Not to say that it didn't amount to some damn enjoyable TV. Under Carrie's oh-no-you-didn't gaze, Brody spilled it all -- admitting that he killed Tom (or thinks he did), lied about Abu Nazir, and converted to Islam. We even got an explanation for his suspicious finger-twiddling: "It's a habit, when I don't have my prayer beads." But the most fascinating confession had to do with the content of his character: "You don't understand anything I've been telling you. I'm not made of that stuff. I'm no hero. I had nothing to give." He tells Carrie he lied about Abu Nazir because he was too embarrassed to admit that "he was kind to me, and I loved him."

Come to think of it, Brody could say the same for Carrie. As tormentors go, she could give Abu Nazir a run for his money, however closely her methods may conform to the guidelines laid out in the U.S. counterterrorism handbook. And her half-calculated kindnesses turned Brody into a pasta-stirring lover boy in record time. It's starting to look a lot like there's less to Brody than meets the eye. We thought he was either a flawed hero or a diabolical terrorist, but he's really just a wounded puppy looking for a firm hand to scratch him behind the ears.

If this episode's late-innings revelations are to be trusted -- and I'd say that's still an "if" -- then Brody has been beating himself up for a murder he didn't commit. After driving Raqim Faisal's girlfriend Eileen all the way to Virginia from Mexico, Saul finally extracts a key piece of information from her: an American visited them at the house by the airport and spent an hour on the roof. After establishing that the roof is an easy sniper shot away from a helipad for Marine 1 (that's the president's helicopter, for those playing at home), Saul decides it must be Brody. But it's not. It's Tom Walker! He's alive -- and evil! He's the "turned" P.O.W. that her Iraqi source warned Carrie about.

Saul calls Carrie to tell her the news. The phone is still ringing when Brody storms out of Carrie's cabin, understandably furious that the woman he has been sleeping with for the past 72 hours can't seem to let go of the idea that he's a secret agent for al-Qaeda.

But now that she's heard what Saul has to say, Carrie is convinced that she's been mistaken. Brody's a good guy. And, not incidentally, her only decent romantic prospect in a 300-mile radius, even if he does have that ridiculously beautiful wife at home. Brody is pulling away in his car when she catches up with him. "This weekend, this time that we spent together, it was real," she says. "The parts that we both ... the important parts."

His entirely understandable response: "Fuck you, Carrie."

So again I ask: are we buying all this? I, for one, am torn. The Yorkshire Gold "gotcha" moment seemed a bit cheap to me: Carrie's a C.I.A. agent, for god's sake. She couldn't have improvised a line that would have covered up for that small slip up? "Doesn't everybody?" would have sufficed nicely, I should think.

But I am able to believe that Brody was invested enough in his budding relationship with Carrie to open up to her, especially if he really did have nothing to hide -- and I suppose I can believe that Carrie was eager enough to have her questions answered that she would sit down and fire away, especially given the proximity of that handsome antique firearm.

Assuming this isn't headed toward some 'Killing'-style switcheroo, I suppose 'Homeland' is about to head in a whole new direction. We'll watch Brody and Carrie join forces to capture Walker, even as they attempt to heal the wounds inflicted during their reckless interlude. And we'll continue to wonder which of Carrie's colleagues can be trusted: How did Saul know so quickly that Faisal had been murdered? As a commenter pointed out last week, he got home awfully late that night. And what precisely did he mean when he told Eileen, "I thought we'd understand each other"?

I, for one, will also be rooting for Jessica and Mike to find a way to be together. With all due respect to God, family, and the American way, this little nuclear unit is about as stable as uranium-238. Dana's drunken encounter with that glass window is just the beginning; she may think she wants Mike to go away and make room for daddy, but her teenager logic is no match for the complexity of this situation. Jess needs a lovin' man around the house, and Brody needs someone who feels his pain (not to mention a boatload of therapy).

But at least he's no terrorist! (I think.)

Final Brody-o-Meter Score: 10



I know I didn't cover everything in this recap, so tell us, in the comments, what were your famous moments? Did you enjoy Saul's cross-country drive? How about that stolen kiss on the sofa between Jess and Mike? And the wolfish look on Brody's face when he got a good look at Carrie's pink underwear?

Yeah, I think that was the highlight for me too.

Infographic by Catarina Ferreira.