Homeland Season 2 Episode 7

An ok episode but one that highlighted the weakest point of Homeland for me; the characters and their duality. In my opinion, this series has need for some time to clarify it's character.

Carrie can't be a respected CIA agent and an emotional mess. Brody can't be a constantly disturbed double agent while never slipping up when with people that matter. Saul can't be a aged experienced agent who is unable to cope with a suicide. Jess can't keep hearing all this bad news without cracking up.

Right now, the only believable character for me is Quinn, and we have so little backstory on him.

To be a great show, it needs believable characters. I doubt Carrie's emotional issues would even allow her to be a store security guard. So how are we supposed to believe she is this toughened, experienced intelligence agent?

I love Homeland, really, really love it but this episode was was definitely the low point of the series for me. Still a great watch but sadly not as good as the episodes that went before it.

Following Gettysburg last week Roya approaches Brody saying that they got out what the tailor was holding for Nazir out safely and since there was no radiation that could mean there could be enough C4 to blow up any large building in DC. Quinn gets up out of his hospital bed really quickly but I somehow buy his quick fix thanks to how many painkillers he pops over the episode and a gunshot typically incapacitating someone for days even one like that. The news that Galvez is dying but not dead is good to hear even though he probably won't make it out. Brody and the family stay the weekend at one of the beneficiaries of Waldon's upcoming campaign for president's manor. Brody's scene with the also former soldiers was touching particularly Brody talking to Carrie and saying that he admired the man's ability of not having let his service overseas change who he was whereas Brody flipped and completely changed when he came back. The chemistry between Brody and Carrie remains a strong point of the show. Dana and Finn agree to tell their parents about the hit and run after Dana had gone to the funeral. Dana tells Jess and Finn's mom about it and Finn's mom says that she'll handle it which basically equates it to brushing it under the rug. She goes to Brody with it and he sides with Jess that they should tell the police themselves going around Waldon and his political channels. Saul visits the blonde no brunette terror suspect from last year whom he took from Mexico to Langley with the picture of the man who assaulted and killed the federal agents in Gettysburg and she claims to know him. The condition is that she wants a room with a window since she doesn't want to go back to her hole in the wall of a cell and Saul tries to go to the warden but he is a major douche and so Saul goes over his head and gets it in writing with the Attorney General and she gives him a name. FBI in Newark go to the address of the name she gave him but it isn't the guy, instead he's a grad student of music that she had known before being locked up and she just wanted a day with a window. She then kills herself by I think cutting an artery in her neck, they never saw or show it and even EMT says, "Damn," meaning she cut deep wherever it was. Her connection to Saul was believable but tragic as he later admits it was sloppy and she made them waste resources and time on a dead end. Estes is Brody's babysitter at the manor for the weekend and Brody is upset when the benefactor wants him to be the VP and even suggest his own stint at the Presidential seat in eight years post-Waldon. Brody goes to take Dana to the police to confess but Carrie goes to stop him since in doing so he would alienate Waldon and Brody would no longer be close to the campaign or Roya Hamad and he would have no deal with the CIA. He flip-flops on Dana and says that they'll do it another time and Dana calls him full of crap and she runs away and Brody yells at Carrie that "this is not ok!" It isn't and this episode really exposed the "glossing over" as Jess puts it of crimes in politicians lives. Never mind that they killed someone, we're running for office and while Waldon's ambition would be a turn on for some, I admire that Brody said "F**k it" and went to take his daughter to do the right thing as a real parent should. Finn remains unexpressive and in his little ivory tower but it is tragic seeing as what I thought Waldon's wife meant by "handling it" was by saying that it was all Dana's fault for the collision not Finn's. Another great episode of Homeland and the revelation of Tom Walker being disclosed to Jess was a big twist and Mike being told off by Carrie on behalf of the CIA once again was salt in the wound for the poor guy and he even denies that he is in love with Jess even though he totally is and will be for an indeterminate amount of time. Seeing Brody caught up in this storm of politics really show us the realism of being a double agent and the stress that it can have on someone so bravo to the writers. Quinn remained an ass, and Saul sarcastically calling him "a real diplomat" made me chuckle. But since we're moving into the second half of the season now we can see the crunch of Nazir's plan unfold especially since he hasn't been shown on screen anyways for quite a few episodes now, not very many appearances for the antagonist of the show don't you think? Or are the writers of Homeland telling us that evil is relative like they did in Season 1 with Waldon's drone strike? Either way it's nice to see Damian Lewis unchained sort of from all of his lies and finally express himself, to an extent, for the first time in the run of the show. While the identity of the man who shot up the tailor shop in Gettysburg is still on the loose we have a lot of threads still hanging before we leave our characters when the season bows in December.

I haven't been disappointed with any episodes so far, including this one. I really liked the episode as it adds to the rich diversity of the story by revealing more of the characters than might be expected. Spending time on Brody's daughter seems more than in keeping with the shows story arc. She is a thoughtful young woman who idolises her Dad, who gets carried away with affairs of the heart like lots of teenagers but reflects on the values she has been taught to respect. The difference between right and wrong, between selfishness and deep concern for others. I watched the last few shows with a friend of mine and he immediately went ballistic when the Teens decided to leave the scene of the collision. After this episode he commented that he admired the daughter for realising her mistake and her bravery at fessing up. He said he hoped his daughter would do the same. I'm sure lots of other parents responded in a similar fashion.

Finally, in response to those who didn't like the show my view is simple; I expect some episodes to be edgy, some to be dramatic, some to be deep, and some to be thrilling. I don't expect all of these aspects in one episode even though many hollywood producers feel they have to give us the full chocolate box of emotions while they have our attention. Unlike those other shows Homeland 's producers go for the long haul and avoid manipulating the teleplay to ensure there is a mega-cliffhanger to end each episode. Of course it is a fiction but keeping the teleplay grounded in reality and the characters as normal as possible wins my vote every time.

The episode gets a 10 for the swimming pool scene alone... I like the sidestory with the kids, allthoug it seems idiotic to try and cover up something like that up. And what will Brodys wife think when she hears that Carrie is back at the CIA? Well, the are definitly moving things forward fast...

Another fantastic episode, but when things go wrong why does Estes always sends Carrie to fix the problem when he doesn't really trust her anyway. Love this show.