Homeland My Top 10

Andries Viljoen

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21 min read

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Apr 6, 2021

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1 . “Marine One”

• Overall: An absolute masterpiece.
• Highs: It’s all perfect. The performances. Everything coming together plotwise. The ending. What it sets up for season two. “But Saul…” Carrie’s hat. “It will always be my job, don’t you get that?!” Morgan Saylor. The cinematography. Carrie’s phone call to Saul. It’s all just too perfect.
• Lows: Literally nothing. It’s perfect.
• Better or worse than I remember: The same. I build this episode up so much, I hardly ever watch it because it’s just too hard, and then when I do — it comes through every time.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

2. “The Star”

• Overall: An episode that really doesn’t get enough credit for how brave and how bold and courageous it is.
• Highs: Every scene in this episode is so tight and so exact. Everything has a purpose — I can remember each and every one. But — Carrie and Brody not being to help themselves and fighting during what becomes their last time together. Carrie and Brody not embracing during this time together. Javadi’s conversation with Carrie. Lockhart pushing out Saul. Carrie asking for two minutes, creating the perfect parallel. CLAIRE FUCKING DANES IN EVERY MOMENT. Carrie’s reaction seeing the crane as she walks to the square in the early hours of the morning. Saul telling Carrie there is nothing more that can be done and Carrie suddenly realizing what will happen. When it actually happens. Carrie being surprisingly together four months later. Carrie mocking Quinn with a cigarette in her mouth. “I’m so fucking sad.” F. Murray Abraham’s dumb smile. Carrie and Saul not knowing what to say to each other anymore. Sean Callery’s score. The meaning of Carrie drawing that star. Sorry I just listed basically everything that happened.
• Lows: No.
• Better or worse than I remember: I’ve seen this episode so many times I remember how good it is, but it always hurts, it always stings. This is the only episode I’ve ever had a physical, visceral reaction to while watching.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

3. “The Weekend”

• Overall: People say this is the best episode of the series for a reason. It’s watershed, took season one from great to brilliant. It’s objective fact.
• Highs: This episode encapsulates in the Carrie/Brody scenes what made their relationship so compelling. This is where The Mythology of Carrie and Brody starts and ends. I almost have no words because watching this episode is such a powerful experience, from Carrie verbally abusing a neo Nazi to “I like the name Meriwether” to “nose gay” to one of the most astounding sex scenes I’ve ever seen on television? “Do you want to stop?” I stopped breathing. We all stopped breathing. … To “yorkshire gold” to “I think you’re working for al Qaeda” to “hey, Carrie? Fuck you.” Everything in this episode matters and is important and means so much. The surrounding plots (Saul and Aileen, Dana telling Mike to stay away) feels relevant, too. But it’s Carrie and Brody — ugh — who shine in this.
• Lows: This episode doesn’t even have a middle.
• Better or worse than I remember: Better, believe it or not. This is not an episode I rewatch often, and when I did I was just blown away. It’s unreal.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

4. “New Car Smell”

• Overall: The kid sister of “Q&A” that’s actually better. This episode is incredible. It all works.
• Highs: Peter Quinn. His banter with Carrie. Her incredulity at his forwardness. Cute Dana and Finn. David Estes admitting he’s a heel. But this episode gets major points because of every Carrie/Brody interaction, so rich and complex and dense. Carrie “running into him” outside the CIA while coded partitions separate them. Her “all better” act (“Congressman” — hi, Claire!) and the mix of sincerity that it was good to see him. At the bar, wanting to murder him and Brody absolutely making her. In the hotel room, a speech she’s practice for months, a speech for the cameras, before she can say the real thing to him when they’re off. Without a doubt the most legitimately shocking, stand up out of your seat moment on this series. Ever.
• Lows: None.
• Better or worse than I remember: Better. Claire and Damian are always better than I remember, even if I remember them being incredible.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

5. “Q&A”

