Violet recaps Season 3 Episode 5 of Homeland, titled The Yoga Play, where Peter gets in on the mission, Jessica asks an unexpected source for help finding Dana, Carrie implements “The Yoga Play,” and the permanent Director of the CIA is named! Following the recap, both Violet and Josh share their thoughts on the episode.
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Homeland, Season 3 Episode 5: The Yoga Play Recap Overview
Need a quick Homeland episode recap of Season 3 Episode 5, titled The Yoga Play? Here is a summary of events for the episode. Each event is linked to the more detailed Homeland episode recap for The Yoga Play if you need more information!
- Javadi enters the country. Saul asks Peter to keep an eye on Carrie and lets Peter in on his and Carrie’s top secret operation.
- Jessica asks Carrie for help finding Dana. Carrie sets up the Yoga Play with Max.
- Carrie pretends to go to a yoga class, but confronts Agent Hall for help finding Dana. She is late coming back to class and almost gets caught.
- On Saul’s duck hunting trip, Senator Lockhart reveals that he, not Saul, is being named Director of the CIA. Dana hears a news broadcast about her and Leo, and learns the truth about his brother’s death. She gets angry at him for lying to her, and turns herself in to a policeman.
- Saul calls Carrie, upset that she compromised the mission. Lockhart makes an acceptance speech, which Saul interrupts. Carrie begins to doubt herself.
- Carrie is attacked in her home. Peter can’t see what’s going on. He ignores Saul‘s orders to stay put, and enters the house, but Carrie is gone. The men bring Carrie to Javadi.
Homeland Episode Recap: The Yoga Play, the Details
Javadi’s on His Way, Saul Lets Peter in on the Plan
This episode of Homeland starts off with Javadi entering the U.S. from Canada. Meanwhile, Peter stops by Saul’s house as Saul is getting ready to go duck hunting, for which he was invited by the President’s Chief of Staff to discuss a permanent job as Director of the CIA. Saul lets Peter in on his top secret operation with Carrie and asks Peter to keep an eye on her, because the Iranians are watching her too, now that they believe she is a disgraced CIA officer desperate enough to sell information. Saul reveals that burning her in front of the Senate and committing her to a mental institution was all part of the plan to draw the Iranians out, which is working — they believe Javadi is on his way there.
Carrie begins to take her meds, but instead flushes them down the toilet.
Javadi meets up with a guy on the road, who gives him credit cards and money, but Javadi insists on no guns.
Dana and Leo are still on the road, running out of money, but don’t seem too concerned about it. Leo takes his eyes off the road and almost crashes into an oncoming car.
Jessica Asks Carrie for Help, Carrie Sets Up the Yoga Play
Jessica shows up at Carrie’s house to ask for her help finding Dana. She reveals to Carrie that Leo’s parents put him in the clinic to avoid a homicide charge, and breaks down in tears with worry. Carrie agrees to help. After Jessica leaves, Carrie uses her secret phone to call Agent Hall about Dana, but he brushes her off and tells her not to call him again. Then she calls Max on her secret line, telling him she wants to set up “The Yoga Play,” and immediately calls him back on her regular phone reminding him about a yoga class that morning. The latter phone call is monitored, as she knew it would be.
Peter confronts her in the parking garage, and warns her that she’s risking the operation. However, she says she’s done the Yoga Play several times, and it that works. As Carrie drives to the yoga class, she sees that she is being followed.
Saul shows up to a nice big house for some mingling before the duck hunt, and is greeted by Michael Higgins, Chief of Staff. They are soon joined by Senator Lockart, who informs Saul that they will be sharing a hive during the duck hunt so that they can talk in private.
The Yoga Play
Carrie goes inside the yoga studio and is greeted by Lisa, her double, who takes her place in the yoga class, as Carrie slips out the back, where Virgil and Max pick her up. They take her to the place where Agent Hall picks up his coffee at a certain time each morning, but he is late, and Carrie risks being late to return to the yoga class before it ends. However, she insists on staying. He finally shows up, and Carrie confronts him about finding Dana.
