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Another Fantastic Character Study. Review: Homeland – “The Clearing”

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  • November 12, 2012

  • 8 mins to read

Homeland, S2 E7 – “The Clearing”

Air Date: Sunday, November 11, 2012, 10:00 pm ET/PT on Showtime

Rating: ★★★★★

 

“This is not ok. This is not ok. None of this is fucking ok.” – Brody to Carrie

Saul (Mandy Patinkin) visits Aileen (Marin Ireland) in prison to ask for her help in identifying the mystery man. Meanwhile, Brody (Damian Lewis), Jess (Morena Baccarin), Dana (Morgan Saylor) and Chris (Jackson Pace) attend a fundraiser at a Virginia horse farm in support of Vice President Walden (Jamey Sheridan), where Dana convinces Finn (Timothee Chalamet) they “have to tell.”

Observations:

Saul is escorted to Aileen’s underground cell.

Aileen, Saul’s terrorist road trip buddy from season one, is now housed in a windowless cell and is only allowed out for one hour a day. So when Saul visits to ask for her help in identifying the mystery man from last week, her only request before cooperating is “a cell with a view.” It’s easy to understand why: she’s losing her eyesight, her pallor is sallow, her hair stringy, but despite how powerful Saul is, Warden Jack Prithard (Victor Slezak) turns down his request to move Aileen “upstairs.” This is the first of two scenes where Patinkin shows us his acting prowess. It is a thing of beauty to watch Patinkin as he masterfully downplays how powerful Saul is by quietly stating: “I’ll have orders sent from the Attorney General.”

**

Then there’s the scene where Saul brings Aileen some bread, cheese, and wine. I recognize this for what it is—an effort to gain Aileen’s trust—but on some level, I think Saul feels sorry for her. After all, they had a very friendly relationship while traveling cross-country last year. Despite Aileen appearing to be a broken woman, she’s smart enough to play Saul by taking advantage of his friendly nature. Both Patinkin and Ireland deserve recognition for these scenes—Patinkin, for the gentle manner in which Saul handles Aileen, and for the range of emotions he exhibits throughout the scene. And Ireland for how perfectly she conveys how disgusted Aileen is with her life, how sorry she is for what happened, and how appreciative she is for the small kindnesses Saul shows her. And let’s not forget what a heartbreaking suicide scene she gives us!

**

There’s no denying the connection these two have.

The title of the episode refers to the clearing behind Rex’s house where Carrie (Claire Danes) meets Brody. But while Brody recognizes what Carrie’s doing in handling him, and is seemingly disgusted by it, he admits “five minutes with you make me feel good.” And although neither one of them understands why, it’s not long before Carrie and Brody lock lips—and what a passionate kiss it is!

**

I can’t help but feel sorry for Finn when Dana explains what happened.

Dana and Finn’s storyline finally comes to a close, and not a moment too soon for me. After arguing with Finn, Dana blurts out the truth about the accident to her mother and Finn’s mother, Cynthia Walden (Talia Balsam). While we may have expected these women to be horrified at what their kids have done, that’s not the case for Cynthia. She’s the Vice President’s wife, after all, and knows what she has to do. It doesn’t surprise me when Walden declares, “We’ll clean it up,” explaining further to Brody, “a screw-up by a couple of teenagers isn’t getting in our way.” Just like a regular politician. What a breath of fresh air it would have been had Walden agreed with Brody about reporting it to the police. But no. While this is a television show, Homeland sticks to the real life scenario of a politician covering up such a heinous act. It’s CYA (cover your ass) all the way, baby. After all, it’s much more important for Walden to protect himself than teach his son a very important lesson about responsibility. No wonder Finn has been so cavalier about the whole matter. The apple sure doesn’t fall far from the tree, or is it that Finn is much wiser beyond his years? It would seem so when he responds, “Good luck with that,” when Dana tells him she and her parents plan to report the accident to the police. He has such a dejected look on his face while sitting in the car that is taking him to heaven knows where, I actually felt sorry for him.

**

Dana can’t believe that her father is giving in to Carrie.

No matter how hard Brody tries to be his own man, given how controlled he is by everyone around him, he must face up to the truth when Carrie stops him and Dana from entering the police station. Needless to say, Dana doesn’t understand why this is happening, nor does she understand why Carrie is there. It was heartbreaking to see the look on Dana’s face when she realizes her father isn’t the man she thought him to be. That is not an easy thing for a child to face as they tend to think their parents are perfect, no matter what they do. Saylor does an excellent job in this scene. You can almost see the thoughts running through her head. Why is this woman here – what does she have to do with this? Is my father involved with her? And most important, in my mind anyway: Should I tell my mother about this? I can just about guess what will happen if she does.

Some Additional Thoughts:

There is a particularly beautiful scene in “The Clearing,” that takes place when Brody goes swimming in Rex’s pool at night. It seems like, for a moment, all is right with Brody’s world and he finally gets a much-needed moment’s peace. The pure serenity of the scene, along with the lighting and cinematography effects, are just beautiful.

**

There’s one very empathetic scene between Carrie and Faber where she convinces him he needs to back off for reasons of “national security,” and then admits the CIA knows about his affair with Jess. While trying to comfort him, Carrie utters a very important truth, but I wonder whether she’s talking to Faber or herself. “Look, it’s hard wanting something or someone you just can’t have.”

**

I’m glad Quinn (Rupert Friend) is back, having survived his wounds. It would have been a shame to bring such a talented actor as Friend on board for only a few episodes. The jury is still out, though, on Danny Galvez (Hrach Titizian). All we know is he’s alive and fighting for his life.

**

“The Clearing” is a very character intensive episode, and while not as powerful as other episodes of Homeland this season, it is still quite gripping. I enjoyed watching Patinkin at his best, as well as the rest of the cast. There’s a moment, in particular, where Sheridan shines too—when he’s dressing down Estes (David Harewood) about the Gettysburg fiasco. So my questions this week are: How will Jess act now that she knows Brody killed Walker (Chris Chalk)? What will she do if and when she finds out Brody still has contact with Carrie? Where does the CIA go now, and who does Roya (Zuleikha Robinson) want Brody to contact? Will Brody get used to being a double agent?

Tune in to Homeland, Sundays at 10:00 pm ET/PT, only on Showtime.

Follow Homeland on Twitter @sho_homeland and cast members Damian Lewis (Brody) @Lewis_Damian; Morena Baccarin (Jessica) @MissMorenaB; David Harewood (Estes) @TheHarewood; Navid Negahban (Abu Nazir) @NavidNegahban; Jackson Pace (Chris Brody) @JacksonPace; David Marciano (Virgil) @davidmarciano; and Zuleikha Robinson (Roya Hamad) @ZuleikhaR.

LIKE the show on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/HomelandOnShowtime and don’t forget to check out Homeland’s official webpage at http://www.sho.com/site/homeland/home.sho.

All photos credited to Kent Smith / © 2012 Showtime Network, a division of CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!

Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!