"Homeland" was on a roll with "From A to B and Back Again" and "Redux" but this was the hour where I realized the show I fell in love with three years ago was back. The conference scene helped build the episode's momentum and led into the imposing Saul scene nicely by the writers. The sequence involving Saul trying to escape was thrilling and the most tense the show has been since Abu Nazir exited the series two seasons ago. The use of close-ups in the midsts of Saul's chase were intimately intense and the directing scaled the suspense to levels of suspense you forgot "Homeland" was able to reach. Mandy Patinkin got off to a whimpering year at the season's beginning but has been revealed to be the heart of this portion of the season. He and Claire Danes cranked out the episode's big scene passionately and wholeheartedly, a scene so vigorous that it feels like days long. So far, "Halfway to a Donut" is the best episode of season four.
Grade: A