Inside Television with Alan Sepinwall

Review: 'Homeland' - 'A Gettysburg Address': Trust no one

Carrie and Brody get to work, but who's playing who?

By Alan Sepinwall Sunday, Nov 4, 2012 11:00 PM

Rupert Friend as Peter Quinn on "Homeland."

Credit: Showtime

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A review of tonight's "Homeland" coming up just as soon as I write a poem about the wreck of the Hesperus...

"Bring Brody in, but don't trust him." -Quinn

For most of last season, the "Homeland" writers had a tool in their toolkit they don't have this year: they knew more about what Brody was up to than we did. That generated a certain level of ambiguity and tension in almost every scene involving Brody, because it wasn't clear which side he was on, what happened to him during his captivity, whether he was telling the truth, whether he was ready to explode literally, rather than just metaphorically.

By now, though, we know pretty much everything Brody has done and everyone he's seen, so there's less opportunity to play the "Everything you thought you knew was wrong!" trick again. And at this stage of the game I think "Homeland" is better with all its cards on the table. Brody can still lie about things — and already has — and he can still change his mind, but the "Homeland" writers are going to be better off not keeping secrets about either of our main characters.

And if they're playing straight with us on Brody, then for now the surprises have to come from elsewhere, like Roya's mystery contact who massacred Quinn's forensics team, apparently killing off Galvez and the others(*), rather than whether Brody himself betrayed Carrie's trust.

(*) Though I really hope they didn't just bring Seth Gilliam in to say a line or two before killing him. Enough people have drawn the parallel between the Brody operation's command center and the Major Crimes Unit from "The Wire," and it would've been nice to have Sgt. Carver around for a bit to make the linkage more overt.

And yet I think the show wants us to have these doubts about him, which is why we got that sequence of Brody and Roya either silently communicating or simply waiting for the guy down the hall to move away, and why we got that scene at the end where Brody has to comfort a tearful, broken Carrie — their roles completely reversed from the week before — and are reminded that he has a stronger emotional hold on her than she does on him. The final shot of the episode features Brody's face almost entirely in shadow. Damian Lewis plays inscrutable damn well even under good lighting, but this was a case, I think, of the series wanting us to have the same doubts about Brody that Peter Quinn has.

And I do think doubts are valuable. You don't undo eight years of conditioning in a day without some slips and setbacks. I'm just going to be curious to see how this plays going forward. As it is, "A Gettysburg Address" couldn't live up to "Q and A," because what could? But as we steer towards the second half of a season that's tended to be much stronger on character than on plot, I'd like to see the show's two halves reach more of an equilibrium.

Some other thoughts:

* Yeah, as if we weren't already primed to hate Walden enough, each week his son's behavior gets worse and worse (and, by implication, is a mirror of his father's). This is going to be one of those situations where the longer Dana waits to tell someone what happened, the worse it will be for her.

* Poor Mike, torn between his duty to his country (and the orders from Estes and Saul) and his loyalty to Jessica. Not sure that seeing a single bullet missing from Brody's supply was the definitive proof Mike thinks it was, but I expect no good to come of him sharing his suspicions with her.

What did everybody else think?

Alan Sepinwall may be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

Alan Sepinwall
Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching

Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

Related Searches: Homeland, Claire Danes, Damian Lewis, Mandy Patinkin, Morena Baccarin

Next 176 Comments

Three Fly Jet

The Showtime sophomore slump is comfortably settling in at this juncture.
November 5, 2012 at 12:08AM EST Reply to Comment
- Teemunny Huh?
  November 5, 2012 at 5:42AM EST
- A Agreed. This episode was ridiculous.
  November 5, 2012 at 11:23PM EST
- arlene Agreed Also. The only act of terrorism I condone now is someone blowing up Dana's boots!
  
  November 6, 2012 at 2:37AM EST
- A What is with those boots?!
  November 6, 2012 at 1:16PM EST
- Oh God those boots are monotonous!! Can we get wardrobe in here stat?? Thx
  November 6, 2012 at 9:00PM EST
- Mark I completely agree. I loved the first season, but I find I'm only watching this season out of habit. It needs to get better.
  November 8, 2012 at 5:33PM EST
Eric

The single bullet missing seemed like a continuity error to me. Didn't brody use that same gun to shoot the deer early in season 1?
November 5, 2012 at 12:10AM EST Reply to Comment
- emma I believe so. Plus, would he really only load one bullet into the gun when he was going to meet Tom Walker?
  November 5, 2012 at 1:10AM EST
- Reagan Totally agree. Guaranteed the 1 bullet was for the deer and the Tom walker murder weapon was a completely different 9MM.
  November 5, 2012 at 4:47AM EST
- ibrews @REAGAN totally agree! Which means that if Mike confronts Brody about this, he doesn't even have to lie!
  November 5, 2012 at 1:07PM EST
- Dave I Just thinking aloud, who shoots a deer with a 9mm? I'm trying to remember how the scene played, however short of a dead-on head shot that would not bring down a dear.
  
  It's possible that the box was his mini-arsenal where he had bullets should he need to grab-and-go and typically kept it full and the one bullet was used to kill Tom Walker. In other words, he'd have refilled the box after shooting the deer (even if it was a different gun, why would he have two different stashes for the same type of ammo?). Why he would not have done so after killing Tom Walker (after all, he's had months to do so) is beyond me.
  
  I know why they had that scene, however if you have to think this hard about it, maybe it could have been written a little differently. If you do not think about it too hard it makes sense. Which tends to be a problem with this show.
  
  I am not trying to be overly critical, however this is a well-meaning discovery that just does not hold up under too much scrutiny.
  
  -Cheers
  November 6, 2012 at 10:24AM EST
- Dave I Sorry... short of a dead-on head shot that would not bring down a **deer.**
  
  -Cheers
  November 6, 2012 at 11:53AM EST
- Perd Vert I'm pretty sure we heard multiple shots when he shot the deer.
  
  I think the point of the scene was that the friend confirmed Brody still had his Marine issued 9mm.
  
  Regardless of how many bullets were in the box it obviously doesn't prove anything. Who knows. Maybe Brody fired the gun at shooting range.
  
  That said, Mike knows Brody has a gun because he was there when the deer was shot.
  
