If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: Carrie and Saul’s mission doesn’t go as planned. Elizabeth Keane fights for her presidency. (IMDB)
Writer: Alex Gansa
Director: Lesli Linka Glatter
Rating: TV-MA
Running Time: 61mins
Airs: Sundays at 9pm on Super Channel (Canada)/Showtime (United States)
A satisfying end to what has been a mostly satisfying season.
This episode picked up where the last left off with Anson and Carrie evading Gromov. Meanwhile, Keane and Wellington were watching the news from Russia. Warner was not pleased but Keane did not want to risk him jeopardizing the mission. With Martin in custody, there was no reason for Saul to stay in Russia. The Russians also caught wind of Martin’s abduction and tried to stop Saul’s car with Martin inside, however, they were more interested in Carrie’s car.
The Russians caught up to Carrie and Anson which meant that she had to buy some time until Martin was taken out of the country while Gromov was still tracking her. Saul’s can got surrounded as well despite his many attempts to convince Russian soldiers that they were American diplomats. Saul called Warner for help but Paley tried to advise him against it. Warner ultimately threatened the Russian ambassador, who just happened to be in the White House, into letting Saul and his team board their plane.
Gromov found Carrie as Saul and the others took off in their plane. Once they returned, Martin’s testimony led to Keane being reinstated as President while Keane and his chief of staff were arrested. As Saul’s team watched, Keane came to thank them and assured them that she would do anything in her power to bring Carrie back from Russia. Meanwhile, Carrie was treated fairly well while in captivity. Their plan was to have her make a statement against the the U.S. government in exchange for living the rest of her life with her medication.
Keane’s return to the White House was met with thunderous applause from everybody. She was worn in again to reassume her duty as President. Carried tried to get one of Gromov’s henchmen to get her medication. Warner thought that Keane should not go against Russia alone and include Congress. Saul met with the Russian ambassador to negotiate for Carrie’s release.
Keane met with Paley in prison. He begged for her forgiveness Her cold stare was compelling to watch. She then made an emotional visit to her son’s grave before deciding against a grand re-unveiling. Carrie stood firm against Gromov. Keane addressed the nation by delivering her own passionate speech about believing that a change should be made for the sake of rekindling democracy in the United States and effectively announcing her resignation as President.
Seven months later, Saul watched as Carrie was being returned to him. He exchanged three Russians prisoners for her. Carrie was in bad shape and did not seem to know who Saul was or where she was.
Overall, this was an excellent episode that served as a satisfying end to the season. Keane was vindicated and went out with a bang thanks to Elizabeth Marvel’s fantastic performance here. While not always the most likable character, her arc has been the most compelling to watch this season and her end (or so it seems) was the exemplification of this. The escape from Russia on both fronts was exciting to watch and the repercussions from it were satisfying. The flashforward could have been kept for next season, however, it will be interesting to see what was done in that time to get Carrie free and how they will deal with her agitated state at the beginning of what will likely be the final season.
Score: 9.5/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.
