Inside Television with Alan Sepinwall

Season premiere review: 'Homeland' - 'The Smile' : Better call Saul

The Emmy-winning drama returns with Carrie and Brody in very different places

By Alan Sepinwall Sunday, Sep 30, 2012 11:00 PM

Claire Danes in the "Homeland" season premiere.

Credit: Showtime

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"Homeland" is back for a new season, and I have a review of the premiere — plus a few thoughts from producers Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon — coming up just as soon as I love Julia Roberts...

"Just like old times." -Carrie

One week ago tonight, "Homeland" won most of the big Emmys it was up for, including awards for Claire Danes, Damian Lewis and the show itself. It is, for the moment, the big dog in TV drama, and "The Smile" was a good reminder of how it attained that status.

I might quibble a bit with how quickly Carrie returns to action (more on that below from Gansa and Gordon), but there was no attempt to gloss over the damage done to her career and mental health last season. Carrie blew up her life, and the only people who know she was right to do it are Nicolas Brody and the people in the audience. So even though the writers have already concocted an excuse for Carrie to be put into the field (in the same way that CTU always needed Jack Bauer to shave his beard and come out of retirement), she's not Carrie Mathison, bad-ass secret agent. She's jittery at the mere sight of Galvez, is terrified to talk to Saul or see Estes, and even struggles to remember numbers the way she used to. She's able to get it together enough to evade and then take out a single pursuer (leading to the smile that gives the episode its name), but that's practically muscle memory. Carrie was damaged when the series started, and she's even more damaged now.

Great as Danes continues to be, the star of this one for me was Lewis. About six months have passed since Brody elected not to blow himself up real good, and he still seems to want to avoid having to pick a side until absolutely forced to. But he breaks into Estes' safe for Nazir, and — in the hour's best scene — he freaks the hell out when Jess throws his Koran to the ground. (What's great is how quickly Jess recognizes that he cares more about that book than he does about her or her concerns; this is the most passion she's seen out of her husband since he came back from the dead.) He may want to fight the idea that his loyalty is more with his captors than with his country at this point, but his instincts don't lie.

"The Smile" has to lay a lot of groundwork for the new season, including establishing the (timely but fictional) tensions between Israel and Iran, having Walden float the idea of Brody as his running mate(*) and putting the Brody family into a much higher social circle (including the private school where Dana causes trouble at Quaker Meeting). And it does all that ably. But these two scarred human beings are the heart of the show, and "The Smile" was first and foremost about seeing how they're doing after all they went through a season ago. And on that level, it was terrific.

(*) When I posted the first 20 minutes of the premiere a few weeks ago, there was some debate over whether someone with Brody's qualifications (not only his limited time in politics, but presumed lack of higher education) would make him a viable candidate. But we don't even yet know if Walden is seriously considering him, or just using Brody as a prop in the early stages of his campaign.

Finally, I interviewed Gansa and Gordon a few weeks ago — including discussion of jobs they considered putting Carrie in before landing on her as an ESL teacher to Middle Eastern immigrants — and withheld this one exchange because I didn't want to give away that Carrie is already helping out the CIA by the end of the premiere. Here we go:

Did you discuss the idea of keeping her on the sidelines for a while longer, or did you always know you wanted her back right away?

Alex Gansa:    On of the strategies last year, which worked and which we're going to emulate again this year, is having things happen before people expect them to happen. We wanted to find the most plausible way to get her back into the intelligence community. We really took a chapter from John le Carré. Smiley was out of the circus and a former agent of his appeared on the scene and said, "I only want to talk to George Smiley." It felt like a really good way to bring Carrie back. She was a case officer. She was a case officer overseas. What if one of her old assets came back and said she'd only talk to Carrie?

Howard Gordon:    But we're also pretty specific about this — she's not back-back. We do play that out, so it's a two-tier process.

Alex Gansa:    Yeah, she's not welcome back with open arms.

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

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mountaineer

I thought it was great. I really missed the show. I'm just afraid Carrie will be completely broken by the end. I can't wait until they realize she was right all along.
September 30, 2012 at 11:32PM EST Reply to Comment
Ellen M.

I had some issues with Carrie getting back in the game - even temporarily - because she didn't have Saul there personally to make that happen. He is the only one she can trust. Though she was the main catalyst for her crash and burn last season - David Estes was the trigger man. It made me cringe that she had to meet with him first. And, I didn't know how credible that was. Frankly, in future when she comes out of her drugged induce "purple haze", I hope she kicks him squarely in the nuts for how she was treated. I won't feel good about the story unless that happens at some point.

But I agree, the night belonged to Damian Lewis. He is so good at playing the conflicted, trapped animal. It's clear that he is enjoying his new life to a great degree and it seemed he felt quite shocked to be reminded by Zuleika Robinson that Abu Nazir expected other things from him. Plus, Jess finding out about his conversion as a Muslim - it just showed a flood light on why their marriage is really a sham. Poor Jess - she is trying so hard to make all this work again but she just could never accept this and especially now because of the life his political career has given them.

But my heart goes out to Dana. I really love the scenes between her and Brody. She seems to be the only one besides Carrie that might have the capacity to understand the complexity of his situation. But it will be heartbreaking when she learns the truth.

