RECAP:

Thanks to intel secretly slipped to her by Eyal, Annie gets an exciting lead: Khalid Ansari, a well-connected oil executive with terrorist ties, will be meeting with a prime CIA target named Kamal al Masri. When Joan rejects Annie's mission proposal, Annie boldly goes above Joan's head to Arthur to pitch the plan: get to Ansari and al Masri by turning Ansari's American girlfriend.

Annie makes contact with the girlfriend, Megan, who after much prodding by Annie reluctantly helps the CIA track Ansari to the compound where he's scheduled to meet with al Masri. Against Joan's instincts, a drone strike is ordered based largely on Annie's intel. But when the operation goes south, it puts Megan's life, CIA-Mossad relations, and Annie's promising career in danger.

Meanwhile, Annie and Joan's relationship is more factious than ever, and Auggie and Joan each face their own personal perils as Auggie gets a visit from his ex-fiancée Parker and Joan continues to struggle with her addiction. And despite her efforts to avoid burdening Arthur with her problem, Joan's reliance on former flame Seth for support puts her secret—and recovery—at risk.

 

PRODUCTION NOTES:

• You may have noticed a familiar name come up a second time in the credits for this episode, as Chris Gorham had the opportunity to serve double duty on this episode, making his debut as a television director! Although this was his first time helming an episode for the show, he previously directed this season's webisodes, as well as the behind-the-scenes "Globe Tracker" featurettes from season two.
  
  
• Even though all of our main cast were firmly planted in Washington, D.C. for this episode, there was still an opportunity for a small amount of international filming, as the footage Arthur, Joan, and Annie are watching of the failed drone strike (and the subsequent chase into the market) was filmed in Jordan.
  
  
• One of the tricks necessary for a complicated production is finding creative ways to maximize the use of a single location. In "Man in the Middle", the crew used the Thompson hotel in Toronto to portray both the D.C. hotel and bar where Annie approaches Megan Carr, as well as (using another part of the hotel) the conference and club where Megan (in flashback) first met Khalid Ansari.