  My guess is Mike was looking for and noticed something that has yet to be revealed.
  November 11, 2012 at 2:16AM EST
kenny

What about this time Brody shot a deer. Theirs one bullet that could be missing from his ammunition.
November 5, 2012 at 12:11AM EST Reply to Comment
Bill

Still not loving the Dana subplot.
November 5, 2012 at 12:19AM EST Reply to Comment
- emma yeah, me neither. feels unoriginal
  November 5, 2012 at 1:11AM EST
- bettyd please don't do Tyra/Landry on us. That was a low point for another awesome show.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:27AM EST
- I fast forward on my dvr the parts with Dana and whats-his-name. I'm just not interested.
  November 5, 2012 at 11:47PM EST
chris c

Thought it was very interesting that Brody gets frustrated/mad when Carrie touches him to make him feel better....then at the end of the episode he is seen taking the same approach with her....I wonder if we should be reading into that? Is it proof he is working her just as she was working him earlier.... also I wondered if roya saw into Brody's hand being hurt and assumed he had given her info....if she talks to him still going forward he must have earned/kept her trust somehow....so maybe he did tip her off. Home improvement when you are staying at a hotel seems like an easy alibi to poke holes in...a lot of random thoughts but hoping someone else can add clarity.
November 5, 2012 at 12:21AM EST Reply to Comment
- chris c Sorry I meant to say, roya seeing brody,'s hand in conjunctuon with the timing of the gettysburg store being searched, may realize he had given up info to the CIA
  November 5, 2012 at 12:25AM EST
Erin

Couldn't the CIA get someone to read Roya's lips during her meet-up with the mystery contact? It looked like they had a good angle on her face in the video
November 5, 2012 at 12:28AM EST Reply to Comment
- Patrick Exactly, I wondered this too in an earlier episode when they grumbled about having no audio. They have utilized all the cool surveillance toys, but nobody has throught to try to read lips yet? I completely agree this seems like something they wouldn't miss
  November 8, 2012 at 8:53PM EST
- jill adrian Yeah this. Any possible reason or plot fail?????
  November 10, 2012 at 7:01PM EST
Ellen M.

It was going to be hard to live up to Q&A but there were things in this episode that felt like they were really using it primarily for exposition.

It didn't seem clear that Gomez was dead - maybe I missed him getting shot. Hopefully, Quinn will make it because it would be annoying if he didn't. He's a very provocative character and I would hate to see him exit too quickly.

Brody is beginning to be a bit of an unsympathetic character. It was easy to understand how he was turned by Nazir after eight years of torture and he was a confused soul but now that he has been "turned" by the CIA, the only thing he seems to care about is saving his own butt. Last season, his children seemed like his lifeline to retaining his humanity. Now - it's hard to tell if he cares about anyone. He seems to be lying to everyone all the time with no real moments with anyone - not even Dana. And, will Carrie have to be burnt by him again before she gets that he can't be trusted? It was a little much for her to turn to him for any comfort.

And, I sure hope the hit-and-run story pays off big time. Right now, I am bored with it along with Mike's suspicions. I think telling Jess his idea about Brody and Walker's death was a little much.

November 5, 2012 at 12:36AM EST Reply to Comment
- homelandfan I agree about Brody - he is not seeming like the character he was, but this makes me think that he'll come back swinging later. He has been kind of passive and jittery all season - just doing what Roya tells him, panicky, emotional. Not the effective liar and manipulator we saw before, but one who engendered sympathy and emotional depth at the same time. So I think that side of him will come back. Maybe he's just been roya and the CIA's lackey while he plots something else. Maybe he has needed that time to regroup about who he is and what he's doing.
  
  I also agree about the big yawn about the subplots with VP's son and Mike. The son's statements that he'd rather die than for his father to know seemed kind of extreme, which makes me think this will be re-visited. Maybe Dana will tell Brody, the son will become un-hinged at the fear of exposure, and brody will use his knowledge and/or the fate of the son against the VP. So maybe Brody can't kill the VP, but can destroy him in a different way.
  
  November 5, 2012 at 4:24AM EST
- Dan3320 I'm pretty sure Galvez was dead, but definitely not Quinn. They made it a point to show Galvez try to scramble away and get gunned down. Then to show Quinn begin breathing/moving once the attackers left.
  
  On the Dana subplot, I think it's pretty clear they are setting that up to give Brody an "out" from the VP/running mate deal. Eventually, Brody and/or Jessica will be so disgusted to find out what happened and the VP's reaction to it that it will be easy for Brody to bow out like he promised the CIA he'd do.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:28AM EST
- Ellen M. I'll have to re-watch the Gettysburg massacre scene again to see Galvez being taken out. I suppose I was hoping he had made it as well as Quinn. Galvez was a good go-to character and I thought his role was more important than that. (Somehow my mind drifted into surreal Walking Dead territory when I was watching the CIA agents being massacred. I didn't see Galvez being shot in the head- so maybe he is alive?)
  
  I agree about your reasoning behind the hit-and-run subplot but I feel that too much time is being spent on it. I believe we could get all the Dana-guilt, Finn-weaseling (like his Dad) with a lot less angst and we already understand how this could impact the VP's and Brody's relationship - both professionally and personally. Hope this subplot explodes sooner than later.
  
  They have taken certain plot devices into Warp speed this season (Brody's outing and turning) but this subplot seems to just plod on.
  November 5, 2012 at 11:13AM EST
- Craig D 'Plod on' is overstating it quite a bit. The sub-plot started near the end of the last episode. It's probably had a total of 6 or 7 minutes of screen time so far.
  November 5, 2012 at 2:18PM EST
- Ellen M. For me, it has been very boring no matter the number of minutes. Considering the main themes of the show - that's a healthy amount of air time devoted to a subplot like this. Hopefully that means a decent pay off in the future storyline.
  November 5, 2012 at 2:26PM EST
- Jinjee Galvez is dead. Carrie tells Brody she has 7 casualties, but in the preview of next week we hear 6 agents are dead, presumably meaning Quinn pulled through. If Brody has any more responsibility for the attack that is on the surface, I hope he doesn't find himself off the grid with Quinn again.
  November 5, 2012 at 3:05PM EST
- Ellen M. Thanks for the confirmation about Galvez. You have a really good point about Quinn and Brody. That confrontation will probably happen but in the future because Quinn will most likely be out of commission for a while. I hope that means we'll see more of Saul in the near term.
  November 5, 2012 at 3:27PM EST
- Dan3320 Jinjee - Alan has a pretty strict "no discussing scenes from the previews" policy here. Even if it helps answer a reader question.
  November 5, 2012 at 3:35PM EST
- Jinjee D'oh! Sorry everyone.
  November 5, 2012 at 3:42PM EST
WaltEagle

But Gilliam was nowhere to be seen during the massacre...right? I mean he was a guest star in the opening credits and said what, one word? He's better than that, I expect he'll be back.
November 5, 2012 at 1:07AM EST Reply to Comment
- Dan3320 Maybe he's the mole? It's pretty obvious that a mole still exists. I'm sure it wasn't just a coincidence that as soon as Quinn called in for backup, the terrorists took the shop.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:30AM EST
- Me Rewatched the scene, when the agents line up with their guns out, scene cuts to the terrorists, terrorists start shooting and Gilliam is shown from behind being the first person shot, then drops to the floor.
  November 7, 2012 at 11:45AM EST
kmoorej

The missing bullet was silly. That in no way would implicate Brody in the murder (despite the fact that he did in fact commit it), and there's no reason to think that Mike would have any reason to feel so certain about it he would tell Jessica her husband was a murderer based on it . Forensics analysis would have helped provide proof, but given it was clearly the same afternoon that didn't happen. A silly jump in narrative logic they just hoped we'd go along with.

