This penultimate episode puts increasing pressure on the finale to deliver both climactic conclusions for the various erratic story lines and a sufficiently cathartic end to satisfy viewers.
As a reintroduction to such a sprawling, complex series, this is pretty near perfect.
In the second instalment of ITV1’s Titanic mini-series it’s the turn of money rather than sexual morality to take centre stage.
The genius of Homeland is that we genuinely don’t know who to trust. Every character that might be telling porkies has a compelling explanation for their suspicious behaviour.
Perhaps consciously striving to avoid Lost-style confusion, the script is still somewhat simplistic, which sometimes means that it ends up working against itself.
After Bilyana’s booting from the boardroom last week, 15 candidates remain. But it’s not all flogging printed tat to tourists, oh no.
Julian Fellowes ties his characters’ stories to that of the doomed ship, giving this opening episode an almost tidal sense of unity with its complex relationships.
The relationship between Claire Danes and Damien Lewis is rapidly becoming the highlight of this superb series.
From the opening scene, there is an epic quality to the episode which suggests that anything can happen.
Rivalling the legacy of James Cameron’s 1997 epic, a film that defined the youth of numerous potential viewers of the new drama, is no easy task.