"Active Measures" is the fifth episode of the seventh season of the American television drama series ''

Homeland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...

'', and the 77th episode overall. It premiered on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

on March 11, 2018.

Plot

There is concern in the government over possible violence surrounding the Lucasville memorial. President Keane (

Elizabeth Marvel Elizabeth Marvel (born November 27, 1969) is an American actress. Her most prominent roles include Det. Nancy Parras on ''The District'', Solicitor General Heather Dunbar on ''House of Cards'', and President Elizabeth Keane on ''Homeland''. Fil ...

) makes pleas to the wives of the FBI agents who were killed in Lucasville, asking them to also attend the memorial. The wives are received with hostility by the attendees until Mary Elkins greets them and invites them to sit with her. The evening proceeds without major incident. After O'Keefe (

Jake Weber Jake T. Weber (born 12 March 1963) is an English actor, known in film for his role as Michael in '' Dawn of the Dead'' and for his role as Drew in '' Meet Joe Black''. On television, he is best-known for playing Joe DuBois, the sleep-deprived ...

) insists he had nothing to do with planting the story, Saul (

Mandy Patinkin Mandel Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television and film. He is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, having received three Tony Award nominations, winning ...

) comes up with a working theory — the fake news story about J.J. Elkins was disseminated by Russia. He visits Ivan Krupin (

Mark Ivanir Mark Alexandrovich Ivanir ( he, מארק איווניר; uk, Марк Олександрович Іванір; russian: Марк Александрович Иванир) is a Ukrainian-born Israeli actor known for his character roles on America ...

), a former SVR operative now in witness protection. They discuss Yevgeny Gromov, a Russian who sparked conflict in Ukraine with a similarly fabricated story. Krupin says he doubts that the Russians are behind this latest incident. Saul is unsure if he is trustworthy and requests surveillance to be placed on Krupin. With the objective of connecting the McClendon assassination to David Wellington, Carrie (

Claire Danes Claire Catherine Danes (born April 12, 1979) is an American actress. She is the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2012, ''Time'' named her one of the 100 most influenti ...

) assembles a team of friends from her CIA days. Along with Dante (

Morgan Spector Morgan Michael Spector (born October 4, 1980) is an American actor. Spector has appeared in the TV series ''Allegiance'' (2015), '' The Mist'' (2017), ''Homeland'' (2018), and '' Pearson'' (2019), as well as the films '' The Drop'' (2014), ''Chri ...

) and Max (

Maury Sterling Charles Maury Wallace Sterling (born September 1, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Max Piotrowski in ''Homeland'', Rafferty in the comedy film '' Beverly Hills Chihuahua'' and Lester Tremor in the action film ''Smokin' Ace ...

), the team stakes out Simone Martin's ( Sandrine Holt) workplace, along with disabling Simone's car so she stays after her co-workers. When only Simone remains inside, three team members go inside to nab Simone and rough her up. Anson (

James D'Arcy James D'Arcy (born Simon Richard D'Arcy; 24 August 1975) is an English actor and film director. He is known for his portrayals of Howard Stark's butler, Edwin Jarvis, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series '' Agent Carter'' and the ...

) gets Simone to confess that she withdrew $50,000 as a payment for the murder of McClendon, and then demands an additional $100,000 and releases her. Fully expecting Simone to immediately report to her handler, the team is gratified when her first phone call is to their prime suspect, Wellington (

Linus Roache Linus William Roache (born 1 February 1964) is a British actor. He is known for playing Executive ADA Michael Cutter in the NBC dramas ''Law & Order'' (2008–2010) and '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2011–2012). More recently, Roach ...

). Simone's subsequent visit to Wellington's house is caught by Carrie's cameras. Carrie watches the footage and is crestfallen when Simone merely has sex with Wellington, not saying a word about the shakedown.

Production

The episode was directed by

Charlotte Sieling Charlotte Sieling (born 13 July 1960) is a Danish actress and film director. She began her career as an actress in the mid-1980s. In the 2000s, she turned to film directing, working on a number of successful DR TV series such as the Emmy-winnin ...

and written by co-executive producer

Debora Cahn Debora Cahn is an American writer and producer of television and film. She was a writer and executive producer on the Showtime series ''Homeland'' for its final two seasons ''(''2018–2020). She was also a writer and consulting producer on FX's ...

Reception

Reviews

The episode received an approval rating of 80% on the review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 10 reviews. The website's critical consensus is, "'Active Measures' wrings some juicy suspense from an impromptu sting chock full of twists and eerily relevant subtext." Shirley Li of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

rated the episode a "B+", concluding that it "activated several new mysteries to pursue, and this latest twist leaves me intrigued to see more". Brian Tallerico of ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...

'' rated the episode 3 out of 5 stars, and highlighted the conversation between Keane and Goodman as the best scene of the episode.

Ratings

The original broadcast was watched by 1.32 million viewers.

References

External links

"Active Measures"
at

* {{Homeland 2018 American television episodes Homeland season 7 episodes