Hot Off The Press - Homeland season 4 episode 6

After a rise in tensions when Saul spotted their target and was then quickly captured, Quinn's botched mission and Carrie's continued involvement with Aayan, things were picking up nicely, and I'm pleased to say episode six of Homeland doesn't drop the ball. Spoilers ahead!

In some ways, this was a back to the basics sort of an episode as we get a good dose of spying, breaking and entering, investigating and ultimately, betrayal. Through Carrie's careful preparations, Aayan was lead to believe the spies were getting closer, prompting him to leave her and make his way to the mountains where he could join his uncle.

Meanwhile Carrie and Quinn were at each other's throats while Saul's location was queried but never focused upon initially. Surprisingly, Dennis' scenes picked up as well as he did his own bit of snooping into what Carrie was up-to, and almost seemed to be one step ahead of his blackmailers.

But it all came down to great drone sequence where Carrie watched as Aayan met with his uncle. Does she take the short and clear them both out, or are her feelings for him too strong? It didn't matter when Quinn found out Saul was missing, right when Aayan's uncle presented the man himself. In danger because of his nephew, he did the unexpected and put a bullet through Aayan's skull. Saul's life was then saved by Quinn as Carrie ordered the airstrike in bitter rage, and it will be interesting to see how things develop from here.

While generally good throughout, it's unfortunate Suraj Sharma's performance didn't provide for more depth beyond the angsty teen caught in a tight situation. In hindsight, he was constantly reacting  to the events and people around him, which made him a little hard to engage with, considering the strong characters that dominate the show.

Having crossed the halfway point, episode six was a very solid outing that packed plenty of drama, action and suspense. Now, as Dennis' role will likely become more integral to the story, it'll be interesting to see how it all feeds into the final. Hopefully Saul won't suffer the same fate.