I'll be happy when Carrie transitions completely into her past role . I am looking forward to see how credibly that is portrayed.
September 30, 2012 at 11:37PM EST Reply to Comment
- JerseyRudy Regarding Carrie meeting with Estes: what makes this show very good is that you can look at it from Estes' perspective and understand his actions. In last season's finale he received a phone call from a war hero telling him that Carrie had slept with him and was obsessed with him. He then goes to her house to confront her with this information and finds that Carrie has classified information about Abu Nazir on the wall of her home, and that Carrie has been hiding a mental illness from the agency all these years. Given all this, he had no choice but to cut ties with her. The only reason to question this is because we as the audience sympathize with Carrie and know that she was right about Brody, but from an objective viewpoint Estes acted appropriately.
  
  regarding Dana: I think she found out the truth about her father in last season's finale. The phone call she made to her father was her acknowledgement that Carrie might be right about him. Then when Brody acted strangely during their phone call and did not answer her when she initially asked if he was coming home, we saw that she realized it was true. She loves her Dad and wants to protect him, but deep down she knows the truth about him.
  September 30, 2012 at 11:53PM EST
- Ellen M. Carrie was already a thorn in Estes' side. She dated him and that didn't turn out well and she always pushed the envelope in terms of organizational rules. So, he would welcome a scenario to get rid of her. He is also a very political animal with ties to a seemingly shady vice president. Someone like her could definitely muck up his situation.
  
  And, we cannot forget that there is a mole in the agency. Who knows, it could end up being David Estes.
  
  I think Dana knows about her father subconsciously. It's just a matter of time before we see her openly acknowledge this. This shows how hard it would be to do the right thing if you knew something quite bad about a loved one. It may not be the easiest thing to admit to yourself and everyone else.
  October 1, 2012 at 9:53AM EST
- JerseyRudy Agree about Estes being an opportunistic political animal (like most who rise to that level) who welcomed a good reason to push out Carrie. But as far as him being a mole, that possibility was eliminated last night, with the scene in which they lure him out of his office so that Brody can access his safe.
  October 1, 2012 at 9:59AM EST
- Ellen M. It may be possible that he knew about the whole Brody/safe thing and was accommodating this action. But I agree that obvious suspicion has been thrown on Estes throughout the story - making him at the very least a red herring. My guess is that he may have been made chief of the agency because of his accommodations to the v.p. and also because he is not willing to "rock the boat" like Saul or Carrie. I just hope the mole isn't Saul. I'll be very unhappy with that.
  October 1, 2012 at 10:37AM EST
- caitnan Reply to comment...
  October 1, 2012 at 11:28AM EST
- caitnan Wasn't Galvez the person who took Estes away from his meeting with Brody? Doesn't that suggest that Galvez is possibly operating with the Abu Nazir network? It seemed odd that he leaned on Estes to take that reporter's request so urgently. But then, I'm not 100% sure it was Galvez so please set me straight if need be.
  October 1, 2012 at 11:36AM EST
- JerseyRudy I'm not sure if it was Galvez, but it was clear that the reporter worked for a major news organization and that it was urgent for Estes to try to stop her from going public with her report. Estes would not have reacted that way if the information she had was not true.
  
  The interesting part is that it was probably Iran who gave her the information about one of their reactors still being functional. Estes asked her and she did not answer.
  October 1, 2012 at 12:49PM EST
- Ellen M. It was Galvez who told David E. about the reporter. He was also the one who came to Carrie's English class to ask her to come in to the agency. So it looks like he does some "gopher" work for Estes. And he was also asked by Estes to spy on Carrie. Galvez is openly Muslim - so who knows how much more lurks there.
  October 1, 2012 at 3:57PM EST
- JerseyRudy I listened to Alex Gansa talk about the mole issue recently, and it is doubtful that the mole will be exposed in a "eureka" type moment. It is more likely that the mole or moles are lurking in the background and we never find out who they are, which is the way it usually works in the world of intelligence.
  October 1, 2012 at 4:17PM EST
- Ellen M. Sounds like it would not be surprising if there were more than one mole - who probably wouldn't know about each other. That would jive with Nazir's tactics. Sounds logical and pragmatic. But I would be surprised if we don't get a good idea who they may be at some point.
  October 1, 2012 at 4:31PM EST
ClayDavis

I found my self saying that's it? But that's just the increased expectations from having beaten breaking bad for best drama.
brodys daughter is downright worse than joffrey and shield when she isn't with Brody, but when they are together the character works.
this episode was obviously gonna be slow and making us take a breather after the finale. So far ok
September 30, 2012 at 11:43PM EST Reply to Comment
keith

How much higher education did Sarah Palin have? I don't think it's an issue in modern American politics.
October 1, 2012 at 12:04AM EST Reply to Comment
- John G. She has a Bachelors of Science from the University of Idaho. Brody might not even have graduated high school.
  October 1, 2012 at 2:08AM EST
- John Also, say what you will, but she was a sitting governor of a state. Brody is a first-term congressman. It's not believable at all that he would even be floated as a candidate. But that's a minor quibble in the grand scheme of things.
  October 1, 2012 at 5:56AM EST
- JerseyRudy Just because it has not happened does not mean it is not believable. The scene in the Gettysburg diner last season sets up how popular Brody is throughout the country. The Vice President pushed him for the open Congressional seat because he had plans for bigger things for him. Plus you have the background of a terror attack in Washington DC months earlier and the fear of a full-scale war breaking out after Israel's attack on Iran. The Vice President exploiting a hugely popular war hero to the max is believable to me.
  October 1, 2012 at 6:21AM EST
- Another Guest Palin attended 5 different colleges over the course of 5 academic years and received a bachelors in communications from the University of Idaho. (I suspect that was a BA rather than BS, but don't know for sure.) http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aYY9hiQdr5E4&refer=home
  
