'New Car Smell' - Homeland, Season Two

Homeland

Season Two

Episode Four

'New Car Smell' - 7.0

In a show about national security and terrorism, young love is the most important thing. 

I find myself largely unable to believe that Carrie would just be let back into the CIA. It was probably my only issue with the episode tonight - that, and the Dana subplot which went nowhere interesting - as I'm pretty sure she was not only discredited but she was stripped of her security clearance due to her mental illness. I don't think you can just veto that decision because it turns out she wasn't wrong, she's still a bit everywhere up in the head. Of course I could be wrong, the CIA might have a bit of leniency when it comes to people kicked out because of crackpot theories that don't end up that crazy. She presumably could have sued them for wrongful termination, so maybe they’re just covering their asses. 

Aside from that problem, there was a lot to like about 'New Car Smell'. Most notably, we're back to the surveillance of Brody. It was an immediate call back to the first few episodes of this fantastic show, but on a significantly grander scale, with the CIA tapping into the cameras in every building he visits, including the hotel he's staying in. They also have tapped his mobile phone and the one at home, all in the hopes of working out who he's working with. Early on, the team decides to throw the jihadist off by having him catch Carrie on the way out of Langley, thinking that he'll realise she's been reinstated in some way. It works like a charm, and the two of them even catch up for a few moments. 

The best Carrie/Brody moment had to be in the bar, as Claire Danes was simply amazing as her character struggled to keep her real feelings bottled up while talking about getting the Electro-convulsive therapy. In the end though, Carrie doesn't believe she was good enough and warns the team that she thinks she's been made, making her way over to Brody's hotel room for one of the greatest scenes this show has given us. 

At first Carrie pretends to be there for a booty call, openly flirting with her target. Soon though, her apparent sincerity fades to reveal the true anger underneath it all, as she cracks spectacularly, tearing into the man she loved for wronging her, getting her fired and driving her to the looney bin. It was powerful stuff and expertly handled, especially as she began egging him on to dispose of the apparent only witness. Luckily the SWAT team barges in and apprehends Brody just as he'd started advancing on her, and thus we end the first chapter of this show: Brody is now not only a known operative of Abu Nazir, he's a captured one too.

There was some other stuff too, namely Dana kissed Finn Warden, the Vice President's son. In all honesty, no one even really likes Dana so how am I supposed to give a shit about her fucking love life? Oh no! She has to dump Zander for him, despite the fact he's a complete asshole. All this plot line was was a waste of precious time.

Similarly, Mike and Jess has to deal with a drunk and raving Lauder, who turned up on his crutches at the Brody home, talking shit about Brody being evil and all. I mean we know it's true, and Mike does inquire deeper, but they end up concluding that he's working for the CIA. What? What exactly is he doing for them? Keeping tabs on the Vice President, who FYI used to be the director of the CIA? He's a terrorist, gentlemen, realise it.

We also meet a new character tonight, one Peter Quinn, an agent assigned to the Brody task force. He's an obvious relief character, one who is able to survey the main characters and make witty or almost meta-referential observations, ones that the audience can agree with or be amused by. Don't get me wrong, he was funny at times and a nice change from the sombre seriousness that is generally Homeland, but for the most part his presence fell to the wayside and I didn't really care. 

It's good to see that Claire Danes and Damien Lewis get some more scenes together, and looking at next week's previews we can expect to see her in on the interrogation, so I'm definitely looking forward to that. When Carrie and Brody are together we often get the most effective and beautifully delivered dialogue on television right now, and the two actors have some genuine chemistry, even if it isn't so much romantic anymore. Hopefully there'll be a lot more of the two of them to come.

After 'New Car Smell', Homeland has essentially burned through all the plot lines I'd expected from this season, which is both a brilliant and a risky move. Where can the show really go from here, and how long can they keep pushing the public acknowledgement of Brody's dissent back before it just gets annoying? I am definitely excited to see how Homeland will handle pretty much losing its premise - it was about whether or not Brody was a terrorist and how they would catch him - but I'm also wary that it could go very wrong. We can only wait and watch to find out.