S04.E10: 13 Hours In Islamabad

[Tara Ariano]

The security breach at the Embassy results in far reaching consequences.

[StatMom]

Nice work, Duck and Lipless.

[canshetype]

You guys, this show is going going to give us all full-fledged Generalized Anxiety Disorder.  It's hard to say who was the bigger disappointment tonight-- Duck, Lipless or poor, memory impaired Saul (perhaps it's you, Saul-- since I have higher expectations for you.)  I hope that hottie Quinn survives his attempt to SAVE THE WORLD.  I wouldn't mind him feeling me up for my cell phone.

[tomsmom]

Why the eff after killing those guys didn't Quinn and his sidekick pick up their guns!!! I was screaming when they were shooting at Haqqani with handguns!! UGH!!

[Artsda]

The head of the CIA caved to terrorists and handed over intel? What? Was he not taught "We don't negotiate with terrorists”?

 

Loved Quinn this episode. He took charge, he took out the terrorists, he shot their leader, he ran off after them, he interrogated Saul. He's 100x the leader that Carrie is or the CIA head. Quinn should be in charge!

Edited December 8, 2014 by Artsda

[DrivingSideways]

Wow... those first twenty five minutes were a nail biter.  The CIA director giving over the asset list was pretty stupid but the scene still had me breathless.

 

Duck is the worst.  He had the chance to do the right thing for once and fucked it up.  What a slime ball.  So many great new characters this season - I am loving Homeland again.

[VioletMarx]

Who is lipless? Hope not the ambassador as she did everything right.

Max broke my heart. And Carrie was human for once.

[StatMom]

I was referring to Lockhart as Lipless.

[LilaFowler]

The head of the CIA caved to terrorists and handed over intel? What? Was he not taught "We don't negotiate with terrorists”?

One of the dumbest things ever.  You don't have to be psychic to know that they were going to kill everyone. 

[HollaMcDollar]

Very un Lockhart like behavior this week.

[sas616]

I kept thinking  "where's Jack Bauer when you need him?"  And then Quinn took charge and I felt a little better.   Was really worried about Max when they started shooting hostages.  

[Bedelia]

I thought this was a marvellous epsiode.

 

I hope Quinn somehow survives and maybe gets even a little win. Carrie is a terrible judge of character, She should have known by looking at him in their last scene he was about to do something crazy.

[eyetotelescope]

Peter Quinn for President.  Or at the very least, CIA Director.

 

Aside from Quinn, though, the CIA as depicted on this show has got to be the worst intelligence agency in the entire world.  Lockhart was ridiculously stupid this week (what, he thought Haqqani would say "OK, thanks, have a good day, we'll leave through the front door now"?!) and the Ambassador and her husband pissed me off beyond belief.  Saul frustrated me (you know Quinn would have remembered as much as possible even after the ordeal Saul went through) and I wish Carrie had just left.  I think she's going to end up being a huge burden for Quinn...

[Blakeston]

Hope not the ambassador as she did everything right.

 

I don't know if I'd go that far - early in the episode, she seemed to be okay with them letting her husband out of that jail cell.

[eyetotelescope]

Forgot to add that when Max and Carrie were talking about Fara having done well, I couldn't help but roll my eyes - yes, it's sad that her character was killed but no, she was NOT doing well.  Granted, they didn't know about her safehouse screw-up, but I sure did...

[DiegoBurger]

I was really disappointed that Martha caved and threw the idiot traitor husband the belt. I would have preferred she dangle it in front of him and then throw it out of his reach, saying "Enjoy life in the Super Max, and also, just thinking of you dying makes my whole head smile."  I wonder how those two lovebirds ever got together. They really seem like they have so much in common, like both wanting him to be dead and a love of belts.

[DrivingSideways]

Forgot to add that when Max and Carrie were talking about Fara having done well, I couldn't help but roll my eyes - yes, it's sad that her character was killed but no, she was NOT doing well.  Granted, they didn't know about her safehouse screw-up, but I sure did...

Thank you!  I was very sad her throat was cut, but I thought she deserved Carrie tearing her a new one that day.  

[Boundary]

Two missiles hit the convoy and it falls under sniper attack; Carrie and Saul escape with a couple of bruises but Redmond gets a shrapnel in the neck. Contrivance.

