Photo via Showtime.
Things are really starting to pick up for Homeland. Last week’s “Game On,” was a staunch reminder of what makes the show so good (at times): A taut, carefully constructed espionage thriller. Now that Homeland has shaken off the cobwebs, gotten over catching us up with what’s happened since the Langley bombing, and set up the key plot points for this season, the wheels are in full motion, and the show hasn’t been this much fun since season one. With one caveat: Dana Brody.
They really need to end her story line. While most other critics agree that the Dana Brody storyline this season is really bringing the show down, the contrarians are starting to come out in defense of the Dana Brody storyline, taking cheap shots by saying the criticism directed towards her narrative in the show are sexist and unwarranted, similar to the Skyler White haters on Breaking Bad. To that I simply say: No. The problem with Dana Brody and her romantic woes is simply that it’s distracting, annoying, and not moving the narrative forward at all.
Anyway, beyond that, last night’s thrilling episode, “The Yoga Play,” saw some major developments in the hunt for Majid Javadi, as well as some big reveals that could jeopardize the CIA’s future. Let’s review:
Photo via Showtime.
The Sage of Dana and Leo
After Dana finds out the real reason Leo was locked up in the looney bin with her, she rightly freaks out, ends their lovers road trip, and breaks up with him. God, I hope this is the end of that story line. Also worth noting: Dana Brody does a pretty good Carrie Mathison cry face.
The Big Reveal, Revisited
Last week’s big reveal was that Carrie being outed by Saul and the CIA, as well as her being locked up in a psych ward, heavily medicated, was all a play to get the Iranians to see her as a disgraced CIA agent, in hopes that they’ll approach and ask her to switch sides. It worked. And as Peter Quinn, echoing all of our sentiments, says when Saul fills him in on it, “fuck me.” As it turns out, from the very beginning, this was all part of the plan. Damn. And now that Quinn is in on the mission, watching Carrie’s back, the stakes have never been higher—nor more exciting.
Photo via Showtime.
Carrie Risks Everything
Adding to the chorus of reasons why Homeland needs to drop the Dana Brody storyline is how Carrie may have compromised everything last night trying to find her. After an awkward, but desperate visit from Jessica Brody, Carrie sets out to try and persuade her FBI buddy to find her, even though he wants nothing to do with her. Although Carrie breaking protocol with numerous people following her made for one of the most thrilling episodes of the season thus far, it was a bit frustrating to watch her risk everything for this silly plot line that basically solved itself. Sigh.
CIA Director Saul Berenson? Nope
In the beginning of the episode, Quinn visits Saul as he’s preparing for an elite weekend-long duck goose-hunting trip, where he expects he’ll get the Presidential nomination for CIA director? Does he get it? Nope. Who does get it? Senator Andrew Lockhart, the douchey guy who heads the Senate CIA Investigation Committee. And to make things worse for Saul, he comes home early to find his wife in the middle of a dinner date. Rough day, man. Props to Mandy Patinkin for delivering an especially great performance this week, especially in that terrific passive-aggressive toast to Lockhart. You could feel the anger seething from every word.
Photo via Showtime.
Carrie Kidnapped
Continuing this string of really strong endings, “The Yoga Play” ends with a particularly tense sequence wherein Javadi’s men sneak past Quinn’s watchful eye and kidnap Carrie to bring her to her rendezvous with the mysterious Majid Javadi, who we finally meet this episode. It was a particularly grueling sequence, one that echoed when she was kidnapped by Abu Nazir last season. Now that she’s out on her own, and Javadi may or may not know that Carrie is playing him (“You’re in good shape. Must be all that yoga,” Javadi says in a brilliantly cryptic way), I’m excited to see how this all plays out.
No Brody, No Cry
Another week, still no Brody. Now that Homeland is really starting to get good again, I’m worried that we’ll get a mostly Brody-centric episode next week that will cause Carrie’s kidnapping to take a backseat. I’m also skeptical as to how they’ll tie his storyline in with the Javadi one. We’ll see.
Carrie Mathison Tear-O-Meter Rating: 2
Photo via Showtime.
Carrie only cries once this episode (when she’s being kidnapped), but it’s probably the most warranted breakdown of the series. However, I’m awarding a bonus point for Dana Brody’s cry face, which shows she’s been taking lessons from the Carrie Mathison School of Cry Face.
