Who spies on the spies...

[fajrdrako]

Tonight I watched the first episode of the second season of Homeland.

The first season ended with such a bang. I'd been wondering all along how they would resolve the story and still manage to leave material for a second season. Then it was clear how... The situation changed, but wasn't resolved. And the suspense factor remained high. What now?



So... now that Carries is an ESL teacher and Brody is a Congressman, what's to bring them back into the spy game? For Carries, it's a sense of duty and - I think we are meant to believe - a true love of spycraft, even if she fears for her sanity in the game.

And for Brody, what? An agent of Abu Nazir asks him to steal information from Estes' safe. Brody does it, and I couldn't quite understand why. So they won't reveal that he murdered Walker? So they won't brodcast that he's a Muslim? No problem there, his daughter is already spreading the word.

Interesting setup.

And Morena Baccarin is so incredibly beautiful.

I loved Clare Danes' acting in this one. She rang true every inch of the way, both in her reluctance to do anything for the CIA and in her joy at being back in the field. I liked her father's role in her decision to go to Beirut, though I must confess, I always like James Rebhorn in just about anything.

Brody's daughter Dana: how could she be so incredibly stupid? I know Brody loves her dearly, but my goodness, I find her unlikable and unreasonable, and I was appalled at how carelessly and stupidly she betrayed her father's secret. In public. Just blurted it out. Idiot.

Moreover, though it's a while since I've been to a Quaker meeting, it shocked me somewhat to hear someone in a Quaker meeting advocating aggressive war.

I felt quite moved in the scene where Brody buries his Koran. He seemed so sad. I find myself wondering at his relationship with Jess: when we last saw them have sex, it wasn't going too well for her. Things seemed to be going fine after his decision to run as Congressman, but is their personal intimacy as smooth now as their public face? Does he ever confide in her? It seems not. He only confides in Dana. Not his best choice.

Saul, as usual, was wonderful, reluctant to persuade Carrie back into the work that had destroyed her, and yet seeing the need.

I loved seeing Carrie doing her think in the street in Beirut, eluding the villains, changing her head-scarf... Though I would think that she would know how to cover her hair better than that. I loved it that she was playing a Canadian from Calgary. Doesn't like hockey? Heck, I'm allergic to sports, but even I could name the Flames, and I'm nowhere near Calgary.

Estes? I'm not sure what we're to make of him. A scumbag with a heart of gold? A spymaster poised on the slippery slope? An opportunist? A patriot? When push comes to shove, how will he jump?

As we were watching Brody invade the safe - and wasn't that a masterpiece of suspense - maaseru said to me, "Are we supposed to be rooting for this guy?" I wonder. That's the joy of this show: the sword-blade edge of ambiguity and uncertainty. Is he betraying his country in the name of peace? Does he have a double-cross up his sleeve? Is he trying to prevent the strike, or the pre-emptive strike, or both? I'm hoping he's found a way to stop both sets of bombs from falling. I'm hoping Brody really is working for peace.

But I can't be sure.