Homeland - Redux - Review:"Truth or?"

“Redux” was everything I’ve come to love about Homeland, and more. Just like the title hinted, I felt it was brought back, restored to the time where this show was great. (And it was probably even better the second time I’ve watched it!) The episode was tense, the cinematography incredible, as we got to see the world through Carrie’s medicine deprived, unstable, psychotic eyes, and I really felt like I was right there with her. We have, in the past, seen unstably-ill Carrie, we have even seen Carrie committed to the mental institution. It might feel like an overused plotline, Carrie's bi-polar tendencies, her falling down the rabbit hole, but we’ve never been pry to this interpretation of what’s going on in her head, as she tries to fight it. It was great seeing it happen despite her instead of because of her.

Last week, in a last-ditch attempt to justify Aayan’s death, in a desperate effort to fulfill the mission that cost the boy his life, Carrie ordered the air strike on Haqqani, a bombing that would have cost the Saul his life, her friend and her mentor. Out of the heat of the action, with a clear-ish head, she still stands behind the conviction that her call was the right one, that it wasn’t a decision made under pressure, with her emotions getting the best of her. But does she really? She feels it was the right call, but she, and Lockhart for the matter, are grateful to Quinn for stepping in, for overruling her in the ops room, and aren’t we all? Because we love Saul.

“Thank Christ.” – Andrew Lockhart

Saul’s still alive, thank god, a human shield for the Taliban leader, an invaluable asset to Haqqani. He’s no intelligence asset; he’s much, much more. To an asset, a prize this big, no harm will come, as long as he can fulfill this duty, as long as he will remain his prisoner. And I love that I had no idea this was the direction they’d be taking, being surprised, I love this about the show. And why wouldn’t Haqqani use Saul for this, behind every villain lies a human, and the first part of the episode was spent trying to do just that, humanise the man, humanise the terrorist.

With the drone strikes, the air missions, he’s always in hiding, but thanks to Saul, he can feel the sun on his face, the wind brush his skin, and it must feel good. He gets to see his wife, see his kids, without the fear of putting them in danger. (Am I the only one who asked myself how it’s possible for someone who hardly sees his wife to have so many freakin’ children? There were like, dozens of them!)

“Redux” was Saul at his best, and he’s been underused this season up to date. The conversations between him and Haqqani were great. They entertaining, yet revealing and evocative, seeing the two opposing parties debate on the merits of a war, I’m pretty sure not many of us understand anymore. I know I don’t.

“You have thought an entire generation to live with one foot in the afterlife.” –Saul Berenson

Saul isn’t treated badly, he’s given to eat, to drink, he’s seated at a table, he isn’t gaged and stuffed in a trunk anymore, and at least he’s got that going for him, because a rescue mission is out of the question, so who knows how long he’ll be their prisoner. The humanising of Haqqani is over, Saul pulled the rug right from under us, because he killed his nephew in cold blood, sacrificed his entire family, kids, for what? An advantage in this war he’s in? They messed with my head, because I was kind of feeling sorrow, sympathy even, but it’s all gone now. And forcing Saul to witness his night of passion with his wife was kind of cruel, wasn’t it? Saul’s protection probably would have extended to the other room, had he been there. Saul's duty as a shield seems to be over, his new purpose is a trading token, against the prisoners of the state. And I'm kind of dissapointed in this fate, am I the only one?

Lockhart’s back on our screens through “Redux”, in Islamabad; it’s been a while since we’ve seen him, but Lockhart hasn’t changed. He’s not there to make friends, not there to play nice, and he doesn’t care what the ambassador has to say about it, he’s there to make sure they get Saul back, under the radar (Why?) and in a timely fashion. Someone needs to take the blame, someone needs to be accountable, because he was taken from the international airport protected by the ISI, protected by the Pakistani military. The Pakistani delegation though, isn’t taking too fondly to his blunt accusations and threats. And at this point I’m really, extremely mixed up as to who is in on it and who isn’t, but isn’t that what we love about the show? The guessing games? I know I do.

Chief Station is a stressful job, add to that a man you see as a father figure getting kidnapped by your number one enemy, stress levels are likely to jumps to the roof. And if that level of stress still isn’t enough to break her, Carrie’s clozapine is swapped out, and god knows by what. Thus begins, Carrie’s decent to hell, things weren’t pretty, but it was one hell of a ride. The acting, mixed with the visual effect of the episode made for some really nice TV time, as Carrie goes through various stages of psychosis.

“Oh, because you care for me? Now I’ll have to listen to that shit all over again.” –Carrie Mathison

Following Lockhart’s lead on the blunt accusations, Carrie goes to the bright young man Saul seemed to trust to try and make sense of what happened at the airport, and despite her hyperactive tendencies, he agrees to help. (Maybe a little too easily for my liking? Or maybe it was just to shut her up, she does talk a lot!)

Carrie’s downward spiral started with hypersensitivity, to lights, sounds, just enough to show us how slowly, her mind is starting to deteriorate. It quickly leads to anger, and unasked for outbursts as she can’t seem to come to terms that they can’t rescue Saul just yet. But still, this version of Carrie wasn’t so far off her usual self.

Everything took a turn for the worst after a good night’s sleep, and a trip to the hospital to track down and question Aayan’s girlfriend, in my favorite scene from this episode. Everything was so beautifully put together, really emphasising how messed up Carrie really was. Paranoia strikes next and a fight with Quinn, paired with an imaginary gunning down in the streets lands Carrie a prime spot in crazy town and it was stating to be hard to watch. The sight Carrie in a containment shirt, took me by surprise, though, as messed up as she might be.

Brody returned in this season’s most shocking twist. And everything Carrie’s done culminated to one emotion, guilt. She sent Brody to his death, just like she sent Aayan, and slowly the culpability is playing with her head. She still hasn’t come to terms with it, with any of it. I kind of towed with the idea for a second, but only a second, that maybe, it wasn’t a hallucination, that somehow, our eyes were tricked. It wasn’t our eyes that were the problem, though, it was the neurones behind Carrie’s. The man’s arms she’s crying herself to sleep in isn’t Brody, it could never be Brody, not anymore. It’s Aasar Khan. How will she react when she realises it? How hard will it her? And more important, is he one of the good guys?

"I want to believe." - Carrie Mathison

And that line broke my heart. I can't be the only one here.


Even given the tardiness of this review, I'd love to hear your thoughts!