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S05.E08: All About Allison


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In what language did Allison curse when Ivan showed up in the Baghdad flashback and she realized she fell into a honey trap? I'm pretty sure it wasn't Russian.

 

Why did the sniper end up not shooting Carrie? I know Allison signaled something to him with her pack of cigarettes and lighter, but I thought the guy was on Ivan's payroll and Ivan had made up his mind.

 

Why did the wannabe jihadist look so appalled when he realized that the other guy was planning to kill people in Berlin? What did he think he was going to do in Syria, attend summer camp?

 

A few weeks after nearly dying from a gunshot wound and days after surviving a knife fight Quinn gets hit on the head with a tire iron. How can a person go through that much physical trauma without permanent damage?

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So Allison let herself be seduced by Ahmed, then by the Russian spy.

Then she seduced or let herself be seduced by Saul.

Despite the ridiculous wig, she's a bit long in the tooth to be Mata Hari.

And if her dream is Santa Lucia, why would she stay in Berlin, which is far away?

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The Russian got her finally by telling her the $8 million is for real.

 

But what is the point of that money if she has to be their bitch?  Is she going to spend that money in Moscow?

 

All they had on tape was her planning to get away to Santa Lucia with the money and the lover.  Not betraying the US to the Russians.  She was willing to take her chances until he told her the money was hers.

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In what language did Allison curse when Ivan showed up in the Baghdad flashback and she realized she fell into a honey trap? I'm pretty sure it wasn't Russian.

 

Why did the sniper end up not shooting Carrie? I know Allison signaled something to him with her pack of cigarettes and lighter, but I thought the guy was on Ivan's payroll and Ivan had made up his mind.

 

Why did the wannabe jihadist look so appalled when he realized that the other guy was planning to kill people in Berlin? What did he think he was going to do in Syria, attend summer camp?

 

A few weeks after nearly dying from a gunshot wound and days after surviving a knife fight Quinn gets hit on the head with a tire iron. How can a person go through that much physical trauma without permanent damage?

 

I thought she swore in Arabic, or a related language.

 

The guy didn't shoot Carrie because Allison was supposed to signal to him to shoot her by lighting a cigarette and she pointedly put them away. I'm under the impression that although Allison is 'owned' by the Russians, she also has a certain amount of importance and authority with them, so the sniper couldn't just take out Carrie on his own volition if Allison wasn't giving him the necessary signal.

 

The wannabe jihadist looked appalled not to be going to Syria because he WANTED to go to Syria, to join the Caliphate and live under the strict Islamic law being practised by ISIS. That's what most of the people going to Syria want; they're not going there to train to be terrorists in order to come back to the West and commit atrocities (although many of them are fine committing atrocities in the region itself) - although I realise many in the West are under that false impression. Many of them are going because they want to adhere to the fundamentalist view of the Islamic religion practiced by ISIS; clearly he was supposed to be one of those, as indicated by him praying in the back of the van. (BTW, anyone who wants to really understand about ISIS in Iraq and Syria should read this: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/what-isis-really-wants/384980/ )

 

I've no idea about Quinn, but I'm very relieved he's still ticking along.

 

My principle thought on this episode: THANK GOD! At last somebody is on to Allison!

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Don't think Miranda Otto can carry a show, so I was disappointed in last night's episode, although a lot was revealed.  She was in just too many scenes.   Acrobat disappointed me as an actor as well.  

 

Now that we know Allison wasn't a mole from youth, I'm curious as to when she learned Russian.

 

Agree that the Quinn situation has gotten OTT re his injuries and recoveries.  Back to Berlin now.  

 

So now Carrie knows about Allison and Acrobat, now what?  

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Damn it, show! Why are you having Quinn injured AND kidnapped again? Can't you give him a week off to just recuperate and relax? Maybe he needs a trip to St. Lucia.

 

I'm glad Carrie figured out that Allison is up to no good. Hopefully Carrie will realize that she was able to make this connection without going off her meds.

 

 

 

So Allison was brought down by a honeytrap, the oldest trick in the book. If only the honey was a bit more attractive.

She wasn't interested in him at all. She was only interested in the $8 million. Until he brought up that amount, she was telling him no. Later the one kiss she gave him was very cold and uninterested. So does this mean next week we are going to get the back story on how Ivan recruited Acrobat? Allison's back story did not make her at all sympathetic to me. It would be one thing if the blackmail threat had really scared her, but it was obvious that all she wanted was the money.

