Homeland, “Q&A”

By Chris Hine

For a show that was turned on its head last week, “Homeland” did a remarkable job this week of blowing
the whole thing up and essentially hitting the reset button by the end of “Q&A.”

It picks up where we left off at the end of last week’s stunning reveal when Carrie blew her cover, spills
the beans to Brody and has him arrested. Under the order of David, the new guy, Peter Quinn, gets the
first crack at interrogating Brody. And he does a pretty good job. He gets Brody to lie about knowing Isa
and then shows Brody that damning confession video Brody had to know was going to bite him in the ass
eventually.

So as Jessica’s mind wanders, thinking Brody is out whoring it up on a bender again, Peter forces Brody
to confront his future with his family knowing he’s a terrorist. Peter butters him up with all this because
the CIA wants two bits of information from him: Was he wearing a bomb the day Elizabath Gaines was
killed? That would implicate Brody as part of a conspiracy to kill the vice president. And when and where
is Abu Nazir planning on attacking America?

When Brody refuses to give up the info, Peter puts on his Carrie crazy pants: male version (or at least it
seems that way) and stabs Brody in the hand. Bold move. But it was all just a ploy to get Carrie in the
interrogation room to lay it on thick with Brody. I’m liking the addition of Rupert Friend through two
episodes so far. Peter could have been just a fill-in for David, someone who acts as a plot device between
the CIA and Carrie. But he’s too sly and too smart to just act as that. He recognizes Carrie knows her shit
and, despite her lunacy, is a valuable asset and someone who should be involved heavily in the operation.

Carrie gets to do two things at once in working through the baggage that is her past with Brody and using
that to levearge Brody to confess. As much as it kills Brody to keep lying, he sticks to his story that he
wasn’t wearing a bomb, but he does give up that Abu Nazir is planning on attacking America because at
his core, Brody doesn’t think innocent people should be killed.

And at the end of the interrogation, Carrie offers Brody the only option that’ll save face for both the
agency and Brody: Become a double agent and work for the CIA to nab Abu Nazir. This way, Brody
doesn’t get disgraced publicly and the CIA doesn’t have to admit that it let a terrorist almost get elected
vice president. And Carrie and Brody get to keep acting like they’re having an affair, you know, for
purposes of maintaining a cover. They even hold hands on the ride home! Awwwwwww. And Brody gets
to look his suspicious and fuming wife in the eyes when he gets home and say he’s working for the CIA.
As Michael Scott would say, ‘Win, win, win!’

And over in this week’s edition of “The vice president’s son tries to get Dana pregnant,” the two evade
their security on a joyride in the car and run over a pedestrian and try to successfully execute a hit and
run. You know, normal kids stuff. Hey, it could’ve been worse, at least Landry didn’t kill a guy.

It seemed implausible at the beginning of this episode that it would end with Brody going back to a
peaceful home and Carrie back alone at her apartment chugging wine, the long day now over. But

that’s what happens in the unexpected world of “Homeland.” Now, Brody is at the mercy of the CIA
(presumably for the rest of the season) and it’s up to Mike and his Marine buddies to uncover the truth
about what happened that day in the bunker.

This episode should be Damian Lewis’ Emmy submission next year. Man, does he get to run the gauntlet.
And he does a great job at conveying the emotional pain and torture on his face. I said it last week and
I’ll say it again, but Lewis and Claire Danes have explosive chemistry – much in the same way Connie
Britton and Kyle Chandler had it on “Friday Night Lights” and Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul have it
on “Breaking Bad.” When they’re on screen together, the whole show is elevated to another level and it’s
a pure joy to watch. Sunday was no exception.

Other thoughts:
– I guess Neon Trees is a cool band the kids want to listen to? Or is that just for rich, yuppie kids?
– Poor Xander, but that kid was a just a no-good slacker anyway. Dana’s too good for him. She deserves
someone that’ll give her the thrill of a long prison term.
– I hope we get more Mandy Patinkin this season. He was great handling his emotive storylines last
season, but so far, he’s mostly been relegated to the bench this season.