 

Fara is randomly killed but Haqqani escapes, even though he was within range of Quinn, an experienced hit-man. Contrivance.

 

Hard ass Lockhart suddenly falls prey to a conscience, which he's never displayed in two seasons, because we still have two episodes to go and Haqqani needs the list, so he gets it. Contrivance.

 

Haqqani is under time pressure (10 minutes) to verify that the intel he's looking for is not in the safe but don't worry, everything stored in there wasn't encrypted and was clear enough for him to do his verification quickly. What's more, it's not like the Islamabad CIA branch doesn't have too much intel, so really it wasn't like finding a needle in a haystack. Contrivance.

 

Saul has steadily seen his skill set diminishing in order to serve the plot, this week we added that he couldn't fire a rifle or remember basic counter intelligence measures. Contrivance.

 

Great acting and all that but for me this show doesn't feel organic anymore. It's now nothing but a series of random events strung together. 

Edited December 9, 2014 by Boundary

[vibeology]

Sometimes I strugge with Claire Danes cry-acting thing, but the moment where she was calling Fara's dad was heartbreaking and so genuine. I wish she'd go smaller more often because that crushed me.

[eyetotelescope]

Sometimes I strugge with Claire Danes cry-acting thing, but the moment where she was calling Fara's dad was heartbreaking and so genuine. I wish she'd go smaller more often because that crushed me.

 

Couldn't agree more.  While Danes killed it in the first two seasons (and fully deserved those Emmys), I think she's overdone the breakdown/cry-acting thing a bit in the last two seasons, but when she does more subtle stuff like the Fara's dad phonecall scene, she is absolutely stellar.

[DrivingSideways]

You know what I hope Carrie never does again?  When she goes " ......   FUCK! "  It's annoying.

[bunnywithanaxe]

Who is lipless? Hope not the ambassador as she did everything right.

Max broke my heart. And Carrie was human for once.

Hell yeah, Max punched me right in the heart.

[bunnywithanaxe]

  I wonder how those two lovebirds ever got together

She was brokenhearted after her breakup with Saul, and he caught her on the rebound.

 

(I'm guessing, of course, but that's the only explanation that works for me.)

 

(rewatching) I have a real problem  believing that Quinn would unload on Saul the way he did, no matter how amped up he was. Also, while it was refreshing that we heard Mira's name mentioned once last episode, once again the most traumatic moments of Saul's life features her complete absence. You think that they could have broken up his slough of despond by getting him a phone call? They were letting the press calls through.

Edited December 8, 2014 by bunnywithanaxe

[Superpole2000]

I think they went too big with the carnage. It made Carrie/Saul/Quinn surviving seem horribly unrealistic. I loved the action, but they just took it a bit too far into 24 territory. I want them to use intelligence, not so much with the guns. Of course, in a battle of intelligence, Team USA looks woefully inadequate.

 

I thought the Ambassador's husband being too cowardly to kill himself was a nice touch. Very within character.

[shapeshifter]

Peter Quinn for President. Or at the very least, CIA Director...

Nah, you need the people with brains and talent in the field. Plus, Quinn gets stabby when he's stressed, so I don't think he'd do well at hypocritical public events.

Anyway, I guess he has a plan to swap out some of Haqqani's next week phones with the this week phones he just acquired.

And I liked the way he paid the merchant for the value of the items he was about to torch.

I wish they'd run a text crawl each week at the beginning of the episodes explaining that Quinn really has a beard, and Carrie really has dark hair and contacts, but they are respectively shaved and blonde so TV viewers can pick them out of the crowd.

...I thought the Ambassador's husband being too cowardly to kill himself was a nice touch. Very within character.

I wondered if he wanted the belt just in case he couldn't handle interrogation later--that he had no plan to off himself in time to allow his doings to be "swept under the rug" for his wife's career. I don't know, will they be checking for a belt again? Edited December 8, 2014 by shapeshifter

[bunnywithanaxe]

I wish they'd run a text crawl each week at the beginning of the episodes explaining that Quinn really has a beard, and Carrie really has dark hair and contacts, but they are respectively shaved and blonde so TV viewers can pick them out of the crowd.

 

Fantastic idea. :D

[bluebonnet]

Is this show now classified as comedy?  That's the only explanation.  

[jeansheridan]

Carrie did put a guard on Quinn. He went out the window.

