Carrie’s emotional torment and Quinn’s unwavering mission for justice this week led up to a finale that was overwhelming. It all feels calculated a bit too perfectly to completely accept: Quinn gets Aayan’s friend from medical school to release the video of Haqqani murdering the young man to the Web. With anger sprouting out as a result of that viral video, opposing marches – the peace-seekers bearing Aayan’s face on their posters on one side, the Haqqani supporters on the other – give Quinn the distraction to plant the bomb near the front gates of the terrorist’s compound.
The taut episode – one that lasts the length of a network drama – climaxes with a quick assault of surprising story turns. Carrie arrives and begs Quinn not to move forward with the attack. After such a penchant for justice this hour, it felt odd that he so quickly resigned from his plan. “I have never, ever been so convinced of what has to happen now,” he uttered during his first encounter with Carrie. The next time he speaks with her, doubt percolates.
However, Carrie’s quick decision to aim at Haqqani – who should know better than to make a public appearance by popping out from his car’s sunroof on the tense streets of Islamabad – felt like overkill. Luckily, just as she saved a major attack just moments earlier, Aasar Khan grabs Carrie. (Thank goodness all of the characters on the show step in just in the nick of time.) To escalate the viewer’s curiosity and bewilderment even further, Khan points to a man inside of Haqqani’s vehicle: Dar Adal.
What would Dar Adal be doing alongside one of the world’s most wanted men? Is Dar helping with the terrorist to shake up the world order, or is there another motive? Is he behind many of the events from the past season? Could it have something to do with Lockhart’s phone call to Carrie, where he indicated rumors about some shady things happening that the White House and Security Council are in the know about? Or is this just a red herring as we spiral into next week’s season finale?
Whatever his purpose – and one expects that it will come to light within moments of next week’s opening scene – it is going to a long wait for next Sunday night. With blistering suspense even amidst some reliable, contrived plot developments, Homeland is undeniably entertaining. Let us hope the endgame is as sensational as the last half of this Emmy-winning drama’s triumphant return to form, but also a more sensical one.
