Full spoilers follow.
While last week’s episode felt like it finally got Carrie back on track this season with the reveal that she and Saul have been playing the long con, tonight’s Homeland, "The Yoga Play," was mired once again in its share of storytelling distractions.
New besties
With Carrie playing cat and mouse with the surveillance teams watching her, she goes above and beyond the call for Jessica Brody of all people. Would Jess really go to Carrie for help regarding Dana’s being missing? And would Carrie really be inclined to help Jess, particularly now when it could jeopardize her and Saul’s mission? Hard to swallow on both counts.
I mean, yeah -- I get it. Carrie is off her meds (again) and when it comes to Brody, she’s usually impulsive. And yes, she has a good point about Dana being the one person who Brody might reach out to if he ever returns to the States (well, not counting Carrie herself I guess). But still, the result feels sort of like a filler episode that’s mainly buying time until the final moments of the episode when Carrie finally comes face to face with her Iranian contact.
More successful is the thread involving Saul and his awkward crossover into the political crowd. A funny exchange between Quinn and Mira Berenson sets the whole plotline up, as Saul (mistakenly as it turns out) thinks he’s up for the permanent job of director of the CIA. Of course, the bitter irony that it’s that bastard Senator Andrew Lockhart who got the job -- the same guy who was haranguing Saul and Carrie during the congressional committee -- is more than made up for by the public humiliation the senator faces during Saul’s takedown of him.
Careful where you aim that, Saul.
But still, the dumbstruck reaction Saul has when he first realizes what’s actually going on stands as a reminder that his goals and the CIA’s goals aren’t necessarily the same as the White House’s, as well as that Saul may be very good at his job, but when it comes to mixing with the big boys of Washington he’s out of his league. And very soon he’s going to have to deal with Lockhart as his boss as well… assuming he still has a job.
In fact, seeing Saul with a gun in his hand during the hunting trip -- a hunting trip where the parties can’t quite agree on what they’re hunting, mind you -- just seemed so… wrong. This is not the life Saul is cut out for anyway. And talk about a bad day… after all that, he gets home to find his wife having a cozy dinner with another man.
Meanwhile, one can only hope that the Dana stuff involving the mysteriously dangerous boyfriend is petering out here. Seeing Dana crushed at the end of the episode is effective, and I continue to be interested in her plight, but the murderous-or-not boyfriend thing is a distraction this show doesn’t need.
I also feel compelled to point out that this is the fifth episode of the season, but that we’ve only seen Brody in one segment so far. I respect what the showrunners are trying to do in that regard, but I’m not sure Homeland can sustain it for much longer.
But things are heating up by the end of "The Yoga Play." Carrie is in yet another of her precarious situations with her Iranian friend, completely and utterly by herself. But as Saul points out, "She's always been on her own." That’s for sure.
Some notes:
- Last week we got Virgil, and now his befuddled bro Max is back too!
- Who else do you cast but William Sadler as a dubious politician type?
- Nice buffet at that bigwig breakfast, eh?
- Hey, maybe Saul does need some new leadership at the agency. You’ve got Carrie and Quinn almost blowing the case here -- both for personal reasons. Get that s#!t in check, people.
Talk to Senior Editor Scott Collura about Homeland or anything else on Twitter at @ScottIGN[1] , on IGN at scottcollura[2] and on Facebook[3] .
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