Meanwhile, exactly how much time has passed since they broke down Brody? The CIA claimed to have been sitting on The Tailor's store for 2 weeks, and given they got that information from Brody's interrogation, that would mean it's been two weeks since Brody came clean. Yet that would ALSO mean it's been two weeks since Walden's kid and Dana were involved in the hit-and-run (which happened the same day), and they clearly played that storyline as if it were the very next day. Dana was still in shock, the victim was in the ICU, etc.

In theory this COULD have been 2 weeks later and Dana just HAPPENED to be overcome with guilt and chase down the victim (quite easily, I might add) JUST when her recovery was thwarted by a blood clot that then killed her. I'm sure that's what the writer's would say, but it's pretty clear they had two stories that really had to happen at different times that they wanted to tell simultaneously and tried to have their cake and eat it too by fudging the logic and hoping we'd go along.

Which is a theme that's becoming depressingly predictable this season.
November 5, 2012 at 1:08AM EST Reply to Comment
- CIA Seems you're right about the timeline being off.
  November 5, 2012 at 1:15AM EST
- HarryR Good pick-up and all. But, does it really affect the way you watch the show? Seems a bit nit-picky.
  November 5, 2012 at 2:04AM EST
- JerseyRudy It was Roya who told Brody that FBI Forensics went into the tailor's shop that day after sitting on it for two weeks. Her information was faulty given that it was the CIA who was in there, but she probably was referring to the tailor's death occurring two weeks prior. Everything in this episode was consistent with it being the day after the events of the prior episode. The CIA is now convinced that Abu Nazir is going to strike in the US imminently, so even one day lost is a big deal to them.
  
  Also if I recall correctly Brody got nervous when he arrived at the tailor's store in Gettysburg to pick up the tailor because he noticed a car parked across the street and two men watching the store. He presumably thought that it was the FBI or CIA watching, and he left with the tailor in a hurry. So it is possible that the FBI or CIA had a prior lead on the tailor and Brody confirmed it for them
  November 5, 2012 at 2:07AM EST
- PA What remains muddled is why they didn't get that chest out the same time they did the tailor. That just doesn't make sense. If it's so important you're going to kill seven operatives for it - talk about high risk - why leave it behind?
  November 5, 2012 at 10:14AM EST
- Dan3320 Good point, PA. Though Roya did make it seem that they had to move quickly to get the tailor out, as the FBI/CIA were on to him. So perhaps they didn't want to be making a big scene (noise to cut the wall, carrying out a huge case, etc.) before they had to.
  
  I also agree the timeline complaint is nit-picky, but may be correct. Would the CIA really have all that surveillance set up perfectly to follow Roya mere hours after breaking Brody? Not likely. Sure they had most of it in place for Brody, but still...to find Roya, track her, put cars in place to follow her, etc. That doesn't happen in hours.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:37AM EST
- Daniel Look, Roya would assume all domestic spy ops are run by the FBI, since the CIA by statute cannot spy on the homeland. That this happens in this series is the trouble of the writers.
  
  November 5, 2012 at 10:45AM EST
- PA @Dan: That did cross my mind, too, but the gamble they took with sending Brody there to get him out was more or less the same they would've taken with the chest. Brody & the tailor couldn't be seen, under no circumstances, because Brody'd be easily recognizable. They gambled that he wouldn't. Why not gamble that two guys carrying a chest wouldn't be seen either, if it's of that much importance that you'd risk shooting seven operatives of one of the best trained agencys in the world? In broad daylight?
  
  The only alternative I can think of is that the terrorists hoped the chest wouldn't be found because the CIA/FBI wouldn't get in. Which is... well, not that smart.
  November 5, 2012 at 11:08AM EST
- kmoorej I don't really think it's nit-picky... I'm not out looking for tiny mistakes or continuity errors. But if I'm being taken out of the story because I'm trying to make sense in my head how the tale they're weaving could possibly make linear sense, that's a problem. I'm all for suspending disbelief, but these kind of narrative shortcuts (in my mind) only serve to undercut the intense drama they are trying to build.
  November 5, 2012 at 11:11AM EST
- conorjh The timeline is confusing, yes, but with the single bullet, isn't the point just that Mike isn't all that smart.
  November 6, 2012 at 6:31AM EST
- Daniel Didn't Mike say a 9 mm was especially common?
  
  No, Mike, and the other ex-Marines, are supposed to be ahead of the curve, due to their common bind and military skills.
  
  That said, who knows whether Brody didn't return home to a ten year old box of ammo with one shell missing?
  November 6, 2012 at 6:54AM EST
MS

I agree, I didn't think Mike had proof. I wish they had either made the proof stronger or provided more of a motivation for Mike (that he's still in love
with Jess).

It might be my hatred for Quinn talking (because I really hate him more than anyone on the show, and if this is purposeful, great job) but I fail to see how his menacing presence serves the CIA/Brody relationship.

IMO, their play is all emotional at this point. Carrie needs to tighten those ties and periodically tap into Brody's distaste for loss of innocent life (by talking the collateral damage imminent if Nazir succeeds). Quinn represents the ruthless American (Walden) and could drive Brody back to the other side. So that part felt wrong to me.

On first meeting, Carrie asked Virgil to look into Quinn's background. I hope that pays off.
November 5, 2012 at 1:09AM EST Reply to Comment
JanieJones

I feel like Mike wants to believe Brody has been a traitor to his country and family because of his feelings for Jess. It certainly doesn't help that he was summoned into an office with Saul and David telling him politely to shut down his inquiries rather than talking to his contact.
On another note, if the CIA is turning Brody into a triple whose to say the other side is not?

I would think that Nazir's people had wired Brody's home while (off camera in the 1st season) the family was off celebrating his return.
If the CIA can wiretap and utilize cameras why can't the other side?
The annihilation of the agent's in the tailor shop was quick, clean, professional and paused the viewer (me) to wonder if they aren't on to Brody already.

It didn't match Q&A but the character plot was good.

November 5, 2012 at 1:25AM EST Reply to Comment
- Brett Next Sunday, Dana runs away, gets attacked by tiger.
  
  Awful subplot! Does it advance anything that we liked about the concept in the first season?
  November 5, 2012 at 1:57AM EST
- Dan3320 I think we overestimate Nazir's reach in the US. Sure it seems like he has contacts everywhere, but to assume he has enough manpower in the US to keep surveillance on Brody's house is a bit of a stretch.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:39AM EST
- Daniel Hell, to imagine that Nazir can summon a wet op team to take out a CIA team stretches credulity hugely.
  
  But we're in it for the ride, not the details or the sopycraft.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:49AM EST
Shawn Mahone

I do not understand the harsh sentiments some fans have towards Brody...he was tortured and beaten daily for years, think about that...years! Every time I look at him I feel sorry for him a little for living through all that hell and people like mike and Jess giving him shit. Even Quinn, I hope he does die because he is not sympathetic like carrie or brody or even Saul.

