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TV Recap: Homeland Season 4, Episode 4, “Iron In the Fire”

As usual, Carrie blurs the line between right and wrong.

Was Saul even eating food? Photograph by David Bloomer/Showtime.

Last night’s episode of Homeland brought Quinn back to Islamabad (bye, landlady!) and kept Saul in town a few days longer, but neither one managed to talk some sense into Carrie. Their best and worst moments:

Saul Berenson

Overall mood: Sassy.

Best Moment: He was clearly supposed to be intimidated by Aasar Khan (Raza Jaffrey), but he kept his cool.

Worst Moment: When he told Carrie that Quinn was worried about her. Don’t stoke the fire, Saul.

Number of flights home he’s postponed so far: One, though I suspect more are on the horizon.

Peter Quinn

Overall mood: Indifferent.

Best Moment: Anytime he was this blunt: “Mostly, I just didn’t want to live in a bunker and kill people by remote control.”

Worst Moment: I’m giving him a bye on a worst moment this week, since nothing he did can really compete with his behavior in this season’s first three episodes.

Number of concerned looks he gave Carrie from afar: Two.

Carrie Mathison

Overall mood: Manipulative to the max.

Best Moment: When she confronted John Redmond for having people trail her. This seems like a pointless story line, but maybe it will come into play later.

Worst Moment: During her final scene with Aayan, the only notes I could take were: “Carrie is the creepiest, ick ick ick.” I think that says enough.

Number of times she thought about baby Frannie: Zero.

Other important plot lines to note:

  • Aayan’s uncle, Haissam Haqqani, is actually alive, and he is the person Aayan was holding onto the vials for.
  • Ambassador Boyd’s husband, Dennis, has apparently been stealing top-secret files from his wife’s computer. Now, he’s being blackmailed by a woman who was working with Sandy. Can I say what we’re all thinking? Ambassador Boyd should have married Saul when she had the chance.
  • Aasar Khan refused to answer Saul’s questions about Pakistani intelligence’s involvement in Sandy’s death, which means we will probably be seeing a lot more of him in episodes to come.

What did you think of last night’s episode? Share your favorite moments in the comments.