"It's the Lies that Undo Us." Review: Homeland - "Q&A"

Homeland, S2 E5 – “Q&A”

Air Date: Sunday, October 29, 2012, 10:00 pm ET/PT on Showtime

Rating: ★★★★★★

Homeland continues to raise the stakes with “Q&A” as Brody (Damian Lewis) is interrogated, first by Peter Quinn (Rupert Friend) and then Carrie (Claire Danes). In a display of brilliant writing, directing, and acting, “Q&A” delves deeper into what makes its two main characters tick, while at the same time staying true to the terrorist story that has its viewers, me included, glued to their screens every Sunday night. As much as I loved last season’s “The Weekend,” another Carrie/Brody-centric episode, I think “Q&A” is even better, and will surely help to garner Emmy® awards for both leads next year.

Observations:

"It's the Lies that Undo Us." Review: Homeland - "Q&A" 1

Peter immediately takes an aggressive approach with Brody’s interrogation.

I don’t understand why the CIA doesn’t have more faith in Carrie. She was right about Brody all along, and has done everything the CIA has asked of her. So why don’t they believe that Brody made her when they met in the bar? And why, for heaven’s sake, isn’t she the one who questions Brody now that he’s in custody? No, instead Peter takes on the job despite not knowing him at all.

It’s important to keep Brody’s status a secret. We can’t have Abu Nazir (Navid Negahban) finding out his pet project has been captured. Estes (David Harewood) does a great job of fooling Greg Merriles (Alexander Gemignani), Brody’s assistant, into thinking Brody is assisting the CIA, and even goes that extra mile by saying Brody and Jessica (Morena Baccarin) are having a “conjugal spat.” The question is, how long will that excuse work? Does the CIA think they’ll get what they want from Brody in just a few days’ time? The man was in captivity for years without breaking! And do they really think they can fool Jessica for long by telling her Brody has the flu? She may have kicked Brody out but you know she’s going to want to talk to him. She’s not stupid.

"It's the Lies that Undo Us." Review: Homeland - "Q&A" 2

Brody watches his now infamous suicide bomb vest confession tape.

I don’t think Brody ever thought he’d be the subject of an interrogation again, but…well, here he is. And, of course, he’s lying to beat the band. Until Peter plays Brody’s confession tape for him. Singing another tune, now, Brody, aren’t you—until it gets to admitting that he wanted to kill Vice President Walden (Jamey Sheridan). I don’t think I have ever seen Brody exhibit such a steely calm. It’s almost as if he believes the story he’s trying to sell is true.

"It's the Lies that Undo Us." Review: Homeland - "Q&A" 3

Peter seemingly can’t control himself.

Peter loses it both figuratively and literally, jamming a knife in the middle of Brody’s hand. At first, I was a bit skeptical about this scenario because any operative worth his salt knows how to remain calm during an interrogation. At least, for longer than the ten minutes that expire before Peter goes ballistic. But instead, it serves as a perfect reason for Carrie to take over the interrogation. “Every good cop needs a bad cop,” Peter explains to Saul (Mandy Patinkin) as they watch Carrie working Brody. But, does he really plan it that way, or is he using Carrie to cover up his lack of control?

"It's the Lies that Undo Us." Review: Homeland - "Q&A" 4

Does Peter really lose it, or is he merely setting Carrie up to be the good cop to his bad cop?

The interrogation scene is exquisitely acted by both Danes and Lewis. First, Carrie carefully takes Brody apart, not only by exposing her true feelings for him, but making him realize she understands…everything. With her reference to “the weekend in the cabin,” she draws him in so he knows her profession of love is true. She knows it’s the only way to reach Brody and gain his trust. Watching him as he begins to buy into what Carrie is telling him, we see a look of understanding and acceptance. For a long time, going back to Brody’s incarceration in Iran, all he wanted was to be loved and understood. And Carrie gives him exactly that.

Lewis also gives us some of his best acting to date. Brody is, at first, calm, barely speaking a word. His facial expressions bring to mind the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” He appears terrified, and then relieved that Carrie seems to know everything. And when he utters, “Yes,” I was so caught up in the moment, I almost forgot what the question was. If truth be told, I was absolutely mesmerized throughout this entire scene.

Dana (Morgan Saylor) and Finn (Timothee Chalamet) bring a much-needed bit of humor into an otherwise dramatic episode. Well, at first they do. As I watched Finn dodge the Secret Service guys who are charged with keeping these young adults safe, I couldn’t help but smile. How fun that car ride must have been, especially when Finn succeeds in losing them—until he and Dana are involved in a hit and run. You just know this terrible tragedy is going to come back and haunt them, but the question is: how?

I don’t know whether I believe Brody is going to cooperate with the CIA. How can we trust him? Is he really going to be a double agent? Or will he turn into a triple agent, and allow the attack on the United States to go forward? I am dying with anticipation.

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.

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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!