “The same guy who cyber-penetrated the Berlin station?” Full marks to Claire Danes for unloading this line with a straight face.
- So Mira has filed for divorce. Poor Saul.
- “Je suis Gabehcuod!!” Not exactly I am Spartacus, is it? But still, a sort of genius chant from the protesters and a bit more original than their “fuck the system”, “thought police” posters. #jesuisgabehcuod
