‘Homeland’ season 2 spoilers: Explaining Brody’s absence (video)

In case you were wondering just how Estes and the CIA were going to be able to hide the fact that they have Nicholas Brody in their custody on Sunday night’s new episode of “Homeland,” we now have a definitive answer for you: blame it on the flu.

In a new sneak peek from the episode (via SpoilerTV), you can see Estes give some very specific instructions as to how Brody’s absence should be handled when it comes to meetings and the press; while it is made clear that he is in CIA protection, all that is said is that he is working on a matter of national security rather than him being a suspected terrorist. The flu excuse should keep everyone at bay for a few days (maybe even his wife) if that question comes up, and it will at least by the agency a little bit more time to figure out just what they went to do with the man.

The agents all realize that they will have to come up with a solution to this problem soon, which helps to explain why the man is grilled some heavily in some of the other videos that are already out there about this episode. Carrie in particular is going to be desperate to take this guy down, but there is still a question that must be raised here: is it better to ruin Brody, or to try and use him to capture the biggest fish of all in Abu Nazir? It’s not often that they have an English-speaking asset with connections to the killer in their custody, so this may be something that the agency struggles with when it comes to a decision.

How long do you think the “flu” excuse is going to fly here?