Tag Archives: Carrie Mathison

Dec 19 2011
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Homeland, New for Fall 2011, Recaps, Showtime, TV

thoughts on homeland: marine one

Cryptic Camerawork: If it wasn’t clear what Brody’s part in Abu Nazir’s plan was to you so far then I would think he spelled it all out with his recording. I understand clarifying that he was only trying to make those domestic enemies pay for what they did to all those children but he had to know that his side of the story would never come out anyway. Also, what if someone walked by his storage locker while he was recording that? Fail.

On Deaf Ears: The only person who knows what’s going on with the assassination plot is the only person who keeps getting shut out and restrained at every turn. Add Saul, Dana, and Jess to the growing list of those people who dismiss Carrie’s correct theories. Can you really blame them though? She is unstable – to say the least – and she is the woman who Brody had been having an affair with. Sorry Carrie?

Wardrobe Malfunction?: If anyone thought that Brody was goin to off himself with that vest then you can’t possibly be all that intelligent. Yes, he did flip the switch initially but the vest didn’t work. Without thinking about the plot and all that, he is the STAR of the show! I just wanted to see how his failure to follow through with the plan would play out.

Dana Stalls Terrorism: Maybe I jumped the gun with Dana dismissing Carrie earlier? Her pleading with her father to come home was the only reason Brody didn’t flip that switch a second time and carry out Nazir’s plan. Congratulations Dana, you just saved the world!

No Room for Wild Cards: Since Brody BS’d his way out of a a failed plot he is the only one – that we know of – that is still in contact with Nazir. Sucks for Tom Walker. Everyone thought he was dead then he came back as a terrorist sniper and he’ll be the only one linked to the assassination attempt. But every good terrorist plot needs a solid fall guy I guess?

Quiet Explosions: Now that Saul has come across the redacted documents and videos that show the bombing of Abu Nazir’s son’s school he understands Carrie timeline. It is disgusting that so many innocent lives were blindly taken to bring Nazir out of hiding but is all really fair in love and war? Hopefully Saul doesn’t halt on his investigation into Vice President Walden and Estes because Carrie needs to get back to doing the job she does better than everyone else.

Shock Value: In, perhaps, the most gripping scene of the entire show so far we got to see Carrie have shock therapy performed on her in hopes of helping her psychosis. I didn’t know procedures like this were still performed and seeing it happen – even on a scripted show – is a bit unnerving. I guess to some point I can understand why Carrie would go to such an extreme because everything in her life in crumbling around her. Brody doesn’t want anything to do with her. Saul tried to get her detained. Estes basically fired her from the only constant thing in her life. I don’t know what to expect from Carrie next season because no one is sure what side effects will do to her mind but I just hope they don’t ruin the best character on the show by taking away her drive.

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Dec 12 2011
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Homeland, New Show, Recaps, Showtime, TV

thoughts on homeland: the vest

So Carrie IS Crazy: We were told early on in the season about Carrie’s condition. We’ve seen her taking medication. Her personality can be seen as a bit obsessive compulsive even when she has her condition “under control” but since the bombing she finally succumbed. Maybe she does jumble all her thoughts together but she still is the most viable source when it comes to figuring out the puzzle that is Abu Nazir.

“Fire someone. I don’t care who it is”: Words spoken by the Vice President to David Estes. Clearly one can understand where he is coming from and Carrie is the obvious “fall girl” but I still don’t think it was her fault. She figured out that the man with the briefcase wasn’t Walker and that something bad was about to happen. Saul and Estes are more to blame but they won’t be held accountable for their roles in the terrorist attack.

Ominous Warning: Whenever you tell someone – in this case your daughter – to take of things when you’re gone and you aren’t going into a situation that is apparently dangerous then one has reason to worry. I know politics can be a dirty little game but it is rarely deadly. Brody clearly has ulterior motives with his campaign for presidency, I just want to know if it coincides with what Walker has planned.

Back Room Deals: Where is a subtitle – or a friend that speaks Arabic – when you need it?! I know the lack of translation is only to add to the suspense of the end game but I was more upset that intrigued when the scene ended. All I know for sure is that Brody wants to decapitate someone with an explosive vest. I guess that’s all I need, right?

Terrorism Made Easy: Basically, since the yellow area was so small there had to have been a personal tragedy for Abu Nazir that sparked his purple area revenge. Simple. After helping patch together Carrie’s scrambled work Saul finally can see what Carrie has been trying to explain to him about Abu Nazir and his motives. They still need to figure out what happened to Abu Nazir during that downtime in activity – which was the bombing that killed his son, unbeknowst to the CIA – and what he REALLY has planned for revenge, because Carrie is convinced it’s more than just Walker.