Estes needs to go too and the VP and Finn....take out half the cast! Lol. Seriously though...some bad people there!
November 5, 2012 at 1:54AM EST Reply to Comment
- Maka Brody is a TRAITOR. Jesus Christ. The man should be rotting in Gitmo right now, but instead he's free, and running around in the highest circles of government.
  November 5, 2012 at 4:17AM EST
- Shawn Mahone I understand he is a traitor, I still feel sorry for the man because he was left in a dark crappy hole for years and forgotten about by his government. He is so damaged like Carrie that I feel sorry for the vulnerability they wear on their souls. Brody is not simply a traitor, Carrie is not simply a nut job...things are more complicated than that...brody just wanted to kill the guy who killed over 70 children. I do not think he hates all of America, he has said before that he will not risk civilians...we shall see what happens.
  November 5, 2012 at 8:50AM EST
- PA I think that's more or less the way Carrie views him.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:40AM EST
- virginia And, Shawn, what you describe is definitely how I see him. Damian Lewis is beyond terrific in the role and brings all of these nuances to the part even when the writing is less than stellar.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:57AM EST
- MS I agree about Brody and I think that's an essential element of the show - the gray areas in our response to Brody.
  
  Yes, he was tortured for years. As Carrie said, he was taken apart and put back together by Nazir, as his creature. Then he saw 82 dead children, killed by Walden's order. One of those children was a boy he loved and who, no doubt, filled a space left by his own children.
  
  He is a terrorist and what he's done so far is wrong -- he's killed 2 people himself and he nearly blew up a room of others. He should be stopped. But the combination of the character's backstory and Lewis' nuanced portrayal leave me with plenty of sympathy for him.
  
  And yes, I love a show with such complexity that I want the CIA guy to die and the terrorist to live. Love it.
  November 5, 2012 at 11:59AM EST
- Slam "Brody is a traitor, and he's running around in the highest circles of Gov't". Is that believable ? Hell no. Is it entertaining ? It's the BEST SHOW ON TV right now. So go with it.
  November 5, 2012 at 3:44PM EST
- jenny Maka - If Brody is a traitor, what is Walden? He not only authorized the drone strike knowing it would take out the school, but covered it up, not just in the media, but falsified the govt report. And he told Brody he was trying to get Israel the bunker bombs, against the edict of the president. Sounds pretty treasonous, and the drone strike was a war crime.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:12PM EST
- jenny Point being, Walden and his team was his target, not innocent civilians. Brody was going to do an equivalent of a drone strike, and he was willing to sacrifice his own life to do it, which is more than Walden would be willing to do.
  I have a bigger problem with Brody's giving Roya the list of targets. It was in contradiction with his unwillingness to kill civilians. Very murky as to what his motivation was.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:18PM EST
- Eric827 Walden is scum, but he didn't know that the bomb would take out a school. Why would he intentionally bomb a school? He thought there was a worthy target there, he was wrong, and so he covered it up.
  
  That's different from intentionally deciding to blow up a school for the hell of it.
  November 6, 2012 at 10:53AM EST
- jenny Eric, he didn't blow up the school for the hell of it, his target was Nazir, but in Season 1 there's convos between him and Estes, and Saul, where it's stated he knew it would take out the school but said it was collateral damage to take out Nazir.
  And there was an episode where Saul finds about it, and the cover-up and confronts both Walden and Estes.
  November 7, 2012 at 12:29AM EST
Mplsegg

Too many missing links to be real this week. Like they wouldn't recover the body of the man Brody killed? Further, someone as unstable as Carrie would never be actively working. Finally Brody new the address of the safe house...yet no one asked him about it...big hole.
November 5, 2012 at 2:18AM EST Reply to Comment
- Dan3320 Right, but if they just happen to hit the tailor's shop and the safe house simultaneously, then clearly Brody is working with the CIA and his cover is blown.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:41AM EST
Alfa Romeo

Couldn't Carrie & Quinn have asked Brody to ID the photo somewhere else rather than letting him into their command center this early and have him look around before knowing how much Brody can be trusted?

Modern day CIA still does not have the technology to capture the audio of a conversation a few yards away?

I do not know how long I can endure this emotional wreck named Carrie. While the character gives Claire Danes to showcase her acting talent it is difficult to see her get hyper emotional in every other episode.
November 5, 2012 at 2:19AM EST Reply to Comment
- Angela I too wondered about bringing Brody into the command center, one of the few times I was taken out of the show. And I'm great at suspending disbelief.
  
  I think the reason that they couldn't hear them talking a few feet away was because Sleepy (forget his name) has his Mic was touching the metal cover of whatever he resting on. The camera made a point to get a close up shot of that.
  
  As far as Carrie goes, I think it depends on how well one can handle a lot of emotion in the first place. I have no trouble watching her being en emotional wreck, and she's so much more than just that. I'll never forget that scene of her in her closet trying to figure out what to wear in Episode 1.
  November 5, 2012 at 11:23PM EST
- Gajic The conversation was directly beside a waterfall so they couldn't make out the conversation over the water. Roya and her contact chose that location on purpose so they wouldn't be heard. It's totally feasible that their mic wouldn't be able to pick up the conversation over the waterfall.
  November 6, 2012 at 12:31AM EST
- Alfa Romeo Watched this episode a second time. @Angela, I think the closeup shot was to let us know that in a public place Max was secretly hiding a mic pointed towards Roya. @Gajic, Yes, Carrie does mention that the audio was like listening to Niagara Falls. While they may not have been able to hear the conversation live, the audio signal can be post-processed to cleanup the audio i.e., to remove the white background noise of a waterfall.
  November 7, 2012 at 11:52PM EST
bigtruck

Last season the show's writing managed to transcend its goofy plot. This season, Claire Danes and Damian Lewis's acting has been transcending the goofy plot and progressively awful writing. That Mike-Jessica scene was atrocious.
November 5, 2012 at 2:31AM EST Reply to Comment
- CIA agree with the mike/jessica scene. she really has no emotional range.
  November 5, 2012 at 11:22AM EST
- Slam Everybody hates the Jessica character now.
  November 5, 2012 at 3:48PM EST
- Ben Kabak no real guy hates the jessica character
  November 6, 2012 at 12:13PM EST
- Joseph I agree. The hook of the show up until last week was the whole is he/is he not a traitor; will he/will he not go through with it. As the show has gradually become more focused on the terrorist plot it has started leaning back into "24"ish tendencies, with the time-filling subplots (I find the whole subplot with Mike infinitely more annoying than Dana's) and borderline outlandish plot developments. A terrorist unit clad all in black taking out 7 CIA operatives in Gettysburg, just as they were about to locate the crucial evidence and just before backup came? Pretty silly and not really what I have come to expect from this show.
  November 6, 2012 at 1:00PM EST
- pwt nobody hates the Jessica character. We all hate the Jessica actress.
  November 7, 2012 at 1:32PM EST
Charlie

