Contributor: Henry T.
Written by Meredith Steihm
Directed by John Dahl
This is what Brody signed up for with the CIA. Carrie said it wasn’t going to be easy. Serving two masters with two different agendas means that there should be some give and take with each. It’s an arduous task for someone even as disciplined as Brody is, and it looks like he’s starting to crack under the pressure. The CIA needs him to get closer and closer into Abu Nazir’s inner circle, but get too close and they might start to suspect of his double agent status. Roya Hammad is being cagey (understandably so) with the details of their operation.
All of the subplots shown in the season so far dovetailed very nicely in this episode. It had to happen eventually. The suddenly accelerated pace means that Dana and Finn killing someone would have to affect Brody’s story in some way. Since this is one continuous story, we have yet to see the full amount of consequences from any one character’s actions. The show even has time to come back to a major character from season one and Saul has a little side story of his own that might impact future events on the series.
Everyone in this show’s world lives within a web of lies. Certain lies affect the characters in different ways. Brody has to attend a political fundraiser hosted by a rich donor and it’s only when the two of them bond over old war stories that the donor takes to liking Brody. It’s for false reasons, however, and speaks to how Brody has to manage both the public and private faces of his betrayal. It is only in the open clearing, with just Carrie around to hear it, that Brody is actually honest. The intelligence of this show comes through in that scene. Brody simply can’t forget what’s been done to him over the past eight years, and it continues to haunt him. Carrie can manipulate this feeling, but can’t seem to deeply penetrate it.
They are clearly attracted to each other, but now since they work so closely together, they have few chances to act on those feelings. She has this hold on him, much as he is an obsession of hers from the beginning. That may be the reason why she shows up at the end when it’s decided that Dana will confess to the vehicular manslaughter with Finn. Carrie is the only one at this point that has even a remote chance to reach Brody and prevent him from possibly making a mistake. By the end, however, he’s had enough of the lying. He has been so isolated for so long (and I just loved the long shot of Brody alone in the pool, almost as if he was drowning in his own lies) and this is his breaking point. It’s understandable that he doesn’t want to lose Dana, also probably aware that she has some damning secrets about him that would be ruinous if it were made public. It’s hard to know if those secrets will come out because Dana is a scared child who is currently in a confessional mood, but probably unwilling to hurt her father, a man she has been steadily getting closer to as time has passed.
Dana’s storyline finally has substance, though. She cannot take the weight of killing that innocent woman on her conscience, and so basically determines all by herself that she will confess to her and Finn’s crime. Any other show, the parents would go into loud histrionics about how two teenagers in the public eye could be so reckless. Both sets of parents know that they have to handle the situation carefully, though, with particular attention to how it’s going to affect their political aspirations. The Waldens immediately go into spin control mode, which stands in stark contrast to how the Brodys react to the situation. Cynthia Walden seems to want to quash the story as fast as possible. Jessica, wanting to stay in the highest Washington political circle, is torn between doing the right thing (confessing) and doing as little as possible not to alienate the wife of the Vice President. Finn gives up immediately upon Dana’s sudden blurting out of their crime. I like that he recognizes what Dana isn’t prepared for, tells her as such, and that it’s likely they will never see each other again. I never particularly warmed to the character of Finn, but he has served his purpose and what’s left is the fallout of confessing to the proper authorities, whenever that’s likely to occur. The consequences are going to be ugly, as is much of what happens on this show.
Like Brody’s continued suppression of the torture endured at the hands of Abu Nazir, the show likes acknowledging its past. This is hardly done with many shows. We haven’t seen Aileen since the end of last season so it’s a bit of a surprise for her to show up here. It makes sense that Saul would go probing for any source within the Abu Nazir organization to get useful intelligence. The tragic ending isn’t hinted at through the course of the episode, which makes it all the more potent when it arrives. She stonewalls Saul, wanting perks that she was never going to enjoy in exchange for what turns out to be faulty information. I had completely forgotten that Saul used to be married (in part because the personal lives of the CIA officers are basically non-existent at this point), but Aileen and Saul’s conversations do bring up memories of last season. Mira leaving Saul and the road trip that cemented his and Aileen’s relationship. Saul has to grasp at straws given that the CIA is running out of enemy suspects to follow. Aileen’s suicide is simultaneously understandable given what she’s been through since she was imprisoned, and shocking in its swiftness.
All of these different elements are blended together with a lot of skill. It could have been a real mess, but a good sense of control exists with every part of this show. The writers know where all of this is going, and the beauty of it is that it leaves the viewers guessing as the season finale approaches. There’s lots of story left to tell, and I think the complications are just beginning to take shape.
Score: 8/10