This one reminded me of episode 4, which also functioned as a sort of one-and-done episode - the kind a newbie viewer could watch with no prior knowledge of the series. With the exception of Katherine Rhumor's scenes, which take place outside the API, this has all the trappings of a classic "bottle episode."
There's a leak in the building, says the FBI, and that means the American Policy Institute's building is getting locked down and the employees subjected to polygraph tests. This provides the writers an opportunity to get the characters off on their own, facing some of their own flaws one-on-one against no-nonsense FBI agents. It works well, and the actors all turn in great performances - especially Dallas Roberts as the nervous, neurotic analyst Miles Fiedler and Michael Cristofer as API director Truxton Spangler.
Will takes advantage of the lockdown to do some digging on his own. James Badge Dale sells Will's increasing frustration and disillusionment; he's come a long way from the passive, detached dude we saw in episode 1. He's got a tense confrontation with his supervisor Kale Ingram in this episode; Arliss Howard's performance continues to be commanding and mysterious.
The icing on the cake is the procedural element of the episode. Will's team shows how good they are at intel analysis, even when the FBI cuts them off from the case files they need. I don't know of any other shows that portrays the occupation of intelligence analyst like this, where masses of HUMINT, SIGNIT, and more have to be compiled together and turned into reports that actually tell a narrative about what is happening in foreign countries. These are the people without whom American spies could not do their jobs, and it's a great workplace setting for a show centered on a conspiracy. Very, very well done.
