As Barry has respected her wishes not to contact her while she's away, Molly, without forewarning to anyone in the family, returns to Abuddin from therapy, that surprise which places a crimp in Barry and Daliyah's romantic life. Molly has come to terms with certain aspects of her life while she focuses on two main issues as priorities: being a mother to Sammy, and seeing that Ihab is killed. In secret, Barry too has made this battle with the Caliphate solely an issue of killing Ihab as revenge for he killing Emma. With Sheik Abdullah dead, Ihab, in return, can now openly also make this battle one as revenge for Barry killing Samira. As such, Barry is willing to go to war with the Caliphate on any pretense made by Ihab to do so. Barry's military and political advisors, official and unofficial, may have some say in the matter. In Syria, Mahdiya has volunteered to be a suicide bomber as a martyr in the name of the cause, and so that she and Ihab can be together in their next life. Her question becomes whether she can accomplish her assigned mission. Meanwhile, Leila and General Cogswell are both attending a NATO terrorism conference in Dresden, individually but together in secret. This conference allows them a short respite to a certain freedom they cannot feel while in Abuddin. These items as a collective may have a profound effect on the upcoming elections, for which Leila, in her coalition with Al-Qadi, is now leading in the polls.
—Huggo