What I’m Watching: Homeland

Homeland: Season 1, Episode 8 “Achilles Heel” (B+)

Now that Walker has been revealed to be alive, everything has changed, yet there’s still plenty of unknown and highly dangerous information to be discovered. The introduction of the previously dormant plotline involving Brody being groomed to be a politician is back in full force as Saul and Brody find themselves in the same social circle, and that should be an interesting direction, especially considering the episode-ending revelation that, though he really thought Walker was dead, Brody does have some sort of direct pipeline to Abu Nasir. Carrie’s workplace interaction with Brody was awkward to say the least, and I can’t believe that she came clean with Saul when she wasn’t even going to be found out, and that he took it so well without even giving her a good scolding. Saul’s having enough problems in his personal life, desperate to keep his wife from going to India despite his ever-present Achilles’ Heel, which is that he goes when his work calls him, no matter what else might be interrupted as a result. It was obvious that having Helen Walker answer the phone to keep Tom on the line wasn’t going to go smoothly, and getting two Muslim worshippers killed in pursuit of him is about as bad as it can get. Tom seems to be focused on two things only – completing his mission and remembering his family – and the way he was able to evade his pursuers demonstrates that he’s a serious threat, and that Carrie and everyone else from the CIA and the FBI are not going to have an easy time catching him.