  Brody being floated as a VP candidate strains credibility, but the show made it clear he thought the current VP was doing it more for PR purposes than as a serious proposal.
  October 1, 2012 at 1:13PM EST
- velocityknown Yeah, I'm hoping the show realizes that reality. But we'll see. It's not even so much the lack of higher education as it is the lack of political experience. Sure, the war hero thing was enough to get Brody into office, but I definitely don't see it getting him into the VP ring immediately.
  October 1, 2012 at 1:23PM EST
- Mike Are you sure you guys aren't getting your politics from the West Wing, rather than reality? I have no doubt in my mind that someone would use a powerful tool like Brody in this way. The man, in everyone in the universe of the show's mind, is a war hero. In this day and age, where often the Vice President is seen as more of the ideas man, at least on the Republican side (I would hazard to call Joe Biden an ideas man), with Bush-Cheney, McCain-Palin, Romney-Ryan, etc. but if we accept the old model of the Vice Presidency, there is absolutely no reason Brody would not be seen as up to the task. To quote a man that once held the position, the job "is not worth a bucket of warm piss." Given that, might as well use Brody as a prop to further your administration's message.
  October 1, 2012 at 1:37PM EST
- keith He's not really a war hero though, is he? He was a captive. Like Terry Waite or one of those. Those people do interviews on daytime TV, they don't get taken seriously politically.
  October 1, 2012 at 1:59PM EST
- Mike If I may direct you to the 2008 US presidential election, your question will probably be answered.
  Here's a helpful link:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain
  
  Seriously though, Waite was not a soldier, he was negotiator of some sort I believe. Being a marine and being a PoW is a very different story. If Brody was telling the truth (which the people in the show believe he was) that he was captive for eight years without giving any information to our enemies (the access to that information is one of the key differences between a non-soldier PoW) whilst being tortured consistently, I'd argue yes, that's pretty damned heroic.
  October 1, 2012 at 2:10PM EST
- John G. Most candidates, especially ones who win, have Ivy League schools on their resumes. Most recent Presidents have law degrees (Pres. Bush had an MBA).
  
  What's confusing me is that Brody decided to "influence policy" on behalf of Abu Nazir. Presumably, that means supporting non-intervention, voting to close military bases and withdraw troops, openly criticizing the drone program, etc. Why then would the Vice President, who we know to support a strong effort in the War on Terror, want Brody as his running mate?
  October 1, 2012 at 2:36PM EST
- JerseyRudy Because Abu Nazir is playing the long game. Brody's idea of "influencing policy" was likely different than what Abu Nazir has in mind. Abu Nazir is presented as someone who is smart enough to understand that Brody gaining the trust of the VP and the access that goes along with it is more important than casting anti-military votes as one of 435 Representatives.
  
  It is likely that Brody presenting himself as pro-military and casting votes accordingly is part of the strategy.
  October 1, 2012 at 3:19PM EST
- keith This is why I have to disagree with Alan about the end of last season. Brody could've blown up lots of high value targets, now for a second season he wants to 'influence policy' in some kind of vague way. Nonsense, imo.
  October 1, 2012 at 3:56PM EST
Dezbot

I was pleased with the how it started, and I really liked that wicked little smile on Carrie's face after she evaded capture.

I also liked the relationship between Dana and Brody. Man, I feel sorry for her when she has to openly recognize that her father would've have blown up a bunch of people if his bomb had worked.
October 1, 2012 at 12:10AM EST Reply to Comment
- M.A.Peel That's how I remember it, that Brody did release the bomb detonator, but it failed. Not that he
  "elected not to blow himself up real good."
  
  The fact that he went through with it was bone chilling.
  October 1, 2012 at 12:28AM EST
- SlipperyPete Go back and watch the season finale again. He did try to blow everyone up and it failed. He then went into the bathroom and fixed the detonator and was prepared to "blow himself up real good" until he talked to his daughter.
  October 1, 2012 at 1:11AM EST
- Adele Prass Yes, the detonator on the suicide vest failed, then Brody did fix it when he was in the bathroom. I love the the performances and most of the writing, but for many months I've been wondering how it was that the suicide vest, left in the bathroom, no doubt with Brody's fingerprints and DNA on it, was not found.
  October 1, 2012 at 1:59AM EST
- JerseyRudy There is no way he would have left it in the public bathroom. Most likely he brought it home, and either hid it somewhere in his house or disposed of it.
  October 1, 2012 at 5:57AM EST
- velocityknown If I'm not mistaken, we see him putting the vest back in his closet at home, right? He definitely didn't leave it in the bathroom because he never took it off after Dana called.
  October 1, 2012 at 1:21PM EST
- Dezbot He has the vest (or has disposed of it since the season finale). He definitely didn't leave it in the bathroom.
  October 1, 2012 at 2:30PM EST
- Adele Prass I'll have to re-watch the end of the Season 1 finale; somehow I just had no recollection of his putting the vest back on, but perhaps I had a momentary lapse.
  October 1, 2012 at 4:17PM EST
John

Did they really use a random cart blocking the street as a means for Saul to ditch his tail after leaving the embassy?! And the whole office safe break-in was just too much as was Carrie's effortless return to the field. I expect better from this show. Please don't turn into something I could watch on CBS.
October 1, 2012 at 12:20AM EST Reply to Comment
- jamespope101 It was my impression the cart blocking the street wasn't random, and was a diversion planned just as swiftly as the second car pick-up. Could be wrong though.
  October 1, 2012 at 7:27AM EST
- Elizabeth I feel that the safe break in at Estes office didn't have an ounce of truth to it.... A CIA office of a top level official doesn't have surveillance? Come on... Otherwise I love watching what Carrie will do next and I cannot wait till she gets her man
  October 1, 2012 at 8:31AM EST
- AUSpur Something to keep in mind - cable shows don't have the luxury of 20+ episode seasons to ease into things like network shows. Also, I agree with the other poster that the cart wasn't random.
  October 1, 2012 at 9:17AM EST
- MauraS I'm not convinced that Estes would have surveillance in his own office, or if he did, that it would be activated at all times. The diversion created by the reporter was a little bit of a stretch, but Brody being left alone and unwatched in Estes's office didn't bother me.
  October 1, 2012 at 10:32AM EST
- Smashing Success? Also, I love how the CIA has everything written down on paper and Brody doesn't have a cool Bond camera in a pen. Seriously, even I don't print paper anymore. Wouldn't a computer hack be much more believable? Or Walt White Estes...
  October 3, 2012 at 11:53AM EST
Mark

