What seemed at just a bad secondary story line involving a daughter and a hit and run accident – a left turn right out of second season “Friday Night Lights” – finally started paying off Sunday on “Homeland.”

But who would have guessed it was the thing that drove Brody into near breaking?

He’s been through a lot, this soldier, not the least of which was years of torture and an incident that turned him against his own country. Now he’s a double agent and scarcely able to do both very well.

When Dana decided she was going to come clean and tell the cops, the politicians and CIA both intervened. Is everyone corrupted in her world? She began the episode  by taking the “blue route” bus (again, nonexistent in the D.C. area) to Mike’s house, just to kind of hang out with an adult she trusts.

Mike, having been told to stay out of the Brody affair, welcomed her in but wondered what it was all about. Jess was plenty mad at Brody for the ethical mess that was made for their daughter, and their heated argument made him snap in a way he never did while in uniform.

That made him late for a key meeting with Roya. She was going to introduce him to this Hamas operative who was behind the Gettysburg massacre, but he left by the time Brody got there. Roya and Brody argued and he suddenly announced, “I’m through.”

This is not good for the CIA that has watching closely – Brody is the only connection they have to the terrorist cell planning something immanent. It’s not good for Roya either. “Quitting is not an option,” she advised him.

Carrie was following it all fall apart in surveillance, and took it upon herself to keep it from all falling apart. “You think I care what happens to me anymore?” he said when she caught up with him. “I care even if you don’t,” she said.

Then she took the keys to his SUV and drove the two of them to an out of the way motel where she convinced him to stick with the plan, and not incidentally, has a go with him on the hotel bed as well.

“She’s trying to repair the situation,” Saul said, trying to explain it to David Estes, who was ready to shut the whole thing down.

Their torrid tryst provided some entertainment to the whole CIA surveillance team, but each of the participants later explained it the same way: She was trying to keep him on track, she told Saul. He was trying to lure her in, he told Roya.

Meanwhile Dana stayed at Mike’s a little longer and had him drop her at Columbia Heights (though it looked more like southwest D.C.) so she could see the family of the woman she and Finn had hit and killed.

The daughter remembered her from her odd hospital visit and was not so happy to see her again. In fact, she told Dana to keep her mouth shut about the accident or her own payoff will be jeopardized. Dana, dazed, realized everybody in the world has been paid off to shut up about this thing. Justice would never be served.

The next day, Brody called Roya to apologize and indicated he was back in the fold. Soon after, she confronted him in the Congressional office building parking garage and tells him to drive them out in the middle of nowhere – so far away it was nighttime by the time they get there.

She knew a lot about what was happening in his life – who he called, where he stayed. It almost looked like the charade was over.

Carrie had followed this unexpected motorcade at a distance but could not figure out what was going on after they stopped. The Hamas operative suddenly appeared and took hold of Brody. He marched him into a field as if it were time for another assassination.

Once more against Quinn’s orders, Carrie got out of her vehicle and tried to get a look at what was happening, her blonde hair flashing like a flare in the rural night.

But instead of a killing, a helicopter flew in and they pushed Brody in. He was being pushed roughly after they land. Then a car pulled up and a clean shaven man approached: It’s the terrorist kingpin Abu Nazir in America.

Fade to black.

Pretty good scene setting for the impending action against the U.S. Good way to dismiss the hit and run thing. Good excuse to get Carrie and Brody to hook up again.

But now Mike’s back in the mix and the whole CIA is against Carrie’s method except the long suffering Saul. And Dana’s going to need a little time to shake this whole mess.