Episode Review: HOMELAND (“Clean Skin”)
Season 1, Episode 3 (3)
Date of first airing: Oct 16, 2011 (Showtime)
Watched for review: 2011
Number of review in January/2012: 16/16
It was kinda a solid episode, though the first half wasn’t really thrilling. In addition, I hate being right, only I was glad being right, because Lynne’s (Brianna Brown) death moved the possibility of Farid (Amir Arison) being Abu Nazir’s financier in a new direction, and also delivered a new villain besides Abu Nazir and possibly Brody. That’s why the final third of the episode worked best, since it moved the story forward, after it completely stood still in the previous two thirds. But then again, the episode wasn’t much a burner. The thrill is still missing, and I’m still not completely involved with the characters. Carrie (Claire Danes) still remains the persona she was in the pilot (she just cried more), Brody (Damian Lewis) still remains the persona he was in the pilot (he just tries more to keep his family together). And the rest of the cast isn’t much involved yet. Not even Saul (Mandy Patinkin), who seems to have a singular role only: being there for Carrie, when she needs a father figure. Meaning: He isn’t even much of a CIA official after three episodes.
The story was okay. Sure, I didn’t like Brody’s interview much and how Jess (Morena Baccarin) is trying to keep her sex life going back to normal, but I liked that Lynne’s story meant something at the end, even though I had to think twice about the season why she was killed by Farid’s aide. In fact, I still don’t know if Farid acted during the police interrogation, or if he really doesn’t have anything to do with the financial side of terrorism. If the latter is the real fact, it could be interesting to see what the story beholds, when Farid finds out he does business with terrorists, and doesn’t even know. That would be a cool story.
The Brody family and their interviews were boring. It’s okay for the writers to show how Brody tries to reason with Dana (Morgan Saylor), and make the relationship between mother and daughter function again. But was this story for any more good here? Again I wonder if Brody could be considered one of Abu Nazir’s turned sleepers, or if he’s just a war hero trapped in suspicions of a crazy CIA agent. Three episodes in, and this part of the story still isn’t developed enough. I know, the questions about Brody’s involvement in the story is the point of the whole show, but to make HOMELAND an intriguing show, the writers should have gotten into this story during the beginning of the show, and not fill the first couple of episodes with generic family drama and father/daughter talks. I liked the lock fence though. Interesting little artefact collection, but that’s just a personal opinion.
So, what about the ending? Some newlyweds moving into a house near the airport, and the woman (Marin Ireland) tells the realtor she likes being close to the airport? Plus an Arabic-looking man (Omid Abtahi, I instantly recognized him from SLEEPER CELL)? Everybody who thinks logical would think ARLINGTON ROAD right here. Even I do, as an audience member, who hasn’t heard or seen about those two new characters. Of course they are getting important for the story. But for now it just feels like it was thrown in to replace the Lynne story. Since one way to Abu Nazir was killed with Lynne, the writers obviously look for another way to keep the characters interested. It’s a bit obvious. 6.5/10
Father and daughter laugh in her room. For a mother it must have a double-meaning
Carrie cries. As if she is in a midlife-crisis