Brody will become vice president, then the President will be killed, then Brody will be the President. A terrorist President. That's where we're headed. Everyone's seeing that, right?
October 1, 2012 at 1:05AM EST Reply to Comment
- That's got to be too predictable. I still wonder how many seasons this show can go on though.
  October 1, 2012 at 1:11AM EST
- HISLOCAL "Next time on 'My Terrorist President'....."
  October 3, 2012 at 10:59AM EST
simpleenigma

Brody actually was supposed to die in season 1 (and have the series focus around Carrie) but they decided to keep him and put Tom Walker in that place instead. I love that they kept Brody and it looks like he will go interesting places but I do hope his storyline wraps up this season or the very latest next season. Five seasons of Carrie vs the sleeper Senator/Vice President/President would eventually becomes stale and likely unbelievable. That said I loved the premiere and I am excited at how this will unfold. With his emotional daughter and increasingly disillusioned wife, I don't see Brody being able to withstand the bright light of an election. About the only thing going for him is Carrie's bad luck/bad judgment and the blind career ambition of Estes and the Vice President.
October 1, 2012 at 4:13AM EST Reply to Comment
- AUSpur I just learned that about Brody. Highly recommend the Grantland Hollywood Prospectus podcast from last week with Alex Gansa.
  October 1, 2012 at 9:19AM EST
Geoff

Anti-American, Terrorist-themed and politically controversial - this show is amazing!
October 1, 2012 at 5:08AM EST Reply to Comment
John

I thought it was excellent, the best episode of a very crowded (Homeland, Boardwalk Empire, The Good Wife and Dexter, all of which turned in very good episodes) night. I thought the show's excuse for getting Carrie back was reasonable enough, even if it really was right out of the 24 playbook (CTU went to a bearded Jack in Season 2 because he had been undercover with a group they suspected of planning an imminent attack). Just about every scene was strong, though my favorite was Carrie incapacitating her pursuer and then walk out with that smile. Clearly, she was exhilarated by it, and I thought Danes' acting was tremendous in that scene.
October 1, 2012 at 6:02AM EST Reply to Comment
bendik

Is it wrong of me to be sad that we live in a world where Alan feels that it's necessary to point out that the show's particular Middle Eastern conflict is fictional?
October 1, 2012 at 6:52AM EST Reply to Comment
- Mahmoud Fayed Not wrong, although a little elitist.
  October 2, 2012 at 4:33PM EST
tag8833

I am of two minds on this episode. First, I felt like the finale last season really betrayed the Brody-is-a-mole plotline in a way that I have lost all vested interest in that. When the reporter with a message showed up, I rolled my eyes, and begged for it to be over.

On the other hand, all of the stuff involving Carrie was aces. I can't get enough of Claire Danes working her way through a world that seems so out of control, and chaotic to her. Every time we cut away from Carrie to Brody I couldn't wait to return to Carrie.

Brody's family issues were far more interesting than his undercover terrorist plotline, but if they were on a show by themselves, I probably wouldn't watch it. Also, Morena Baccarin came off more schrewish than I would have liked, and she feels like a woefully underdeveloped character that exists mainly to further Brody's "I'm misunderstood" attitude.

So essentially, I feel like there are 3 shows here. The one I love, the one I hate, and the one to which I am indifferent.
October 1, 2012 at 7:05AM EST Reply to Comment
- Baccarin's character has been woefully underdeveloped, but it's interesting to me that they've shifted Jessica as someone so focused on her husband as a father and family man to a women now completely fixated on his public persona. The side of Jessica we saw in 'The Smile' was disturbing, and not just because Brody's rise in the political arena has her schmoozing with the Veep's wife and convinced he's ready to hold the second-highest office in the land. That they're now playing her off as someone who apparently despises Muslims and so easily trashed the Qur'an made her seem like an unsympathetic shrew -- especially more so where Dana was concerned. Her reaction to the phone call from the Dean was almost as bad as what ultimately transpired in the garage with her husband. All around, it's an interesting, yet bizarre character development I wouldn't have seen coming from last season to now.
  
  October 1, 2012 at 7:57AM EST
- jack_is_laughing Well hold on a second. "That they're now playing her off as someone who apparently despises Muslims and so easily trashed the Qur'an made her seem like an unsympathetic shrew."
  
  Yes, I suppose it's irrational for her to hold a grudge against Muslim terrorists who held her husband captive for years on end and so severely damaged him that he's an emotional wreck who has kept her at arm's length emotionally and psychologically since he was found. I find it hard to fault someone who responds harshly to the religion she likely sees as the source of much of her pain. You can say that her reaction is extreme and that she's judging the religion harshly, but yourself in her shoes for a second. Her life hasn't improved much since he returned beyond Brody's new found stature. No wonder she's so fixated on it.
  October 1, 2012 at 12:30PM EST
- Ken Raining I agree with Stephanie, she came off really poorly here, not interested in either Dana's reasons for saying what she did or Brody's reasons for converting. She came off as really insensitive, which isn't unusual for the character. Still a better wife and mom then Betty Draper, though.
  October 2, 2012 at 12:18AM EST
- Mahmoud Fayed @jack_is_laughing
  
  She pits the entire Muslim religion in the same group as the extremists who held Brody captive. She is a grown woman and a mother, so yes, it IS irrational for her to be acting this way.
  
  All the more jarring with how her teenage daughter is doing a better job of handling the situation than her, despite her outburst at Quaker Meeting.
  
  I find it incredibly disturbing that people are actually defending her behavior.
  October 2, 2012 at 4:38PM EST
- jack_is_laughing "I find it hard to fault someone who responds harshly to the religion she likely sees as the source of much of her pain. You can say that her reaction is extreme and that she's judging the religion harshly, but yourself in her shoes for a second. Her life hasn't improved much since he returned beyond Brody's new found stature."
  
