Homeland 3.05
Oct. 29th, 2013 06:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakIn which we get some real life cynicsm about the secret service and some tv interludes, too.
This was mostly a breather and set up for the next episode, which is evidently Carrie versus the Iranian Spymaster, with her in the interrogated position instead of being the interrogator, which makes dramatic sense. At the same time, I think it's right the episode gives her that interlude instead of letting her go there straight from the hospital, which, as the previouslies remind us and her thanking Quinn for visiting her does as well, really did get to her, plan or no plan. I think Quinn's idea of secret meetings is a bit less than discreet, because parking garages went out of fashion with Woodward and Bernstein, but hey.
What really thrilled me was Jessica coming to Carrie for help re: Dana, and Carrie helping (in a sense-making way, i.e. by manipulating the FBI agent who is on surveillance duty for the Brody family). I hope this was not the last interaction between them (their previous encounters, Carrie's desperate s1 attempt aside, was that annoying scene about how Carrie is Brody's soulmate, which I really don't need more of, but this one was great), and it makes sense to me Jessica would think of this after three days of no Dana news and no help from anyone else.
Meanwhile, at the ranch, literally, which is always a signal for revolting higher level authority figures meeting on this show: Saul finds out he won't be the next CIA boss, Senator Lockhart will be. Who thinks, like the late Vice President, that the drone programm is just grand and technology is all that's needed for spying. (The NSA would agree, and yes, I'm aware that my sympathies are being played with in a similar way as when Judi Dench's M testified.) Incidentally, I wonder who's supposed to be the President in this 'verse? Because on the one hand, Obama is in the credits, so he exists, but on the other, the late VP Walden was a Republican, so Homeland takes place in a universe where Obama didn't get a second term and/or was followed by a Republican, I suppose? Anyway, making a politicial appointment (thereby silencing the Senator who's been critical of the CIA and the government) and backing even more drones and tech surveillance fits Obama as well as any Republican president. Clearly, Lockhart is our new boo hiss American white guy after Walden is dead, to balance the new Muslim opponent of the season, but it didn't escape me that the show pointedly mentioned twice that he won't be confirmed as CIA boss for another two weeks. Either Saul by then can bring in the Iranian Spymaster via Carrie, or someone (Dar Ala? Saul himself?) gets some intel about Senator Lockhart to the press that makes him un-confirmable, mark my words, which isn't to say I think the next CIA boss will be Saul or a nice guy. But the Senator is too boo-hiss worthy to stay for long; the late David Estes had shades of grey.
Lastly: last week or so I read that Dick Cheney had his pace maker modified so it can't be accessed by hackers. This rather heartlessly, bad pun inevitable, cracks me up because I do think Walden was modelled on Cheney, and clearly so did he.
This was mostly a breather and set up for the next episode, which is evidently Carrie versus the Iranian Spymaster, with her in the interrogated position instead of being the interrogator, which makes dramatic sense. At the same time, I think it's right the episode gives her that interlude instead of letting her go there straight from the hospital, which, as the previouslies remind us and her thanking Quinn for visiting her does as well, really did get to her, plan or no plan. I think Quinn's idea of secret meetings is a bit less than discreet, because parking garages went out of fashion with Woodward and Bernstein, but hey.
What really thrilled me was Jessica coming to Carrie for help re: Dana, and Carrie helping (in a sense-making way, i.e. by manipulating the FBI agent who is on surveillance duty for the Brody family). I hope this was not the last interaction between them (their previous encounters, Carrie's desperate s1 attempt aside, was that annoying scene about how Carrie is Brody's soulmate, which I really don't need more of, but this one was great), and it makes sense to me Jessica would think of this after three days of no Dana news and no help from anyone else.
Meanwhile, at the ranch, literally, which is always a signal for revolting higher level authority figures meeting on this show: Saul finds out he won't be the next CIA boss, Senator Lockhart will be. Who thinks, like the late Vice President, that the drone programm is just grand and technology is all that's needed for spying. (The NSA would agree, and yes, I'm aware that my sympathies are being played with in a similar way as when Judi Dench's M testified.) Incidentally, I wonder who's supposed to be the President in this 'verse? Because on the one hand, Obama is in the credits, so he exists, but on the other, the late VP Walden was a Republican, so Homeland takes place in a universe where Obama didn't get a second term and/or was followed by a Republican, I suppose? Anyway, making a politicial appointment (thereby silencing the Senator who's been critical of the CIA and the government) and backing even more drones and tech surveillance fits Obama as well as any Republican president. Clearly, Lockhart is our new boo hiss American white guy after Walden is dead, to balance the new Muslim opponent of the season, but it didn't escape me that the show pointedly mentioned twice that he won't be confirmed as CIA boss for another two weeks. Either Saul by then can bring in the Iranian Spymaster via Carrie, or someone (Dar Ala? Saul himself?) gets some intel about Senator Lockhart to the press that makes him un-confirmable, mark my words, which isn't to say I think the next CIA boss will be Saul or a nice guy. But the Senator is too boo-hiss worthy to stay for long; the late David Estes had shades of grey.
Lastly: last week or so I read that Dick Cheney had his pace maker modified so it can't be accessed by hackers. This rather heartlessly, bad pun inevitable, cracks me up because I do think Walden was modelled on Cheney, and clearly so did he.
