Homeland

Season 2 Episode 4

New Car Smell

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New Car Smell
9.3
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Episode Summary

Following a secret debrief from Saul, a stunned Estes authorizes a covert operation to pursue intel recovered in Beirut - but not without putting his own trusted operative in charge. Brody, still reeling from his misadventures, gets another shock when he runs into Carrie at Langley. A casual invitation to bury the hatchet turns into an encounter neither of them could have foreseen. And Dana discovers she has something in common with Finn Walden, the Vice President's son.

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TV.com Episode Review

  • Homeland "New Car Smell" Review: The Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning? 35

    Homeland "New Car Smell" Review: The Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning?

    I can't say I'm totally at ease with where Homeland is going after its recent string of bizarre events, and the whopper in "New Car Smell" continued to tempt my confidence. But that was exactly the point of the episode.

    By Tim Surette, Oct 22, 2012

    • Fan Episode Reviews (11)

    SUBMIT REVIEW

    • Is it over for Brody?

      9.0
      By DexterMorgan2, May 10, 2013
      After the previous episode Saul knows about Brody and he takes immediate action but before they arrest Brody they need to know what Brody is planning and who he is planning it with That means using Carrie and normally every time she comes into contact with Brody bad things happen It was the ending that made this episode as good as it was when Carrie goes too far again by telling Brody what she knows and who knows what Brody would've done if Brody wasn't arrested Now I don't know what will happen with Brody getting arrested but I can't wait to find out.moreless

    • New Car Smell

      7.5
      By thefanof, Jan 05, 2013
      A bit of a drawn out episode before the capture, but it proved to be full of strong writing and for once the show actually lived up to its billing as the pace, acting and direction was Emmy-worthy. Not a great episode, but a good one, and one necessary to move the show forward.

    • Boring

      3.0
      By mobilehead, Dec 26, 2012
      Extremely boring episode with just a twist by the end, I guess the show is jumping the shark unless it did it already.

    • Full Throttle

      9.5
      By Neksmater, Oct 26, 2012
      Things really kicked into gear this week in Homeland, even Dana's romance with the VP's son was darling to behold. Brody goes to get his car refreshened so that it doesn't smell of the storekeeper's smoke from last week. Estes gets shown the taped confession by Saul and reluctantly agrees to put an outside surveillance team on Brody and a tail and this operation effectively brings Carrie back into the CIA's fold once again. Estes's son is adorable as his Darth Vader costume and Saul's remark of "I like him." At least David is willing to admit he was wrong and actually admitted how deep he is in the VP's pocket since he can't go to him and say that he didn't know about Brody's terrorist affiliation or that he is and was wrong before so he has to do the operation off the books. Estes sends a guy to oversee the op with Carrie, Virgil, and Virgil's brother being included on the team. They begin the watch Brody and get the idea to have Carrie be at the CIA headquarters when Brody goes there for a meeting that afternoon and have her drop a hint about going after Nazir to make him make contact with his contact which we all know is Roya. When going through Brody's day until he goes back to his office they narrow it down by profiling people down to a small group of Middle Eastern and African descent which Saul calls "actual profiling" which I'm not sure I agree with but in this instance they're right. Roya isn't immediately suspected right away so they will have to dig a little deeper to find her roots to Nazir and she probably has a deep cover being that's how she got to Brody in the first place. Carrie butts heads the overseeing analyst of the op, Quinn, since he's reluctant of her techniques given her "reputation." But her running into Brody leads her to apologize and him to accept and apologize himself and say he's happy to her back on her feet although the news about her being reinstated does seem to shake him at least internally, damn does Damian Lewis have a great poker face. At his hotel, after him being unable to be honest with Jess over his true activities the night he missed the charity function Brody calls Carrie to keep him company. He buys her a drink and they have heart to heart where he apologizes and feels bad about calling Estes last season. He retreats upstairs and Carrie believes that she may have blown it and Brody will scare any other Nazir operatives through some obscure signal so she forces the CIA team into his room after she goes up there by herself despite Quinn's insistence against it. Brody saying he just wanted to be friends was heartfelt with how he really feels about Carrie and her admitting that she fell in love with him was a full circle this show needed but wasn't expected at this point. Brody being finally called out as a traitor and a terrorist and being dragged away in handcuffs with a black bag over his head was something that we all knew would happen this season. With the announcement of third season renewal I remain skeptical as always as to what happens between now and then? Will Homeland continue its formula in dismantling different Nazir networks or will Season 2 be the last of Nazir and the third season be the start of a whole new two season arc story? I don't know, but Homeland is strikingly good even in its second season and as we move into Phase Two with Brody outed and presumably going to be interrogated and taken to Guantanamo or allowed to be flipped and work against Nazir for the CIA remains to be seen.moreless

    • Great!

      9.0
      By chris0478, Oct 26, 2012
      Almost crapped myself last episode season 1, love to see how this develops. Double agent?
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    Cast & Crew: STARS

    Claire Danes

    Claire Danes

    Carrie Mathison
    Damian Lewis

    Damian Lewis

    Nicholas Brody
    Morena Baccarin

    Morena Baccarin

    Jessica Brody
    Morgan Saylor

    Morgan Saylor

    Dana Brody
    Mandy Patinkin

    Mandy Patinkin

    Saul Berenson
    See All Cast & Crew

    Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

    Sarita Choudhury

    Sarita Choudhury

    Mira Berenson

    Guest Star

    Taylor Kowalski

    Taylor Kowalski

    Xander

    Guest Star

    Marc Menchaca

    Marc Menchaca

    Lauder Wakefield

    Guest Star

    Rupert Friend

    Rupert Friend

    Peter Quinn

    Recurring Role

    Jamey Sheridan

    Jamey Sheridan

    Vice President William Walden

    Recurring Role

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    Season 2 Episodes

    See All
    Ep 12
    The Choice
    Ep 11
    In Memoriam
    Ep 10
    Broken Hearts
    Ep 9
    Two Hats
    Ep 8
    I'll Fly Away
    Ep 7
    The Clearing
    Ep 6
    A Gettysburg Address
    Ep 5
    Q&A
    Ep 4
    New Car Smell
    Ep 3
    State of Independence
    Ep 2
    Beirut is Back
    Ep 1
    The Smile

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