  Fair enough, I suppose that does across as me defending her, but I've seen rampant sexism in comment threads for television dramas for the last few years and personally I'm sick and tired of it. The male leads literally get away with murder and yet are still viewed as sympathetic by viewers, yet their wives, girlfriends, and/or female coworkers are treated with pure bile and hatred if they don't respond passively and compassionately to the man's every whim.
  
  I'm simply trying to put her into some context. I don't condone her opinion, but her life has been destroyed by her husband's captivity, and she has finally been given something positive to grasp onto. Keep in mind that Brody doesn't even display what anyone would consider normal love or affection for his wife behind closed doors, and he's been lying to her this entire time. If you can't understand that, then you're failing to grasp the basic elements of the character.
  
  I find it incredibly disturbing that people have been watching this series from the beginning and fail to see any of that.
  October 2, 2012 at 5:15PM EST
- HISLOCAL (As far as she knows) her husband was captured, tortured, and imprisoned by extremist muslim terrorists for 8 years. Please explain to me why it's unbelievable that she would react that way?
  
  I know all of us here on Hitfix are professors that watch drama shows with our monacle and martini, and decry any sort of perceived racism/sexism/xenophobia, but face it - that's how many many people would realistically react.
  
  Normally when I watch a scene like that, I find myself coming up with 100 explanations that the Brody character could respond with, but that scene on Sunday had me putting myself in the Jessica character's shoes.....how could your wrap your mind around the fact that your blue-blooded Marine husband is now following the exact religion that spawned the extremists that captured him?
  October 3, 2012 at 11:09AM EST
- MadlyMild And the thing is, she's right. He's an "enemy" spy, and in his case, his new religion is part of that.
  
  I disagree with being against Islam, but being upset at Jessica in this case is off.
  
  Also, she's had a very hard decade, and now all of a sudden, she's having "fun" and is the center of attention. Calling her status obsessed seems like thinking in vacuum.
  October 3, 2012 at 9:58PM EST
Razorback

I had no issues with Carrie getting back in the game when she did. This isn't a 20-episode season. So, we jump back into the game when she does.
October 1, 2012 at 9:53AM EST Reply to Comment
evietoo

I just kept praying that they don't make the VP and Brody Democrats. I don't think they've alluded to a party at all and I hope they keep it that way.
October 1, 2012 at 10:35AM EST Reply to Comment
- velocityknown See Veep and Parks and Rec for examples of how shows tend to avoid naming their characters to political parties (even though both are pretty clear). I assume they won't call out a party by name. Don't want to alienate any part of their audience.
  October 1, 2012 at 1:19PM EST
- Mike "Both" are? I definitely see Leslie as being on the left, particularly relative to Ron, but Selina Meyer is pretty much just in the party of getting herself more power and building her own legacy.
  October 1, 2012 at 1:44PM EST
- jenny It's pretty amazing how they've avoided revealing it. And also managed to never mention the President. It's all about the VP.
  It's also a very illuminating reflection of our current political reality, in that the Republican party used to own the "hawk", pro-military strength/action brand. Now with our current drone program, etc. the lines are more blurred
  October 1, 2012 at 7:01PM EST
- Jamie I read an interview at the end of last season where Gansa wouldn't disclose the party in power, but acknowledged the similarities between the VP in the show and Dick Cheney.
  October 1, 2012 at 10:00PM EST
- unclevanya @evietoo. So you're just worried that they won't pick a political party? Who cares? This is a show, not actual political candidates.
  I just worry that they have quality television shows. Like HOMELAND.
  DID. A marathon of a whole season in three days. Excellent show.
  October 2, 2012 at 1:43PM EST
Ruthann

Tremendous show. Danes and Lewis and Patinkin are all perfect.
October 1, 2012 at 11:54AM EST Reply to Comment
Dan

A solid start to the season. Obviously she isn't completely their mental health wise. But I can't help but think she was the most normal when evading that guy, I expect her to be almost completely back to normal by the end of her trip (and eat a giant slab of meat). And then go back to picking vegetables, start to lose it again, realize that she wants back in, and that is the start of tier 2.

Also I'm a little mad at showtime, because the preview at the end gave way too much away (not that the prediction I just made was in the preview).
October 1, 2012 at 12:09PM EST Reply to Comment
- CT I purposefully don't watch the next episode preview for that reason. I like to go in fully speculating all that is to come.
  October 1, 2012 at 1:29PM EST
towatei

A great season opener. Even though Brody had the most interesting part here, I really felt for Carrie (the way she smiled was touching). Damn, Danes and Lewis are really awesome. Superb performances by Patinkin and Baccarin too (the scene in the garage between Jess and Brody was impressive). I can't wait for the next episode.
October 1, 2012 at 12:55PM EST Reply to Comment
Lee

When Carrie was trying to remember that her cover identity's maiden name was De Carlo, I kept expecting her to mutter "Lily Munster, Lily Munster" as a mnemonic device.
October 1, 2012 at 2:08PM EST Reply to Comment
Dan3320

Is it bad that I was yelling "hurry up" to Brody as he was in the process of stealing US government secrets to give to terrorists? I think that in and of itself speaks to how amazing Lewis is in that role that I openly root for him to succeed.

