The cliche quote about what the ripple effect of a butterfly’s wings flapping comes into play as we take a look back at the Homeland finale. Everything we’ve seen has played out on Homeland in this very specific way because one very powerful group of men made a decision several years ago

Homeland Review “Marine One”

Homeland‘s season one finale aired last night on Showtime.

Both Carrie and Dana rely on their intuition and manage to avert disaster. Intentional or not, it sure seemed like women’s intuition was being championed.

Let’s begin with Nicholas Brody. If you were feeling confused, you didn’t have to be. Brody and his intentions were made clear right from the start of this episode. We learned that it was his love of America that was compelling him to commit what would appear to be a terrorist act (he did not see himself as a terrorist.) It had seemed that Brody was actually very angry at America, so it was a surprising twist to learn that Brody’s beef was merely with domestic enemies and he had to defend against them. In this case, the Vice President is the main enemy. Especially as he intends to run for President.

Brody’s daughter was strongly in play in this episode, as she defends her father at all cost but also listens to her intuition and goes out of her way to be assured her Father was coming home and was okay.

We saw Carrie three days after she’d been dramatically fired and had her entire world turned upside down and inside out. She spiraled into depression, refusing to eat or sleep. Being fired from her job was called “administrative leave” and she was lucky not to have legal charges brought against her.

Carrie started off in episodes of Homeland as becoming suspicious of Brody and, for a while, determined that he was evil and a threat to the United States. In the finale, she had just as much reason to hate him as he had ratted her out and cost her everything. It was Saul who said Brody had “poisoned” her thoughts, which turned out to be a codeword for making her fall in love with him. She had reason to hate him, but even when certain he was a villain she couldn’t help that she cared for him.

Even stripped of her position and credentials, Carrie was the first one to assert that she was the same person she’d always been. In this moment, more than any other, she was a heroine. She did what she believed was right. Without her interference, that room would have been blown up.

Interestingly, Carrie seems to be one of the only “good guys” other than Saul. We still have a mole on the “good side” that we have not identified. And though they are on opposite sides, both Brody and the Vice President seem bad. You don’t want either one of them to succeed.

Tom Walker was clearly Marine Two, the second honcho. He was trusted only to help Brody get inside of the building. Abu Nazir obviously cares for Brody more. And Brody will do anything to protect himself and his family, so killing Tom wasn’t as difficult as it was the first time. The plot and the entire plan came together very nice as a story, of course the actual plan had some hiccups.

We have to bring this review back around to Carrie. Brody seems to suffer no remorse for breaking her. And she is without hope. So much so that she’s willing to endure Electro Shock Therapy as a way to help her Bipolar Disorder. With no hope, Carrie is willing to go to extreme measures to change herself – ideally fixing herself.

And in a move that normally would be incredibly cliche, Carrie has a moment of recollection where she can piece together Assa and Brody. But then, her treatment begins and her short-term memory will erase that little bit of clarity. (It’s not exactly amnesia, but she’s not going to recall that breakthrough.)

All in all: a mighty fine way to end a season. This is a can’t miss Television show. It’s the equivalent of what a film is vs a movie. It’s that exceptional.

Great Small Moments:

  • When Walker pet the woman’s head as she left the apartment he’d been squatting at.
  • Fostser the People “Pumped Up Kicks” was the song Dana was listening to. If you google the meaning of the song lyrics, you’ll find it’s a very sinister song.
  • The emotional call between Dana and her father had so much not being said.

What did you think of this episode? Who do you think the mole is? Will Carrie recover will from her ECT?

Homeland airs on Showtime and stars Damian Lewis, Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin.

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