In episode 11, “All In,” we find that Carrie(Claire Daines) is fully committed to saving the presidency, Saul(Mandy Patinkin) is trying to provide cover for the extraction plan, President Keane(Elizabeth Marvel) may be on her way out and Yevgeny is working to protect Simone. In the opening moments, Saul, Carrie, and their team arrive in Moscow for talks with their Russian counterparts, but it’s all part of the plan to provide cover for their team to extract Simone and bring her back to the United States. Yevgeny is unhappy with his superiors for agreeing to any talks because he knows exactly why the Americans are in Russia.

Senator Paley undermines the extraction plan

As we saw in last week’s episode, the extraction plan is simple. Saul and Carrie will meet with the Russians, including Yevgeny, and keep them distracted long enough for their extraction team to find and secure Simone. In the initial meeting, Yevgeny is not present. Saul lays out all that Yevgeny has done inside of the United States including murder, and Saul demands that he be present at the meetings. The Russians deny everything, even though they know it is all true. They agree to have Yevgeny come to the meetings, but he is angry to have to leave Simone.

Meanwhile, state-side, Senator Paley’s chief of staff figures out about the plan underway that could save the presidency and sink Paley’s plans.

She convinces the senator to inform Vice President Warner(Beau Bridges) of the secret operation in progress and that it will upset the Russians. Maybe his chief of staff is also working with the Russians?

So, even though Senator Paley now knows everything President Keane has been saying about the Russian plot is true, he would rather side against his own country than admit his Senate committee has it all wrong.

It all sounds too familiar to our real-life Russia troubles. Not only that, he commits treason by tipping off the Russian ambassador to Saul’s operation.

The operation goes FUBAR in Russia

After Senator Paley’s betrayal, word quickly gets back to Moscow about what Saul and Carrie are up to. The extraction team runs into an ambush while trying to reach Simone and they lose a man.

The plan is now down the tubes and Saul plans for a quick exit for the team out of Russia and back to the United States. But, of course, Carrie is all in as she always is once committed to an operation, and she comes up with a new plan. She convinces Saul to hack into the US accounts of a top Russian general and to steal his millions. They will hold the money as ransom until the general and the military wrestles Simone from Yevgeny and his Russian intelligence men and turns her over to the Americans.

The plan works (sort of) and as the Russian military raid the intelligence building to gain possession of Simone, creating chaos, Max, back at Saul’s US operations room, decides to spread information and images of the raid on the internet to create further distractions for the Russians.

This allows Carrie to gain entrance into the building amid the fighting. She reaches Simone and convinces her that she has now become expendable to the Russians and she agrees to go with Carrie.

Yevgeny realizes what is happening, but by the time he gets back to the room where Simone is being held, she is gone. Looking out of the window, he sees Simone being put in a car and he relays the information to his team. The only problem is that Carrie had another trick up her sleeve. She is now dressed as Simone with a wig and is in the car that Yevgeny was watching, and Simone is safely in a different car dressed as Carrie, also with a wig.

Things could be worse

Back in the US, Senator Paley has not only convinced Vice President Warner to disown Saul’s Russian operation, but he has also convinced him to implement the 25th Amendment and President Keane is removed from office, at least temporarily.

So, Saul and Carrie, have Simone, which will prove everything that President Keane has been saying about the Russians, and will also prove that Senator Paley, is at best case, an unwitting aid to the Russians. The big catch is that they are still in Russia about to be abandoned by their own government that they are trying to save.