 

So has Allison been having sexy times with Acrobat on her vacation days? Or was it just a coincidence that he happened to find her favorite bar and have a picture of himself there as his screensaver? As far as I remember she only told Carrie about Banana Joe's.

 

 

 

Now that we know Allison wasn't a mole from youth, I'm curious as to when she learned Russian.

Yup, our fantasy/theory about Paige growing up to be Allison is shot to hell now. Maybe Allison learned Russian after she joined the CIA (or in preparation for joining the CIA) so that she would be more valuable to them.

 

ETA: I just remembered that a guy I used to know who is a little bit younger than Miranda Otto (I'm assuming that the character's age is close to the actress's age) learned Russian at community college when he was in his 20s just because he was interested in the language.

Edited by ElectricBoogaloo
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Carrie had stolen Acrobat's laptop.   She asks for During's help in getting NuMan to find what is on that laptop that will solve the puzzle.   During of course does it, and Numan spends hours trying to figure out the password (doing this remotely from Berlin).   

 

Once Numan figures out the password, Carrie figures out by quick Googling that Acrobat's screen saver is a pic of Acrobat in front of Joe's Banana Bar (or whatever the bar was called) in St. Lucia.  Carrie remembers that Allison mentioned St. Lucia and that bar when she was turning over command to Carrie.  Thus, she puts Allison together with Acrobat, and realizes Allison is involved in the plot to kill her.   

 

A bit implausible,but oh well.  At last Carrie knows.

Edited by weaver
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Beach bars I in st Lucia (not want) look exactly like beach Bae's in Punta cana look exactly like beach bars in Turks Caicos. The idea that this bar was so recognizable because of the umbrella and railing is laughable.

Still, I'll take it. But I'm so bummed out there's no long con.

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Why did the sniper end up not shooting Carrie? I know Allison signaled something to him with her pack of cigarettes and lighter, but I thought the guy was on Ivan's payroll and Ivan had made up his mind.

Allison was supposed to signal the sniper to take out Carrie by lighting a cigarette ONLY IF Carrie had figured out something that could tie Acrobat back to the Russians. That was the instruction from Ivan in the church.

Edited by LaughingOne
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Beach bars I in st Lucia (not want) look exactly like beach Bae's in Punta cana look exactly like beach bars in Turks Caicos. The idea that this bar was so recognizable because of the umbrella and railing is laughable.

Still, I'll take it. But I'm so bummed out there's no long con.

Side note: I was annoyed when Carrie told Numan to google Banana Joe's. Do it yourself, Carrie! Heh, I know I'm projecting a little bit here but it totally annoys me when people tell you to do something that they're perfectly capable of doing. I really wish that Numan had sent her the link using http://lmgtfy.com/

Edited by ElectricBoogaloo
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A few weeks after nearly dying from a gunshot wound and days after surviving a knife fight Quinn gets hit on the head with a tire iron. How can a person go through that much physical trauma without permanent damage?

 

Because Quinn is now Jack Bauer: impervious to death, and only absorbing the emotional pain caused by the realization that his excellent job performance only results in increased alienation from those he loves.

 

 

Now that we know Allison wasn't a mole from youth, I'm curious as to when she learned Russian.

 

 

I am guessing that Allison swore in Russian, and she clearly knew evil Russian guy (Ivan?) when he walked in like he owned her. Had she been working for them already? I think the purpose of all of this is to show how Allison was turned, but since she already had the language skills AND knew the guy, maybe there was something already going on. 

 

And i get that Allison was lured by money. She clearly spends her new cash on some swanky duds, accessories, and hair products. But she was also caught at a huge moment of weakness: seeing that the US "liberation" of Iraq was a load of crap and that the mission was not just misguided but horrifically corrupt. It was 2005 when so many of the Iraqi judges were being killed, and that was coming off the year of the downward spiral of the Bush Doctrine, and therefore, I think most of the American workers (at least state department) in Iraq were terribly demoralized. How many of them were at risk of being turned? 

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I don't quite get the honeytrap - can Allison just say she was just doing all of that to entice Nazari so that he will willingly move to Carrie as her asset? I'm sure she's not the first agent to do backdoor type deals just so they can keep the asset.

So Nazari was a double agent for the Russia and US. And Carrie will eventually find out about the double-agent part. Get to it Carrie! Saul can only stall for so long.

Carrie gets a nice flashback hairstyle, while Allison gets a really bad wig. C'mon Claire! Surely you can do better for your female actresses as one of the producers.

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Quinn's plot might as well be completely separate from Carrie's plot at this point.

