Murder and Suicide. Review: Homeland - "State of Independence"

Homeland, S2, E3 – “State of Independence”

Airdate: Sunday, October 14, 2012, 10:00 pm ET/PT on Showtime

Rating: ★★★★★

“I was right.” Three simple words that helped to restore Carrie’s (Claire Danes) sanity, which, as we saw in “State of Independence,” was on a perilous ledge. Suicide and murder are the main plot points; although they were weak at times, they are saved by excellent acting, and serve to dish up a great, intense, character-driven episode.

Observations and Thoughts:

Murder and Suicide. Review: Homeland - "State of Independence" 1

Roya calls Brody with yet another dangerous mission.

We haven’t seen a lot of interaction between Brody (Damian Lewis) and his wife Jessica (Morena Baccarin) lately so I thought they might be pulling down some of the fence between them when Jessica reads the heartfelt speech Brody has prepared for the fundraiser. It seems to me that Brody is desperate for people to understand how he feels, don’t you agree? Too bad he hasn’t shared his feelings with his wife. Did you catch that hot and heavy make-out session on the kitchen counter afterwards? It’s a shame Dana (Morgan Saylor) interrupts them because it’s all downhill from there.

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The Tailor doesn’t trust Brody when Brody whisks him away from his shop.

I’m not sure I understand why Roya (Zuleikha Robinson) tells Brody to escort the bomb vest maker, aka the Tailor (Nasser Farris), to a safe house. At this point, Brody has to be one of the most recognizable faces around so why choose him? I also don’t understand why the Tailor doesn’t trust or believe Brody, unless the writers are using this as a means to an end. I mean, it’s not like he doesn’t know who and what Brody is. Something else that seemed hinky to me was Brody answering Jessica’s call in the middle of the woods. Talk about your inopportune time to get a call from your wife! And Brody snapping the guy’s neck just so Jessica wouldn’t hear him? Come on! So, ok, the plot here is a bit thin but Lewis’ acting is stellar. He made me believe he couldn’t believe what was happening! It all was a little ridiculous, don’t you agree?

It was inevitable that Brody wouldn’t make it to the fundraiser, leaving Jessica to pick up the pieces. But instead of turning into a bumbling idiot, she delivers a truly heartwarming speech that almost had me ready to pick up the phone and donate to her cause. Kudos to Baccarin for what is probably the best scene she has turned in to date.

Who else thought Jessica and Faber (Diego Klattenhoff) were headed inside for a very personal téte-a-téte following their ride home? Is this really the end of Brody’s marriage?

David Harewood turns in a credible performance in “State of Independence” as well, especially when his character, David Estes, tries to make Carrie understand why she’s not being included in the debriefing. At first, it felt like a typical brush off—you did a great job, thanks, but we don’t need you anymore—followed by Estes showing just how uncomfortable he is with this position, so much so, I almost felt sorry for him. But then he asks, “Carrie, you didn’t come here today expecting to be reinstated, right?” Talk about a slap in the face!

It is Danes, though, who deserves the highest commendation for “State of Independence.” Once again, she proves how well she understands manic depressive disorder. Carrie actions at being turned away from the debriefing session, followed by her pitiful suicide attempt, and then her reaction to the tape Saul (Mandy Patinkin) brings her are perfect examples. Accepting that she’ll never work at the CIA is accentuated by Danes’ desperate mannerisms, staccato speech, darting eyes, and Carrie’s disbelief at what’s happening, which all lead to another hopeless downward spiral. Carrie dresses for an evening out, realizes what she’s doing, and then swallows that big honking amount of antidepressants with a wine chaser. (As an aside, I was pretty amazed at how quickly she downed those two large glasses.) Danes went to a very dark place in this scene, especially when she appears so calm about what she’s done. There’s a disconsolate, yet accepting, air about her as she goes up the stairs to lie down. Thankfully, she reconsiders what she’s done when her baser animal instincts kick in.

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Finally, Carrie is redeemed!

Of course, we can’t forget Carrie’s face as she watches Brody’s confession tape. She is ecstatic, all is right with her world again, and I highly doubt she will ever not trust her instincts again. What a perfect way for her to get reinstated, but will that happen? Should it happen?

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Saul is nobody’s idiot.

Speaking of Saul, how cool was it that he made and hid a duplicate copy of the tape the Iranian official confiscated? And I love that he came to Carrie first with the tape rather than the CIA. The question is, what will he do with the tape now? Certainly if he hands it over, Brody will forever be known as a terrorist so where would the writers go with Lewis’ character? Or will Saul decide to keep quiet about the tape, and send Carrie to uncover more intel from Brody? I smell a perfect blackmail scenario here. I know the writers are looking for a way to bring these two back together so wouldn’t this be just the ticket?

Tune in to Homeland Sundays at 10:00 pm ET/PT, only on Showtime.

Follow Homeland on Twitter @sho_homeland and cast members Damian Lewis (Brody) @Lewis_Damian; Morena Baccarin (Jessica) @MissMorenaB; David Harewood (Estes) @TheHarewood; Navid Negahban (Abu Nazir) @NavidNegahban; Jackson Pace (Chris Brody) @JacksonPace; David Marciano (Virgil) @davidmarciano; and Zuleikha Robinson (Roya Hamad) @ZuleikhaR.

LIKE the show on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/HomelandOnShowtime, and don’t forget to check out Homeland’s official webpage at http://www.sho.com/site/homeland/home.sho.

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Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!