Homeland Season 1 (1 Viewer)

[Adam Lenhardt]

I'm surprised at how good the supporting cast has been.

I don't even need to mention Mandy Patinkin, because he's absolutely terrific in everything he does, but the two big surprises for me are Morena Baccarin and Morgan Saylor.
After Baccarin's mustache-twirling turn on "V", I wasn't sure how hard it would be to put Anna behind me. But it's not a problem at all. Jess Brody is a much more demanding role, and she nails all of the facets. Here's a loyal Christian woman who's cheated on her husband but is trying desperately to do the right thing even though this alien creature has moved into her home. She already mourned the death of her husband and started building a new life, and now here's this foreign doppleganger walking around in her husband's skin making her feel guilty and desperately alone.
Saylor's the real surprise, though. So much of her character is observing and reacting, and she plays Dana as a lot more observant and aware than most teen actresses would. She balances the little girl who lost her father and the rebellious, damaged teen really well. Most fascinating are the scenes between father and daughter, though. On one hand, she has this image of Brody from when she was in early grade school. On the other hand, she's getting a relationship with her father that wouldn't have been possible if he'd been there right along. She can talk about stuff with him that's not comfortable with mom because there isn't all of the years of parenting baggage in between. And Brody, because he didn't watch her slowly grow up before his eyes, can see and speak with Dana as a teenager instead of his little girl.
If they gave Emmys for single scenes, Saylor would deserve one for the scene last night where Jess comes in and sits on Dana's bed. There's so much going on between the two of them, so much being communicated, and it's all in the eyes. Here's a mother and daughter with a very adversarial relationship, but underneath that there's the mutual protective instinct and understanding that comes between a single mother and her child. There's a lot of love, and respect, underneath the anger.

 

[MarkMel]

Just read it got picked up for a second season.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

Excellent as always Adam, though I wouldn't say Jess cheated on her husband by any sane definition. In fact, as a practical matter, I'd guess he was declared dead and she could have cashed in life insurance policies, etc. Moving on romantically was just one part of that. The whole secrecy thing is just because both parties know it'd hurt him and he wouldn't be able to look at them the same again, not because they think they did anything wrong.

 

[mattCR]

Great news on the pickup. This is really some incredible performances here, and I've been completely blown away by some of the performances.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

It's interesting that we didn't get to see whether Brody handed off the razor blade. We certainly have a more damning body of evidence against Brody than Carrie does, but at the end of the day it's all entirely circumstantial. I don't think it's all leading us down a false trail, but it's interesting that they're leaving that door open.

Excellent as always Adam, though I wouldn't say Jess cheated on her husband by any sane definition. In fact, as a practical matter, I'd guess he was declared dead and she could have cashed in life insurance policies, etc. Moving on romantically was just one part of that. The whole secrecy thing is just because both parties know it'd hurt him and he wouldn't be able to look at them the same again, not because they think they did anything wrong.

I agree with you that Jess wasn't unfaithful by any sane definition. I don't think she did anything wrong. But I disagree that she doesn't think she did anything wrong. It was perfectly fine with her when she thought Brody was dead -- everything but the body. Once he showed up in the flesh, however, it was like a slap in the face. She feels like she didn't hold out long enough, didn't hold the faith when she should have. She feels disloyal to the idea of Brody, the Brody she waved good bye all of those years ago, as she feels unfaithful. How far that guilt will take her in putting up with Brody is the question.

 

[mattCR]

I think that's what really has helped make this show compelling. She's building a compelling - but completely circumstantial case against him. She can be easily rebuffed at any point because she doesn't have any real hard facts. She just has her gut feeling. The audience wants to sympathize with Brody, we also have a sneaking suspicion he may be a bad guy.. but we just don't know.

This show walks such a great fine line

 

[mattCR]

What a completely dangerous game Carrie is playing. They absolutely defied most of my expectations this week; so many things went completely sideways from how I thought they were going to go. I was completely thrown by her "I have to make this work".. and the "faithful" question.. brutal stuff there.

 

[Henry Gale]

Was so disappointed by the gravitas given the polygraph. I'd expect any half bright civilian, let alone C.I.A. staff, to know that a polygraph test is an intimidation tool for the ignorant and weak minded.

On an entirely different subject, can't tell you how much I enjoy Angela Chase playing rough.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Ah, to know that Brody cheated the polygraph test, but the only way you know is because you slept with him. I enjoyed the twist, foreshadowed last week, that the Arab guy was being dragged into the terrorism, with the white rich girl doing the dragging. I also enjoyed that they showed terrorists can be as brutal as drug rings or any other high-risk enterprise that depends on secrecy. Loved most of all Brody's daughter's disgusted look at him on the way to the car, even though she knows better than most what drove his behavior. The perfect image started to crack.

