SPOILERS AHEAD
The Debriefing: The op is in full play. Brody (Damian Lewis) and his SEAL team try to get him into Iran but run into heaps of trouble. Meanwhile, at Langley, Saul (Mandy Patinkin) and Carrie (Claire Danes), Quinn (Rupert Friend) must keep the wolves including Senator Lockhart (Tracy Letts) and the VP (William Sadler) at bay.
America’s Most Wanted (Best Overall Performance): While 3/4 of this season was dominated by Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin, the climax of Homeland has been and is still dominated by Damian Lewis. Tonight we saw two sides of Brody — the still shellshocked POW and the heroic Marine. To see both in play within mere minutes of each other was awesome and only the man who could pull this off is Damian Lewis.
The Sleeper Cell (Best Supporting Performance): Donnie Keshawarz as Hafez ‘A-Z’ Azizi. While he’s a bit player in a series filled with great actors, I just really dug the Southern-twanged SEAL Azizi. If they wanted to, Azizi could’ve really been a nice full-time addition to the season as Brody’s straight-talkin’ sidekick who doesn’t take Brody’s shit but also can crack a couple of jokes. Keshawarz provided a lot of necessary humor in an extremely intense episode.
A “BOO” Nazir (The Worst Part of the Episode): Honestly, there was nothing even remotely negative that occurred in this episode.
The Key Evidence (Best Part of the Episode): The extended firefights and action sequences in this episode were awesome. Well-choreographed, super-intense — and all shot in North Carolina? Yup, who knew a rock quarry in the Carolinas could be a great fill-in for Iraq. Regardless, these action sequences were probably some of the best in the series’ run since Season 1.
The Analysis (Overall Thoughts on the Episode): Wow. This was an intense episode of Homeland. However, I feel this would’ve served as a better season finale or mid-season finale as we’re now crossing over into a really interesting storyline — Brody in Tehran. This could literally be a season in itself, but instead we’re going to put this is as the final two episodes of Season 3. Who knows, maybe it’ll extend into Season 4. Regardless, this was a tremendous episode, one that if you’ve missed it you need to catch immediately.
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