Homeland had its second strong episode in a row last night with “One Last Time,” as Brody and Carrie were reunited and all the pieces Homeland has been setting up (even the misadventures of Dana Brody) appear to be coming together. However, my main question after last night’s episode of Homeland is will the culmination of all these storylines prove to be satisfying?
During “One Last Time,” Saul finally let Carrie (and us) in on what his main goal of the season has been. He plans to use Brody to infiltrate the high ranks of Iran’s government and to assassinate the Iranian leader, thus allowing Javadi the opportunity to seek more control of Iran. As Saul puts it, Javadi would be one of the three most influential people in the country rather than one of twenty-five and would allow for diplomatic discussions between the U.S. and Iran. In order to have this plan be successful, Saul needed to get Brody out of Caracas, help him beat his heroin addiction, retrain him to be the marine he once was, and convince him to go through with this mission by having Carrie speak with him.
The amount of things that Saul needs to go right in order for this operation to work out is plentiful, but that’s been true of Homeland this entire season. The majority of season three has been about place setting for each new phase of the season, much like Saul has been strategizing for each new part of his plan. Storylines and characters have continued to build and build on each other without much direction, and now that we are here and we finally have the focus and direction that I’ve been seeking for most of this season, there’s only three episodes left for Homeland to prove to me that it was all worth it.
I’m not saying that this season has been bad or that the setting up of all these story pieces has been a waste. My main point is that Homeland better have some pretty amazing moments saved up for its final three episodes, because unlike the excellently-paced first season and the crazily enjoyable craziness of season two, the lack of urgency during Homeland‘s third season has forced me to have a ton of expectations for this show. With each episode, I’m expecting that “wow” scene to just come out of nowhere and shock me, but I’m just not receiving it yet.
Thankfully, however, “One More Time” did provide really strong character moments, specifically between Carrie and Saul. The bubbling distrust between Carrie and Saul has been slowly reaching a boil since the beginning of this season. While both of them were “in” on the plot to turn Javadi, Carrie still questions Saul’s tactics and his willingness to sacrifice her life and her desires for what he perceives to be the good of the agency.
My favorite line from last night’s episode came from Carrie to Saul, as the two of them began to bicker again about where Carrie’s head is really at with regards to this operation. As Saul starts to wonder whether or not he can trust Carrie when it comes to Brody, she tells him that there would be no operation without her, that Brody wouldn’t have been able to get clean and do this mission without her insistence, and that if that doesn’t buy her his trust, what will? “Cause in order for this to work,” Carrie says to Saul, “we need to find a way to trust each other again. Or at least figure out a really good plan for faking it.” And that line to me sums up what Homeland has been and should have been even more focused on throughout this third season (the relationship between Carrie and Saul), and why the series is much more interesting to me when the emotional shots are being fired between important characters rather than real shots being fired at terrorists.
Other thoughts:
The scene between Dana and Brody at the hotel, the heartbreak on both of their faces and her promise that she would say whatever he wanted her to just as long as she never had to see him again, was incredibly powerful.
Just as emotionally strong was Carrie and Brody’s initial reunion, when she grabs his shoulder and says “Hey,” only to have Brody turn away in response. Similarly, I loved the fact that Carrie withheld from telling Brody about her pregnancy, even as he heads out for what very well could be a suicide mission. The last thing she says to him: “I’ll see you on the other side.”
Watching Brody suffer from the heroin withdrawal was really painful to watch and thus really well-done television.
Really liked Carrie and Brody’s conversation about how even though he wasn’t the Langley bomber, he still isn’t innocent. If he had told Dana that he was before agreeing to the Iran mission, it would have just been “one more lie.”
What did everyone else think about last night’s episode of Homeland? How do you feel about this season as a whole?
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