I am not surprised that Lockhart couldn't let Fara die. He knew her from last season. Knew her loyalty. He is a politician not a soldier.

I loved the bruising on Saul in the shower scene. He was shattered.

[pfk505]

No time to go into any nuanced analysis, but for me this was one of the best episodes of the entire series.  Just fantastic.  I just wish we didn't lose Farah, a lot of wasted character potential there.  This season has been up and down in its level of utter unbelievability but I was nothing if not entertained tonight.

[dwmarch]

I bet Haqqani sure wishes he had a nephew or something who was in medical school and had easy access to supplies.

 

Carrie with the M-16 reminded me of the same scene in 24 with Chloe.

 

Max even got a kill this episode. Way to go Max! I also liked how that Marine looked a little shaken up after his first shot. That reaction told me he had never fired his weapon in anger before.

 

I was very surprised we didn't have a scene of Quinn storming up to the ambassador's husband and telling him he was dead meat.

 

I realize the cell at the embassy isn't meant to be more than temporary holding but it's a terrible jail cell. Those wide bars you can stick both your arms through (real jail cells have a mesh on top of that that you can't stick a finger through!), the guard being posted outside and facing away from the door, no camera inside. The ambassador's husband would be on suicide watch and would be strapped to a bed and probably sedated. The ambassador would not be allowed alone time with him.

 

The ambassador is lucky her husband didn't kill himself. I'm pretty sure whoever investigated it would figure it out pretty fast.

 

I will miss Farah and I am sorry she was killed for nothing. Lockhart was stupid. Give them the case, sure. But take all the valuable shit out first!

 

I'm also sad that that background character CIA guy died so Lockhart could get away. He did well with what little he was given.

 

I can't blame Saul for essentially being useless. He just got back from being held hostage and almost blown up by the bad guys after being on the run and getting captured after being held hostage and almost blown up by the CIA. He's had a shitty week.

[myname2use4now]

I think my CIA 101 handbook says that if you hand over intel to the enemy, make sure it's false. I would have loved it if we were to see Haqqani reading the list of assets and realizing all the names on it are guys in his camp.

 

Quinn is sooooooo hot.

 

I know it's true to her character, but it seemed to me that the most emotional that Carrie got was when she was told that the President no longer had faith in her to do the job. That's when she really teared up. Not when looking at those bodies are getting told off by Max.

 

Duck...I wonder if the actor who plays him will ever play a nice character again. Certainly, he's due for one!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I spent the entire episode muttering, "They'd better not kill Quinn, damn it!"

[Mama No Life]

Amazing episode.

Parts of it went a little too extreme for me, as mentioned above, but I was into 100% so I won't complain.

I felt so bad for Saul...we forget how old he is and how traumatized he has been. He looked so defeated when it was time to go home, just standing at the window waiting for the convoy.

Carrie did not bug me in any way last night, and Quinn was HAWT, so that's always a win for me.

I think my political leanings interfered a bit with the emotional impact that vacating the embassy was supposed to have. :/

[Yogi Nomad]

I felt bad for Max and sad that Fara died but she was the worst spy ever. Was she even a spy? I'm not exactly sure what her title exactly. So probably not a spy cause she didn't know shit. The only thing she did right was to randomly spot that one terrorist and that's it. It's lucky that she survived this long.

Lockhart was a fool. I'm surprised that no one really attempting to stop him but the ambassador. They were all pretty useless except Quinn. He's awesome.

I do see some flaws this season but it's still overall way more entertaining than Brody and Carrie wahwahing last season. I thought tptb would ruin this season with baby drama but it was almost like an afterthought and i'm not complaining.

[terrymct]

I was really disappointed that Martha caved and threw the idiot traitor husband the belt. I would have preferred she dangle it in front of him and then throw it out of his reach, saying "Enjoy life in the Super Max, and also, just thinking of you dying makes my whole head smile."  I wonder how those two lovebirds ever got together. They really seem like they have so much in common, like both wanting him to be dead and a love of belts.

 

The scene at the end, though, where she's looking at him in the car.  THAT is the look of pure and utter contempt.  You couldn't even do THAT right, even after you gave a big arsed speech about doing it for your family.   That clip should be the shown along with the dictionary definition of contempt.

 

Boy, Quinn was whispering in the hallway with the world's most passive and timid Marine.   A little booyah would have been nice.

