Agreed about the dramatic irony of Brody being framed for the bombing he didn't commit through the evidence of the bombing he was going to commit, and about it feeling right. Less even than the difficulty of accepting Carrie and Brody as a happy couple (to me, the hurdle is the fact that he made her doubt her sanity to the point of committing suicide; it's not that I don't believe Carrie could get over that because, as Brody says, she is just that crazy, but I needed to be walked from point A to B), I had trouble accepting that he would just get away with his crimes. Dana finally working up the courage to ask about next year and getting the truth (and recoiling from it) went some way towards his comeuppance, but being blamed for the bombing feels just right.
I didn't entirely buy Quinn's decision not to kill Brody - until this episode, he seemed like a guy who would mindlessly follow orders, not debate their rights and wrongs - but I did like the fact that he makes that decision because of Carrie, not because of Brody, and that this follows on several episodes in which he clearly gains a greater measure of respect and affection for her (compare his willingness to listen to Carrie and Brody having sex a few weeks ago to putting down his scope as they begin to have sex in this episode). It also occurred to me that Quinn might blame himself in the wake of the bombing (I'm assuming he wasn't among the dead or we would have seen him at the wake before the explosion), but on the other hand he is one of a few people (including Carrie and Saul) who know that the suicide tape refers to the earlier, botched attempt on Walden's life, which, along with his newfound respect for Carrie's abilities, might make him more amenable to the idea that Brody was framed.
The actor who appears on the Al Quaeda tape after Brody's suicide message is released is Alon Aboutbul, who is probably best known outside of Israel as the Russian nuclear scientist in The Dark Knight Rises. I assume the show wouldn't have bothered to cast him, rather than some vaguely Middle Eastern-looking guy from central casting, unless it plans to set him up as a new antagonist, which disappoints me, because when telling a story about terrorism and the war with it, focusing on a single bad guy is a colossal bit of point-missing. Abu Nazir worked because of his love/hate relationship with Brody, which presumably this character won't have. I would have preferred a broader look at terrorism and its appeal to ordinary people, not just kingpins (something this season had the chance to do with Roya, but mostly squandered).
Dana finally working up the courage to ask about next year and getting the truth (and recoiling from it) went some way towards his comeuppance
Oh, I'd meant to mention that and forgot! Yes. I'm really glad her reaction was written this way, showing shock and recoiling. Because of the lack of Homeland reviews on lj, I took a look at tumblr now and then and always stopped early on because of all the Dana hate. (It seemed that what Skyler hate was to BB tumblrs, Dana hate was to H tumblrs. Ugh.) But she's one of the most emotionally real characters of the show to me.
It also occurred to me that Quinn might blame himself in the wake of the bombing (I'm assuming he wasn't among the dead or we would have seen him at the wake before the explosion), but on the other hand he is one of a few people (including Carrie and Saul) who know that the suicide tape refers to the earlier, botched attempt on Walden's life, which, along with his newfound respect for Carrie's abilities, might make him more amenable to the idea that Brody was framed.
Good point. I'm curious to find out. Which I hadn't expected; Quinn didn't interest me that much early on.
I didn't entirely buy Quinn's decision not to kill Brody - until this episode, he seemed like a guy who would mindlessly follow orders, not debate their rights and wrongs - but I did like the fact that he makes that decision because of Carrie, not because of Brody, and that this follows on several episodes in which he clearly gains a greater measure of respect and affection for her (compare his willingness to listen to Carrie and Brody having sex a few weeks ago to putting down his scope as they begin to have sex in this episode). It also occurred to me that Quinn might blame himself in the wake of the bombing (I'm assuming he wasn't among the dead or we would have seen him at the wake before the explosion), but on the other hand he is one of a few people (including Carrie and Saul) who know that the suicide tape refers to the earlier, botched attempt on Walden's life, which, along with his newfound respect for Carrie's abilities, might make him more amenable to the idea that Brody was framed.
The actor who appears on the Al Quaeda tape after Brody's suicide message is released is Alon Aboutbul, who is probably best known outside of Israel as the Russian nuclear scientist in The Dark Knight Rises. I assume the show wouldn't have bothered to cast him, rather than some vaguely Middle Eastern-looking guy from central casting, unless it plans to set him up as a new antagonist, which disappoints me, because when telling a story about terrorism and the war with it, focusing on a single bad guy is a colossal bit of point-missing. Abu Nazir worked because of his love/hate relationship with Brody, which presumably this character won't have. I would have preferred a broader look at terrorism and its appeal to ordinary people, not just kingpins (something this season had the chance to do with Roya, but mostly squandered).
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Oh, I'd meant to mention that and forgot! Yes. I'm really glad her reaction was written this way, showing shock and recoiling. Because of the lack of Homeland reviews on lj, I took a look at tumblr now and then and always stopped early on because of all the Dana hate. (It seemed that what Skyler hate was to BB tumblrs, Dana hate was to H tumblrs. Ugh.) But she's one of the most emotionally real characters of the show to me.
It also occurred to me that Quinn might blame himself in the wake of the bombing (I'm assuming he wasn't among the dead or we would have seen him at the wake before the explosion), but on the other hand he is one of a few people (including Carrie and Saul) who know that the suicide tape refers to the earlier, botched attempt on Walden's life, which, along with his newfound respect for Carrie's abilities, might make him more amenable to the idea that Brody was framed.
Good point. I'm curious to find out. Which I hadn't expected; Quinn didn't interest me that much early on.
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