Homeland Season 2
I have not written in a while, and I have found some time to begin doing it again. I have to do some sort of summary on my ASOIAF blog, as I could not keep up with the recaps like season one. Hopefully this year, I will be able to do so, as I love to write about my favorite books. I will say this, the book for season 3 is about 80% Jon Snow, so I had better see Ghost every damn day! Okay that's that.
So, I love this show, and I have loved Damian Lewis since Band of Brothers, plus he is easy on the eyes, and Claire Danes? Need I say more. So during season one I found the fact that it is an intellectual, thought provoking show of the spy genre,that is amazing. Typically these types of shows are big on action, with less emphasis on intellect. In particular, I also loved how they made this parallel, and still do, between Brody, the broken terrorist Marine, who is split in two, as Carrie is, as a person who is bipolar. Both individuals are so emotionally painful, and beautifully portrayed, but fascinating, because it causes these two characters to find solace with each other. If you recall she is the first and only person he has intimate, "normal" sex with, as he is unable to do so w/Jessica.
Season 2
This season, Carrie has been vindicated by the suicide tape that Brody made, before the suicide vest that never blew. How did it get to a Hezbollah commanders house? I do not know, as I think he really did throw it out. It was amazing how Saul, her mentor, brought this tape first to Carrie, so she was vindicated, and her mental state stabilized. It shows how much he cares for her, as she told him in Beirut, that she has never been so sure, and so wrong, which caused her to doubt each and every thought in her mind. This also caused her to remain sicker and mentally weaker, based on a lie. He made sure that she knew that she was right. So, we come to three amazing episodes: Carrie blows cover (which she had every right to do, especially after all the crap Estes did to her when he fired her). Quinn stabs Brody, Carrie, breaks Brody, somehow Brody gets it together enough to go home, and Hezbollah Delta Force decides to shoot up the tailors place & sexy Quinn.
I know that around the web hotspots, everyone says Brody is a pathological liar, a master manipulator and narcissist. I think, now more than ever he has become 2 people. I do not think he knows that he is lying, or telling the truth, and I do not think he is smart enough to be as manipulative as many think he is. He does exactly what he tells Carrie, he tells people what they want to hear, which includes his behavior, so he can keep up being this person, who does not even exist. When Quinn stabs him with that knife, and he screamed, I swear it was like he was glass, shattering all over that table. Quinn was clever, and scary as he seemed so controlled, that I did not feel that outburst was out of character. But it worked, so phase one of the interrogation was complete.
Phase 2: Carrie, with the emotional, loving interrogation using both truth and lies, worked so perfectly. It was brilliant, and she used love and lies, and he broke into a million pieces. You could see how badly he wants to be this man she could love, the good man that she was talking about, but he is so broken, it affects him physically. When Carrie came back into the room to discuss options, he was in the fetal position, as he was when he was being tortured. When she tapped his shoulder, I do not think he knew where he was, in fact I think for a second he was back in that cell.
But then, here is why I think he has broken in 2: he could hardly walk, and then he is in Carrie's car, like nothing happened, speaking clearly about next steps. He is very clear that Nazir will kill his family if he finds out that he is working for them. Then, he is home, telling the lies, being that fake person, so he can be what he is supposed to be as congressman, father, and husband.
The way he speaks to Quinn, and they have the whole testosterone thing going on, shows how he has no sense of reality or how much trouble he is really in. Why? Brody's only reality so far are: the weekend with Carrie, and the interrogation with Carrie. Quinn was right, "look at him, he's a fucking mess"; yeah he really is. You can see after the fight w/Quinn, and every time he fears of being discovered in a lie, he is petrified, most likely because for 6 years, he could not fight back, as it meant punishment. A sociopath or narcissist would not exhibit that look of pure, unadulterated, fear. I could write for hours on this, but I won't.
Now Quinn, has lightened up a bit, and is a good balance for Carrie. He is everything she is not, and it seems to slowly be starting to work. He is learning that she may be emotional, but she is brilliant, and most likely right about the tailor's shop. Don't you love CIA flirting? Well I stabbed his hand, well I pretended that I loved him (even though I do), and my way worked! Hah! You better check your objectivity Quinn.
Now I have a few questions: Roya told Brody, to remove the tailor because he was being watched by the CIA, so Brody did it, and accidentally killed him. In "Gettysburg Address", she is all of a sudden like, why is the FBI going into the tailors shop? But why didn't they clean the place out after the tailor died, instead of having the Hezbollah Delta Force, go in and blow the agents and the place up, just to get what looks like a bomb out of there? Plus that Hezbollah guy, he took that helmet off, and I did not sense ruthlessness, I sensed fatigue, and who knows maybe he's one of ours? Maybe NSA, that's why they couldn't find him? This is why we love this show!
Remember when they were in the hallway and Brody told Roya about Carrie talking about Hezbollah guy? Even though they stopped speaking, she was looking up, and to the side, and I do not think they were speaking in silent code. Now, if there had been no mics in the corridor, and Brody was "turned", and she said "well there might be (something important in the tailor's office)", and he did not report back, and something happened? Well, off to Guantanamo we go. But Carrie, brilliant Carrie, picked it up immediately, and Quinn believed her, and called for back-up. So they are starting to connect, which I REALLY like.