 

I'm disappointed that the CIA guy was killed.  He's been the only one in recent episodes who clearly saw through Carrie's crap.  I loved the shade he threw at him.  RIP.

Edited December 8, 2014 by terrymct

[Deanie87]

Carrie did put a guard on Quinn. He went out the window.

I am not surprised that Lockhart couldn't let Fara die. He knew her from last season. Knew her loyalty. He is a politician not a soldier.

I loved the bruising on Saul in the shower scene. He was shattered.

I'm not sure it was intentional but I did appreciate Lockhart's behavior and what it implied (at least to me). It's a lot easier to run a war/authorize bombings etc., when you are sitting behind a desk in Washington. I would normally assume that the head of the CIA has some active military training but maybe not. If Lockheart had any it would seem to be a long time ago or to have consisted of running things behind a desk like now. Saul, on the other hand, has actual time in the field.

Thank god Quinn is being played by a good actor otherwise he would seem almost too good to be true. RF pulls it off perfectly though.

Edited December 8, 2014 by Deanie87

[stillshimpy]

The ambassador is lucky her husband didn't kill himself. I'm pretty sure whoever investigated it would figure it out pretty fast.

 

Yeah, I guess they needed to show that the Ambassador actually deserved to be married to that crumb on some level, because what a matched pair they were under pressure.  Firstly, it wouldn't have saved her career on any level.  Duck being dead would have made it even more likely that she would have been suspected of being complicit in his activities, because with the wholesale slaughter that was going on, the investigation wouldn't have stopped with "Oh, Dennis is dead?  Well everyone just carry on then, reassign the Ambassador to some highly sensitive area of the world.  No biggie!" 

 

Good episode, very thrilling.  Bit amusing that the showrunners decided to break diplomatic ties with Pakistan after what would easily be seen as an act of war , because it's a little bit difficult to walk that back.  Iran's treatment last year pretty much fits with the U.S.'s relationship with Iran at the present time.  Pakistan is at least an alleged ally.  

 

I'm assuming General Kahn will help pull Carrie and Quinn out of many fires in the coming weeks, to justify something other than "Oh, now we're at war with Pakistan? That's problematic."  

 

They did go a little too big with the slaughter to make most of the named cast surviving believable.  

 

As for Saul, yes, he was traumatized and broken.  I still felt for Mandy Patinkin having to practically play Saul as a frail, doddering old man, because...it's Mandy Patinkin.  He's only 62 and the guy can still sing it to the back rows without breaking a serious sweat, so there was some suspension of disbelief required for me in that "Here Carrie, take the gun.  We both have some sort of head trauma, so nothing could possibly go wrong with this..."  

 

It was a thrilling episode.  It did go a little too far into outlandish territory with the Lockhart panicking like that.  He had enough self-possession to make it to the vault after the entire room full of people he was with were slaughtered practically in front of his face, he folds like a house of cards because Haqqani menaces Fara?  Okay, but here's the problem: No one but a very sheltered human being would think that was going to save any lives in that hall.  

 

Anyway, it was fun stuff, tales of derring-do and all that.   By the way, I think what the show was attempting to do with Max's telling Carrie she should have told Fara she was doing well, was to ultimately shift blame onto Carrie for Fara being too rattled and hurt to do a decent job at the safe house cleanup.  It didn't work for me.  Some times the show seems to not trust that I'd pick up on something subtle, so they spell it out a tad too cartoonishly.  Like the super obvious break-in and Dennis lurking so nearby that she practically should have heard him breathing.  Or that there are still photographs scattered on the floor (again, stuff there was just no excuse for Fara not to pick up on) to make sure that I'd get "Dennis took the photographs! Oh no!"  

 

So yes, they do spell out things in caps sometimes, when they needn't and it can make the characters look worse.  So when Max was talking about how well Fara had done it was actually a little bit darkly comedic.  "Errr....right!  Sure. Guess they'll never know now unless Dennis sings like a Canary! Oh look, the songbird survived his alleged bid for suicide."  

 

Points to the actor playing the ambassador for conveying with a single expression, "Good God, Dennis, did you need me to actually tie a noose for you?"  Also, look forward to him spilling those beans on some sort of stand, ambassador .  