Outside of the yoga class, we see that class has ended and people are leaving. The guy who was following Carrie notices that Carrie hasn’t left yet, and prepares to pull out of his parking spot, but Peter drives up and blocks him, pretending to be a delivery guy and asking for directions. The guy, angry, gets out of his car and walks toward the yoga studio, where Carrie’s double is still inside. Right as he enters the front door, Carrie comes in the back, and the guy sees her and leaves.
Saul Learns Lockhart is the New Director, Dana Leaves Leo for Lying
On the duck hunting trip, Lockhart reveals that he’s the one being nominated as Director, not Saul. Lockhart warns Saul that he should change his views if he wants a job in his CIA.
Meanwhile, Javadi is parked outside of a house eating, and drops some food on his shirt. He enters the house, where two guys greet him and inform him that his cases came yesterday.
Dana enters a convenient store to pay for gas, while Leo stays outside to pump the gas. She hears a broadcast on the news about her and Leo’s joy ride, and learns about Leo’s apparent suicide pact with his brother. After she leaves the store, she asks Leo to tell her about how his brother died, but it seems his story has changed since the last time he told it. She reveals what she heard on the news. Dana gets angry at Leo, who then nearly causes an accident, then she gets out of the car and runs off, as a motorist says he’s calling the police. Leo chases her, tells her he loves her, and confesses that it was his idea to play the game with the gun. However, she is upset that he lied to her, because she told him that lying is the one thing she can’t have in her life. A police car pulls up, and she goes to it.
Saul Calls Carrie, then Interrupts Lockhart’s Acceptance Speech
Carrie’s at home, and Saul calls her on her secret phone. He is upset that she compromised the operation for Brody’s daughter, informing her that Peter told him surveillance pulled off 5 minutes ago. Carrie is convinced that she wasn’t made, but Saul isn’t so sure.
Saul joins the party, and is upset that Higgins didn’t warn him about Lockhart. Higgins then makes the announcement that the President has chosen Lockhart to be the next Director of the CIA, effective in two weeks. Lockhart makes an acceptance speech, and thanks Saul, who interjects some congratulatory remarks, making sure to point out that Lockhart has made a career criticizing the agency he’s about to lead, and wishes him luck winning over the men and women he’ll be putting in harm’s way.
Dana returns home, goes to her room, and cries.
Peter, outside Carrie’s house, calls to check on Carrie. The surveillance hasn’t come back yet. She asks Peter if she got made, but he doesn’t know.
When Saul gets home from the party, Mira is having dinner with a man. She attempts to introduce him, but he goes upstairs without a word.
Carrie is Kidnapped
Some men attack Carrie inside her house before she is able to get to her gun. They have her take off all her clothes. Peter notices a man on his phone outside Carrie’s house. Inside, one of the men uses a scanner across Carrie’s body. Peter calls Saul to report that he thinks the watch is back on, but that he needs to get closer. However, Saul tells him to stay put. Carrie’s attacker gives her some clothes and tells her to get dressed. Peter can’t see Carrie, but Saul orders him to keep his distance. Carrie’s attackers put a bag over her head and lead her out. Peter hears a car start up, and heads toward Carrie’s house, ignoring Saul’s orders. He enters the house with his gun drawn, and finds broken glass. He goes to her bedroom and finds Carrie’s phone broken on the floor. Peter calls Saul to report that Carrie is gone. Saul seems okay with this, because they know who’s got her, so now they’re “back in business.”
Carrie’s attackers bring her to a room with Javadi inside. They take the bag off her head, and Javadi comments, “You’re in good shape. Must be all that yoga.”
