Homeland Review: “I’ll Fly Away” (Season 2, Episode 8)

As intense as this episode of Homeland was, it seems each time Carrie is in contact with Brody, they follow a painfully obvious chain of events that results in some sort of game-changing decision by Brody. We could have predicted every move that was going to be made throughout as nothing was out of the ordinary with Carrie, Brody, or even Roya; it just wasn’t shocking in any way. But as Homeland episodes go, the acting and pacing was superb with just enough spice to keep the series ever so captivating.

You know what’s funny? In the exact episode – episode 8 – of last season, Brody pulled the same stunt. He “had enough” of being a double agent for al-Qaeda following a stressful string of events and decided he wanted nothing to do with Nazir anymore. The only difference in this episode? He quit in the beginning rather than the end. But the result was the same, he was taken off to a random location where – gasp – Nazir shows his face and starts to “question” his allegiance. If that was intended as a cliffhanger, Homeland must not realize that it was clearly predictable the minute Brody “quit.”

You know what else is funny? Oh yeah, you guessed it. The public aural audience of Brody and Carrie’s “turning” in Quinn’s own words. My god was that the most awkward thing Homeland has done so far, but quite honestly, it gave the episode a dimension that I feared it wasn’t going to have. The revelation that the CIA had found them was the only hint of something different as the reactions from the various agents was priceless. You would think they’ve heard it all by now, but it probably never fails to make an impression, especially if one of the people in question is an agent of their own.

I was half expecting this CIA to burst in while Carrie and Brody were doing the deed, but as awesome/even more awkward that would have been, I’m somewhat glad they didn’t, even though it would have taken this episode into a different direction than what was happening. As always, good old Saul convinced Quinn that Carrie had a grasp on the situation and to give her time. And as always, Carrie was given time and she succeeded in calming Brody down – in more than one way.

I’ve been against the whole Carrie/Brody romance this entire time and it was no different this time around. I don’t know why they keep dragging it out with each episode; we know it’s going to happen, especially with Carrie’s ulterior motives of trying to get into Brody’s pants every second she gets. As much as she denies it – which I find extremely irritating – she and the entirety of the CIA knows the fairy tale ending she yearns for.

Click below to continue reading.