5x10 New Normal

Another very solid episode from this season. I appreciated the twist that even if Dar doesn't buy Allison's story, he is--as he is wont to be--concerned about the political fallout if they were to reveal that the CIA had been duped by the SVR for 12 years and so he tries to maintain the status quo. But at the same time, I appreciated that Saul was clearly so betrayed by what had happened that he couldn't play along, if he was even trying to. Allison is playing this perfectly, and it's an interesting direction.

The other strongest element of the episode was the bonding between Carrie and Astrid. Nobody does a cryface like Claire Danes, but there's a dry steadiness to Astrid to where the clear hurt on her face after she found out about Quinn conveyed just as much as Carrie's tears did. The actress who plays Astrid is always a strong (and often funny) presence on the show, and I'd like to see her get more to do.

On the other hand, the pair's ability to find Quinn based on the floor tile pattern in the video was a little convenient, but they at least laid the groundwork with some CSI-esque technobabble to try to make it plausible that the BND and CIA could narrow down the possibilities enough for Carrie and Astrid to track him down. And the scene where they realize he's alive was a joyous one, even though it was inevitable--again, thanks to the great acting from the actresses who portray Carrie and Astrid.

I was less moved by the story involving the terrorists. Sure, there was tension in the scenes where Bibi discovers that someone helped Quinn, and Qasim is sweating bullets. But Qasim's the only character here who has more than one-note to him. Maybe the show is trying to develop Bibi a bit, but in the mean time, the whole crew just seems like the plot brigade boys, only there to introduce the season's big terror threat without much development.

And at the same time, I got a bit tired of the debate between During, Jonas, and Laura over what to do with the falsely accused electronics store owner who may have information about the attack. The debate itself is kind of facile, and none of these people are in the category of the show's most interesting characters. The intelligence agency (CIA? BND? SVR?) picking him up after Otto tries to bargain for his protection was a semi-interesting way to go with it, but still, meh. In my continuing speculation as to Otto, I'm now wondering if he specifically tipped someone else off to get the electronics store owner taken in away from Saul, but I'm sure we'll get the reveal of Otto's larger game plan somewhere down the line.

Otherwise, I appreciate the focus that an impending terror attack with Peter Quinn as the poster boy gave the episode, to where everything else could revolve around that plot point. It wasn't as strong an hour as some in this season, but it still did a good bit to advance the ball as to the larger season arc, and to give us some insight into the major characters and where they are after all that has happened. That makes it an above average entry in Season 5.