Apparently, we were not the only ones who were surprised by Saul’s sudden, redeeming Homeland plot twist this past Sunday. Mandy Patinkin, the award-winning actor and beard cultivator who portrays Saul on Showtime’s hit drama series told CBS News on Wednesday that he, too, was shocked by the twist.

In an incredible CBS This Morningsegment that will only boost Patinkin’s appeal to women 50 and over (your blogger’s mother included), the flannel-clad actor discussed his own reaction to Homeland’s recent left hook. “When I read what happened in the fourth episode, which was aired this past Sunday,” Patinkin explained, “I’m a very emotional person. I broke down and started crying, because I couldn’t get over the creativity of the writing team. I mean, I read that, and I had asked them not to tell me what was happening. I couldn’t believe what they’d done.”

Endearingly, he also explained that he was drawn to his character because of his father-daughter relationship with Claire Danes’s character. “I felt a great deal for someone struggling with bipolar issues in the midst of trying to maneuver the world toward peace, if possible,” he said. “And the writers—their 24, sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat business. [I]t really grew as it went along.” Talented, respectful of spoilers, andsensitive. Watch the entire CBS This Morning panel swoon over *Homeland’s *salt-and-peppered dreamboat below.

Related: HomelandRecap, Season Three, Episode Four: It’s O.K. to Love Saul Again!