LOVED the episode and had no problems whatsoever with Carrie's quick return to the game or Brody's quick ascension to possible VP. Like someone earlier mentioned, this isn't a 22-episode season. Sometimes we have to cut a few corners to get into the storytelling. So much tension! Love it!
October 1, 2012 at 2:33PM EST Reply to Comment
- Dan I find myself rooting for him too, but in a different way. I want so badly for him to do the right thing. The fact that he's still redeemable is a huge testament to his acting skill and the writing on the show.
  October 1, 2012 at 3:23PM EST
Dan3320

And I forgot to mention this. Did Claire Danes already win next year's Best Actress in a Drama Emmy for that smile after evading the terrorist? Oh my - that was literally my thought process in reverse. First "Oh my!" and then "Danes just won another Emmy." Fantastic! And great title to the episode!
October 1, 2012 at 3:32PM EST Reply to Comment
- John She might have, though I thought the exact same thing after half a dozen Bryan Cranston scenes last year (and especially with the end of "Crawl Space"), and we saw how that turned out. But Danes was spectacular in that scene.
  October 1, 2012 at 4:27PM EST
- Mike Damian Lewis is a lot better than any actress running against Ms. Danes next year though. Not only is Claire Danes great on this show, but she also has a ridiculous advantage in that no one has really given a part like this to a woman before Homeland (and after Danes' work here, hopefully that changes). She just gets to do so much more than any other woman on TV.
  October 1, 2012 at 4:43PM EST
- berkowit28 Not only that - the smile was pure Julia Roberts!
  October 1, 2012 at 7:12PM EST
Noah Body

I did not like the safe break at all. That felt totally like a 24 thing, not like Homeland.

But, otherwise, loved Brody and Carey, as usual. Great characters. And, as another commenter said, Brody's daughter when she is with Brody is really good, too. And Saul. And... and ... and...
October 1, 2012 at 5:09PM EST Reply to Comment
aforkosh

So, are episode titles on show scripts or are they assigned in post-production? I really enjoyed Danes's reaction at the end of the chase until I saw that the episode was a daggar pointing at it. It seems to me that episode titles have gotten a little too on-point (see also tonight's Boardwalk Empire title).

Since many of us DVR these things, it's almost impossible not to notice the title even if it never shown on the screen. It's getting to the point where I'd prefer or more generic title like 'Season2, Ep 1' or 'Wednesday'.
October 1, 2012 at 6:32PM EST Reply to Comment
- Patrick That's a good point, although for me Danes played it so perfectly that it wasn't spoiled by the title.
  
  The only recent show that I can think of with generic titles was HBO's "Luck." I kind of liked that about it, you never quite knew what to expect. That's not an indictment of Homeland (which I also love) just a comment about how it can work having generic titles
  October 1, 2012 at 9:43PM EST
- Dan3320 While I agree with your premise - that shows should not give away too much with their episode titles - I'm not sure I agree with this one. "The Smile" certainly doesn't give anything away. Sure, after the fact it might seem cheesy. But no way in hell do you see this episode title and have any clue that Claire Danes is going to give an overly excited smile/grin after escaping a terrorist.
  October 2, 2012 at 10:14AM EST
Darkdoug

A jew might want to be careful about saying that Brody's religious devotion indicates the side his "instincts" have chosen. A devout Muslim who is horrified by terrorism done in the name of his god might have reacted the exact same way.
October 1, 2012 at 7:59PM EST Reply to Comment
- rdave I agree with the latter part of your comment, but there was no need for "A jew might want to be careful about..". Keep that to yourself, thanks.
  October 2, 2012 at 1:19AM EST
JoLo

Non-American here, what in the heck is a Quaker meeting?
October 1, 2012 at 9:53PM EST Reply to Comment
- brakewater Quaker is a type of religion that advocates non-violence. They have particular meeting rules. It has a strong influence on some upscale private schools, both high school and college. Most likely this school was modeled after Sidwell Friends, which is where Obama's kids go. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Friends_schools You don't have to be Quaker to go to these schools, it is more about education.
  October 1, 2012 at 10:23PM EST
- Bunk for President The irony is that the sentiments of the 'douche' were the polar opposite of the Quaker faith, while Dana, who was punished, had a much more Quaker moral rationale, even though she broke the meeting rules.
  October 4, 2012 at 11:49AM EST
Jacob

Very good episode. Damian Lewis is God. Dana also rocks.
October 1, 2012 at 11:37PM EST Reply to Comment
rdave

I love Brody, Saul and Carrie's acting. Thought the episode was okay.
October 2, 2012 at 1:13AM EST Reply to Comment
rdave

Just one more thing. Alan, I don't think that just because his choice to be a devout Muslim has any bearing on what "side" he chooses (America or Abu Nazir). As he explained in Season 1, being locked up - he found faith, which in turn may have saved him. So, I don't necessarily buy the religious devotion = Abu Nazir's side.
October 2, 2012 at 1:17AM EST Reply to Comment
- Dan3320 I'm not sure that is what Alan is saying exactly. It is pretty clear that Brody doesn't know what side he is on fully. He continues to do work for Nazir, but I felt like he did this more out of respect for the man and the fact that he pledged an oath to him and the cause. I don't think that necessarily says Brody is fully on team-Nazir - and I don't think Alan's review said that either. Rather, Alan said Brody's INSTINCTS (and actions I'd argue) tend to lean more towards Nazir than Team USA (Sorry, watched too much Ryder Cup this weekend).
  October 2, 2012 at 10:19AM EST
- Mahmoud Fayed I think you're confusing Alan with Brody's wife. Alan wasn't implying that at all.
  October 2, 2012 at 4:48PM EST
- rdave Hmm. I may have interpreted incorrectly then.
  October 2, 2012 at 5:26PM EST
CarlMondayWatchesYou

Alan, do you ever go back and read your reviews on your old blogspot site? Those reviews were so detailed, so thorough, so insightful and, most importantly, so enjoyable to read. I have been a loyal reader of yours for nearly a decade and I can't help but notice that these Hitfix reviews are just not the same. I realize your editors must be spreading you really thin; but maybe this is a case of more being less.
October 4, 2012 at 9:26AM EST Reply to Comment
Daniel

Suspension of disbelief varies according to the genre, and perhaps the director, but as much as I enjoy this series, it almost asks for Alias like suspension of disbelief for what is an Emmy Award winning espionage thriller.

No one spends eight years in captivity to end up being a possible VP contender withing 18 months or arriving home (they could have dumped the VP idea and just suggested he would be a valuable member of the Nationa Security Committee and solved most of these problems). John McCain had a lot of politics under his belt before he traded in his Vietnam POW chips, and still lost.