• Overall: Will go down as one of the best and most impressive episodes of the show ever, and deservedly so.
• Highs: The interrogation, obviously. Anything with Carrie/Brody, really. “It’s pizza night!” The direction. The fact the entire interrogation was one continuous take. Also it doesn’t get as much credit as the episode’s middle, but the ending with Carrie coming home to a dark and empty home and sitting on the couch alone seals the deal.
• Lows: Dana and Finn hitting someone with their car. Quinn explaining “good cop/bad cop.”
• Better or worse than I remember: About the same. This episodes loses something with repeat viewings, but the performances remain as mesmerizing as ever.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

6. “The Vest”

• Overall: So tense, so exquisitely acted. Forever in awe.
• Highs: Consider for a moment the quiet solitude of Brody’s trip to Gettysburg — his quiet calm while talking about his head being “cleanly severed” — juxtaposed with the manic, hyper energy of Carrie’s state. It’s something I’ve not ever considered but it gives this episode an innate balance that makes it so effective. It goes without saying that Claire’s performance is one of the best. Ever. I still can’t believe it happened. I can’t believe the end of “The Vest” happened and that Claire improvised it all.
• Lows: None. This episode is perfect.
• Better or worse than I remember: It’s always just as good as I remember. I appreciate it more than I maybe ever have though. Somehow Claire’s performance seems more astounding to me each time I watch it. And more heartbreaking for Carrie.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x] [x]

7. “Pilot”

• Overall: One of the best pilots ever. It just is.
• Highs: Honestly it would be faster to list what’s not a high. Basically, the introduction of all these characters as fully realized people is a serious feat. Some of my favorite moments are Carrie’s breakdown, the opening sequence of Carrie in DC, Brody reuniting with his family, Carrie screaming at Virgil in the van. Carrie watching Jessica and Brody. Any moment with Carrie I guess?
• Lows: None. This episode is actually flawless.
• Better or worse than I remember: I’ve seen this episode more than any other probably so I don’t have a problem remembering how good it is.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

8. “The Choice”

• Overall: Really stuck the landing after a so-so previous 2 or 3 episodes. It’s a little silly but it doesn’t feel like it. This episode is brutal.
• Highs: Carrie telling Brody he interrupted her. Carrie talking about her mom. Peter spying on them. Everything between Carrie and Saul, which is so devastating. The score during the Walden/Nazir dual memorials. Morgan Saylor’s performance. The truly WTF moment of Brody’s tape being repurposed. His family watching it. The season ending with a smile. Saul saying the Kaddish over all the dead bodies. I could go on…
• Lows: The fact Carrie wasn’t on birth control and then got pregnant from this… unpopular but not a fan of the “guy who kills bad guys” scene.
• Better or worse than I remember: The same. This episode takes a while to get going but when it does it really is pretty brutal. And fucked up. Ugh. Not often talked about, but the fact that Carrie makes the right choice is so important.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

9. “Big Man In Tehran”

• Overall: The reason I like this episode so much is because it just feels so right. It doe what it should do and it does it so well.
• Highs: The parallel to Brody in the bunker with the suicide vest. Carrie being amazing and speaking fluent French. Claire’s brunette hair. Quinn being the only one who gives a shit about Carrie. The entire ending, with the courtyard phone call, and then “get me out of here.” I still remember the thrill and pain at that.
• Lows: None except pissy Brody having to explain his cover story over and over again.
• Better or worse than I remember: Better, I think. In the past saying I “respect” an episode has usually meant I got what it was doing but just didn’t like it. But I respect this one while loving what it does and really admiring it. It feels so right heading into “The Star.”
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

10. “Blind Spot”

