Courtesy of Showtime
Sooo…every show gets a mulligan right?
Let’s bitch it out…Well folks, that was not great. There are going to be a few lemons/turds in every television show, and this one felt especially ludicrous. I’m not denying the fact that yes, pacemakers can be affected via remote control (Vulture found a few references here and there), but there was nothing particularly satisfying in watching Brody (Damian Lewis) sneak into the VP’s (Jamie Sheridan) office and then watch him expire as a junior terrorist/lab tech watched heart lines on a monitor.
Even the earlier moments of the episode feel far too familiar, as anyone who ever watched 24 has seen the kidnapped person ransomed for ridiculous terrorist plot a million times before. Is it more insane that Abu Nazir (Navid Negahban) is apparently driving around doing his own hit-and-runs, or that he actually lets Carrie (Claire Danes) go? Let’s just be honest, shall we? In real life she’d most likely still be tied to that pipe with a bullet in her brain.
The problem with this hour is that it doesn’t feel meaty enough. There’s certainly urgency from the time that Carrie goes missing to the moment Brody decides he does love her enough to sneak into the VP’s office. But everything else feels tedious, including the “where do we stand fight” Brody has with Jess (Morena Baccarin) and the return of Finn (Timothée Chalamet) who wants to reminiscent about how much it sucks that they killed that woman that one time. Sure, whatever, dude…but hey life is hard, right? Blah!
Courtesy of Showtime
Other Observations:
- What’s happening with Saul (Mandy Patinkin) is infinitely more interesting. After tracking down Quinn’s (Rupert Friend) handler, Dar Adul (F. Abraham Murray), Saul gets confirmation that he’s a black ops guy who’s on the team for some reason. When a confirmation with Estes (David Harewood) gets testy, Saul soon finds himself being escorted away by security. Hmm…looks like Saul’s been asking the wrong questions
- Tied into these shady CIA dealings (and building off the near-fatal ending of last week’s episode), as soon as Carrie calls in Nazir’s location, Quinn and Estes exchange a look. It could be about Saul, but it could also be about being free to get rid of Brody
- Jess and Mike (Diego Klattenhoff) should just run away and be happy. I’m bored of watching them fight their attraction and it’s long past adding something to the show
- Anyone else think that Chris (Jackson Pace) is a) going to turn out to be a terrorist or b) need some serious therapy? Or c) both!
- Finally, like an impulsive idiot, Carrie runs back to the mill with…a wrench? The episode ends as she disappears through a darkened door. It’s almost like a choose your own adventure. What will she find next week behind door number one?!
Best Lines:
- Dar Adul (to Saul): “Christ I miss the Cold War.” Is this James Bond?
- Nazir (to Carrie, about Brody): “You love him, too. We have that in common.”
- Brody (to VP): “You still don’t get it, do you? I’m killing you.” Fair enough.
So that kinda blew. How did you feel about the episode? Intrigued by what will happen with Saul? Or Carrie? What happens now that Brody’s political career is essentially over? Where does the show go left with its remaining two episodes? Speculate away below
Homeland airs Sundays at 10pm EST on Showtime