Homeland Review: The Storage Sniper
Anyone who thought the game would change after the big reveal last week was probably a bit surprised to be turned upside down and inside out again on Homeland, as "Achilles Heel" continued to twist and turn until another shocker arrived in the final minute of action.
Tom Walker is most definitely still alive. The series made that clear in the opening seconds. He is also pretty clearly helping the terrorists, something the sniper rifle in that storage center showcased. He also has an Achilles heel, which may or may not save America from another terrorist catastrophe.
He loves his family, and is probably suffering from the same inner turmoil we all thought was affecting Brody at the start of the season. Hopefully, some time down the road, the CIA can use Walker's wife and son to help stop him from doing something he may regret for the rest of his life... that, is unless he's 100% for this cause, which is a huge possibility.
The question will be whether or not the government can trust Walker's wife again, after she unsurprisingly warned her husband that they were tracing the call. It was pretty obvious they weren't going to catch him right then and there, but it was still impressive watching him scale walls, take out FBI agents and finally lure them into a mosque in order to get away.
That Achilles heel made for some serious entertainment, while Saul's just made me bored. His Achilles heel is the job, and I'm glad for that. If he didn't habitually leave home to go to work, maybe his wife wouldn't have left. Then, we might have been stuck watching that snooze of a story line for the rest of the season. Thank you!
Much more intriguing is the fact that Carrie's Achilles heel seems to be screwing her personal life up. Whether it is plain self-abusive behavior, or ruining something that could have been good with Brody, she continues to mess things up.
Sincere or not, Carrie and Brody had a connection at the cabin. The fact that he thought she was just doing her job - which is exactly what it started out as - put the kibosh on the whole thing, leading Carrie to ask "I'm gonna be alone my whole life, aren't I?" Yes, you very well might, and I'm interested in finding out.
Brody, on the other hand, seemed to be settling back into something normal with Jessica and the family, which was epitomized so perfectly as the four of them ate popcorn and watched Ice Age on the couch. In that moment, they seemed happy, but maybe in Brody's case, maybe it was because he knew he might soon have an opportunity to climb the political ladder.
I LOVE the idea that Elizabeth Gaines has plans for Brody's future. If Homeland is going to have any legs as a series going forward, Damian Lewis needs to be a part of it. If his Sgt. Brody is no longer a suspect for terrorism, what else is he? Hopefully he's a member of Congress.
Becayse he told the man who gave Walker the address of the storage unit that he's "through talking with Nazir," maybe it will be time for Brody to move on to new endeavors. Then again, maybe he will continue to do whatever he was going to do with Nazir, and being a member of Congress will only give him more power to do so.
Be honest: did you expect to see Brody sitting in that chair?
Will the man "tell [Nazir] it's over?" Or will Brody continue to be trapped in whatever situation he has got himself into? Whatever the case may be, Homeland continued to shine with "Achilles Heel." With great episode after great episode, this is turning out to not only be the best new show of the fall, but the best season overall during the past three months.
What did you all think?
Dan Forcella is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow him on Twitter.
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April 17th, 2012 8:03 PM
Can anyone tell me the type of chair Brody was sitting in for his skype talk to Nazir? My parents have an identical one! Where does it come from?
November 28th, 2011 12:53 PM
@Alex
I'm talking about you repeatedly reminding us of how smart you are and claiming plaudits for the Tom Walker reveal, when in fact, you weren't the first to make the prediction. Are you this obnoxious in real life?
November 25th, 2011 12:57 AM
Why does Brodys rank keep changing in one episode he is a Gunny and in the next he is a Sgt lets get this straight
Rank: Guest Star
November 24th, 2011 8:06 PM
I don't understand why the CIA didn't simply stake out the house by the airport and wait for Walker to show up there and detain him. Now that Walker knows he's being hunted he'll be more difficult to catch.
November 23rd, 2011 1:47 AM
My prediction: Until this episode, Brody was under the assumption that he was forced to beat his friend Walker to death. I think Nazir used that to turn Walker (i.e. "Hey, you're brother in arms just tried to beat you to death, and believes he beat you to death in order to save his own life"). On the flip side, Nazir told Brody that he will return a hero and that through his status he will rise through the political ranks, much like Saul and Carrie originally thought his plan was. He has Brody under the assumption that he will work on the inside to do something big (???). I think part of the terror plot is that Nazir will have Walker assassinate Brody ("Your 'brother' already tried to kill you, now is your chance to take your revenge"). In the promo for next week it looks like Walker is shooting people from the woods who I presume to be high ranking people; I think Brody is a pawn that Nazir is using - he wants a military hero to rise to power only to be assassinated by a marine-t
November 22nd, 2011 10:50 AM
I keep waiting to hear the ticking clock from '24'. That was one of my favorite shows, and the most recent episode of Homeland felt a lot like it. I feel like there are a lot of simalarities between '24' and Homeland (probably because both shows are helmed by the same executive producer) and I couldn't be happier. Maybe Brody will become the next Jack Bauer.
Rank: Extra
November 22nd, 2011 5:23 AM
My theory is that Saul is a double agent, I believe, and have since ep 1 that he is a terrorist.
November 22nd, 2011 12:28 AM
@Malaysia, WTH are you talking about?
Anyway, those Dick Johnson jokes were hilarious. It never gets old to make fun of Anthony Weiner.
November 21st, 2011 5:15 PM
Yes, I agree, this was another great episode. But I think that Brody was the one who slipped the razor blade to the guard, as he followed orders from Nazir as a POW, he was continuing to follow orders when he returned home. But now that he knows he was lied to about Walker, he does not want to follow Nazir's comands anymore. But this will not be easy, they will threaten bodily harm to everyone Brody loves if he doesn't follow Nazir's orders. Looks like Brody will be in for some more torture as well if he resists the orders.
I think that Brody was a beaten, broken man as a POW, and now he's going to try and go against Nazir, but he will need Carrie's help. I think she's the only one he can confide in, he can't really talk to Jess about anything other than the family.
I'm loving the Carrie and Brody characters, and am glad that Saul's wife has left. Saul & Carrie being lonely together was a great scene. Hopefully, Carrie will stop dating married men, and Saul will get over h