State of Play Review: Homeland, “The Flag House"

In Homeland’s latest episode, the CIA’s Dar Adal tightens the screws further on those struggling to foil his plot. He directly threatens President-elect Keane, conspires with right-wing TV host Bret O’Keefe to release a video on her dead son’s supposed cowardice in battle, and neutralizes Carrie’s efforts to subvert his campaign. 

The sudden cancellation of Carrie’s appointment with child services to see her daughter convinces her that her motherhood is in Dar’s hands. Fearing she will never see her daughter again, Carrie refuses to provide the deposition against Dar for lying to Congress, a tactic devised by the President-elect’s team to neutralize the CIA villain. As we noted last week, the tactic makes no sense. The President-elect doesn’t have to rely on an old offense by Dar; his tangled conspiracy has left a trail of juicy leads for investigators to follow, and more evidence surfaces in this episode.