This season has done a beautiful job of boxing people in - both emotional and visually (just take a look at Michael Cuesta's direction in this episode). Brody has gone down this wonderfully grim road that now all of his personal relationships have been destroyed and people are now just using him to get what they really want. He did everything he did in the name of his family and now even his connections with Jess and Dana have disintegrated (Chris is off watching TV without a care in the world). Carrie started this season off as a complete emotional mess but the validation of her being right about Brody and her getting her job back have evened her out a bit lately. She seems to be on more stable ground even with the possibility of going into the realm of emotional instability at any second. Much like Brody, she has relied heavily on her close relationship with Saul to balance her. But now, even he is questioning whether or not she is fit and not too attached enough to do this task - even though last week focused on him getting to close to an asset. Finally, there's Dana who spent most of the hour away from the main players - and with exposition Mike. She truly has become the morally pure heart of the series as all she wants to de is admit to the crime she committed. She has to battle it out with the cynical and political world around her and it has taken a huge toil on her. Her relationship with her mother has come a long way since the start of the show and the scene where they embrace is powerful. All of this adds up to an overall powerful thematic narrative that hopefully continues to push the boundaries as the series heads into its final four episodes of the season.
By hour's end, we are left excited by the emergence of Abu Nazir to the main fold as while as how in the dark the CIA is. All of these personal joy and excitement can leave us overlooking some of the murkier plot mechanics. Would Quinn really risk letting two high level persons of interest - one of whom led the attack that killed six operatives - go in the name of stopping a national attack they know nothing about? Would the CIA really not have bugged Brody's entire car out with surveillance or have the means to track that helicopter? But in the end, it is these characters we care about and their reactions and emotional toils from these situations that help us get through some of the problematic introductions to them.
So what did everyone think of the episode? Is Navid Negahban the least used series regular ever? Does Brody have the emotional stability to be a triple agent? Share your thoughts in the comments.