Was so disappointed by the gravitas given the polygraph. I'd expect any half bright civilian, let alone C.I.A. staff, to know that a polygraph test is an intimidation tool for the ignorant and weak minded.

They set it up well, though, with the bosses using it as a CYA formality, and Saul having been caught up in it by the stress from his marriage problems. And then of course, Carrie knew but couldn't act on it.

 

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[MarkMel]

Yes Saul has stress with his marriage and that could've caused him to fail that question. But, could Saul be the mole?

 

[mattCR]

That would be an incredible twist if true. Somehow, I doubt it.

Adam, I completely agree with you on the "only she knows" element.. it further puts her outside; she cannot reveal how she knows.. i would destroy her. But the fact that she knows he can beat the polygraph has to be eating her up.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

A twist like having Saul be the mole is one of those things where you have to weigh the impact versus what it does to the characters. Does revealing Saul as the mole make him more interesting or less interesting as a character? In my opinion, after the initial holy shit moment of the reveal, which would be awesome, there's very limited space to take the character. He rots in a cell somewhere. Mandy Patinkin is too good of an actor to waste like that -- unless, of course, the limited run of episodes was what attracted him back to TV in the first place.

 

[Joe_H]

I liked the episode a lot, but there was a little problem in it to me. When Carrie slept with Brody, it made her seem like she was drunk and getting carried away. But only moments before that, we saw how stone-cold and calculating she was by the way she was analyzing his face when she revealed the thing about the razor blade. Despite how helpful it was to prove that he could beat the polygraph, those two things just seem to contradict a little.
Still, another great episode, the polygraph scene was well worth the slight misstep.

 

[mattCR]

Holy cow was that a stunner of a conclusion tonight!!!

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Yup. I said earlier in this thread that "we certainly have a more damning body of evidence against Brody than Carrie does, but at the end of the day it's all entirely circumstantial." Turns out there's a reason for that: Brody's not the guy. In one fell swoop, the reveal clears Brody of a horrendous murder that even Brody himself thought he was guilty of and clears his name of the larger plot.
Much like the best mysteries, it's a reveal that deepens rather than cheapens our understanding of what has happened. It means that all of Brody's interactions with his family were real, his efforts to bond with his children were real, etc. It validates the portrait of a soldier coming home and no longer fitting.
At the same time, it explains why they chose Brody to beat Walker. It reminds me of one of those Agatha Christie plots, where you're lead to look at the evidence one way when the truth is only revealed by seeing it the other way. We thought Brody killed Walker to prove his allegiance to the jihadist cause, when in fact the beating by his own comrade in arms was used to turn Walker. We thought Brody was allowed to live because he killed Walker, when he was allowed to live because he would tell everyone that Walker was dead.
As screwed up as everything at the cabin was, I think the table scene between Brody and Carrie was ultimately cathartic for him. He needed desperately to tell those things to somebody, especially about what happened with Walker. Getting it out there with Carrie has to be a tremendous release, and maybe it will allow him to start healing with his family.

 

[mattCR]

He has been turning in one of those performances this year that is just... flat out incredible. The portrayal of his character is deep, nuanced and you got it. When he broke down with Carrie and told her "I'm not that strong, I'm not that hero person". What he was saying was that he was never a potential target to turn because he just didn't have the will to do it.. he gave up too early on, and that's what he was dissappointed about. He told Carrie that he had "loved" Nazir - in large part because he had shown him kindness.

And you have to think about that; he was beaten, bludgened, burned, and more repeatedly. And yet, from his memory, Nazir was the man who brought him water and food; who sat him out amongst them. As psychological torture goes, that's an incredible one. Tortured for months or years, and one guy comes along and shows you kindness and mercy. No matter what ou know of the guy, even if you thought he was the devil before hand.. you have to admit, psychologically, that would be a hard one to overlook.

Carrie's role also shifted; it's obvious that while she viewed him as someone who had been "turned" the other thought in her head was also: "this is a guy who was turned under the worst of circumstances.. I can be the one who turns him back". I think she honestly is drawn to him in some ways as someone who can bring her a lot of personal redemption, and that if she can save him it's the forgiveness she's really after.

I also loved Saul stopping in Indiana and relaying on to the girl the problem of growing up alone and different in a community that doesn't get you. I thought that was great stuff.