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Gay Girl’s Goggles: “Homeland” SnapCap (1.06)

I kept looking at the clock during Homeland this week because I knew that the episode was speeding to a close – and I didn’t want it to end! The show is that good. And this week, again, threw us for a loop. Just when we feel like we have a handle on who these characters are, everything changes.

AFTERELLEN BAIT

I noticed this episode that not only do we have a lack of Sapphic undertones, but female characters rarely come into contact with each other at all. Somehow, though, Homeland doesn’t feel like a macho show. Maybe it’s because everyone, regardless of gender, is royally screwed up. In any case, the show doesn’t need subtext to keep us watching.

FEELINGS, FEELINGS, FEELINGS!

Good thing I don’t have to talk out loud about this episode because my heart is in my throat. The bomb in the house! Saul’s polygraph! Brody beating up Mike! Carrie and Brody’s drunken parking lot tango! The hotel attack! Brody’s cold, calculated lie! And the cliffhanger: “Get in.” Can. Not. Breathe.

OK, I shouldn’t be shocked that a man who’s been a POW for eight years can lie to a polygraph machine. But Brody’s total unflappability – even in the face of a question Carrie threw at him to unnerve him – was downright chilling. And why did you get in the car with him right after that, Carrie? To have more unprotected backseat sex? Carrie is so brilliant at her job – and so effed up otherwise. Sleeping with the enemy? Time will tell.

Claire Danes is in Emmy territory with this role, just for the record.

THE LYING GAME

At the beginning of the Homeland season, the question was, “Who’s lying?” Now, after six episodes, the question is, “Is anyone telling the truth?” We see how each character’s lies, regardless of degree, have repercussions beyond national loyalty. Carrie, for example, jumped at the chance to take a polygraph – but getting her meds from her sister forced her into a lie about taking illegal drugs. By the time she, Estes, Saul and Brody take the test, we’re ready to believe any one of them could be a traitor.

That brings me to Saul. Last week, I mistook Saul’s Kaddish for the dead terrorist as an Arab prayer. (Thanks again for letting me know!) But I still had my suspicious about him. This week, when he took the polygraph, it registered a lie when he denied slipping Hamid the razor blade. The examiner (Hi, Rolf!) seemed to dismiss it as stress, but I have my doubts. Saul may not be a terrorist, but something is amiss.

WATCHABILITY

How many different ways can I say that Homeland is one of the best shows on TV? Even when we think we know what’s happening, the stories weave together to give us something totally unexpected. We aren’t surprised that Carrie and Brody got it on, but the way it happened was a bit shocking – and bringing it into play during the polygraph test was just plain good writing. Now we’re not sure if Carrie calculated the sexual encounter to try to frame Brody. Or maybe Brody calculated it to gain control of Carrie. Every episode, every storyline, is constructed in a way that we believe everything and nothing at once.

I have a new theory for you. During Tom Walker’s memorial service, I started to wonder why they waited eight years before having it. His wife is remarried, so obviously she had him declared dead at some point. I realize that Brody supposedly remembers burying him, but who knows what’s real among all those flashbacks? What if Walker is still alive and is the one who “turned,” setting Brody up to clear the way for whatever plot is in place? Possible? Let me know what you think in the comments.

How did you like this episode of Homeland? Any new theories? Tell me everything.

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