Homeland review: Season three, episode five - ridiculous but compelling

Is Javadi a worthy villain for this series of Homeland?

Saul (Mandy Patinkin) had an eventful hunting trip in Homeland this weekend (2011 FX Networks LLC)

This episode was titled "The Yoga Play", and in it, Carrie lied about going to her exercise class to confront a strange and mysterious man outside a coffee shop.

No, we're not talking about Sex and the City… this happened in Homeland.

In fairness, it was a bit more complex than that. Brody's wife Jessica appealed to Carrie to find her wayward daughter Dana, who has eloped with a murderous psychopath.

Claire Danes and Morena Baccarin clearly enjoy being on-screen together, with Baccarin in particular producing her strongest performance this season.

But again, you wish the storyline was a little better. Despite having some terrorists to deal with, Carrie said yes, and thus ensued a narrative passage in which the CIA's mission to implicate the mastermind of a bombing that killed hundreds of people depended on whether a thug saw Carrie rolling up a yoga mat.

Thankfully, the latter half of the episode was much better.

Carrie underwent a chilling strip search prior to being carted off for a meeting our villain of the series, Javadi.

She is a character who believes her successes as an agent are tied up in her suffering – earlier in the episode we see her flush her medication, because she thinks it clouds her judgment – and sadly so do those around her. Saul (Mandy Patinkin) – who found out he would not be the new boss of the CIA this week – is simply relieved to hear she has been kidnapped, and that the operation is back on.

I am not sure Javadi – whose appearance does not really inspire horror or fear – is up to handling the pair of them.