• Overall: Truthfully “Blind Spot” and “Semper I” are so close in quality this is more like a tie. I think I like this episode more because it gives more insight into the Ethos of Carrie Mathison. This is the first true Carrie Mathison Appreciation Episode of the series.
• Highs: It’s so tense and gripping. I could watch Carrie watch Brody forever. The Saul/Carrie tension is high-throttle, and really the only glimpse we get into the challenges of their partnership until late S2/S3. The closing scenes with Carrie and her sister and nieces are wonderful. These are a great example of Carrie containing multitudes, and of Claire making her a fully-fleshed “live in” character. Also no more wig for Morena.
• Lows: None.
• Better or worse than I remember: Better. Why don’t we as a fandom discuss how incredible this episode is more often? I feel like it get’s lost because it’s after the Carrie/Brody church meeting but before they actually have sex.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

11. “Semper I”

• Overall: This episode is amazing. It’s daring, surprising, everything works and clicks. Tremendous.
• Highs:Acknowledge the risk of stepping forward a month from 1.03 to 1.04, ending Carrie’s surveillance of Brody. Acknowledge the nuance and complexity of Brody’s PTSD, manifest in him shooting the dear. Acknowledge the heretofore unknown history of Carrie and Estes — acknowledge that both are far more entrenched in a personal relationship than we ever imagined. Acknowledge that Carrie is whip smart but driven by a specific and often hypocritical ethos. Acknowledge the explosiveness of the final scene between Carrie and Brody — between Claire and Damian. Acknowledge the split second of hesitation Carrie has standing outside the church basement before burying it in herself and approaching Brody. Acknowledge the importance of this.
• Lows: This episode is perfect.
• Better or worse than I remember: So much better. This is a tremendous episode, the first “watershed” episode of the series after the pilot of course. It’s amazing it came only three weeks later.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

12. “Beirut Is Back”

• Overall: This episode needs to be ranked so highly for one reason only: it totally upended everything we thought a television season could be. I hesitate to throw around “revolutionary” but it was hugely impactful.
• Highs: The ending. The scene between Carrie and Saul on the roof. The claustrophobia of Carrie’s psyche. The Abu Nazir sequence is, as always on this show, wonderfully done.
• Lows: Brody texting a “may day” text to save Abu Nazir’s life is… LOL.
• Better or worse than I remember: The same. This is an exciting episode. Even the ending still feels relevant and pressing, two years later.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

13. “The Good Soldier”

• Overall: I feel like this is the first episode of season one, post-pilot, that jumps out and grabs you and says THIS SHOW WILL FUCK YOU UP. Others before it are better, but this one is so, so much louder.
• Highs: Everything Carrie/Brody here is just masterful. This episode is probably the best example of the ambiguity and grey area that occupied their relationship so much in the beginning. The throughline of polygraphs is also one of the few comical moments this show has ever done.
• Lows: The Aileen/Faisel stuff is meh.
• Better or worse than I remember: The same. I really don’t think you can overstate how incredibly shocking it was that Carrie and Brody hooked up as fast as they did. That was thrilling, exhilarating stuff. Henry Bromell’s script is wonderful.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

14. “One Last Thing”

• Overall: Generally upsetting and makes me feel gross but in a good way.
• Highs: Just, the acting. Damian is so good here, and Claire supports him so well. I love the scene where she convinces him and talks about the suicide vest. There are so many layers there, so much history there. Just… ugh. Also, the Dana/Brody scene is a tremendous payoff to a storyline that felt like torture to get through. The end is haunting.
• Lows: The Lockhart/Mossad agent/bug thing is dumb. But useful.
• Better or worse than I remember: I would say the same, it’s only as low as it here because I watched others that were better than I remembered. I just remember this episode being kind of paralyzing, and parts of it still feel that way, which is a testament to its power.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

15. “The Smile”

• Overall: Suuuuch an underrated episode. Definitely doesn’t get the respect it deserves. A premiere done right.
• Highs: The Brody/Muslim storyline is done so well. It’s so interesting to see where Carrie is six months later, a completely different person than we’ve come to know her. The Carrie/Estes conversation is so well-written. The shock of seeing Carrie in the field and struggling is novel and compelling. This is how you begin a season well with exposition and compelling character drama.
• Lows: None. I just wish they did quiet like this more often in season two.
• Better or worse than I remember: The same. I mean, THE SMILE. #bye
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

