Alex Gansa | ‘Homeland’
The setup: Carrie (Claire Danes) decides to take out the kidnappers of her CIA mentor Saul (Mandy Patinkin) with a drone strike, knowing Saul is in the crosshairs. (Her order is countermanded.)
The effect: “It really demonstrated to everyone, including Carrie, just how far she’d gotten away from her humanity,” Gansa says. “It pointed out what toll this has all exacted on her. It shows how far she’s fallen.”