[Haleth]

RIP, Fara.  You were still terrible at your job even if Max thinks that's a mean thing to say.  RIP, Redmond.  We enjoyed your snark and wish you could have lasted longer.  No RIP for Dennis.  Glad the writers had him unable to kill himself.  Nobly ending his own life for the sake of his family would be out of character.  I also didn't think it was in character for Martha to toss him the belt.  She's too steely to soften suddenly and go all compassionate.

 

That siege scene was tense.  Carrie who?  I'd rather the show focus on Quinn from now on, even if it meant Homeland was turning into 24.  And have him team up with Khan for shallow reasons.

 

That episode was only 45 minutes.  

Edited December 8, 2014 by Haleth

[stillshimpy]

She's too steely to soften suddenly and go all compassionate.

 

Oh, I don't think she was being compassionate.  The only part of Dennis's argument that seemed to persuade her was that it might salvage her career (which again, is sort of laughable) and then the "I can't....it can't be my belt ....."   really seemed to indicate a level of self-interest that was at least keeping pace with Dennis in certain areas.  

 

By the way, Kahn in the car with Tasneem, apparently not calling in backup was at least a little funny.  I don't think the actor quite knew what his reaction was supposed to be conveying (tacit agreement? horror over what Tasneem was participating in? inability to act at that moment because he knew Tasneem would kill him without blinking?)....but the part that made me sort of laugh was the concept that Kahn would want to side with terrorists, because did you see his house?  Honestly.  "Uh....yeah, right.  Listen, I don't know if you've checked out how I live, but I'm sort of fond of a lot of Western ideals and standards of living. Here comes the cavalry, Carrie!  Let's do lunch soon."  

Edited December 8, 2014 by stillshimpy

[StatMom]

So yes, they do spell out things in caps sometimes...

 

 

My favorite moment of this in this episode was when they had Quinn hold the two phones next to each other. SEE?!? They're the SAME! Yes, we remember; we just saw the other one a few minutes ago when you lingered on it significantly.

[Tony]

Well that turned out to be a whole shitstorm for the Islamabad American compound.

 

Seriously, have these people managed a single win since Carrie became chief/start of the season? Besides maybe turning Ayan (by sexing him up), everything else they've attempted has been spectacular screw ups.

 

I'm pretty over with this season.

 

ETA: Could Saul be any more fucking useless? That whole scene with Carrie's heart-to-heart pep talk with him was inanely stupid. Blowing him up along with Haqqani and crew back when they had the chance was the total right thing to do.

 

ETA #2: Nobody thought to hand over a fake dossier? It's not like Haqqani's going to break out the case and inspect it for authenticity before giving them a thankyoucomeagain, so why would they easily give up the real thing like that. They're fucked either way, so they might as well lessen the impact.

Edited December 8, 2014 by Tony

[attica]

That was super intense; a well-constructed 45 minutes. I'm lucky I have any knuckles left, after nearly chewing them all off!

 

I liked the scene between Carrie and Max. She starts being defensive, and then you can see it dawn on her that this is not what's required here, and she softens. The hand on Max's back got me. (Now, let's get Virgil in here!)

[jeansheridan]

I liked that scene in the limo with Palestian security. She is so smug & menacing. She and Martha need go face to face.

I love Martha. She would have let all those people in the lobby die. Steely. She looked so deeply offended when Lockhart shoved her aside. The belt moment surprised me. I didn't really believe she would be THAT career minded. I think was was a major mis-step on the show and I am glad Dennis failed. Mark Moses makes the best weak man.

I like that Carrie wasn't confident with her rifle.

I am very worried for Quinn.

[stillshimpy]

I liked the scene between Carrie and Max. She starts being defensive, and then you can see it dawn on her that this is not what's required here, and she softens. The hand on Max's back got me.

 

I loved that moment, because you can see Carrie think something along the lines of "I needed to toughen her up, Max, and...." and then she realizes that she's not just looking at a coworker mourning the loss of a friend or criticizing his boss.  She's looking at someone who is staring at the body of a woman he loved and never got to be with and not only that, he had to watch helplessly as she died.  

 

Also, not that he'd give a hang about it that moment, but poor Max would also get the great joy of anyone who witnessed what went on in the hallway damned well knowing that he was carrying an inferno-sized torch.  I'm glad they gave Max a bit more personality and I hope he's back next year, because he was slaying it with the pure freaking desperation in his voice when he started yelling, "No! Take me instead!"  

