I (among other writers) have commented on how Homeland has effectively utilized slow-burn storytelling throughout its fifth season and how it’s led to a more consistent and compelling version of the series. Even in “Our Man in Damascus,” the penultimate episode of Season 5, Homeland still takes us through the investigatory parts of Carrie and Saul’s jobs, as she figures out the location of the terrorist attack thanks to the help of Hezbollah Commander Al-Amin, and he interrogates Marwan in an effort to discover more information. However, the steady movement of story and deliberate pacing have shown that Homeland does not need to rely on convoluted twists or shocks to keep the audience’s attention; by the time we get to Carrie running into the tunnel and Saul entering Allison’s empty hospital room at the end of the episode, both of these developments serve as nail-biting cliffhangers that will have us tuning in next week, and they also feel earned as realistic story avenues.
Everything throughout Homeland Season 5 has been perfectly constructed and connected; characters and details that didn’t seem majorly important when first introduced were given time to grow and breathe and play key roles in this penultimate episode. For example, Al-Amin, who made his brief entrance in the beginning of this season, comes back in “Our Man in Damascus” to help Carrie put the pieces together; she doesn’t learn that the train station is the target by chance but because of how she follows leads and uses her contacts. Homeland provides us with the step-by-step process, and it’s fascinating, therefore, making it much more satisfying when Carrie sees the terrorists at the station and tries to stop them at the end of the hour.
And then, of course, there’s Allison’s self-described “mutual” and “harmless” relationship with the Russians that we’ve been following for more than half the season, and while that storyline hadn’t yet tied in with Season 5’s terrorist plot, it does in this episode when Allison is ordered to let the attack against Berlin happen. The Russians want to see the gas released and hundreds, if not thousands, of people killed, because it will serve a “wake-up call to the West,” and in order to keep her freedom (and her millions of dollars), Allison goes along with their plan, staging a shootout in Dr. Aziz’s apartment, murdering the doctor and her bodyguard and wounding herself to give the lie some validity.
Allison’s connection to Ivan and the Russians has already been a major part of Homeland‘s fifth season, but by connecting it with the sarin gas attack in “Our Man in Damascus,” the spy drama solidifies it as this year’s most important story. Although Allison is not a true terrorist, her selfish and greedy behavior has been the cause of much of this season’s drama, and it’s a refreshing direction to see Homeland take, as the real villain of the story isn’t an American who’s become a “true believer” but an opportunist who has gotten way in over her head. As we saw in the flashbacks from “All About Allison,” Allison was never hated America or wanted to see innocent people die; all she ever desired was an escape from the emotionally exhaustive life that had beaten her down to such a point that she was so desperate for any type of relief.
What Homeland Season 5 has made clear is that even the seemingly best of actions can have unexpectedly horrifying consequences. Allison fought for America while in Iraq, but the constant losses she suffered helped mold her into someone that she never truly wanted to be. Saul let the BND bring Marwan in, but the agency’s extreme pressure and tactics led the man to take his own life. And while Carrie may be closing in on the terrorists orchestrating this terrible attack (if we’re to believe that Bibi is the one who jumped onto those train tracks), it may have cost the lives of Quinn, her contact, Esam, and many others in the process, reinforcing the dark, sad truth that whether you’re a “good guy” or not, innocent or not, no one is ever really safe in the ever-present war against terrorism.
Other thoughts:
- Saul’s reaction to Marwan’s suicide is some of the best acting that Mandy Patinkin has ever done on Homeland, and that’s saying a lot when you look at the performance he’s given over the past five seasons.
- So what do we think is going to happen to Laura in the finale? Is she going to get arrested, die, or will she somehow get away scot-free? And will whatever happens to her serve as a reflection of Homeland‘s philosophy/opinion regarding the “War on Terror”?
- An update on Quinn: he’s in pretty bad shape, but I’m still expecting him to make a (mostly) full recovery.
- Saul’s “F**k you” while watching Laura on TV is absolutely perfect.
What did everyone else think about this week’s Homeland, and what are you expecting from next week’s season finale? Comment below and let me know.
Photo credit: Stephan Rabold/Showtime]
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