The Lucky Gum

“GOOD NIGHT”

Meter Reading: 90/100

At long last Homeland is back! Remember when the show made you want to do this. Now all you want to do is this. Brody back in the field, Carrie quivering her chin / worrying about Brody, Saul calling the shots on the operation, Dar Adal adding nothing to the plot, Quinn looking great, the Brody family / Mira nowhere to be found. It’s safe to say that the show has found its groove again and America and Homelanders all over could not be happier.

Side note: If you’re looking for the perfect meal to enjoy Homeland with, try Turkey tacos. The combination is magic.

Quinn knows Carrie is pregnant and apologies for sniping her down in the shoulder? Well, in the most Quinn way possible to apologize that is. The writers are certainly committed to keep Quinn robotic and emotionless. What happened to Quinn’s love interest? When confronted by Quinn’s comments, Carrie is quick to jump to the defensive, claiming that Brody is not the father! What is the audience lead to believe?

So we all know Quinn is a British actor but more and more he is starting to sound like he’s auditioning for the next Batman with that deep voice. I guess that’s all it takes to muster an American accent.

Fresh off his 16-day intensive boot camp, Brody looks to be in tremendous spirits, re-connecting with his former soldier self, turning his socks inside-out and joking with the boys. But he still prays and is close with his most recently acquired faith. Is it because he is scared of the mission ahead and needs something to believe in or is he the one with the master plan?? In any case, we missed you, Brody! As the mission gets underway close to the border of Iran, 3 operatives along with Brody are stopped by local police and investigate the truck Brody is in. As the police get closer, the lead operative calls out “Good Night” to trigger his snipers and take out the police. Boom! Police dead, Brody’s face drenched in blood. Brody freaks out and tries to escape by running into a boulder. Nice try! He is brought back to continue the mission.

As the lead operative and Brody drive further to the Iran border, alone, their truck hits a mine and their truck is split into two. It is unclear to the CIA or the audience (not actually) if Brody is dead or alive.

Director of this week’s episode: Okay, Claire (Carrie Mathison), we really need an epic chin quivering. One for the ages. Imagine, your baby’s daddy has just ran over a mine and we don’t know if he is dead or not. Anddddd, Action!

Several seconds later…..

Director of this week’s episode: PERFECT! PERFECT! You’re the best in the biz babyyyyyy!

As it is unclear if the two are still alive, the President’s Chief of Staff appears on the screen and proposes to use the drone on the two. Saul immediately changes the channel. THAT WAS AWESOME!

Alas, they are both alive. As Brody climbs out of the truck and retrieves the lead operative, who now has lost his left leg, Brody assumes the lead. Brody calls for help and gets it but is then surrounded by a large attack! Thank goodness for the perfectly constructed bomb shelter in the middle of the desert meant to withstand an army of bullets and grenade launchers!

With his operation and men in jeopardy, Saul calls in to abort the operation and hands over control to the General to get the men back home. Dejected and defeated, with lots of gum in his mouth, Saul exits the control room and we are lead to believe his days at CIA are over.

Brody refuses to abort the mission, pleading that he can make it to the border. What should the CIA do? Oh yeah, right. Hand over the phone to Carrie to talk Brody down. You got to hand it to Homeland; they are really committed with this whole ‘Carrie has complete psychological control over Brody’ thing. But to no avail, Brody does not listen to Carrie and tries to run for the border.

He is then immediately captured by the Iranian military, along with one other CIA operative. Brody explains who he is and claims that he is seeking political asylum in Iran. The plan works! Brody, and the operative, are taken to a holding cell where they meet Javadi in Iran. Javadi, to keep Brody’s mission a secret, shoots the operative in his head. “Now, we go to Tehran,” Javadi says.

C’MON HOMELAND!:

• Why isn’t Saul chewing Trident Layers? The acting director of the CIA should be chewing the best gum. C’MON HOMELAND!

Saul’s character is becoming a little bit of a joke. I can’t help but to laugh when Saul has a scowl on his face and is trying to look serious. Not to mention, when he slyly pulls out his gum and perfectly slides a piece out of the pack for Carrie.

• So aren’t drones supposed to be able to identify where attacks are coming from in addition to causing devastating, earth shattering blasts? How can a drone not know when an army of soldiers are in the distance? C’MON, HOMELAND!

SHOUTOUT OF THE WEEK:

David Klein, Homeland’s Director of Photography.

I was really impressed with the setting and cinematography throughout the entirety of the episode. Specifically, when Brody was praying and when the operatives and Brody were in daylight during their scenes. Not his first rodeo, he is currently the Director of Photography for Homeland and True Blood and is best known for working with director Kevin Smith on Clerks (awesome cinematography!), Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Clerks II, Cop Out, and Red State. Kudos!

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

Will Brody be told he has a child out of wedlock?

CHARACTER(S) OF THE WEEK:

Shaun Toub 

Another awesome character on Homeland who is British!