Another problem I had was the whole Allison-Ivan ruse. I get why Allison is doing this. She wants to stay out of jail. But why does Ivan play along? How does him posing as a Russian traitor help his life/career?

I guess I'm not skilled enough as a critic to say why this wasn't a good episode. But to me, so much seemed so contrived and unfulfilling. It's like finding what you think might be the right gift, but not finding the right box to pack it in.

I think I like this episode more than most. Mostly because of the mystery and I did enjoy Mossad coming to Saul's rescue and Etai's remarks, "My guys are good, no?"

I think Joshua has given us a pretty good review here. You get the sense that the writers may be taken us to a pretty interesting place but the ride there isn't so enjoyable. I agree too that I don't think enough foundation has been provided as to why Saul is so hostile to Carrie. Remember, this was his surrogate…

I think I finally decided why I didn't like this episode. I don't want to see Quinn trying to kill himself. It's not becoming. And besides, as I've written below, it's actually illogical because it doesn't actually make Carrie measurably safer.

I agree. Carrie can be mean. But I think that's part of why she's so badass. Some call her an antihero. Maybe she is. But I think it's kind of good for our culture now to have a female, mean, badass, antihero out there. Guys have been operated in that space for years.

If this were high school, Carrie would be totally using Jonas. She'd hit him up for a ride to the mall and once she got there she'd ditch him and hang out in the food court with Quinn or Brody. There's nothing more real than high school.

Oh, and another thing. I don't understand how Quinn ending up in a hospital jeopardizes Carrie. The story goes, Quinn killed Carrie and got shot while he was dropping off proof of death at the mailbox. Why wouldn't he show up injured at a hospital? Now that may further risk his life but not Carrie's. Carrie's…

Well we do know how Carrie really feels about Jonas in bed now don't we? I think that alone puts Quinn in the lead.

I really don't think this was a very good episode. A shame too because last week's was excellent.

I don't know much about TV ratings and don't follow them at all, except that I did just check in on Homeland's. There was a precipitous drop after the season premier for two weeks and a huge increase last week with Episode 4. I wonder if this is driven by a Carrie love interest. I'm sure there are folks on here who…

Quinn reminds me of Omar. A killer with a code.

No Dar Adal is not a mole. I've heard other folks say this before. He's Realpolitik. That's always a big part of spy novels. Enemies become "friends" all the time once they figure out the lay of the land. And what happened with Haqqani is actually tracking real events or at least a fictional version of the same. …

It never was a question of whether there was adequate foundation for a Carrie-Quinn romance. Of course there was. It was built in right from Season Two. The question always was, was it good for the show? Especially after Brody, which although may have lasted too long for some, is still in my opinion one of the…

Homeland has always been a pretty good punchline because of "Crazy Carrie" but, until now, it's been mostly good natured. But now with most recent trip down the rabbit hole there's a risk of real self-parody. Even the visuals scream caricature. I guess the writers can try to work a way out of this but what happens…

Tell me how much of a precedent there was for Oz, or the Sopranos when they first came out and turned the entertainment world on it's head? Art has to progress. But actually The Wire is precedent for the concept that a great show can run for years, display a common thread, and not be reliant on one central character.

Max van Sydow played one of my all time favorite characters in the great flic "Three Days of the Condor." The character addresses the age old question, where do old spies go to retire and who pays their health benefits? I'm being facetious of course but this would be a great character to introduce to Homeland—the…

See you are on the right path, although it's not paranoia. It's guilt. And righteous guilt at that.

Fair point about The Wire. But the whole point of long form prestige TV is to stretch the boundaries of creativity. This shouldn't be like old network programming. Carrie is the strength and center of the show but she's also the show's weakness. The writers keep coming back to the same themes and the surprises…

"There is no forgiving." I think William Munny said that but I could be wrong.