Carrie (Claire Danes) and Reda (Patrick Sabongui) consult Sekou (J. Mallory McCree), asking about the $5,000 under his mattress.
Saad admits that he was a gang member who turned informant when arrested, and that his handler, Special Agent Conlin (Dominic Fumusa), had him strike up a relationship with Sekou and offer him the money.
When Carrie returns home, Quinn asks to be shown the video of him being exposed to sarin gas, claiming to have no memory of the incident.
The episode received a rating of 100% with an average score of 7.74 out of 10 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with the site's consensus stating "'The Man in the Basement' boasts grounded performances and political commentary as a setup for a potential epic showdown.
[2] The Baltimore Sun's Ethan Renner wrote "I've thought for a long time that Claire Danes is the best actress on television, and she showed why again here, turning average material into a great performance".