 

That's such a cliched, ridiculous line, and it's always delivered with this "I'm prepared to die" bravado right underneath the surface that renders it sort of cheesy, no matter how pure the emotional intent.  It always has that tiny edge of hero-grandstanding to it.  

 

Or almost always, because the way the actor delivered that line was heart-rending.  It wasn't some grand "for my love, I would lay down my life" hero's gesture.  It was pure panic and desperation and knowing that he was only saving her life for maybe eight more seconds, but still desperately trying....and points to the actor playing Fara because the look she gave him was the most touching thing I think the actor has pulled off.  She looked at him like she had known all along how he felt about her and that it really never would have gone anywhere, but that she appreciated and treated with kindness anyone loving her that much.  

 

It was a look that made me like Fara a hell of a lot, considering that she'd really screwed the proverbial pooch and I'd spent most of my time thinking she needed to look into work as interpreter for U.N. or something not related to the field.  When she was first introduced, she was a little too wide-eyed and innocent about everything having to do with the CIA.  She had that genre blindness thing going -- where someone in a genre story (in this case spycraft) acts like they've never even heard of the process, like that moment in the safe house -- right up until that moment.  

 

Great time to choose to ditch all naivete, by the way, because the look she gave Max was kind, but also contained the "Oh Max, I've been dead from the second he laid eyes on me, I'm sorry".   I think Fara knew as soon as Haqqani looked at her that he knew she was a Muslim and he'd kill her for that alone.  That working for the other side was a killing crime.  They'd all watched him blow his own nephew away as an FU to the CIA, she knew she was dead no matter what.  

Edited December 8, 2014 by stillshimpy

[FurryFury]

Holy shit, that was intense. For me, it was one of the best episodes of the show, and generally one of the best episodes of TV this season. I was at the edge of my seat for the first 25 minutes, and after that, the mood was so tense and sombre, I couldn't even take my eyes off the screen. Poor Farah. Poor Max. Poor everyone else, really (except for fucking Ambassador's husband).

 

Quinn was BAMF, of course. And I'm impressed by Carrie's decision to stay in Pakistan for him... I just hope she won't make it worse somehow.

[Haleth]

Fara was so defiant, I wish when Haqqani asked if her parents knew what she was doing she had said, "Yes, and they are very proud of me."

[BigBlueMastiff]

I enjoyed this episode, but have to agree with those calling out Lockhart. I was practically screaming at the tv. In what world would any CIA director openend a locked bunker to hand sensitive info to a terrorist??? WTF, why would you trust that the terrorrist would not only try to get inside the bunker, but kill or take more hostages, including the effing CIA director! I had to agree with the ambassador when she said they are all dead no matter what, she was right. There was no way for me to suspend belief on that whole drama, and who knew he was so attached to Farah? The only thing that would save this scene is if, as others noted, the asset list was not in the case.

 

Also surprised that the ambassador gave her husband the belt. The way she was wavering, I was sure we'd get a rot in hell speech. I'm shocked to think that she would think and he could convince her that her career is in any way salvageable. Her husband will be charged with treason, I would think there is no way she'd ever be ambassador or anything of note at State again.

[Mama No Life]

Fara was so defiant, I wish when Haqqani asked if her parents knew what she was doing she had said, "Yes, and they are very proud of me."

Except that would have been a lie.   This is what they had feared all along.

 

Speaking of looks, there was one that reminded me again of how far in over her head Fara was.  When Lipless stupidly came out of the vault and gave up the list, she looked at him with relief.  She thought she was going to be spared, but everyone except her and Lipless knew differently.  Sigh Fara...you were never cut out for this.

[Primetimer]

Haqqani's bloody raid on the embassy leaves everyone who survives feeling guilty, except Quinn, who is a foxy ninja.

Read the story

[Constantinople]

How long has Carrie been head of station in Islamabad?

I'm just wondering why she never made a copy of the list. I would think that one of the first things she would be told about would be the list and that there was only one copy.

And thanks a lot Khan.
 

I was really disappointed that Martha caved and threw the idiot traitor husband the belt.

I was surprised she did it because she's smart enough to know that some people will wonder if he really killed himself and, even if he did, whether he did it to cover-up for her.

Given how short the episode was, and given how much time Dennis's "To be or not to be" scene took, it felt a bit like filler.