Homeland – “Krieg Nicht Lieb” Retrospective. Revenge.

Season 4, Episode 11

Air Date: Sunday, December 14, 2014, 9:00 pm ET/PT on Showtime

Rating: ★★★★★

“For once in your life you need to listen!” – Quinn

Saul (Mandy Patinkin) may think Quinn (Rupert Friend) is “crazy if he thinks he can get to Haqqani (Numan Acar) all by himself,” but I doubt Carrie (Claire Danes) thinks that. She knows exactly what Quinn is capable of, and that’s why she stays in Pakistan when everyone else either left last week or is charged with leaving ASAP. Given Quinn’s actions in last week’s “13 Hours in Islamabad,” Col. Khan (Raza Jaffrey) informs Carrie his superiors have issued a kill order for Quinn. “It’s his head or mine.” I guess Khan knows where he stands with the ISI now, right? Carrie tells Khan she only wants to get Quinn home safe and sound, but who’s kidding whom here? Given her feelings for Haqqani’s nephew Aayan (Suraj Sharma) and the fact that Haqqani blew his head off, she wants to kill Haqqani just as much as Quinn does.

The look of determination on Quinn’s face says it all.

“Krieg Nicht Lieb” is a German phrase that translates to “war, not love.” And that’s exactly what happens in this penultimate episode. Quinn is set to go to war with Haqqani, even if it’s a “suicide mission.” There’s no time for love here. Especially not with Quinn’s friend (Nina Hoss) who works at the German embassy, which is where he goes to hide out while he concocts a plan to take out Haqqani. Friend does an excellent job portraying Quinn as a man on a mission. He is single minded in his task, and isn’t deterred by anyone, least of all Carrie, who really doesn’t want to lose him.

The death of Fara Sherazi (Nazanin Boniadi) last week changes Max (Maury Sterling) dramatically. Gone is Virgil’s (David Marciano) sidekick; enter a man who wants revenge for the savage killing of his friend. I guess Quinn isn’t the only one who wants revenge. “There was a Taliban flag waving over my head and I can’t let that stand.” Even though Max is helping Quinn, he has no choice but to tell Carrie where to find him. I imagine Max doesn’t want another friend to die either.

How to make a bomb — very carefully.

The majority of “Krieg Nicht Lieb” deals with the execution of Quinn’s plan to murder Haqqani. We spend almost the entire episode following Quinn as he makes and places bombs (quite ingenious if you ask me) while tracking Haqqani, and even enlists the help of Aayan’s friend, Kiran (Shavani Seth). It is cruel of Quinn to show her the photo of Haqqani shooting Aayan but Quinn has reached a point where no one and nothing can stop him from taking Haqqani down. I felt so bad for her. Quinn’s plan to draw Haqqani out in the open is quite brilliant. Using his contacts, he uploads the video of Aayan’s murder to the internet, purportedly on behalf of the medical college Aayan attended, and demands justice from Haqqani. You know a terrorist like Haqqani isn’t going to let that go without responding.

We all knew Homeland would somehow work the death of James Rebhorn, who played Carrie’s father in the series, into the show. Creators and writers Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon chose “Krieg Nicht Lieb” for that purpose as they have Carrie’s sister Maggie (Amy Hargreaves) Skype with Carrie to let her know their father is dead from a heart attack. We even see a little snippet of Frannie, Carrie’s baby, and in this scene, Carrie’s maternal side pops up front and center. The death of her father and seeing her child makes saving Quinn all that more important to Carrie. Don’t you just love how Max comforts Carrie in the station room? Definite ‘aww’ moment there.

Haqqani is the perfect target for Quinn, and Carrie too.

All season long, Carrie has had a mission—first, to find out who killed Sandy Bachman (Corey Stoll) and why. Then, learning Haqqani had faked his death, Carrie began using Aayan to find the terrorist leader, and lastly, finding and saving Saul. Nothing deterred her throughout the entire season—until tonight. I suppose losing as many people as she did last week would have an adverse effect on anyone, but I didn’t expect Carrie to back down from hunting down Haqqani with Quinn. And then, even though Quinn fails to carry through with his plan (because Carrie will die if he does), Khan stops Carrie from taking the kill shot when presented with the perfect opportunity because of who is in the car with Haqqani. What a head-turner that is! What does Dar Adal (F. Murray Abraham) have to do with Haqqani? Is Adal a double agent—working for both the CIA and Al Qaeda? Since the ISI knows Quinn is out to murder Haqqani, do they put Adal in the car as a means of stopping Quinn? After all, Adal was Quinn’s original handler at the CIA. However, if you stayed around to watch the promo for next week’s season finale, it seems like Adal has his own agenda.

Overall

As penultimate episodes go, “Krieg Nicht Lieb” is a tad disappointing. While it does have some exciting, suspenseful moments, it’s short—like last week’s episode—to the tune of lasting only 45 minutes. Also, it’s a filler episode at best, even with its compelling moments. “Krieg Nicht Lieb” leaves us with too many questions unanswered, most importantly how will the Haqqani story line end? Where is Quinn and will he ever succeed with his mission? Will Carrie leave with the rest of the remaining CIA members, leaving Quinn behind, or stay to help him? What’s going to happen to CIA Director Lockhart (Tracy Letts)? He knows his time as the head of the agency will end soon. And what of Ambassador Martha Boyd (Laila Robins) and her treasonous husband Dennis (Mark Moses)? What is happening with them? Last but certainly not least, how does Dar Adal fit into the scheme of things? Is he a traitor too? Lets hope we get the answers to all these questions in next week’s season finale.

What did you think of “Krieg Nicht Lieb?” Leave your comments below or hit me up on Twitter @SeasideTV.

Tune in to the exciting conclusion of season four of Homeland next Sunday, December 21 at 9 pm ET/PT, only on Showtime.

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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!