Roya represents how these terrorists cruise around as wealthy people, she is in a mercedes, writing a blog, and was clearly taking off at a private airport, while the suicide bombers are these poor souls who are manipulated into being killers. Since she is Iranian, I am assuming Nasir is as well, thus the Hezbollah Delta crew. Their suicide bombers have no idea their leaders are leading the good life. Meanwhile, she is telling Brody it was better to kill the tailor, than suck up to the VP at a dinner for veterans. Huh?
Carrie
Throughout the beginning of the covert op, Carrie has such a thin line between her feelings and her job. For example, when she calls Quinn, and said Brody made her, and then he just left, she was more upset that he had left HER, because she messed up, like a date. You can often hear that slight quiver of emotion in her voice, even when speaking with conviction. When Brody went back to that room, he was contemplating calling Carrie, not Roya.
When Carrie confronts Brody about the massacre at the tailor shop, that look of fear that we see so often in his face, popped up again. Suddenly they switched roles, he's saying that he doesn't understand, she starts hitting him, she breaks down, and he walks very slowly towards her to grab her hand, and comforts her. Man this is messed up, and God I love this show! I will write again, either soon, or at the end of the season.
Finally I can definitely say this:
Carrie hates terrorists and traitors, and really does think Brody should pay for what he has done. She is very clear about who the enemy is, and he should pay. However this emotional connection they have between them, clouds that up for her. But she brilliantly explained what happened to him: Nasir broke him apart until he was nothing, gave him a boy to love, and they built him back into the person Nasir wanted him to be. Then Carrie broke him down again, he actually looked relieved when he returned home, but who will he be now?
Sidebar: But I always wanted to know, how did they pick between Brody and Walker? How did they know which one could be turned into the spy they wanted? They used the fact that Brody thought he killed his longtime partner, as part of his torture.
Brody, may not be clear on being a jihadist, but he is definitely not the man who left eight years ago. How could he be?
He also knows this: he wants the VP to pay for what he did, and will always believe he is a war criminal. He will always love Issa, because that is how Nasir programmed him, knowing he had his own children. It would take a long time to relieve him of that trigger. Brody also loves his children, and he no longer loves Jess. He lies to her like a pro, and she knows it! But she is part of this "normal" person he tries to be, which is why before she kicked him out, he says "I'll try harder". Personally, I'd run off with Mike, because one thing he does know, is that Brody's family is in danger. That is the truth, and it is not a ploy to help him get back with Jessica.
That's all for now! See you at Part II.
So, I love this show, and I have loved Damian Lewis since Band of Brothers, plus he is easy on the eyes, and Claire Danes? Need I say more. So during season one I found the fact that it is an intellectual, thought provoking show of the spy genre,that is amazing. Typically these types of shows are big on action, with less emphasis on intellect. In particular, I also loved how they made this parallel, and still do, between Brody, the broken terrorist Marine, who is split in two, as Carrie is, as a person who is bipolar. Both individuals are so emotionally painful, and beautifully portrayed, but fascinating, because it causes these two characters to find solace with each other. If you recall she is the first and only person he has intimate, "normal" sex with, as he is unable to do so w/Jessica.
Season 2
This season, Carrie has been vindicated by the suicide tape that Brody made, before the suicide vest that never blew. How did it get to a Hezbollah commanders house? I do not know, as I think he really did throw it out. It was amazing how Saul, her mentor, brought this tape first to Carrie, so she was vindicated, and her mental state stabilized. It shows how much he cares for her, as she told him in Beirut, that she has never been so sure, and so wrong, which caused her to doubt each and every thought in her mind. This also caused her to remain sicker and mentally weaker, based on a lie. He made sure that she knew that she was right. So, we come to three amazing episodes: Carrie blows cover (which she had every right to do, especially after all the crap Estes did to her when he fired her). Quinn stabs Brody, Carrie, breaks Brody, somehow Brody gets it together enough to go home, and Hezbollah Delta Force decides to shoot up the tailors place & sexy Quinn.
I know that around the web hotspots, everyone says Brody is a pathological liar, a master manipulator and narcissist. I think, now more than ever he has become 2 people. I do not think he knows that he is lying, or telling the truth, and I do not think he is smart enough to be as manipulative as many think he is. He does exactly what he tells Carrie, he tells people what they want to hear, which includes his behavior, so he can keep up being this person, who does not even exist. When Quinn stabs him with that knife, and he screamed, I swear it was like he was glass, shattering all over that table. Quinn was clever, and scary as he seemed so controlled, that I did not feel that outburst was out of character. But it worked, so phase one of the interrogation was complete.
Phase 2: Carrie, with the emotional, loving interrogation using both truth and lies, worked so perfectly. It was brilliant, and she used love and lies, and he broke into a million pieces. You could see how badly he wants to be this man she could love, the good man that she was talking about, but he is so broken, it affects him physically. When Carrie came back into the room to discuss options, he was in the fetal position, as he was when he was being tortured. When she tapped his shoulder, I do not think he knew where he was, in fact I think for a second he was back in that cell.
