Photo via Showtime.
“It’s a lot of moving parts, I know,” Saul tells the CIA team at Langley before the mission for Brody to assassinate Danesh Akbari, the leader of the Revolutionary Guard, in Tehran. That statement doubles as a sentiment for this season of Homeland, which has seen a lot of moving parts in order to make the long-winded, contrived narrative of season three worked. While the season started off as a slog, then slowly got interesting again, then got ridiculous and frustrating again, the last few episodes have (finally) started to feel like the show we all came to know and love in season one.
In last night’s penultimate episode, “Big Man in Tehran,” Saul’s ludicrous and long-shot plan to get Brody close enough Akbari to assassinate him goes into action. But, for the first time all season, things don’t go as planned. Akbari gets spooked and Brody doesn’t get close enough to make the hit. What happened after is a full-blown return to season one, wherein the show hinged on the mystery of Brody’s allegiance. For the first time all season, Homeland picked up the ball, but not before dropping it again immediately after. Let’s take a look:
The Plan
With the help of Javadi, the plan seems to be working: After several days of intense interrogation, Akbari agrees to meet with Brody, presumably to formally offer him asylum. Carrie’s trekked all the way to Tehran to lead the extraction team who’ll get Brody out after he makes the hit. With a cyanide shot in hand, Brody is seconds away from assassinating Akbari when he suddenly pulls out and he meets someone from his past: Abu Nhazir’s widow, Nassrin. After that, six days pass and Brody’s asylum has made international headlines.
Photo via Showtime.
Saul, Dar, and Senator Lockhart all believe he’s turned sides again after he brushes off an opportunity to get out of Tehran, and plan for his execution, so as to cover their tracks. But, as was evident in season one, Brody is a very conflicted man, and nothing is ever black and white with him.
Carrie’s Recklessness
Carrie’s baby bump is starting to show, so of course she’s going to completely compromise everything to get Brody out of Tehran. Part of what makes Homeland so frustrating is Carrie’s defiant recklessness, which consistently compromises everything Saul and the CIA are trying to do. Sure, she’s got mental issues, but still, she’s been in the CIA for, like, more than a decade. How has she not learned by now? Regardless, after Carrie figures out the CIA is going to kill Brody, she tips him off and he escapes, rightfully pissing off Saul to no end. Of course, it all works out for Carrie because Brody does what we expected him to do.
Photo via Showtime.
The Great Escape
What was so great about Homeland’s first season is the “is he?/isn’t he?” mystery of Brody’s allegiances. In each episode, the evidence as to whether or not he’s really a terrorist convincingly wavered each week, right up until the season’s climactic finale. Since then, he’s been revealed as a man torn between allegiance to two countries. He’s done some bad things, but he’s not such a bad guy. In “Big Man in Tehran,” the writer’s recaptured that mystery of his character for all of twenty minutes, before Brody finally gets some alone time with Akbari and kills him. I really wished they had stretched this out into next week’s episode—but hey—I appreciate the season one-esque sentiment.
Now that he’s done the deed, one big question remains: How’s he going to get out of this. We’ll find out next week.
Fara’s Uncle
I don’t trust this guy one bit. He agreed to help Carrie and the CIA carry out this mission, but his reluctance to help—and his general disappointment from learning Fara is working with the CIA—makes him a sketchy character. I suspect he’ll have a much bigger role in next week’s episode.
Carrie Mathison Cry-O-Meter Rating: 0
Photo via Showtime.
No tears, it’s all business this week.