I know I am in the minority but I am getting sick of Claire Danes. Her acting idiosyncrasies are becoming annoying to me. I can't stand to look at her face when she does the freak out thing week in and week out. Damien Lewis is still really good. The show needs more Saul.
November 5, 2012 at 2:54AM EST Reply to Comment
- virginia You are not alone!
  November 5, 2012 at 8:02AM EST
- PA I'm not getting sick of her at all, but I did feel that this particular freak-out was overdoing it, character wise, on the part of the writers. Yeah, she's emotionally invested in Brody. Yeah, she takes risks. Yeah, she's had another major shock. But to have her barge into his office and asking all that on top of her voice - how soundproofed is that office exactly? - and then collapse in tears in his arms and letting him comfort her? Especially that last bit I don't buy from the character. Not yet, not at this point.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:30AM EST
- virginia I think this is where the bipolar comes in. She's on a definite high -- Her theory turned out to be correct so she's been vindicated and, all of a sudden, is back at the job. This in the real world would be highly unlikely but no need to pretend this ain't a teevee show. So she's been on a definite high and on a stressful and highly emotional rollercoaster ride. It makes sense that she'd be experiencing the downside. But, that being said, much as I admire Claire Danes, she's got one or two freakout modes and they can start to grate. I'm bipolar myself and am left to wonder if some of my freakout modes aren't probably equally predictable in terms of triggers and affect. So maybe I ought not complain about the portrayal. One of things I do appreciate about her performance is that she seems unafraid of going for the ugly. I thought the hug at the end was genuine on both their parts. Damian Lewis is outstanding.
  November 5, 2012 at 11:04AM EST
- Emma because of Damien's acting, I love how I'm unsure and continually guessing about Brody's genuine feelings for Carrie and new loyalty to the CIA. I was taken aback when Carrie barged into Brody's office. Why would she publicly reveal that she is communicating with him? Doesn't that jeopardize things?
  November 5, 2012 at 11:26AM EST
- virginia Emma -- I guess the cover story -- that they are having an affair -- might account for that. Barging in, I mean. And one of the aspects that I do enjoy about the writing is that they are indeed having a highly charged affair -- They've done the sex thing and have no doubt they will be back at it soon enough. But, in the meantime, the emotional affair continues at high pitch. Their love thing is protected by the cover story but remains the one true thing in all this convoluted mess nonetheless.
  November 5, 2012 at 11:46AM EST
- Emma @Virginia--It's the cover story for Roya, it really doesn't make sense for his secretary-and others at his job as a congressman- to know that the he's having any contact with Carrie, particularly that he may be having an affair, as you say would explain her barging in.
  November 5, 2012 at 1:25PM EST
- Chuck Claire Danes doesn't act, she mugs. She's kinda like the signer for Mayor Blumberg. Just a bit too much
  November 5, 2012 at 4:21PM EST
- Andrew Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BLOOWFNbuaU The Claire Danes montage...
  November 5, 2012 at 6:12PM EST
jack_is_laughing

If they don't have Roya in interrogation next week then this show has seriously jumped the shark. They must be following her 24-7 right now, and the minute 7 agents are killed by a team of highly-trained, well-appointed terrorists then the jig should be up.

I sort of hate that Nazir's operation is so huge that he is capable of setting something like this up. It's very 24. Al Qaeda has never been capable of something like this. If Nazir can have all of these highly-trained agents freely operating in America you'd think he'd be able to routinely attack the homeland quite easily.
November 5, 2012 at 3:04AM EST Reply to Comment
- Dan3320 I think you are going a bit too far here. I'm pretty sure we are too assume that the new terrorist guy just recently came to the US and probably brought the 2 others with him - thus the attack. I agree the show tends to dramatize Nazir's reach in the US...but I don't find it as big of a stretch as you do. Clearly that case in the tailor's shop had a bomb or explosives in it, and Nazir would go to great lengths to recover it.
  
  Also, re Roya, they can't bring her in now. She's the CIA's only lead to Nazir. If she is brought in, then Nazir definitely will know something is up with Brody and they lose their best angle.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:44AM EST
- Matrices They hinted that this new guy (and his team presumably) was a Hezbollah import
  November 5, 2012 at 11:01AM EST
- jack_is_laughing You're forgetting season 1. In season 1 Nazir has the Univ prof and the turned American as operatives. The prof is tailed by the CIA, but Nazir's people tail the CIA tail and alert her before their safe house is discovered. Later, a team of Nazir's people attack and kill the prof in a hotel room. Later, Nazir is able to take out the ambassador with a bomb. Nazir's people are also planting weapons, equipment, and people to support Brody and Walker throughout season 1.
  
  The point is that Nazir's operation state-side is rather extensive. He has multiple agents in the field, at various levels, and they operate with the efficiency and resources of a foreign intelligence operation. If it turns out Nazir is being supported by Pakistan's ISI, that would be plausible and realistic. But Hezbollah simply isn't capable of something this big and complex within the territorial U.S.
  
  As for Roya, why let her walk free? Nazir now knows that the CIA has identified the tailor, which means they could be on to Roya. Roya is Brody's handler. She operational knowledge and that makes her valuable. The CIA knows that a team of Nazir's people is in the country and has some sort of large asset they were willing to kill to keep secret. Bringing in Roya is the only lead the CIA has. Expecting her to lead them to this team or reveal operational information while at large is a huge stretch at this point.
  November 5, 2012 at 11:23AM EST
Dan

Wow, the thinning realism of the story/plot is getting to critical mass. Mike needs to be demoted asap from is position in military intelligence. Really, seeing 49 bullets is your unequivocal proof that Brody is a murderer, simply because the rack can hold 50 and therefore that 50th bullet must've been used in the murder? That is absolutely no proof whatsoever. And not only is he so convinced by his non-proof that immediately goes to Brody's wife to tell her Brody's a murderer. What the what?! Can we start a petition for Homeland to hire advisors from other competent story/plot shows to help them out? If they could get that to come atleast somewhat close to the characters/acting then they would really have something. My only real issue with the characters is Carrie. Does she really need to be a hot mess almost every episode?
November 5, 2012 at 3:15AM EST Reply to Comment
jbb

@Alan Really? Seth Gilliam. Come on dude that was not Seth Gilliam, but then again I guess we all look alike in your eyes.
November 5, 2012 at 3:24AM EST Reply to Comment
- sepinwall You might want to check the guest credits for the episode, JBB.
  November 5, 2012 at 4:04AM EST
- Dan3320 Haha, I love this. Definitely Seth Gilliam.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:46AM EST
- abutterflyloves Well @alan and @JBB I watched every episode of The Wire 50 times, and I didn't even recognize him. 75 pounds and a few short words was difficult to recognize him. But after watching Homeland again this morning. Totally Seth.
  November 5, 2012 at 11:20AM EST
- Miles I initially thought that was Sergeant Carver after hearing his voice, but I doubted myself after we never got a good look at him and he wasn't given anything else to do. Thanks for confirming that it was.
  November 5, 2012 at 6:13PM EST
- Joseph @JBB - it sure would have been easy to do a simple internet search and check for yourself before directing a thinly veiled "racism" comment to Alan. Based on what I know about Alan's love for The Wire he would be able to pick out a guest spot by someone who played "Bystander #2" in one episode of that show.
  November 6, 2012 at 1:06PM EST
Rose

I hope Quinn survives. He's an interesting character and someone needs to balance out Carrie when dealing with Brody.

