Estes uses Angry Finger. Saul counters with Epic Beard. They reach an impasse.
Carrie Mathison has been captured. Abu Nazir still on the loose inside the U.S. Everyone from Brody to Quinn and even our old friend Galvez have been forced into immediate action. Homeland has always had a knack for operating at breakneck speed, but last night’s episode, “Broken Hearts,” is like a bat out of hell. Abu Nazir’s arrival in the states has been the catalyst for the impressive second half of the season, which shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
With Saul still curious as to the true nature of Quinn’s assignment at the CIA, he sets out to meet Dar Adal. After a peculiar game of cat and mouse between two old friends, Saul is able to coerce out of Adal that Peter Quinn is in fact of one of his “men” (described by Dar Adal as “soldiers”), but his objective at Langley is beyond Adal. Seemingly enough to confirm Saul’s suspicions that Quinn is there to act purely as an insurance policy against Brody, he heads over to Langley to confront the ever-hardheaded Estes.
Back at the Brody hideout, the Congressman finally arrives to console his family and attempt to get everything back to normal. However, in the life of Nicolas Brody there can never be “normal”. Like clockwork, a call from Carrie reminds him of this sobering fact. While everything may seem hunky dory, it’s time for Brody to begin the process of disappearing from the limelight, which includes resigning as Congressman and withdrawing his name from the Vice Presidential nomination consideration.
Following her conversation with Brody, a placid Carrie drives to Langley, listening to her soothing jazz, when all of a sudden a van storms through a stop sign and T-bones her car! An exclamation point simply doesn’t do this scene justice. The shot fades to black, which would make a great season-ending cliffhanger — yet we’re only 12 minutes into the episode.
When news of Carrie’s accident arrives at Langley, the team scrambles into action after learning that although her car has been wrecked, she is nowhere to be found. A tense Saul flees Langley to head towards the scene, fearing there may be more to the “accident” than meets the eye.
Soon after, Brody gets a call and the pieces of the puzzle start to fall together. In what may be deemed this episode’s one true flaw, blatant and shameless product placement, Abu Nazir begins to Skype with his former protégé and shows him a bound Carrie help up in one of his many abandoned warehouses. He demands that Brody go to Vice President Walden’s home and retrieve the serial code for his pacemaker, which can be triggered wirelessly. Immediately the “Brody sweats” start to pour and that ever-so-tiny mouth gets even tinier as he attempts to figure out how he can aid Nazir, save Carrie and not compromise his relationship with the CIA.
With Brody on his way to Walden’s, Nazir and Carrie are able to share some quality time in what may have been the most claustrophobic scene of the season. Here’s Carrie Mathison face to face with — and at the mercy of — her greatest enemy. With Carrie tied up and awaiting her Prince Charming to save her, Nazir leans in and gives her some water to drink. Refusing to give in to his “savior” role, Carrie spits out the water and denies his sympathy. They exchange a few terse words before they get into an intense debate over exactly what is a terrorist. However, it’s Nazir’s last line that will ring true as one of the season’s stand out moments. Claiming to be working for a true higher power, not comprehensible to the average American, he will not stop until Carrie’s people are “annihilated.” Abu Nazir is chilling and to think that Brody is only a pawn in the larger game is terrifying.
Brody soon arrives at Vice President Walden’s and is able to wander upstairs and sneak into his office. After a few minutes scrambling for the pacemaker, he eventually finds the box and calls Nazir. However, he puts his former boss in a bind by claiming that he won’t relay the serial code to him unless he releases Carrie. After a brief argument, Brody agrees to swear on “the immortal soul of Issa” that he will send him the code if he agrees to release Carrie.
The Congressman obviously still feels a sense of gratitude towards the superterrorist, as he follows up on his promise and dutifully sends the code to Nazir after he releases Carrie. Only seconds after putting away the pacemaker, Walden enters the room with a big smile on his, face wondering why Brody needed to swing by so urgently. That smile is wiped away rather quickly, when the pacemaker is activated by one of Nazir’s henchman. As if to add fuel to the fire, Brody uses the moment to admit his resignation and, in a final act of revenge, his true intentions to “kill the Vice President.” As Walden falls to his knees in the throngs of a heart attack, a slight smirk slides across Brody’s face. The duty has been done and in his mind peace has been restored.
With Carrie free from the warehouse, she escapes and frantically calls Langley to let them know of her whereabouts. They assure her that backup is on the way, ready to take down Abu Nazir. But this is Carrie Mathison, and she isn’t going to let patience stop her from taking down her target. As the episode comes to a close we see our favorite CIA Agent return back to warehouse and enter a dark corridor. Who knows what he her fate will be, but it’s certain is that Homeland certainly has no intentions of slowing down.
diversionsdbk@gmail.com
