‘Homeland’ season 3, episode 7 review: Let’s imagine Saul doing a victory dance
For whatever reason, we just imagine Saul spending Sunday night’s “Homeland” season 3 episode inside a convertible, with the windows down, while listening to classic rock music at the highest volume possible. Saul was balling out of control this episode. He orchestrated a plan brilliantly, threw up a giant middle finger to Senator Lockhart, and then at the end of the episode got a little bit of action from his long-estranged lady in the process. This may have been the best day of the guy’s life ever, and we’re pretty sure that his beard grew about two inches in appreciation.
What “Homeland” really proved this episode is that it really doesn’t need any member of the Brody family at all if it wants to tell a great story. The family was not present at all this week, and the focus was therefore all about Saul’s attempts to try to get Javadi to agree to a complicated new deal … and he did.
But was this the right deal? Let’s look at how this broke down. Rather than trying to prosecute a man in Javadi for the deaths of 200+ Americans at Langley last season, he instead decided to use him as an inside man in Iran. Why? He knows about tens of millions of dollars that the man has stifled from the government, and they won’t forgive that. Just the look on Javadi’s face when he realized just how greatly he had been had was priceless. Heck, the entire episode was priceless in that way. It was just a little victory in the midst of a larger war, as we know that nothing is over with yet.
As much as we loved what was going on this week, the story with Quinn may be the most powerful, real story of the year. This was the case of a man trying to reconcile what he was feeling when it comes to the CIA, with just how important that he is to the organization. The pain that he was feeling, knowing the toll that killing and investigated plays on him, has really been a long time coming … and Rupert Friend was fantastic in every second of it.
You know that “Homeland” has a great episode when Carrie’s story was actually the weakest part of the entire episode, and it was. She’s just not that interesting with the pregnancy story, and it may just because she wears so many of her emotions on her face. Saul, meanwhile, is more of a wonderful enigma.
Let’s hope that the “Homeland” producers try to use this episode as some sort of tangible evidence that there really can be a great show here without the Brodys, and more can be coming up soon. Grade: A-.
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Photo: Showtime