When Roya told Brody the FBI might find something, I think he could have possibly given himself away. A few weeks ago he was so paranoid about doing anything for her. If he isn't working for the CIA, through her eyes, shouldn't he be paranoid now also, asking her if anything can lead back to him since that guy was the only person who had met Brody face to face? I just think that would have been a logical reaction from him. But it is possible that Roya trusts him now more than before and doesn't question him as much.
November 5, 2012 at 3:35AM EST Reply to Comment
- Emma Perhaps he did, but Roya won't necessarily show him-or want him to know- that she's suspicous of him.
  November 5, 2012 at 11:32AM EST
- Lauraincabo I love his charcter in terms of being intersting, if maybe not likeable. And this Quinn is sure a lot better than the Quinn on Dexter! Hope he survived and intersting that Valdez may not be dead as possibly more evidence of him as CIA mole.
  November 5, 2012 at 3:55PM EST
belinda

Carver! Damnit show.
November 5, 2012 at 5:05AM EST Reply to Comment
jbb

@Alan I stand corrected. Apologies.
November 5, 2012 at 5:39AM EST Reply to Comment
Haik Mendelovich

I believe there is a nuclear device in that suitcase. That would explain both risking Brody to get The Tailor, and why a crack team of terrorists have not been out terrorizing... they're biding their time for the detonation of The Big One.

Although obviously a very 24-ish development, this would certainly raise the stakes.
November 5, 2012 at 8:56AM EST Reply to Comment
Andrew Y

I'm seriously losing interest in Homeland because the writing has become so slipshod and the plot contrivances too horrid to overlook. I am shocked that no one, including Alan has mentioned how utterly ridiculous it is that a team of Darth Vader terrorists can take out 6 or 7 CIA operatives. I know I have my USA homer glasses on, but does anyone believe that could really happen? I don't. I will wait and see how they handle this next week, but even in a small town someone would have noticed the CIA vehicles coming in and then the bad guys just rolling in to take them out. This would be a national story and certainly Brody and every other person on the planet would have known something happened.

And Jess just blurting out to Mike "Brody's working for the CIA"? That is impossible. She would know that she couldn't leak that information and she wouldn't do something like that just on Mike's hunch.

I like dramatic television, but it has to be plausible and Homeland Season 2 has gotten so sloppy that I'm probably not going to be emotionally invested in it going forward.
November 5, 2012 at 9:09AM EST Reply to Comment
- Josh Probably could have just +1'd this comment instead of making my own below.
  November 5, 2012 at 9:39AM EST
- Dan3320 The CIA guys were not "operatives." The CIA has thousands of employees, many of whom are just analysts. I'm assuming most of the guys there were not field agents, but rather there to analyze any data they might find. Just like Galvez. Non-field agent.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:48AM EST
- Emma Agree, writers made Jess out to be dense...like she wouldn't realize the importance of keeping something like that to herself, no matter how much she trusts Mike.
  @Dan, agree that those guys were non-field agents and would be relatively easy to take out as well as being unprepared for an attack. That's why Quinn asked for backup/
  November 5, 2012 at 11:38AM EST
- Andrew Y I watched the scene again, and virtually everyone who was killed had immediately drawn their weapons and were able to fire off rounds. I suspect that even being 'just an analyst' for the CIA would require knowledge of weaponry and how to protect incredibly sensitive information.
  
  But even more ridiculous is that these 4 Darth Vader types walked in the front door with those ridiculous outfits and the windows unprotected by blinds...and after killing 7 people and probably firing off hundreds of rounds, they were able to cut into a wall and walk out that same front door into a main street with a big trunk containing who knows what and just get away.
  
  It's okay that people are willing to accept this. We can disagree, but I still think its really shoddy writing.
  November 5, 2012 at 12:07PM EST
- jack_is_laughing Dan3320 is right. For the most part, even field operatives in the CIA are not James Bond or Jason Bourne. The CIA does recruit "commandoes" and train some operatives to be extremely proficient in the field, but their main source of espionage is human and signals intelligence. Hollywood's portrayal of the CIA is mostly a myth.
  
  These agents would have been armed and trained to fire weapons, but they were going up against four guys wearing full body armor and carrying automatic weapons. The "Darth Vader team" as you call them had the element of surprise as well as a major technological and tactical advantage.
  November 5, 2012 at 1:13PM EST
- jack_is_laughing As for them firing off all those rounds and exiting with the box, whatever it was, they probably had a rough idea of local law enforcement's response time and capabilities. If local cops had arrived on the scene before they left, they would also would have been severely outgunned. It's not like the local city police typically patrol in body armor and carrying assault weapons.
  November 5, 2012 at 1:16PM EST
- GreenRibbon I don't think it's nearly as implausible as you're making it out to be. The terrorist crew were wearing full body armor and toting M16s. They also had the element of surprise.
  November 5, 2012 at 4:27PM EST
- Andrew Y Right. We have so many documented cases of non Oakland Raider fans who happen to be terrorists in full body armor walking through main streets with full artillery. If this were a middle eastern country, then sure but Gettysburg PA? Please, this strains credulity. And please answer why would they wait two weeks to get in there for that WMD when they had that interim time to go through the back door? Would anyone that smart and sophisticated go ahead and kill 6 CIA agents when they didn't have to? Like I said, this whole premise doesn't wash but if you can live with it, be my guest.
  November 5, 2012 at 5:57PM EST
- jack_is_laughing Hahaha, so you think they just walked into town? Have you ever heard of a vehicle called a "van?" They have them, and people can ride in them, and sometimes SWAT teams use them.
  
  And I think they waited two weeks because it was more dramatic and action-packed for the viewers at home.
  November 5, 2012 at 6:10PM EST
- Andrew Y This review says it a lot better than I ever could...I think like tomorrow's election, we're just about done here. 50% feel one way, and the rest of us feel another. Out.
  
  http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/homeland-recap-blown-away-20121104?utm_source=dailynewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter
  November 5, 2012 at 6:14PM EST
- Gajic I believe earlier in the episode one of the characeters was takling about how Gettysburg was a small town and anything would stick out. I like this show but I agree a team of four operatives in body armor firing off hundreds of rounds would not go under the radar. Tons of first responders would show up immediately. It would be national news within 20 minutes.
  November 6, 2012 at 12:39AM EST
- AJ +1 for losing interest. This show is ridiculously far-fetched and continues to outdo itself week after week
  November 6, 2012 at 10:10PM EST
MLE

ok, am I the only one who thinks that Quinn surviving the attack points to the possibility that he is the mole? And therefore he and Brody are in this together and the stabbing of Brody's hand was all part of the act and Brody is playing the CIA?
November 5, 2012 at 9:34AM EST Reply to Comment
- Jinjee You'd think if Quinn were a mole, they'da tipped him off to run out for a sandwich or something pre-massacre. I don't think anyone would be expected to take semi-automatic gunfire just to keep their cover if it could be plausibly avoided.
  November 5, 2012 at 3:19PM EST
Josh

Still enjoy the show, still watching every week. What I enjoy has changed though.

