The episode was expertly played and perfectly written, relying more on silences and what remains unsaid to make its point rather than great overtures of emotion. It also built towards its conclusion in a beautiful way. I loved the scenes of Brody in his cell, as he contemplatively washed himself and found peace in the process. Maybe he knew when he bashed Akbari on the head that this would be the action that would end his life. Perhaps he knew there was no escape, and he’d only gone to the safe house to keep Carrie happy. To see her one last time. For her to tell him that she’s pregnant with his child, which she finally did. It came and went though in the fun of the police taking Brody away to be executed, but at least he stood by his word. At least he left Carrie behind.
The execution itself was horrifying to watch, and the technology surrounding the portrayal of hanging on television has come on it leaps and bounds. I’m going to say that Brody’s public execution ranks amongst the most realistic looking televisual hangings of all time, without needing to resort to the fingers clutched behind the rope on the neck, or keeping the feet or head out of sight. We had many long shots of Brody’s entire body, twitching and bulging away.
I don’t want to dwell on it for too long to fear of seeming like a hanging fetishist, but I found that scene very dramatically impressive and it made for a visceral, thrilling ending to Brody’s story. If the next season of Homeland stays true to the promise shown in this episode, then it’s going to be a welcome return to the giddy heights of season one quality-wise. If it turns out there’s some sort of double-bluff at the heart of the hanging – which, after the Carrie/Saul/memorial ceremony coda, is unlikely – then that would be very disappointing.
I’m interested to see how far Brody’s shadow will linger into the next season, and how the story will continue without him – perhaps Javadi becomes power-crazed and Lockheart needs Saul’s to overthrow him? – and if one thing’s for sure, after the events of this episode, people will come back just to see what happens next.
Random Robservations:
- I called Carrie drawing a star on the wall in pen. I CALLED THAT. I’m not a total failure.
- I refuse to believe that Carrie could be a single white woman at a public execution in Iran at 4am and not get hassled at all. I simple refuse to believe it, even with the hijab.
- Surprised that we didn’t see Fara at all. I’d have thought we’d have heard of her before the end of the season, maybe some reactions to what is going on with her uncle?
- Where IS her uncle?
- I’m guessing Saul and Mira are in France, given that they were “all out of baguettes, so [he] got croissants”. Who buys croissants when there’s no baguettes, except to provide locational context? Nobody, that’s who. Totally different foodstuffs.
Anyway, I’ve really enjoyed writing about Homeland this season, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading what my thoughts. Thanks for putting up with me, and I’ll see you next year!
Maybe.