16. “Representative Brody”

• Overall: Great episode. It’s weird watching it and knowing what it leads to in “The Vest,” though. Kinda creepy.
• Highs: All of the Carrie interrogation stuff is perfect. The Miles Davis montage is gutting but so well done. Was this when we all started to hate Brody?
• Lows: None — “Finkelstein!”
• Better or worse than I remember: Again, better. I had this a little lower until I watched it again. I feel like this episode gets a little lost in the pre-“Vest”/pre-“Marine One” shuffle, but it’s surprisingly good.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

17. “Good Night”

• Overall: This episode is so much better knowing Brody will die. Just saying.
• Highs: Everything is just so well done and so tensely acted. This show doesn’t often do “bottle episodes,” and this may be as close as it gets to one, which is fine with me. The cinematography in this one is beautiful. I like the subtle callbacks to Carrie watching Brody in early S1, too.
• Lows: Watching Saul chewing gum is not fun. I also don’t enjoy people yelling at Carrie ever.
• Better or worse than I remember: Much better. When this aired I remember thinking this episode was good just not really my cup of tea, but I’ve come around so much on it since then. The back half of S3 is all about consistently elevated stakes and this episode is a great example of that.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

18. “Achilles Heel”

• Overall: SO GOOD. SOOOOOOO GOOD.
• Highs: Carrie telling Saul she’ll be alone her whole life is a personal low of mine but a series high. The single most important moment for her character possibly ever. It’s crushing to watch. The Tom Walker stuff is so well done. Saul and Carrie hugging. Even the Brody family stuff is fun.
• Lows: None. This episode’s worst quality is that it has to come after “The Weekend.”
• Better or worse than I remember: SO MUCH BETTER. I don’t watch this episode a lot and originally had it wayyyy lower, but had to hold off on putting it here because it blew me away. Watching the episodes out of order, without the context of sequence, does this episode so many favors. I remember disliking this episode when I first watched it, still shipping Carrie/Brody, but this episode holds up a lot better without that barrier. It’s technically wonderful and beautifully shot. Carrie screaming “what is the target?!” into the phone is amazing.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x] [x]

19. “A Red Wheel Barrow”

• Overall: When shit went from real to realer. Goddamn.
• Highs: The episode is filled with them. Carrie being hostile toward Franklin. Saul and Carrie fighting. “If you work at the bank, why are we not rich?” The ops sequence is exhilarating. Seeing Carrie get shot, even for this diehard Carrie lover, is still exciting. Carrie and Quinn in the ambulance is so erotic, sorry. But the real “stand up from your seat” moment belongs to Saul fetching Brody from the Tower of David. Even if you knew that was coming it was WTF-worthy (the good WTF).
• Lows: None??
• Better or worse than I remember: The same, although this episode does reap diminishing returns because it relies a lot on the element of suspense and surprise. Beneath it, though: the performances. The scene at the OB/GYN is dense and complex. Claire’s “where the fuck is Saul?” will always haunt me. Brody’s bloodshot eyes and twitching leg is disturbing.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

20. “Game On”

• Overall: The riskiest episode this show ever did. Riskier than “Marine One,” riskier than “The Star.” It pays off.
• Highs: Claire Danes just carries this episode. Such a layered and dynamic performance, encompassing nearly all facets of her range. This is a fun episode to watch from that perspective. However…
• Lows: Honestly, WTF were the writers thinking with the Dana story?
• Better or worse than I remember: The same. Ignoring the Dana parts makes it a lot easier to watch, but I can’t do that in good conscience and rank the episode any higher than this because a full quarter of it is taken up by a storyline I can’t understand why we’re supposed to care about. HOWEVER, I will always fall when Carrie’s voice breaks, so there’s that.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