No One Believes a Psycho: I knew Estes was eventually going to find out about Carrie’s condition and relieve her from her duties with the CIA, but I wasn’t expecting it to be brought upon by Brody. Even though she is struggling mentally, she is the closest to figuring out what Abu Nazir has planned and she knows Brody is the most important piece to figuring it all out. Brody had to have sensed that too so that’s why he told Estes about their affair and her illegal surveillance. I felt it odd that Saul didn’t come to her defense but I’m still thinking he may have mole-like tendencies so that could explain his absence.

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Nov 14 2011
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Homeland, New Show, Recaps, Showtime, TV

homeland recapping: the weekend

Carrie and Brody

Going into the episode I wasn’t sure if Carrie was genuinely attracted to Brody or was she just doing her job. She revealed that she was doing the latter. But after Brody decided to leave her at the cabin and she heard that Brody wasn’t the POW that had been turned her feelings seemed to shift drastically. I don’t know if it is due to her not having her meds over the weekend though. I can’t quite figure Carrie, or her motives, when it comes to Brody yet but I do like the relationship they’ve built thus far.

Saul

Seeing as though I can never quite peg anyone’s real intentions in this show, Saul doesn’t get a pass either. I don’t know why he was hesitant to skip the polygraph test last week and why he seems so concerned to meet with anyone that has anything to do with the terrorist plot by himself. Although he hasn’t done anything that screams “terrorist” I’ll be watching his movements going forward.

Brody’s Family

Brody doesn’t want anything to do with Jessica anymore because of Mike. Dana doesn’t want anything to do with her mom because of Mike. Catching the drift? I understand that they made a relationship work when everyone thought Brody was dead but now that he is back could you at least let the man be with his family. Even if it is doomed to fail, let it be because they did it to themselves Mike. Also, Dana, drugs are bad.

Highlights

  • Carrie and Brody go to Carrie’s family cabin for the weekend.
  • Saul wants to interrogate Aileen in private after they take her into custody.
  • Brody asks Carrie if she is willing to make their relationship more than just drunk sex. He tells Carrie he can’t be with Jessica anymore.
  • Saul gently interrogates Aileen during the trip from Mexico back to Virginia.
  • Dana tells Mike “there’s no place for my dad when you’re here”.
  • Aileen tells Saul that a man visited her and Faisel’s house and worked on the roof.
  • Brody figures out that Carrie was/is spying on him. She tells him about her suspicions. Brody agrees to answer whatever questions she has.
  • Galvez sees that a Marine landing pad might be in the line of sight for an expert sniper.
  • A sketch artist that Aileen is working with reveals that Tom Walker, the Marine that Brody allegedly killed, was the man that visited her home. Saul tells Carrie about this as Brody is leaving the cabin.
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Nov 01 2011
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Homeland, New for Fall 2011, New Show, Recaps, Showtime, TV

thoughts on homeland: blind spot

Carrie’s Psychosis: We’ve known since the pilot that Carrie suffers from a form of schizophrenia and that her father has the same illness. We know that she has been taking medication for her illness but we really haven’t seen it’s affects on her work. It’s apparent that she is driven, and maybe to a fault sometimes, but in her line of work is that really all that irregular?

Brody & Mike: I know it may seem as though Brody knows about the relationship between his wife and best friend while he was gone but neither of them, nor Jessica, has actually talked about the situation. Mike seems to still attached to Jessica maybe even more so than Brody is at this point. It may be due to the fact that Brody has ulterior motives that we don’t know about yet. But until then he just seems like an uninterested former POW trying to readjust to civilian life.

Carrie & Brody: After Carrie “ran into” Sgt. Brody at a Veteran’s meeting at the church she seems to be friendly, almost flirtatious, with Brody. I can’t tell whether her intentions are genuine or a ploy to get closer to Brody for information – I’m willing to bet that it’s the latter…but she is crazy so who knows, right? Brody seems to look at Carrie in a more affectionate way than he does his own life. I’ll be the first to say I have NO IDEA what is up Brody’s sleeve by this. Maybe he knows about Carrie’s spy games somehow or maybe he is actually developing a crush on his “enemy”?

Brody’s Past: Since we never REALLY know Brody’s intentions in the present we are forced to assume which actions are guided by a terrorist agenda and which are just misconstrued. But it seems rather clear cut that Brody make a bold stance in this episode by – and I’m still assuming – passing his former torturer a razor blade to kill himself with. It makes sense if they both (Brody and his torturer) know that any information they get from him in interrogation would be detrimental to a terrorist plot but it can also a raise a bright red flag to the CIA that Brody is in cahoots with Abu Nazir. I think it has become rather obvious that Brody is involved, what I’m not sure of is if he is doing it of his accord.

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