The tension and stakes have indeed been turned up to max volume in The Veil Season 1 Episode 5.

It took about five episodes to get there, but audiences are finally feeling things come to a head in the latest episode.

Any hope for Imogen and Adilah's budding friendship is just about dashed without the episode starting with Adilah taking off while Imogen slept.

We can't blame her, though. Things took a turn for the very real and dangerous at the end of The Veil Season 1 Episode 4 when the women came under fire after Imogen found Adilah and Emir chit-chatting.

It wasn't clear who exactly was doing the shooting as it could've easily been either the French or American intelligence agencies.

Since neither tried to apprehend Imogen or Adilah at the women's apartment, it's safe to say the assailants are likely terrorists or at least terrorist associates.

As if things weren't dire enough with Adilah sneaking out, she goes to meet Emir, who has been gaining more screen time with each episode.

Tell your people she's wearing black jeans and a green jacket. I know because they are my clothes, and I know what's missing because I make it a point to be somewhat decent at my job.

Imogen

• Permalink: Tell your people she's wearing black jeans and a green jacket. I know because they are my...

However, it looks like his soft touch toward Adilah is starting to roughen up as he informs Her that it is high time she proves she isn't working as an informant for Imogen by killing the MI6 agent.

I will still help you, but you have to prove your loyalty. She has to be killed, and you have to do it. Today.

Emir

• Permalink: I will still help you, but you have to prove your loyalty. She has to be killed, and you have...

Up until The Veil Season 1 Episode 3, it wasn't exactly clear what Adilah was up to, but now, with all the cards on the table, it's apparent that she is fully involved in the terrorist organization.

Still, her identity as the "Djinn al Raqqa" is in question as Emir continues to drop hints about how far Adilah is willing to take things to see their plan come to fruition.

Emir: Adilah, the organization, our commanders, everyone thinks you've gone to the other side. I don't want to, but it's hard for me not to. Are you an informant for the British agent?
Adilah: No, it's not true. You tell them that it's not true. I'm only using her to find out what they know and I'm using her as a shield for protection. She's working with the Americans. If I don't stay with her, they will find me, and they will capture me. And we will not be able to go through with the plan

• Permalink: No, it's not true. You tell them that it's not true. I'm only using her to find out what they...

Although, if anyone is going through it in this episode, it would be Max.

The CIA agent can't catch a break between Adilah dropping out of sight, which leads to a heinous overreach of government powers.

I would like to suggest a course of action which is both illegal and, some would say, immoral but which I believe is our only chance of preventing this attack in time. We kidnap the target's daughter and use her as leverage to apprehend and interrogate the target using every tactic at our disposal.

Max

• Permalink: I would like to suggest a course of action which is both illegal and, some would say, immoral...

Then, even after his plan gets approved, he loses track of Adilah's daughter and aunt. That's going to be mentioned when his performance review comes up.

There's been nothing redeeming about Max, to the point that he even leaves a bad taste in some American viewers' mouths.

Who do these cowboys think they are?

Magritte

• Permalink: Who do these cowboys think they are?

He's not so bad if you see him as the comic relief between all the gunfire and espionage.

Then there's poor Malik, who is being pulled every which way by Imogen, the DGSE, and the Americans.

Malik: That woman is a monster. A murderer. She is not your friend.
Imogen: You see, it's not my job to think of her as a monster, or a saint. It's my job to get her to tell me what she knows. It's my job to save these people's lives. And I failed at that too.

• Permalink: You see, it's not my job to think of her as a monster, or a saint. It's my job to get her to...

The French intelligence agent can't even have a lovely birthday dinner with his family without someone calling his phone with more bad news.

Not to mention, Max did him dirty by telling all the tea about Malik and Imogens to both the American and the French intelligence agencies.

He's definitely not there to make friends, but that's hardly shocking when he says things like, "Everyone works for us, eventually."

The show accurately introduced the characters by having him immediately get into a pissing contest with Malik in the middle of an airport of all places in The Veil Season 1 Episode 1.

He's definitely making waves and a name for himself with the French and the British.

Speaking of Britannia, Imogen has a lot of nerve to accuse anyone of being duplicitous when every episode creates more questions than answers about the MI6 agent.

The show has made it a visual point to reference her past without any follow-through.

We get mere glimpses that are detached and don't paint a clear picture of what from Imogen's past haunts her so much.

She's not shy to bottles of the brown stuff as she woke up with her face pressed against the classified documents about her father that she fell asleep reading while drinking.

That said, she jumped right into action when she realized Adilah had fled the apartment and managed to stay one step ahead of Max and Malik, regardless of their help.

At least viewers understood one thing about the British operative: She either has or had a child at some point.

Do you think you're the only woman in the entire world who has ever loved a child and can't be with them? Do you think you're the only person in life to have experienced this? I have an idea. Why don't you try not becoming a terrorist and see if that improves your parenting skills?

Imogen

• Permalink: Do you think you're the only woman in the entire world who has ever loved a child and can't...

While that's the only clear answer about Imogen's past, it at least clarifies why she acted so weird about motherhood in The Veil Season 1 Episode 2.

Everyone's cards are now on the table, and whatever plan the terrorist organization has planned for America is in motion.

With only one more episode to go, there's no way of knowing what will happen now.

The likelihood of whatever act of terrorism is underway being stopped is high, but at what cost? It could be Reservoir Dogs by the end with Imogen or Malik or even Adilah dead. 

Imogen seems like the kind of person who would have a martyr complex, as she doesn't appear all that inclined to return to whatever life she was living before this assignment.

It's Imogen. The woman will not fold.

Max

• Permalink: It's Imogen. The woman will not fold.

All of the characters's persona issues and drama aside, the main thing to worry about besides the bombing of an American harbor is the safety of Adilah's daughter.

Both sides see the young girl as a means to an end. While she and her aunt were supposedly smuggled to safety, it hasn't been completely confirmed that it was Imogen's doing.

She could've been pretending to get Adilah to work with her, as Imogen's motives are all over the place.

The next and final episode of The Veil will undoubtedly be intense and filled with stakes from beginning to end.

What do you think will happen between Imogen and Adilah in the finale? Will Adilah's daughter make it to safety?

Drop a comment to let us know, and join us here again when we review the finale!

Joshua Pleming is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. You can follow him on X.