Contributor: Henry T.
Written by Henry Bromell
Directed by Guy Ferland
This episode, to me, had two fantastic moments that were surrounded by a lot of creaky plot mechanics. This is a byproduct of what happens in the previous episode. Pieces of a chessboard being moved into place for the conclusion of this part of the story. In that way, the pieces somehow end up with an assassination of Vice President Walden, an event that comes very suddenly and really, without warning. It’s based on knowledge about Brody and Carrie’s relationship that Abu Nazir is counting on as leverage to use against Brody.
This is information I don’t think we’ve even seen Brody give to Nazir. So the episode is counting on a lot of leaps of faith from both the audience and the characters. It doesn’t fully work, but the payoff is a real and personal one. Brody gets to tell the full truth about his feelings — without anything held back — to Walden as he accelerates his murder. It’s the show going very personal, and it’s one of the reasons the show is so compelling to watch. Saving everything for the finale might not be the best course to take, though, because there’s the feeling that this episode is short-changed.
The center of the show still remains Carrie and Brody’s growing relationship. The basis of that relationship is on rocky ground due to what they do for the CIA, and so this is what Nazir exploits in the episode. His timing is pretty exquisite in creating the accident that allows him to nab Carrie and set the whole plot into motion. With Roya Hammad in CIA custody, Nazir has the only choice of using Brody to get a serial number to the Vice President’s pacemaker. Is this a test of loyalty to Nazir? Maybe. Could there have been a number of different ways to kill the Vice President? Sure, there are. I think that’s what ultimately bothers me about the whole plot. This is just not the way Nazir operates. He wants mass casualties, usually in a public place.
Perhaps after seeing that Brody froze with the suicide bomb vest last season, Nazir felt he had to take matters into his own hands. It runs counter-intuitive to the intimate conversation that Carrie and Nazir have about each side’s perspectives on terrorism. It’s a great conversation, one where both sides are correct in their motives for fighting this ongoing war. Nazir may be justified in killing Walden as revenge for the drone strike obliteration of his family, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a dangerous terrorist. Both sides can claim innocence. Both sides claim that blood has been spilt. It speaks again to the complexities of fighting the war on terror and the tiring constant battle to stay vigilant against anyone who will attack the United States.
There should be more of this in the episode, but it has to remember to resolve the plot under certain terms. Brody has to get the serial number in order for Nazir to let her go, and Nazir has to use the serial number to give Walden a heart attack. At times, I felt like it was too neat, too pat for such a complicated show. It asks too much from Brody to go wild-eyed, desperate, and willing to say anything to placate his master. He does show his true colors to Walden as Nazir starts to give his pacemaker a malfunction that ultimately assassinates the Vice President. As Walden is dying, Brody drops all pretense and proceeds to tell Walden what he really thinks of him and his methods for ordering the drone strikes.
This is markedly different from last season, when he couldn’t blow up the Vice President in a moment of hesitation. He willfully commits to the act, actively preventing Walden from reaching for the phone that might save his life. It’s ugly, and intensely personal, which gives the episode a tension that was rarely present. The consequences from the Vice President’s have yet to be seen, but I imagine Brody won’t step back from his Congressman position and may yet command more power in the political arena with Walden out of the way.
So which side is Brody truly playing for? The CIA is a mess with Estes apparently turning against Saul after he does a little too much digging into Quinn and his connection to Dar Adal as well as the rest of the operation. How this all shakes out is left up to question. There’s little resolution to the Dana-Finn subplot here as well (a part of me wishes Finn would just permanently go away), but I imagine that his father’s death will have adverse effect on both himself and his relationship with Dana. There are still too many balls left up in the air at this point, and the end of the season is coming near so some will have to eventually drop to the ground.
It should hopefully not end as abruptly as this episode did, with Carrie doing the really stupid thing of going back to try and club Nazir with a pipe. At least, I think that’s what she’s going to do. No previous indication was given that this was what Carrie normally does in the presence of a principal terrorist target. It tells me how much this show is unfocused at the moment. It should get back on track with a short amount of time to do it.
Score: 7/10