Let me preface what I’m about to say with the fact that I really enjoyed this week’s episode of Homeland. The central focus of this season (the conspiracy plot occurring in Pakistan) is incredibly intriguing, and I am excited about Homeland‘s promising and re-energized start to season four.
All the being said, I’m not sure exactly what the Homeland writers are thinking as they attempt to introduce a new romance into the series between Carrie and Quinn. Homeland just killed Brody off in the season three finale, and so many of the problems found within that season can be traced back to the relationship between Brody and Carrie, which had exhausted its worth and begun to feel like the show’s biggest weakness when it used to be its greatest strength.
I want to be clear: I completely buy Quinn’s feelings for Carrie and am also completely okay with him having this revelation. This a development that I think Homeland has been building towards since Carrie and Quinn were first introduced to one another back in season two. However, what I do not need or want from Homeland is the series attempting to smother me again with romance, which is exactly what lines like, “Whoever Carrie is, she’s a lucky girl,” do. They feel unnatural, written, and completely forced, and if you want your viewers to not only believe but root for a romance between two characters, that’s not how you start it.
The somewhat forced nature of Carrie and Quinn aside, Quinn’s reunion with Carrie, Fara, and the gang in Pakistan should be interesting, especially with the new intel that he uncovers–that someone from Pakistani Intelligence helped orchestrate Sandy’s death–from watching the YouTube video of the ambush over and over again. The discovery that Quinn makes here is something that the show has done a great deal of in the past with Carrie’s character, when they have her traumatized and transfixed on something for so long that it both haunts her, thus giving the past storyline significant weight while also pushing the current story forward. It doesn’t feel like a retread here, however, and lot of that is due to the performance of Rupert Friend, who is doing a great job in his elevated role this season.
And with Quinn now coming to Pakistan, it will be interesting to see where he fits into the operation that Carrie is undergoing with her own secret team, unbeknownst to anyone in the embassy. The first step of this mission–interacting with Aayan and initiating a second meeting–does not work out initially with Fara, but that’s absolutely fine because it leads to the scene between Aayan and Carrie, which is the standout of episode. Carrie acts both sympathetic and reassuring to Aayan, intimidating and comforting him, and even gives off some type of seductive vibe as well. It’s scenes like these that remind us just how good Carrie is at her job, which helps allow her to get away with all her other off-putting and sometimes even dangerous behavior on the job.
Ultimately, “Shalwar Kameez,” much like the second hour of last week’s two-part premiere, feels like a piece of what Homeland can be this season without being the full thing. Hopefully, with Quinn getting back into the fold and Saul even possibly joining the team somehow (I mean, come on, he’s got to–you’re not going to waste Mandy Patinkin or his beard), next week’s episode will provide the full picture of what season four can accomplish. So far, though, I like most of the pieces of the portrait we have been given.
Other thoughts:
– I think it should be a punishable offense to give us Max (who is great by the way) and not even give us one update on Virgil. Remember all the Virgil we got in season one of Homeland? Those were the good old days, man.
– For the record, I think I could totally get onboard with a Carrie/Quinn romance but just not right now with Brody’s death still lingering around the show and so many other more interesting storylines to explore. Also, side note: Rupert Friend’s reaction when Carrie tells Quinn that she loves him was some really, really great acting.
– Saul’s backstory with the ambassador was interesting. Makes me curious if it will come back into play later this season. In other Saul-related news, he looks so sad. Can we please just reinstate him now?
– Sorry about the lateness of this review. I review both Homeland and Boardwalk Empire on Sundays, and with Boardwalk being in its final season, that has to take precedent right now.
What did everyone else think of last night’s episode of Homeland?
Photo via Showtime
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