Violet’s Thoughts on Season 3 Episode 5 of Homeland: The Yoga Play
So far this season, Dana’s story has seemed rather inconsequential to the overall storyline. But finally, everything comes to a head this episode, as Jessica goes to Carrie of all people to beg for her help with finding Dana. I’m sure Jessica is the last person Carrie ever expected to see on her doorstep! But, Jessica was a desperate mother, and Carrie was a last resort. Besides, Carrie still cares about Brody, so she would want to make sure that his daughter was okay. And from a practical standpoint, Carrie did make a good point to Agent Hall that if Brody were to ever re-enter the country, Dana would be the first person he would contact. (Other than herself, of course.) Are we going to see less of Dana and the Brody family now that Dana has served her purpose in the storyline of causing Carrie to compromise her mission? Or will she be in the show just as much, as Leo tries to get back in Dana’s good graces, and Dana becomes even more volatile?
I felt so bad for Saul this episode. First he finds out that after all his hard work as interim Director of the CIA, not to mention his dedication to the CIA in previous years, the president is going to go and name Senator Lockhart as Director. Then he comes home to find his wife having dinner with another man. The decision to name Lockhart as Director is such a slap in the face to Saul, and I agree with Saul that Lockhart is going to be facing an uphill battle internally once he takes over. These are people who have worked closely together for years, and now to bring in someone new, who they don’t trust, and who they have essentially viewed as the enemy as a result of the recent Senate hearings? I don’t see it going very well for Lockhart at the CIA. And we have already been shown that Lockhart and Saul don’t see eye to eye on several issues, so it looks like the two will be butting heads in the near future. More importantly, if Saul will no longer be Director, does that mean he will have to let Lockhart know about his operation with Carrie? Even if he is supposed to inform Lockhart about it, I’m sure he won’t, because he knows Lockhart would not agree with him. But I’m guessing that Lockhart will eventually find out about it, and won’t be very happy with Saul.
As for Carrie, when Javadi made his comment about her being in shape because of yoga, I initially thought he was implying that he knew about the Yoga Play. But then I thought about it some more, and now I’m thinking maybe he didn’t. The point of Saul and Carrie’s operation was so that Carrie would look like a CIA defector, so the Israelis were monitoring her to make sure she really was done with the CIA, and that it wasn’t just a ploy. If they saw her meeting up with an FBI agent, they would be tipped off, and Javadi wouldn’t want to meet with her. If they knew about the Yoga Play, they would have pulled off surveillance, as it looked to Saul like they were doing, and had no further contact with her. However, they brought her to Javadi so that she could meet with him face to face, just as she requested. The fact that he commented about her doing yoga doesn’t necessarily mean he knows about the Yoga Play, it could just be his way of letting her know that he’s been watching her. But, we shall see next episode, as it looks like Carrie is in for a thorough questioning from Javadi!
This was a great episode of Homeland, filled with suspense, lots of surprises, and several tense moments. I’m definitely looking forward to the next episode and seeing how Carrie’s meeting with Javadi goes!
Josh’s Thoughts: Homeland, Season 3 Episode 5: The Yoga Play
I liked this episode a lot. The “Yoga Play” was kind of cool, and I have to admit–that girl looked a lot like Claire Danes. They picked a good “double”. The big question is this: Did Javadi’s men see Carrie perform her little switcheroo? I am not quite sure what to believe. Saul seems happy she was taken, although he doesn’t know the exact conditions in which she was taken. His lack of concern over Carrie being taken seems to indicate this is still a part of the mission.
Exactly what went on for Carrie is terrifying, and scary, but perhaps this is a red herring to make us believe that she has been “made”. Maybe they are running her through the ringer initially to try to flush out if she is lying, or deceiving them. Or perhaps they know she played them or is possibly playing them, and they just want to get as much information out of her as possible, and then what happens, who knows.
I feel sorry for Saul though. He seems like he was set up to get screwed over with his “buddy”.
As for Dana, I am glad how she got out of her dangerous situation, although the storyline seemed like it fizzled out. The story had this big set up that maybe he will kill Dana or something, but then nothing really comes of it. But still, I am glad that the are showing she has some brains about the situation, and got out while she was still able to.
Scenes from Homeland, Season 3 Episode 6: Still Positive
Here are scenes from the next Homeland episode, titled Still Positive:
What did you think of Homeland, Season 3 Episode 5: The Yoga Play? Let us know in the comments below!