 

Now the jihadi-wannabes are turning back to attack Berlin?  The producers made a big deal about leaving their options open on changing scripts based on real life events.

 

I would hope they''re not capitalizing on the Paris shootings to change this plot, with another European terrorist attack because of what happened a week ago.

 

Then again, one of the producers was on 24, which detonated a nuke as well as deploy biological weapons in the US, largely abetted by Americans.

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Carrie gets a nice flashback hairstyle, while Allison gets a really bad wig.

 

Too bad this show doesn't use the same Wigmaster as "The Americans." Elizabeth gets to rock some really convincing hairstyles with the added benefit of the wigs easily being put on and taken off at a moment's notice.

 

edited to fix quote 

Edited by magemaud
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Beach bars I in st Lucia (not want) look exactly like beach Bae's in Punta cana look exactly like beach bars in Turks Caicos. The idea that this bar was so recognizable because of the umbrella and railing is laughable.

Agreed. The idea of beach bars having a website is just as laughable. Really, homeland? Couldn't you be a bit more realistic here?

 

I agree with the points that others are making about Jack Bauer...errr Peter Quinn....soon getting Parkinson's due to all the head trauma he has accrued.

 

The writing was not very good in this episode, though thankfully, the plot moved forward.

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Now the jihadi-wannabes are turning back to attack Berlin?  The producers made a big deal about leaving their options open on changing scripts based on real life events.

 

I would hope they''re not capitalizing on the Paris shootings to change this plot, with another European terrorist attack because of what happened a week ago..

 

Homeland films episodes "in order" so this episode was filmed many weeks ago.  It's shocking and sad how prescient the writing is this season regarding an ISIS-related attack in a European capital.

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Side note: I was annoyed when Carrie told Numan to google Banana Joe's. Do it yourself, Carrie! Heh, I know I'm projecting a little bit here but it totally annoys me when people tell you to do something that they're perfectly capable of doing. I really wish that Numan had sent her the link using http://lmgtfy.com/

Perhaps Carrie wanted to keep her IP location from prying eyes, and didn't want to run the Google search from her hideout in Rhineback (I think that was the town name used).  Not that it'd send up a red-flag that someone there was looking for Banana Joe's.

 

Agreed. The idea of beach bars having a website is just as laughable. Really, homeland? Couldn't you be a bit more realistic here?

I'm not so sure about that - I think many of these types of bars are just as likely to have a website as they are likely not to have one.  I mean, there's a tiny pub in a tiny town in the middle of Ireland that I've been to many, many times in my youth that has a Facebook page.  It's not such a stretch for a beach bar to have it's own website.

 

People have been mentioning Quinn's ever-moreso resembling Bauer.  I've been noticing that with the various machinations and plot turns that Homeland is showing its familial connection to 24 more and more over the past weeks. And I don't like it, not one bit!

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If Alison gave the signal, I was wondering if the sniper would shoot both Alison and Carrie.

 

I don't think so. Ivan still needs Allison for their end game, whatever it is. And Allison knows it. Ivan made a big deal of how Allison has been their biggest coup in American CIA, so there's no way he's going to have her killed along with Carrie. With Carrie dead, there are no other persons who can connect Nazari to the Russians, so why kill their one good asset high up in the CIA. That's why Allison had Carrie in the killbox, Carrie just has nine lives, I guess.

 

I'm actually glad the reason for killing Carrie is right in the heart of the spy/intelligence game that the Russians/US are playing. Not just some petty reason because she's Saul's pet, Allison doesn't like her, etc.

 

Also liked the fact that they dug deep in the Baghdad situation that they made a passing reference to in the first episode. At first I got confused because I mixed Baghdad with the Pakistan situation in S4, and I was like "There was never another agent mentioned, much less someone of Allison's caliber while they were dealing with the Pakistan mess." So it was completely different and separate from the other seasons we've seen before.

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Do you know what would have made this arc about Allison the mole really compelling?  It would not only raise the cred of this season but the series as a whole?

 

If they had implanted the idea of a mole foiling them the previous season or a couple of seasons ago.  If they had done a long build instead of make it a one season thing.

 

That would have meant establishing the Allison character a couple of seasons ago.  Of course they were mired in the Brody thing for too long and had to reboot it.

 

Now in one of the episodes this season, they name-dropped Javadi, the guy Saul implanted in Iran.  Would have been cool if they followed up on that preposterous plot too.  

 

Or bring back other memorable villains like Tasneem, you know to get a win over some of them.  Emotionally satisfying TV.

 

But I'm starting to suspect they'll go the 24 path with Quinn's story, as those guys are probably going to attack Berlin.