If Brody is on the Republican ticket, he would need to act like a pious Christian (unless he was a practising Jew), and that would be vetted like hell. And there's no way an ex-soldier would achieve a similar status among the Democrats unless they were a general, like Wesley Clark.

Plus, the man was prepared to enter paradise with his 72 virgins not so long ago, yet his Muslim faith was consigned to the garage. He drinks alcohol, eats pork (no doubt), has sex outside his marriage and is pretty much only a Muslim in his garage. This makes no sense. If he is practicing taqiyya (the rules of subterfuge when working among the infidel, where did he get these very precide rulings from? And does he post questions to Islamonline.com to work out how to live as a Muslim once he is no longer becoming an martyr? . . . And as for burying a Quran, while a nice touch, I am dubious about the theology behind it.)

Now we have Nazir being from a Palestinian refugee family, and ending up as a Shi'ite in Iraq fighting for whom? Not al Qaida, as they hate Shi'ites.

Obviously Brody is well admired by the public (which is only ever alluded to), but being a tortured prisoner doesn't really cut it in the politics stakes unless you can show how that might benefit national security. But we haven't heard one word from his lips to suggest he can either talk tough, think smart or know the enemy in any way that might appeal to the voters.

Which brings us back, again, to his conversion. Just saying there was no King James Bible lying around really isn't a good reason to convert to Islam. Obviously all the many plot holes do not have to be filled all at once. But when they are advanced or explained, it results in even more problems.

Lastly, I would imagine the CIA has to abide by policies dealing with work-related injuries or work exacerbated injuries, which include mental illnesses. Maybe this is too much idealism on my part, but you'd reckon a scene dealing with the HR paperwork for her sacking might have made this a bit more realistic.

Oh, it's good Gansa and Gordon read John le Carré. That should show them how a real pro deals with espionage. I hope they read up on his work some more.
October 4, 2012 at 2:19PM EST Reply to Comment
Uri Klar

As an Israeli, it kind of takes the sting out of the suspense of Karie being chased when I see it actually the Jaffa flee market!

I really hope the production works harder on disguising the fact they shot in Israeli and not Beirut.
October 6, 2012 at 4:47PM EST Reply to Comment

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Season premiere review: 'Homeland' - 'The Smile' : Better call Saul

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mountaineer I thought it was great. I really missed the show. I'm just afraid Carrie will be completely broken by the end. I can't wait until they realize she was right all along.

caitnan Reply to comment...

Ellen M. Sounds like it would not be surprising if there were more than one mole - who probably wouldn't know about each other. That would jive with Nazir's tactics. Sounds logical and pragmatic. But I would be surprised if we don't get a good idea who they may be at some point.

keith How much higher education did Sarah Palin have? I don't think it's an issue in modern American politics.

John G. She has a Bachelors of Science from the University of Idaho. Brody might not even have graduated high school.

John Also, say what you will, but she was a sitting governor of a state. Brody is a first-term congressman. It's not believable at all that he would even be floated as a candidate. But that's a minor quibble in the grand scheme of things.

keith He's not really a war hero though, is he? He was a captive. Like Terry Waite or one of those. Those people do interviews on daytime TV, they don't get taken seriously politically.

keith This is why I have to disagree with Alan about the end of last season. Brody could've blown up lots of high value targets, now for a second season he wants to 'influence policy' in some kind of vague way. Nonsense, imo.

M.A.Peel That's how I remember it, that Brody did release the bomb detonator, but it failed. Not that he "elected not to blow himself up real good."The fact that he went through with it was bone chilling.

SlipperyPete Go back and watch the season finale again. He did try to blow everyone up and it failed. He then went into the bathroom and fixed the detonator and was prepared to "blow himself up real good" until he talked to his daughter.

JerseyRudy There is no way he would have left it in the public bathroom. Most likely he brought it home, and either hid it somewhere in his house or disposed of it.

velocityknown If I'm not mistaken, we see him putting the vest back in his closet at home, right? He definitely didn't leave it in the bathroom because he never took it off after Dana called.

Dezbot He has the vest (or has disposed of it since the season finale). He definitely didn't leave it in the bathroom.

Adele Prass I'll have to re-watch the end of the Season 1 finale; somehow I just had no recollection of his putting the vest back on, but perhaps I had a momentary lapse.

jamespope101 It was my impression the cart blocking the street wasn't random, and was a diversion planned just as swiftly as the second car pick-up. Could be wrong though.

Elizabeth I feel that the safe break in at Estes office didn't have an ounce of truth to it.... A CIA office of a top level official doesn't have surveillance? Come on... Otherwise I love watching what Carrie will do next and I cannot wait till she gets her man

AUSpur Something to keep in mind - cable shows don't have the luxury of 20+ episode seasons to ease into things like network shows. Also, I agree with the other poster that the cart wasn't random.

MauraS I'm not convinced that Estes would have surveillance in his own office, or if he did, that it would be activated at all times. The diversion created by the reporter was a little bit of a stretch, but Brody being left alone and unwatched in Estes's office didn't bother me.

Smashing Success? Also, I love how the CIA has everything written down on paper and Brody doesn't have a cool Bond camera in a pen. Seriously, even I don't print paper anymore. Wouldn't a computer hack be much more believable? Or Walt White Estes...

Mark Brody will become vice president, then the President will be killed, then Brody will be the President. A terrorist President. That's where we're headed. Everyone's seeing that, right?

That's got to be too predictable. I still wonder how many seasons this show can go on though.

HISLOCAL "Next time on 'My Terrorist President'....."

AUSpur I just learned that about Brody. Highly recommend the Grantland Hollywood Prospectus podcast from last week with Alex Gansa.

Geoff Anti-American, Terrorist-themed and politically controversial - this show is amazing!

bendik Is it wrong of me to be sad that we live in a world where Alan feels that it's necessary to point out that the show's particular Middle Eastern conflict is fictional?

