Surprises in Homeland
Dramatic television is often noisy, busy and hyperkinetic, told at a breakneck pace with little time for the reflective pauses in life. That’s why these new episodes of Homeland have been so distinctive and unique. The online fan community is furious. Where’s Brody, fans demand to know. Why is so much time being wasted on Brody’s mopey teenage daughter, they demand to know. So her dad’s a traitor and a terrorist to boot, so what? He’s not there. He’s on the run. He’s no longer in the picture. Who cares about the Brodys? Move on.
Homeland is a different show now than fans expect, but it’s better for it. There’s still a sense of lurking menace, and the possibility of more terrorist attacks, but the tension and sense of impending violence is implied, not shown. The story in these early episodes is more focused on the emotions of those left behind by last season’s bombing: guilt, shame, sadness, mourning and that terrible, nagging feeling that it would never have happened if only those whose jobs it was to serve and protect had been more alert.
Last season’s bombing, in which more than 200 people died, was allegedly carried out by ex-marine and recently rescued prisoner-of-war Nicholas Brody, played by Damian Lewis. He’s on the run, the subject of a worldwide manhunt, and does not appear in Sunday’s episode. His presence is felt, though.
Sunday’s episode of the new season picks up with Claire Danes’ suspended CIA analyst Carrie Mathison quarrelling with her parents, lashing out at former colleagues and eventually being confined to a psychiatric facility.
Fans who complained that last week’s season opener devoted too much time to Dana and her teen angst will be even more annoyed at Sunday’s episode: not only does Dana have key scenes, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that she might be Homeland’s key character moving forward — the vulnerable teen who’s shamed and heartbroken to learn her dad wasn’t who he pretended to be.
Sunday’s episode is all about fathers and daughters: just as Dana feels used and betrayed by her terrorist-sympathizing dad, Carrie has convinced herself that her own father has been undermining her with her former bosses. (Super Channel — 10 p.m.)