“Homeland,” Season 2, Episode 4

• Coutesy of Showtime
• SO, ARE YOU A DOUBLE AGENT HERE OFTEN? Claire Danes and Damian Lewis

“Homeland” creators/showrunners Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa don’t lack for confidence. Rather than tease out potential storylines as long as possible, the way one expects of one-hour dramas, they’re not wasting time hanging around. “Homeland’s” second season has been moving at a remarkable clip, with surprisingly few twists or “24”-style delaying tactics. Will they write themselves into a corner regarding plausible outcomes for Brody’s arc? Stay tuned!

“I am your father. Do not make me destroy you,” says a boy wearing a Darth Vader outfit when Saul visits Estes’s house at the beginning of the episode. The irony is that avuncular Saul is the father figure, with news that could represent the destruction of Estes’s career if handled the wrong way. Saul asks Estes if he remembers last year’s assassination attempt, when Walden fled to the secure location with his cronies. Estes: “Remember? I was one of the cronies.” Saul plays him Brody’s confession, which kind of freaks him out.

On Estes’ patio, they decide to put Brody under double-secret surveillance without notifying the higher-ups, like Vice President Walden. “No one knows shit but you and me.” “And Carrie,” Estes says, but it’s not clear whether he’s confirming that she already knows, or urging that she be kept in the loop. Estes insists that the mission be run by one of his loyalists. I know Carrie couldn’t be expected to do it, but why not Saul? Or Estes himself, since he’s worried that his support of secret terrorist Brody could cost his career?