Leaving aside that I can’t tell what that title is supposed to be, except perhaps a phonetic version of the last thing Carrie said to Saul, this was essentially the season premiere turned up to eleven. Carrie was crazy and off her meds, Saul was stabbing her in the back for the sake of the greater good (from his perspective), the agency was struggling to get past unnatural and unnecessary roadblocks, and Dana was exploring new aspects of her psychological health.

The same pros and cons dominated the hour. Everything with Carrie, Saul, and even Quinn made for some compelling viewing. It’s more and more ludicrous to think that the CIA could ever bring Carrie onto the job again in any capacity, but I imagine that the inevitable return of Brody to the story will serve as the catalyst. All of that was balanced by a ton of Dana-centric material. Some of that was perfectly fine, but much of it was cringe-inducing.

Those who enjoyed the season premiere will probably feel the same way about this episode. It was more of the same. Those who felt that the series missed an opportunity to reinvent itself or take a different direction will groan at the realization that this is the writers doubling down. And showing more and more of Dana’s naked body, which is probably meant to be as vaguely disturbing as seeing a psychological damaged, barely-legal teenager strip should be.

Focusing on Carrie for a moment, one has to imagine that Claire Danes is left exhausted after filming this show. She puts 110% into the crazy, going from gorgeous one moment to demonic raving lunatic the next. That’s the amazing aspect of the character: she is brilliant, but that comes with a price. And as she points out in this episode, there is a cost/benefit to medicating her into stability. There is a fine line between her insight and her madness.

Again, the downside is that Carrie’s condition is so severe, her excursions from protocol and propriety so massive, that it’s hard to see how the series could ever get back to its strongest period: when Carrie was Saul’s best weapon against terrorism, when procedure and process were just another part of the tension. Now we’re just watching a more mature version of 24, and frankly, that’s not what the series could (or should) be.

Then again, there are hints that Saul has a purpose in mind, a plan for how to negotiate the course he’s set for himself and Carrie. She may never forgive him for it, but there seems to be a plan. Let’s face it: there are plenty of agents that are completely covert assets, and not even the agency at large is entirely aware of their existence. Could Carrie’s fate be a short leash under Quinn’s supervision, with all of this designed to allow Saul to drive a perceptual divide between them, so he can dissociate his role as head of the agency from an ongoing advocacy for her work? It wouldn’t be the most ludicrous turn of events for Homeland!

That leaves Dana and her personal journey. Despite the fact that I don’t despise the character or the Brody family nearly as much as some others do, I will agree with the stance that this is perfectly acceptable material that belongs on a different series altogether. There has been mumblings of a spinoff for Dana, which would explain a lot, so perhaps this is all prelude. But it’s prelude that is taking away from time that could be better spent on exploring other plot threads. For example, if Quinn is going to be so important, as this episode suggests, maybe more insight into his background would be a worthwhile diversion.

John Keegan is Editor-in-Chief for Critical Myth, a partner site of SciFi Vision.