Last season, besides a few minor missteps, I felt the plot was at least as good as the acting performances and technical work.

Now, while I enjoy the idea of the story, I'm not very satisfied with the execution. The premise of each episode is good, it ends in an interesting way, but contrivances and lazy storytelling techniques muddle the road to get there.

The acting and technical work though, still as good as ever. I just wish the story felt as organic as last season.
November 5, 2012 at 9:37AM EST Reply to Comment
- CIA Exactly my feelings...well said!
  November 5, 2012 at 11:39AM EST
Jim

I love thinking that I just watched a great episode of television only to come on here and read some of your comments and realize that everything that I thought about the episode was terrible. Some of you guys and girls need to stop watching the show if it pisses you off this much and you can't look past some flaws. It's TV. The Wire and Breaking Bad has flaws too. Every show has flaws.
November 5, 2012 at 9:58AM EST Reply to Comment
- Everyone Here I agree that even the Wire had a fatal flaw. It ended after 5 seasons instead of continuing for 25.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:27AM EST
- Dan3320 I sure hope this Jim isn't the same as the Jim below, or else you need to get some meds for multiple personality disorder! HA.
  
  Agree 100% though with this Jim - I guess the people who love the show and are satisfied with it don't need to vent like those who seem frustrated week in and week out for whatever reason.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:50AM EST
- Andrew Y Sorry, but that 'its just TV' argument rings hollow, especially since this show has held itself out from Day 1 as something much higher than that low bar. If you are going to be very precise and meticulous about developing characters and story lines then we have every right to challenge them when they go the other direction. It isn't complaining just to complain (I'm not interested in gotcha games), it is about trusting the writers with handling an incredibly important topic. They were the ones who set the bar, not me.
  November 5, 2012 at 11:56AM EST
Jim

This show is becoming like 24 in Season 6, when it officially jumped the shark. The writing is just a clusterf*** at this point.
November 5, 2012 at 10:25AM EST Reply to Comment
- O Season 6? 24 jumped the shark years before that
  November 5, 2012 at 4:21PM EST
- jill adrian 24 jumped the cougar
  November 10, 2012 at 7:11PM EST
Bringo

The guy over at vulture said next week is the finale. Is it really over this fast? It seems like it just started. This is my favorite show, by far.
November 5, 2012 at 10:26AM EST Reply to Comment
- Wish List 12 episodes this season. we just reached the half-way mark
  November 5, 2012 at 10:32AM EST
HISLOCAL

Did we actually see Ellis Carver get shot? I was thinking maybe he was in on it. Why get a recognizable actor for such a small role? Also, I recently watching him on Oz and he was pretty convincing as a bad guy.

Galvez might just be wounded. It looked like he got hit, but it was as he was diving behind something so it might not be mortal.
November 5, 2012 at 10:29AM EST Reply to Comment
- HISLOCAL Oh, and if Quinn was the mole, I don't think he would have played dead while the terrorists were stepping over his body. They made it a point to show us that he was pretending to be dead until they left.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:30AM EST
- Dan3320 Agreed. As I mentioned earlier, I do think Carver could end up being the mole, if that is the way they want to take this. It would be very much in the 24-mold of later seasons where the mole usually wasn't a main character but someone introduced a bit down the line. Much easier than trying to convince the audience that someone like Estes or Saul is a mole.
  November 5, 2012 at 10:53AM EST

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Comments

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Three Fly Jet The Showtime sophomore slump is comfortably settling in at this juncture.

Teemunny Huh?

A Agreed. This episode was ridiculous.

arlene Agreed Also. The only act of terrorism I condone now is someone blowing up Dana's boots!

A What is with those boots?!

Oh God those boots are monotonous!! Can we get wardrobe in here stat?? Thx

Mark I completely agree. I loved the first season, but I find I'm only watching this season out of habit. It needs to get better.

Eric The single bullet missing seemed like a continuity error to me. Didn't brody use that same gun to shoot the deer early in season 1?

emma I believe so. Plus, would he really only load one bullet into the gun when he was going to meet Tom Walker?

Reagan Totally agree. Guaranteed the 1 bullet was for the deer and the Tom walker murder weapon was a completely different 9MM.

ibrews @REAGAN totally agree! Which means that if Mike confronts Brody about this, he doesn't even have to lie!

Dave I Sorry... short of a dead-on head shot that would not bring down a **deer.**-Cheers

kenny What about this time Brody shot a deer. Theirs one bullet that could be missing from his ammunition.

Bill Still not loving the Dana subplot.

emma yeah, me neither. feels unoriginal

bettyd please don't do Tyra/Landry on us. That was a low point for another awesome show.

I fast forward on my dvr the parts with Dana and whats-his-name. I'm just not interested.

chris c Sorry I meant to say, roya seeing brody,'s hand in conjunctuon with the timing of the gettysburg store being searched, may realize he had given up info to the CIA

Erin Couldn't the CIA get someone to read Roya's lips during her meet-up with the mystery contact? It looked like they had a good angle on her face in the video

Patrick Exactly, I wondered this too in an earlier episode when they grumbled about having no audio. They have utilized all the cool surveillance toys, but nobody has throught to try to read lips yet? I completely agree this seems like something they wouldn't miss

jill adrian Yeah this. Any possible reason or plot fail?????

Craig D 'Plod on' is overstating it quite a bit. The sub-plot started near the end of the last episode. It's probably had a total of 6 or 7 minutes of screen time so far.

Ellen M. For me, it has been very boring no matter the number of minutes. Considering the main themes of the show - that's a healthy amount of air time devoted to a subplot like this. Hopefully that means a decent pay off in the future storyline.

Ellen M. Thanks for the confirmation about Galvez. You have a really good point about Quinn and Brody. That confrontation will probably happen but in the future because Quinn will most likely be out of commission for a while. I hope that means we'll see more of Saul in the near term.

Dan3320 Jinjee - Alan has a pretty strict "no discussing scenes from the previews" policy here. Even if it helps answer a reader question.

Jinjee D'oh! Sorry everyone.

WaltEagle But Gilliam was nowhere to be seen during the massacre...right? I mean he was a guest star in the opening credits and said what, one word? He's better than that, I expect he'll be back.

Dan3320 Maybe he's the mole? It's pretty obvious that a mole still exists. I'm sure it wasn't just a coincidence that as soon as Quinn called in for backup, the terrorists took the shop.

Me Rewatched the scene, when the agents line up with their guns out, scene cuts to the terrorists, terrorists start shooting and Gilliam is shown from behind being the first person shot, then drops to the floor.

CIA Seems you're right about the timeline being off.

HarryR Good pick-up and all. But, does it really affect the way you watch the show? Seems a bit nit-picky.

PA What remains muddled is why they didn't get that chest out the same time they did the tailor. That just doesn't make sense. If it's so important you're going to kill seven operatives for it - talk about high risk - why leave it behind?

Daniel Look, Roya would assume all domestic spy ops are run by the FBI, since the CIA by statute cannot spy on the homeland. That this happens in this series is the trouble of the writers.

conorjh The timeline is confusing, yes, but with the single bullet, isn't the point just that Mike isn't all that smart.

