Well, after all my talk about being disconnected and detached from Homeland in my review last week, I have to say that this week’s episode, “A Red Wheelbarrow,” is easily the most compelling episode of Homeland’s third season. Last night was the most emotionally invested I’ve felt in Homeland since the season two finale. All the makings of what helped Homeland become one of my favorite series on TV over the past two years was there; the stakes were raised, emotions were high, and the episode ending twist of Saul flying out to presumably rescue Brody (even though I will definitely need some clarification on what led up to it next week) all but erased the disgusting taste of Dana and Leo’s storyline from my mouth.
The main reason why last night’s episode was so much better than anything else we’ve seen so far this year from Homeland was that the important character emotions and motivations were interwoven with the high-octane spy stuff. While Carrie constantly risking everything for Brody may be getting a little tired, her sprinting across the parking lot to stop Franklin from shooting the real Langley bomber (which then forces Quinn to shoot her in the shoulder under Dar’s orders) and her subsequent ambulance ride to the hospital with Quinn after works because it combines the two worlds of Carrie’s life, the personal with the professional, and it makes everything (her and Saul’s operation, Brody’s innocence, and even her pregnancy) feel more urgent. This sense of urgency has been missing for much of Homeland‘s third season, and since we are now eight episodes into it, I would say that this urgency has come into the show a little; too late.
However, when Carrie yells at Quinn in the truck as they head towards the hospital about how something is off, how there’s something bigger at work here, I couldn’t help but get incredibly excited. One of the main reasons why the first season of Homeland is so great is because of Carrie’s determination to succeed and her constant, unwavering belief that she is right. During that debut season, it was Carrie against the world, and almost no one was there to help her. Now, with Franklin murdering the bomber, thus appearing to disobey Bennett’s orders, something clearly feels off here, and Homeland now has me believing again that Carrie is the only one who can figure this all out again (whatever this actually is) and that has me chomping at the bit to see what happens in next week’s episode.
Aside from Carrie’s attempts to help exonerate Brody, two other personal storylines that become mixed up with the more CIA aspects of the series are Mira’s ex-lover (whose name I believe is Alain) turning out to be someone who is using Mira to spy on Saul, and Fara (still shaken by Javadi’s release and the horrible atrocities that he committed before he was let go) not going into work at the CIA and instead staying home to take care of her sick father.
I’m not too sure where the storyline with Alain and Mira will go. I really enjoyed the scenes between Saul and Mira in last night’s episode, as we watched them attempt to get back to a happier place in their marriage, but Alain’s deception feels like a very unnecessary twist, unless it’s going to have some huge payoff down the road.
On the other hand, I was very happy to spend more time with Fara, as we got to learn more about her life outside of the agency (her father is ill and believes that she works at an investment bank). While the scenes with her did not really contribute anything major to the central plot, they helped solidify Fara as a character. She is someone who is new to the agency and obviously still very troubled by these acts of violence, events that Saul, Quinn, and Carrie can just shrug off as unfortunate but sometimes necessary parts of the job. Fara’s reluctance to return to work in the face of this makes me like her even more than I first did, but it also makes me wonder if she will become hardened by everything going on around her by the end of this season. Will the operations that she is a part of and the things that she must see become something that she just learns to deal with, or will it cause her to retreat even further away from the CIA? If the agent that comes to her front door during the episode and essentially intimidates her into going back work is any indication, it’s probably going to be the former.
And what of Nicholas Brody? I still have no idea how Homeland expects to bring Brody back into the central plot. Even though the Langley bombing cover up has been getting more focus over the past two episodes, I’m uncertain of how the writers will manage to actually have Carrie and company clear Brody’s name. And all this makes me wonder what Saul needs Brody for. And how did he know where he is? And where did he get that $10 million? (Probably from the president’s chief of staff.)
But, hey, having a ton of questions that need answering has pretty much always been a good thing for Homeland. It worked so much throughout the first season, and while season three has absolutely no chance of reaching those creative heights (or even the awesomeness that was much of season two), it’s at a much better place than it was just last week.
Other thoughts:
I’m still not sure if I trust Dar, especially since he has this connection to Bennett. I feel like this relationship might be a lot more important than Homeland is telling us right now.
If Bennett told Franklin to get the bomber out of the country but Franklin killed the bomber instead, is Bennett not as in charge as we think he is? Is Franklin possibly working for someone else?
This is the second straight episode without any sightings or mentions of the Brodys. While I’m sure more scenes featuring them are on their way (especially with Saul bringing Brody back into the fold), I have to say that it’s been pretty refreshing without them these past couple of weeks.
Some of the shots in this episode were absolutely stunning, specifically the one of Carrie entering the church for her second meeting with Franklin.
While I’m so happy with Homeland‘s improvement over the past couple of weeks, I can’t help but be angry that it’s taken us eight episodes this season for me to reach a point where I’m truly excited to see what’s going to happen in the next episode. The pacing for this third season and the withholding and misdistribution of information to the audience has really caused some major issues.
What did everyone else think of last night’s episode of Homeland?
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