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I'm actually glad the reason for killing Carrie is right in the heart of the spy/intelligence game that the Russians/US are playing. Not just some petty reason because she's Saul's pet, Allison doesn't like her, etc.

[i'm not directing this against slowpoked, but rather the writers of the show]

 

I actually think that this episode has revealed how flimsy the premise of this season is. Lets recap:

  1. Acrobat is supposed to have died in some bombing. No known connection to Russians
  2. He is sighted several years later in Iraq. A call is placed to CIA to come and get more details. No proper follow up
  3. Evidence of the lack of follow up can be found in the CIA records by implication
  4. Said CIA records have been hacked and can be potentially publicly distributed.
  5. Therefore Carrie has to be killed?????

 

I don't get it. If anyone else gets this, please enlighten me.

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[i'm not directing this against slowpoked, but rather the writers of the show]

 

I actually think that this episode has revealed how flimsy the premise of this season is. Lets recap:

  1. Acrobat is supposed to have died in some bombing. No known connection to Russians
  2. He is sighted several years later in Iraq. A call is placed to CIA to come and get more details. No proper follow up
  3. Evidence of the lack of follow up can be found in the CIA records by implication
  4. Said CIA records have been hacked and can be potentially publicly distributed.
  5. Therefore Carrie has to be killed?????

 

I don't get it. If anyone else gets this, please enlighten me.

I quite get it, hope this helps:

 

1. When the hacking happened, both Allison and the Russians went to lengths to make sure they retrieve all copies of documents. They got to Korzenick and thought those are all the documents out there.

2. Laura, from the During Foundation, leaked part of the documents, but not all of them. So the CIA, and Allison knows, there might still be some out there even though they got to Korzenick. And Laura works in close quarters with Carrie, as everyone knows. The CIA (or maybe just Allison), had them followed and there were pictures of them conversing, presumably about the leaked docs. Allison at one point says, "what if Carrie has them already?" or "what if she had already talked to Carrie?" IIRC.

3. So she puts Carrie in the killbox so that would finally put a stop to the documents ever reaching Carrie, and Carrie putting two and two together that there is a Russian mole in the CIA and her name is Allison.

 

This is just from what I remember happening. I would like to think the future episodes will tie all these together - the bombing of the plane, Carrie eventually getting to Nazari, the Russians' endgame and Quinn's subplot.

Edited by slowpoked
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Why did we see Allison shopping online? Was it supposed to show her eeeeeevil mercenary nature? I mean she was buying a purse that was discounted and all. A $500 purse to someone making six figures doesn't seem so extravagant to me (I know she's a civil servant but she's high level so I'm sure it's that high; she has no kids to support, etc. etc.). It just seemed like unnecessary "look how venal she is!" And in such a cliched kind of female way.

 

Miranda Otto didn't look 10 years younger in that flashback and yes, needed a better wig. I was shocked to discover she's in her late 40s; I'd have guessed 60s. Maybe it's the fair skin. That said, Clare Danes didn't look 26 either, and at 26, she sure was moving up the ranks fast.

 

I don't mind bars having websites in St. Lucia or anywhere else; I just scoff at the idea that you can tell one from another. Actually that water looked more like Turks and Caicos than St. Lucia to me, but ALL beach bars have railings and umbrellas. Of course, it was an educated guess. I guess Allison did "appease" him anyway. The money was real.

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I don't mind bars having websites in St. Lucia or anywhere else; I just scoff at the idea that you can tell one from another. Actually that water looked more like Turks and Caicos than St. Lucia to me, but ALL beach bars have railings and umbrellas. Of course, it was an educated guess. I guess Allison did "appease" him anyway. The money was real.

Ah, but they don't all have yellow  railings. It's all in the details, lucindabelle.

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Saul again has a mole in his office -- how else could someone have given Quinn the kill order on Carrie?  I would think very few people knew the communications method Quinn and Saul were using.  That alone should have narrowed the list of possible traitors to a very small number, including Allison.  Not for the first time, Saul seems unthinkably gullible.   

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I found this episode really slow and boring. My recording also cut out after Quinn was hit too so I'm relieved to read Carrie is on to Allison because...worst spy ever. She's so jumpy and nervy; I really can't buy she has sucked in Saul and Dar. I'm surprised the Russians have stuck with her for so long - I assume they'll whack her once they realise Carrie's figured out her duplicity.