Daniel Didn't Mike say a 9 mm was especially common?No, Mike, and the other ex-Marines, are supposed to be ahead of the curve, due to their common bind and military skills.That said, who knows whether Brody didn't return home to a ten year old box of ammo with one shell missing?

Brett Next Sunday, Dana runs away, gets attacked by tiger. Awful subplot! Does it advance anything that we liked about the concept in the first season?

Dan3320 I think we overestimate Nazir's reach in the US. Sure it seems like he has contacts everywhere, but to assume he has enough manpower in the US to keep surveillance on Brody's house is a bit of a stretch.

Daniel Hell, to imagine that Nazir can summon a wet op team to take out a CIA team stretches credulity hugely.But we're in it for the ride, not the details or the sopycraft.

Maka Brody is a TRAITOR. Jesus Christ. The man should be rotting in Gitmo right now, but instead he's free, and running around in the highest circles of government.

PA I think that's more or less the way Carrie views him.

virginia And, Shawn, what you describe is definitely how I see him. Damian Lewis is beyond terrific in the role and brings all of these nuances to the part even when the writing is less than stellar.

Slam "Brody is a traitor, and he's running around in the highest circles of Gov't". Is that believable ? Hell no. Is it entertaining ? It's the BEST SHOW ON TV right now. So go with it.

Eric827 Walden is scum, but he didn't know that the bomb would take out a school. Why would he intentionally bomb a school? He thought there was a worthy target there, he was wrong, and so he covered it up.That's different from intentionally deciding to blow up a school for the hell of it.

Mplsegg Too many missing links to be real this week. Like they wouldn't recover the body of the man Brody killed? Further, someone as unstable as Carrie would never be actively working. Finally Brody new the address of the safe house...yet no one asked him about it...big hole.

Dan3320 Right, but if they just happen to hit the tailor's shop and the safe house simultaneously, then clearly Brody is working with the CIA and his cover is blown.

Gajic The conversation was directly beside a waterfall so they couldn't make out the conversation over the water. Roya and her contact chose that location on purpose so they wouldn't be heard. It's totally feasible that their mic wouldn't be able to pick up the conversation over the waterfall.

bigtruck Last season the show's writing managed to transcend its goofy plot. This season, Claire Danes and Damian Lewis's acting has been transcending the goofy plot and progressively awful writing. That Mike-Jessica scene was atrocious.

CIA agree with the mike/jessica scene. she really has no emotional range.

Slam Everybody hates the Jessica character now.

Ben Kabak no real guy hates the jessica character

pwt nobody hates the Jessica character. We all hate the Jessica actress.

Charlie I know I am in the minority but I am getting sick of Claire Danes. Her acting idiosyncrasies are becoming annoying to me. I can't stand to look at her face when she does the freak out thing week in and week out. Damien Lewis is still really good. The show needs more Saul.

virginia You are not alone!

Emma @Virginia--It's the cover story for Roya, it really doesn't make sense for his secretary-and others at his job as a congressman- to know that the he's having any contact with Carrie, particularly that he may be having an affair, as you say would explain her barging in.

Chuck Claire Danes doesn't act, she mugs. She's kinda like the signer for Mayor Blumberg. Just a bit too much

Andrew Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BLOOWFNbuaU The Claire Danes montage...

Matrices They hinted that this new guy (and his team presumably) was a Hezbollah import

jbb @Alan Really? Seth Gilliam. Come on dude that was not Seth Gilliam, but then again I guess we all look alike in your eyes.

sepinwall You might want to check the guest credits for the episode, JBB.

Dan3320 Haha, I love this. Definitely Seth Gilliam.

abutterflyloves Well @alan and @JBB I watched every episode of The Wire 50 times, and I didn't even recognize him. 75 pounds and a few short words was difficult to recognize him. But after watching Homeland again this morning. Totally Seth.

Miles I initially thought that was Sergeant Carver after hearing his voice, but I doubted myself after we never got a good look at him and he wasn't given anything else to do. Thanks for confirming that it was.

Emma Perhaps he did, but Roya won't necessarily show him-or want him to know- that she's suspicous of him.

Lauraincabo I love his charcter in terms of being intersting, if maybe not likeable. And this Quinn is sure a lot better than the Quinn on Dexter! Hope he survived and intersting that Valdez may not be dead as possibly more evidence of him as CIA mole.

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Homeland is updated

Three Fly Jet

The Showtime sophomore slump is comfortably settling in at this juncture.

Eric

The single bullet missing seemed like a continuity error to me. Didn't brody use that same gun to shoot the deer early in season 1?

Dave I Sorry... short of a dead-on head shot that would not bring down a deer.

-Cheers

kenny

What about this time Brody shot a deer. Theirs one bullet that could be missing from his ammunition.

Bill

Still not loving the Dana subplot.

Erin

Couldn't the CIA get someone to read Roya's lips during her meet-up with the mystery contact? It looked like they had a good angle on her face in the video

WaltEagle

But Gilliam was nowhere to be seen during the massacre...right? I mean he was a guest star in the opening credits and said what, one word? He's better than that, I expect he'll be back.

Daniel Didn't Mike say a 9 mm was especially common?

No, Mike, and the other ex-Marines, are supposed to be ahead of the curve, due to their common bind and military skills.

That said, who knows whether Brody didn't return home to a ten year old box of ammo with one shell missing?

Brett Next Sunday, Dana runs away, gets attacked by tiger.

Awful subplot! Does it advance anything that we liked about the concept in the first season?

Daniel Hell, to imagine that Nazir can summon a wet op team to take out a CIA team stretches credulity hugely.

But we're in it for the ride, not the details or the sopycraft.

Eric827 Walden is scum, but he didn't know that the bomb would take out a school. Why would he intentionally bomb a school? He thought there was a worthy target there, he was wrong, and so he covered it up.

That's different from intentionally deciding to blow up a school for the hell of it.

Mplsegg

Too many missing links to be real this week. Like they wouldn't recover the body of the man Brody killed? Further, someone as unstable as Carrie would never be actively working. Finally Brody new the address of the safe house...yet no one asked him about it...big hole.

bigtruck

Last season the show's writing managed to transcend its goofy plot. This season, Claire Danes and Damian Lewis's acting has been transcending the goofy plot and progressively awful writing. That Mike-Jessica scene was atrocious.

Charlie

I know I am in the minority but I am getting sick of Claire Danes. Her acting idiosyncrasies are becoming annoying to me. I can't stand to look at her face when she does the freak out thing week in and week out. Damien Lewis is still really good. The show needs more Saul.

jbb

@Alan Really? Seth Gilliam. Come on dude that was not Seth Gilliam, but then again I guess we all look alike in your eyes.

belinda

Carver! Damnit show.

jbb

@Alan I stand corrected. Apologies.

MLE

ok, am I the only one who thinks that Quinn surviving the attack points to the possibility that he is the mole? And therefore he and Brody are in this together and the stabbing of Brody's hand was all part of the act and Brody is playing the CIA?