Photo via Showtime.
The chess pieces are set. In this week’s Homeland, “One Last Time,” all of the different story lines from this season finally started to converge, setting up what’s sure to be a thrilling, if not catastrophic season finale. Which is a treasured feat, given that last season ended with a mass bombing that killed off no less than three major characters. But now it seems like the show is setting up to kill off another major character—perhaps its biggest character: Nicholas Brody.
Indeed, given the not-so-cryptic title “One Last Time,” it seems as though the events of last night’s episode are leading to the inevitable death of Brody. At least, the illusion that he’s dead. (I wouldn’t be surprised if they made it seem like he was dead, only for us to learn that he didn’t really die when he reappears midway through next season, but I digress.) Last night’s episode sure packed a lot of story into 60 minutes. In that time, we saw a strung out Brody return to the states, on the brink of death from heroin withdrawal, transform into a mission-ready soldier in a swift, Rocky-esque training montage. We also witnessed his less than glamorous reunion with Dana, and Saul and Carrie put the pieces into place for his final mission. Like I said, a lot of story for one episode. Let’s analyze:
The Return of Brody
Damian Lewis gets major acting props for his heroin-addled performance that sees Brody going to hell and back trying to get clean. Brody has been noticeably absence from this season, appearing in only one episode prior to this. His homecoming has certainly been slow-building and his return was definitely rewarding for those who stuck through the rocky start of this season.
Photo via Showtime.
Brody’s Transformation
Locked up by the CIA, Brody endures hell by being forced to go cold turkey. Saul needs to get him clean before his tenure as acting CIA Director is up, and the bullish Senator Andrew Lockhart takes over. In order to speed up the detox process, Dar Adal recommends giving him a controversial drug that accelerates the process, but gives him violent, intense hallucinations. These hallucinations cause him to nearly kill himself, and he reveals to Saul that he’d rather die, instead of help him with one last mission for a shot at redemption (or “be a Marine one last time”). Of course, he changes his mind after Carrie manipulates him by taking him to see Dana, who’s now working as a maid at some dingy motel in the middle of nowhere. Cue training montage and—boom!—Brody is a marine again!
Saul’s Master Plan
This season, the writers have employed a John le Carré style of narrative storytelling, setting up plot twists and reveals that were episodes in the making. Sometimes it worked in their benefit, sometimes it hasn’t. Regardless, it’s made for a far more thrilling season than last season’s 24-esque feel. And now, as the season is wrapping up, we’re finally starting to see the master plan that Saul’s been working towards since episode one: To send Brody to Iran to assassinate the leader of the Revolutionary Guard. From their, he hopes that Javadi—now working for the CIA as a double agent—will be promoted to be the new leader, and will be able to facilitate peaceful conversations between Iran and the United States. It’s certainly a long-shot for all this to go as planned, but Homeland has never had a problem with smoothly executing contrived, far-fetched story lines.
Photo via Showtime.
Senator Lockhart and Alain Bernard
Last week, we learned that Alain Bernard, Mira’s mysterious lover, has some sort of alternate agenda. After the bug he planted in Saul’s home computer is discovered by Virgil and Max, they quickly trace it back to Alain, who turns out to be an Israeli intelligence officer. Though Saul’s first inclinations are to “throw him in a pit,” Virgil reveals that he’s actually in cohorts with Senator Lockhart (also, was that Pete’s Diner in those photos?! Sure didn’t look like it!). Saul cleverly uses this information to blackmail Lockhart into delaying his swearing in as CIA Director, so as to give Brody more time to detox. Is this the end of Lockhart and Alain’s relationship? I don’t think so. Something tells me Lockhart won’t let Saul shame him that badly without trying to fight back, and I suspect the two will team up again in the coming episodes to uncover Saul’s master plan and find a way to mess it up.
Brody and Dana Reunite
Finally, Dana Brody’s needlessly overwrought character arch in this season leads to something! We’ve seen Dana out-angst herself each week in the beginning of the season, and then after a much-needed absence from the show, she returns. The emotional, uncomfortable reunion between Brody and Dana went about as terrible as you’d expect. Brody tries to apologize, Dana doesn’t want anything to do with him. Will these two ever reconcile? Doubtful.
Carrie’s Pregnancy
Yes, Carrie’s still pregnant. With Brody’s kid. Amount of people who know? Zero (well, two, if you include her OBGYN and the doctor at the naval hospital, but they’re periphery characters, so they don’t count). This will be interesting.
Carrie Mathison Cry-O-Meter Rating: 1.
Photo via Showtime.
A teary-eyed reunion with Brody.