But then, here is why I think he has broken in 2: he could hardly walk, and then he is in Carrie's car, like nothing happened, speaking clearly about next steps. He is very clear that Nazir will kill his family if he finds out that he is working for them. Then, he is home, telling the lies, being that fake person, so he can be what he is supposed to be as congressman, father, and husband.
The way he speaks to Quinn, and they have the whole testosterone thing going on, shows how he has no sense of reality or how much trouble he is really in. Why? Brody's only reality so far are: the weekend with Carrie, and the interrogation with Carrie. Quinn was right, "look at him, he's a fucking mess"; yeah he really is. You can see after the fight w/Quinn, and every time he fears of being discovered in a lie, he is petrified, most likely because for 6 years, he could not fight back, as it meant punishment. A sociopath or narcissist would not exhibit that look of pure, unadulterated, fear. I could write for hours on this, but I won't.
Now Quinn, has lightened up a bit, and is a good balance for Carrie. He is everything she is not, and it seems to slowly be starting to work. He is learning that she may be emotional, but she is brilliant, and most likely right about the tailor's shop. Don't you love CIA flirting? Well I stabbed his hand, well I pretended that I loved him (even though I do), and my way worked! Hah! You better check your objectivity Quinn.
Now I have a few questions: Roya told Brody, to remove the tailor because he was being watched by the CIA, so Brody did it, and accidentally killed him. In "Gettysburg Address", she is all of a sudden like, why is the FBI going into the tailors shop? But why didn't they clean the place out after the tailor died, instead of having the Hezbollah Delta Force, go in and blow the agents and the place up, just to get what looks like a bomb out of there? Plus that Hezbollah guy, he took that helmet off, and I did not sense ruthlessness, I sensed fatigue, and who knows maybe he's one of ours? Maybe NSA, that's why they couldn't find him? This is why we love this show!
Remember when they were in the hallway and Brody told Roya about Carrie talking about Hezbollah guy? Even though they stopped speaking, she was looking up, and to the side, and I do not think they were speaking in silent code. Now, if there had been no mics in the corridor, and Brody was "turned", and she said "well there might be (something important in the tailor's office)", and he did not report back, and something happened? Well, off to Guantanamo we go. But Carrie, brilliant Carrie, picked it up immediately, and Quinn believed her, and called for back-up. So they are starting to connect, which I REALLY like.
Roya represents how these terrorists cruise around as wealthy people, she is in a mercedes, writing a blog, and was clearly taking off at a private airport, while the suicide bombers are these poor souls who are manipulated into being killers. Since she is Iranian, I am assuming Nasir is as well, thus the Hezbollah Delta crew. Their suicide bombers have no idea their leaders are leading the good life. Meanwhile, she is telling Brody it was better to kill the tailor, than suck up to the VP at a dinner for veterans. Huh?
Carrie
Throughout the beginning of the covert op, Carrie has such a thin line between her feelings and her job. For example, when she calls Quinn, and said Brody made her, and then he just left, she was more upset that he had left HER, because she messed up, like a date. You can often hear that slight quiver of emotion in her voice, even when speaking with conviction. When Brody went back to that room, he was contemplating calling Carrie, not Roya.
When Carrie confronts Brody about the massacre at the tailor shop, that look of fear that we see so often in his face, popped up again. Suddenly they switched roles, he's saying that he doesn't understand, she starts hitting him, she breaks down, and he walks very slowly towards her to grab her hand, and comforts her. Man this is messed up, and God I love this show! I will write again, either soon, or at the end of the season.
Finally I can definitely say this:
Carrie hates terrorists and traitors, and really does think Brody should pay for what he has done. She is very clear about who the enemy is, and he should pay. However this emotional connection they have between them, clouds that up for her. But she brilliantly explained what happened to him: Nasir broke him apart until he was nothing, gave him a boy to love, and they built him back into the person Nasir wanted him to be. Then Carrie broke him down again, he actually looked relieved when he returned home, but who will he be now?
Sidebar: But I always wanted to know, how did they pick between Brody and Walker? How did they know which one could be turned into the spy they wanted? They used the fact that Brody thought he killed his longtime partner, as part of his torture.
Brody, may not be clear on being a jihadist, but he is definitely not the man who left eight years ago. How could he be?
He also knows this: he wants the VP to pay for what he did, and will always believe he is a war criminal. He will always love Issa, because that is how Nasir programmed him, knowing he had his own children. It would take a long time to relieve him of that trigger. Brody also loves his children, and he no longer loves Jess. He lies to her like a pro, and she knows it! But she is part of this "normal" person he tries to be, which is why before she kicked him out, he says "I'll try harder". Personally, I'd run off with Mike, because one thing he does know, is that Brody's family is in danger. That is the truth, and it is not a ploy to help him get back with Jessica.
That's all for now! See you at Part II.