Homeland has been dividing viewers in 2013, the slow pace of last weeks episode certainly surprised viewers. Can it redeem itself? Nikole Gunn takes a look at last nights episode.
Hallelujah, praise the lord!! Homeland has found its mojo. Just as I was
about to write off the show as a victim of the season 3 ‘blahs’, the producers
have pulled it out of the fire. Game on, indeed!
But I’m getting
ahead of myself. Let’s hit rewind. But be warned. There are spoilers ahead.
Almost from the
opening scene, the pace has picked up. Carrie is still the psychiatric
facility. Saul and Farah are still following the money. Dana Brody is still
being a ‘rebel without a cause other than pissing off her mother’.
But there has been
a subtle shift between episodes 3 and 4. The introduction of multiple
characters, including some old familiar faces, keep things humming along. The
editing is snappy. The dialogue is sharp. It’s just like old times. Hallelujah!
Carrie faces an
assessment hearing that could see her check out, until the mysterious Dar Adal
appears on the scene and her release goes up in smoke. The Department of
Justice has decided she’s a security risk and she’s not going anywhere.
We cut back to
Dana Brody, whose story line has to be THE flaw in the show. I’m just not
buying the teen-angst-star-crossed lovers scenario. Anyway. She’s busting her
new bad boy beau out of their juvenile psych facility and they’re on the run.
Ahh, young love.
There’s still no
Brody, but we do get Mike! Welcome back, Mike, we’ve missed you. Unless we’ve
been watching Channel 7’s Blacklist and there you are: out of the Marines and
in the FBI.
Meanwhile back at
the ranch, Carrie’s been released. What? How? Who? Oh, it’s The Shady Lawyer
from episode 3. He’s pulled some strings in exchange for a ‘sit down’ with one
of the partners in the firm and as he puts it “what has she got to lose”?
But the walls are
closing in on Carrie. Her car’s gone and her bank accounts are frozen. She
calls up her old surveillance buddy, Virgil, not knowing the CIA is one step
ahead and agents are in his office as he takes the call.
And then a coded
tip off from Virgil: “say Hi to your mom for me”. But her mother is dead and
with those seven words, he lets her know that all is not quite right and
nowhere is safe.
After hooking up
with a former one-nightstand, Carrie is intercepted by the Shady Lawyer, who
takes her to meet even Shadier Partner in the Firm, who makes her an offer.
His client wants
to pick her brains on her area of expertise. He wants to know how they managed
to find and kill of six of his associates in episode one.
She relents, when
he spells out her future: she’s a liability to a lot of people who have a lot
to lose. She’s likely to end up in hospital and dead within six months.
Carrie agrees.
There’s no 30 pieces of silver, but an envelope full of cash. The deal is
sealed, but Carrie won’t name names and betray her people still in the field
And then THE
TWIST. Not quite ‘who shot JR’ – but a twist that has restored my faith in the
show and its creators. So subtle was the build up, no one saw it coming.
Carrie and Saul
finally meet. “It worked Saul. I did it just the way you said”.
Ladies and
gentlemen, we’ve been played. It’s all been part of an elaborate plan to hunt
down those responsible for the CIA HQ bombing. Perhaps Saul also believes Brody
was set up. Maybe there is hope for Brody’s redemption.
Carrie’s reunion
with Saul and The Big Revelation illustrates what a good actress Clare Danes
is. The vulnerability and fragility played across her face as she clung to him.
A masterpiece in acting. Bravo!
So, the last few
minutes of Episode 4 put the show firmly back on track. Perhaps the writers
knew what they were doing in the slow pacing to the first three episodes.
Perhaps there was a reason for the gap in the story line between seasons 2 and
3.
OK, Homeland
producers you’ve won this round. The end twist has me hooked again. So, I will
keep watching and I’ll keep recording The Walking Dead. For now.