Mahmoud Fayed Not wrong, although a little elitist.

Ken Raining I agree with Stephanie, she came off really poorly here, not interested in either Dana's reasons for saying what she did or Brody's reasons for converting. She came off as really insensitive, which isn't unusual for the character. Still a better wife and mom then Betty Draper, though.

Razorback I had no issues with Carrie getting back in the game when she did. This isn't a 20-episode season. So, we jump back into the game when she does.

evietoo I just kept praying that they don't make the VP and Brody Democrats. I don't think they've alluded to a party at all and I hope they keep it that way.

velocityknown See Veep and Parks and Rec for examples of how shows tend to avoid naming their characters to political parties (even though both are pretty clear). I assume they won't call out a party by name. Don't want to alienate any part of their audience.

Mike "Both" are? I definitely see Leslie as being on the left, particularly relative to Ron, but Selina Meyer is pretty much just in the party of getting herself more power and building her own legacy.

Jamie I read an interview at the end of last season where Gansa wouldn't disclose the party in power, but acknowledged the similarities between the VP in the show and Dick Cheney.

unclevanya @evietoo. So you're just worried that they won't pick a political party? Who cares? This is a show, not actual political candidates.I just worry that they have quality television shows. Like HOMELAND.DID. A marathon of a whole season in three days. Excellent show.

Ruthann Tremendous show. Danes and Lewis and Patinkin are all perfect.

CT I purposefully don't watch the next episode preview for that reason. I like to go in fully speculating all that is to come.

Lee When Carrie was trying to remember that her cover identity's maiden name was De Carlo, I kept expecting her to mutter "Lily Munster, Lily Munster" as a mnemonic device.

Dan I find myself rooting for him too, but in a different way. I want so badly for him to do the right thing. The fact that he's still redeemable is a huge testament to his acting skill and the writing on the show.

John She might have, though I thought the exact same thing after half a dozen Bryan Cranston scenes last year (and especially with the end of "Crawl Space"), and we saw how that turned out. But Danes was spectacular in that scene.

berkowit28 Not only that - the smile was pure Julia Roberts!

Noah Body I did not like the safe break at all. That felt totally like a 24 thing, not like Homeland. But, otherwise, loved Brody and Carey, as usual. Great characters. And, as another commenter said, Brody's daughter when she is with Brody is really good, too. And Saul. And... and ... and...

Darkdoug A jew might want to be careful about saying that Brody's religious devotion indicates the side his "instincts" have chosen. A devout Muslim who is horrified by terrorism done in the name of his god might have reacted the exact same way.

rdave I agree with the latter part of your comment, but there was no need for "A jew might want to be careful about..". Keep that to yourself, thanks.

JoLo Non-American here, what in the heck is a Quaker meeting?

Bunk for President The irony is that the sentiments of the 'douche' were the polar opposite of the Quaker faith, while Dana, who was punished, had a much more Quaker moral rationale, even though she broke the meeting rules.

Jacob Very good episode. Damian Lewis is God. Dana also rocks.

rdave I love Brody, Saul and Carrie's acting. Thought the episode was okay.

Mahmoud Fayed I think you're confusing Alan with Brody's wife. Alan wasn't implying that at all.

rdave Hmm. I may have interpreted incorrectly then.

Uri Klar As an Israeli, it kind of takes the sting out of the suspense of Karie being chased when I see it actually the Jaffa flee market! I really hope the production works harder on disguising the fact they shot in Israeli and not Beirut.

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Homeland is updated

mountaineer

I thought it was great. I really missed the show. I'm just afraid Carrie will be completely broken by the end. I can't wait until they realize she was right all along.

keith

How much higher education did Sarah Palin have? I don't think it's an issue in modern American politics.

M.A.Peel That's how I remember it, that Brody did release the bomb detonator, but it failed. Not that he
"elected not to blow himself up real good."

The fact that he went through with it was bone chilling.

Mark

Brody will become vice president, then the President will be killed, then Brody will be the President. A terrorist President. That's where we're headed. Everyone's seeing that, right?

Geoff

Anti-American, Terrorist-themed and politically controversial - this show is amazing!

bendik

Is it wrong of me to be sad that we live in a world where Alan feels that it's necessary to point out that the show's particular Middle Eastern conflict is fictional?

Razorback

I had no issues with Carrie getting back in the game when she did. This isn't a 20-episode season. So, we jump back into the game when she does.

evietoo

I just kept praying that they don't make the VP and Brody Democrats. I don't think they've alluded to a party at all and I hope they keep it that way.

unclevanya @evietoo. So you're just worried that they won't pick a political party? Who cares? This is a show, not actual political candidates.
I just worry that they have quality television shows. Like HOMELAND.
DID. A marathon of a whole season in three days. Excellent show.

Ruthann

Tremendous show. Danes and Lewis and Patinkin are all perfect.

Lee

When Carrie was trying to remember that her cover identity's maiden name was De Carlo, I kept expecting her to mutter "Lily Munster, Lily Munster" as a mnemonic device.

Noah Body

I did not like the safe break at all. That felt totally like a 24 thing, not like Homeland.

But, otherwise, loved Brody and Carey, as usual. Great characters. And, as another commenter said, Brody's daughter when she is with Brody is really good, too. And Saul. And... and ... and...

Darkdoug

A jew might want to be careful about saying that Brody's religious devotion indicates the side his "instincts" have chosen. A devout Muslim who is horrified by terrorism done in the name of his god might have reacted the exact same way.

JoLo

Non-American here, what in the heck is a Quaker meeting?

Jacob

Very good episode. Damian Lewis is God. Dana also rocks.

rdave

I love Brody, Saul and Carrie's acting. Thought the episode was okay.

Uri Klar

As an Israeli, it kind of takes the sting out of the suspense of Karie being chased when I see it actually the Jaffa flee market!

I really hope the production works harder on disguising the fact they shot in Israeli and not Beirut.

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