This week I went through the whole season of the Golden Globe winning Homeland. I had to because it was about to expire on Showtime On Demand. It's an interesting way to watch a TV series because it feels like a need, instead of a want. It reminded me of the weekend in college when I watched the whole first season of the Sopranos. It was the exact opposite situation, I wanted to watch the whole thing. Every episode would end and I would hesitantly turn off the TV only to turn it back on and play another episode. The situation I found myself for Homeland felt different, it felt more calculated. I needed to watch a certain amount of episodes each night or not be able to see the whole season. That being said I enjoyed the first season of Homeland.
Homeland is definitely a show that is not afraid to run through plots or story lines. In topic, it reminded me of the failed AMC show Rubicon, which I loved in concept. It unfortunately was uneven. It was about a group of intelligence analysts working in this nondescript building. I loved the set, because it wasn't fancy with 3D graphics or streamlined design, it looked like it had been lived in since the 60's. Rubicon thrived on conspiracy theories and questions who was on who's side, much like Homeland. However, Homeland began its series the exact opposite of Rubicon. In Rubicon, the show slowly and painstakingly built momentum, to the point where the audience is asking "When is something going to actually happen?" It would just leave these points that had to mean something, but nothing would come of it for episodes at a time. Homeland, on the other hand, is a show that is not afraid to run through plot. They would drop a small hint, like a glance or a small line, in one show and completely resolve it in the next.
***Spoiler Alert: If you haven't watched any of this season this is where I will start talking about the plot.***
For example, in Episode 4 Carrie and Brody have a small flirtation. Something I expected the writers to develop over the course of the season, but by Episode 6 they are together and by Episode 7 the relationship is over. I can see why they did so fast because it entangles the two main characters for the rest of the series. It connects the two halves of the show, something Rubicon failed to do until too late.
Homeland also accomplishes something remarkable, it gets the audience to see things from the eyes of a terrorist. It presents a 360 view of Brody's journey. Brody is not a some automatized, one-dimensional character set on destroying the world. He has reasons and struggles and is not always sure he is doing the right thing. You can tell that he is struggling to fit back in, like anyone who has been held captive for 8 years would, but more so he is dealing with the reality of what he has vowed to do. It helps that the audience is unsure of whether or not he is a terrorist throughout the season. I, like most viewers, suspected it all along, but the show does enough to leave doubt in your mind and makes Carrie just Beautiful Mindish enough to believe that maybe she's chasing ghosts and creating plots. In this way, it is like Rubicon, where you guessing who is on who's side.
Damian Lewis plays Brody with just the right amount of oddity that gives viewers the correct amount of suspicion. Lewis has an unsettling, unnaturally natural look, which plays right into who his character is. Claire Danes is wonderful as Carrie a driven, bipolar intelligence officer who as set her sights unknowingly on the right person. To her, her job is not a job its a calling. In a way, she has as much motivation as a terrorist. It is a matter of life and death to stop the next attack and she is willing to sacrifice her career, social norms, and practically everything else to do it. When she is playing by the rules it feels like a dog that is leashed but not happy about it. As a Firefly fan, its always good to see Inara (Morena Baccarin) in a TV show. She plays a wife (Jessica Brody) struggling to deal with the fact that her husband (Damian Lewis), who was presumed to be dead, is now alive when she, not so secretly, had moved on in her life with his best friend. This plot, which is secondary to the main Carrie-Brody plot, is seamlessly integrated into the story. The best character is Saul (Mandy Patinkin). He is the character everyone wants to be; a smart, weathered intelligence veteran who is always composed and looked upon for advice. The only answers he doesn't have are the ones at home.
Season Conclusion
I did not at all see it coming that Tom Walker was still alive. I also loved that after Tom Walker's capture was botched, it was Carrie who saw him as a ruse and that there was a larger objective in Abu Nazir's mind, something which made a lot of sense to me. This elevated the whole show in my mind, the masterstroke Abu Nazir was trying to accomplish perfectly complimented Brody's guardedness and Carrie's growing paranoia and insecurities. It was fun to see it all come together, to the point where Brody is in the room with a bomb and his finger on the trigger. Now, and this is definitely a spoiler, I knew that he couldn't do it. I think. When I was watching the show I was thinking there is no way he does this, you can't kill a main character in Season 1. But the show dragged it along enough for my mind to wander and think, we'll maybe they are pulling Dexter with a season long protagonist/special guest star. I think this is an example of how the show puts that little bit of drama and doubt in your mind. It's odd but in a sense, you almost want him to pull the trigger because everything works out for the main characters. Carrie can prove she not insane. Brody would get his revenge. But this doesn't happen and Brody's daughter talks him off the edge. Carrie is utterly destroyed and Brody convinces Abu Nazir of a grander plot. Brody survives and Carrie loses.
Final Thoughts
It will be interesting where they take the show next season. There is no longer a guessing game on whether Brody is with Abu Nazir or not. He is. There is also not going to be a threat of a bomb or attack, because Brody's plan is more sophisticated than a crude weapon. Next season will have to be smarter in that sense. The question of where Carrie fits in is the biggest. Without a job and some of her memories, what will she do. I'm sure become more obsessed with Brody is the answer further complicating her "I'm in love with him, but I suspect him of being all I'm here to protect against" feelings for him. I'll be watching, but I'm not ready to embrace this show like Breaking Bad or Dexter through the first 4 seasons. I'm not sure, but there is something that hasn't convinced me yet that this is a show that belongs in my top tier. Hopefully next season will convince me.
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