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Am I the only one who thinks Miranda Otto gave a great performance in this episode?!  First the flashbacks showed Allison's disillusionment with the "rebuilding" effort and the hard life she's been living.  Then when she met with Nazari, you could see that she was in a a weak moment, and in that weak moment the idea of running off with $8 million was too tempting (Nazari, not so much).  I believe that if she'd had another day to think about it, she wouldn't have done it.  Then when Allison's trapped by Ivan, and he's talking to her back about how it won't be so bad, he'll give her intelligence too, etc etc, you can see by her face that she doesn't believe any of it and knows that she's selling her soul.  But she does it anyway.  And the episode explained why she's so perfectly put together and dressed in the present day:  she sold her soul for this shit so she might as well look good.

 

As for the poster who said she's "too long in the tooth to be Mata Hari", for shame!  She's a very attractive woman and she's not trying to bang 25 year olds  : )

 

Here's a real superficial question:  How did they do Carrie's hair in the flashback scenes?  She has two wings of hair pulled back from her face, and at the back of her head one wing is layered over the other with no visible bobby pins or barrette or anything holding the hair in place.  It looks really pretty, but it was driving me crazy how that hairstyle was supposed to stay in place!

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Ah, but they don't all have yellow  railings. It's all in the details, lucindabelle.

ROFL.... This really made me giggle out loud.

My personal feeling about this episode was a bit of suspended disbelief. So all it really took to "turn" Allison was $8 million from a guy she clearly had zero interest in until he flashed that cash. She was plotting how to separate the very married dude from his pilfered cash and end up sipping Mai Tais on the beach.

I think Homeland wanted us to connect that she was slow rolling the Iraqi judge to show that her ideals were tied to self interest only - whether it's a promotion within the CIA or that she's open to pilfering money if she thinks she can get away with it. It's just her luck that regarding the CIA she WOULD have gotten away with it... But the Russians had already poached her CI.

The big question is what exactly did they fear coming out in the documents?. As it stands, the only way Carrie would put things together even WITH recalling a throwaway comment from Allison is what exactly?. Her finding out about Acrobat being alive isn't exactly riveting or compelling for the trail of bodies left to cover up his stealing $8 million.....

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Not only is it a sham season for Peter Quinn/Rupert Friend, but to give Allison/Miranda Otto excess screen time is insult to injury.   I like Miranda Otto, this character however is like watching drying paint alternately scheme and panic.

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Do you know what would have made this arc about Allison the mole really compelling?  It would not only raise the cred of this season but the series as a whole?

 

If they had implanted the idea of a mole foiling them the previous season or a couple of seasons ago.  If they had done a long build instead of make it a one season thing.

 

That would have meant establishing the Allison character a couple of seasons ago.  Of course they were mired in the Brody thing for too long and had to reboot it.

They still can't give Brody up.

Hence his photo on the wall when Carrie first meets Alison in Iraq.

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Here's a real superficial question:  How did they do Carrie's hair in the flashback scenes?  She has two wings of hair pulled back from her face, and at the back of her head one wing is layered over the other with no visible bobby pins or barrette or anything holding the hair in place.  It looks really pretty, but it was driving me crazy how that hairstyle was supposed to stay in place!

They used hidden pins and a whole can of hair spray. It's not a hairdo you can do yourself, so not sure why they did that.

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The big question is what exactly did they fear coming out in the documents?. As it stands, the only way Carrie would put things together even WITH recalling a throwaway comment from Allison is what exactly?. Her finding out about Acrobat being alive isn't exactly riveting or compelling for the trail of bodies left to cover up his stealing $8 million....

 

.They are afraid that with finding out Acrobat is alive Carrie will find him (which was easy) and question him and learn that Allison is a mole.

 

If the big secret the Russians are trying to hide is Allison, why would they allow Ahmed to live in Europe?

And with his wife/widow!  

And why is it Carrie Orser in the flashbacks?

Maybe CIA agents use fake names in volatile regions to protect their families at home?

Edited by Haleth
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Honestly, if Allison's only motive to kill Carrie was over this mole stuff, it's an insult. Especially with this convoluted back story. Getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar, Allison, might be an embarrassment but you could have sold it as a way to spy on the Russians. I just don't see the long term alliance with the Russians over a supposedly dead dude and some money that may or may not exist.

Carrie's uses of Orsor as a last name is puzzling...

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If the big secret the Russians are trying to hide is Allison, why would they allow Ahmed to live in Europe?

 

Or even live at all?

He's probably still working as a CI for them, maybe? It seemed like that to me because when he was picked up by the Ivan's Russian men, he didn't seem the least bit surprised. Or offered only minimal resistance. 

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