TV Review: Homeland S3 Ep9 "One Last Time"

I am a big fan of Homeland. I caught up with the show during the summer and was pumped for season 3. Some people thought this was a very slow season because of Brody’s absence. If you missed Brody and Carrie together than this is the episode you have been waiting for all season. But warning there is some focus on Dana. I know how fans of the show hate Dana.

Written By Kat "Comic Uno"

Summary:

Last we saw Brody he started to become a heroine addict. Saul saves Brody for his own agenda. Half of the episode shows Brody trying to deal with the withdrawal of heroine; lets say that doesn’t go so well. Brody starts stabbing himself with a chair and stops eating.

Saul wants to get his plan off the ground. So, he calls upon an injured Carrie to convince Brody to go on one last mission to redeem his name. At first Brody rejects the plan even after seeing Carrie. Once Carrie mentions Dana he starts to work towards getting healthier to talk to Dana "one last time".

Brody is ready to go on the mission. The night before he talks to Dana. He wants to tell her that he is innocent because he was not the Langley bomber.  Dana has been through too much pain and she says that she never wants to see him again. Brody still goes on the mission.

Good:

The show has finally gone back to its core. Carrie and Brody are interacting with each other again with the hovering tension of Carrie’s pregnancy and the tortured soul of Brody.

I loved the second half of this episode. Who doesn’t like to see a broken character start to search for redemption? One of the main things that drew me to the show is the concept of Brody being a broken character. Even though he has done so many bad things we are still cheering for him. When he falls down in the beginning of his training I wanted him to get back on his feet.

I may be the minority on this one, but I don’t hate Dana. A lot of people complain that she gets too much camera time, which may be true. I hated her boyfriend drama in season 2 and the first part of season 3, but I love the connection Brody has with her. This episode shows that not even Carrie can keep Brody level headed. Dana is the key to seeing the Brody we all fell in love with in Season 1.

I was on the edge of my seat when Brody confronted Dana. It was a powerful scene. Dana pushes Brody away, but because of this encounter Brody is pushing himself even harder to convince his daughter that he can redeem himself.

Lets give a round of applause to Damian Lewis’ performance in this episode. We thought Carrie was the only one who can go crazy on this show. It was great to see his character do a complete 360 in the time frame of only one episode.

The Bad

I am starting to hate Saul. We should want to root for the guy. He is trying to resurrect the CIA, but at the process he has been horrible to Carrie. Saul is supposed to be Carrie’s friend. I don’t know what kind of friend puts you in a mental institution and still rag on you after the fact. Carrie was right in this episode he could've at least faked his appreciation. 

The beginning of the episode was a little slow. Even though I loved Damian Lewis’ performance I didn’t know what direction they were going with the heroine plot.

WHEN IS CARRIE GOING TO TELL SOMEONE ABOUT HER PREGNANCY?? She could have told Quinn when they were riding to the hospital, but instead she keeps trying to kill her baby. She doesn’t ask if the baby is all right when she gets shot in the arm. Carrie thinks her pregnancy is a perfect opportunity to start smoking. I just want to know what is going on in her head right now.

Speculations:

It is always hard to do a speculation section for Homeland, because this show has twist and turns that I never see coming, but I am going to try my best.

Brody is obviously going to survive the mission. Maybe the CIA will try to clear his name, but life will never be the same for him. I do hope that Dana forgives him by the end of the season.

Carrie has to tell someone about her pregnancy. I think Brody will be in a live or death situation and she will tell him over radio.

I have a gut feeling the senator is going to step down as director of the CIA by the end of this season.

Verdict:

Overall, I really liked seeing Brody and Carrie together again. I did not want this episode to end. The second portion of this episode kept me on the edge of my seat. I can’t wait to start seeing Brody’s redemption story.

4 out of 5 stars