21. “State of Independence”

• Overall: So good. I feel attachment to this episode because it’s the first one I watched live. The second season is paced so interestingly, it feels like the first half of the season is about twice as long (in a good way).
• Highs: I actually sort of like the Brody stuff? I know it’s preposterous and flawed in terms of plausibility, but if I’ve for a long time chosen to view it as really dark comedy, and trust me it works so much better that way. Of course, the Jessica plot is very good and Morena Baccarin is excellent. Claire Danes on another level — what else is new?
• Lows: Not much, really?
• Better or worse than I remember: A lot better. This episodes gets some shit, but it’s actually a GREAT example of the show wanting to tell two stories and structurally arranging them perfectly. In the first three seasons, there has been one episode each that tells distinct, separate Carrie/Brody stories (“Crossfire,” this episode, and “Tower of David”) and this is the only one that gets the tone correct and consistent and manages to cut the episode in a compelling, interesting way. Carrie’s descent in this episode is so troubling and disturbing to watch, but the payoff — and the audience’s own feeling of reward — is worth it. I feel as if Carrie is having a kind of religious experience when she discovers the truth, her world coming back into focus.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

22. “Tin Man Is Down”

• Overall: I think this is such an underrated premiere. It suffers a bit from knowing the ruse was in play, though. The Saul/Carrie tension is somewhat less powerful.
• Highs: The tin man/Wizard of Oz ops sequence is so well done. Everything with Carrie is interesting and compelling. Whenever this shows does a time jump, whether it’s between seasons or within seasons, I always find it immensely interesting to see where Carrie is emotionally and psychologically. It’s always a surprise to discover where she lands. The final scene where she’s watching Saul’s testimony is one of the best this show’s ever done and one of the most effective pieces of acting from Claire.
• Lows: Not such a fan of the Saul/Mira stuff. I find it very boring. The Dana boyfriend stuff is typically dumb.
• Better or worse than I remember: I wouldn’t say “worse,” but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I remember. The Brody family stuff, as much as I like Dana returning home and making active steps to become more mature (clearing out her room, etc.) I can’t bring myself to care about it that much.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x] [x]

23. “I’ll Fly Away”

• Overall: Very, very good. High suspenseful and filled with some really great moments.
• Highs: The Carrie/Brody stuff this episode is really compelling. I loved the Estes/Saul scene early on. The Dana storyline has nice payoff here. Nothing may ever top the hilarity of Saul and Quinn arguing while Carrie loudly moans through the speakers in the background.
• Lows: The helicopter stuff and the Nazir reveal is bizarre af. Feels so divorced from reality and the nuance this show exhibited in S1/S3.
• Better or worse than I remember: Better, actually. I remember feeling so bogged down by the Nazir ending, but I didn’t here. This episode is filled with a lot of interesting moments and the Carrie/Brody relationship confounds in a good way here. You get real glimpses of why she’s such a great case officer and handler in the field.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x] <<< @ me wtf was i thinking here why why why

24. “Uh… Oh… Ah”

• Overall: Everything with Carrie is SO amazing and fantastic and everything with Dana is a pile of shit.
• Highs: Claire Danes in this episode is just… god H O W. It’s so terrifying and hard to watch and yet she just nails it all. If possible I appreciate her performance and Carrie’s behavior and attitude more post-ruse reveal. It makes the episode a lot harder to understand, but in a good way, I think.
• Lows: I could not give less of a shit about Dana’s sex life. Though the final scene with her and Jessica is good.
• Better or worse than I remember: Better, because I did other stuff during the Dana parts.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

25. “Grace”

• Overall: Great episode and a tough role to follow the pilot. This episode does a nice job of again deepening the characterization of each player — Brody especially — while also setting the season-long plot in order.
• Highs: I think that watching Carrie watching Brody is so genuinely thrilling and compelling and I’m not sure the show can ever top the creepy but intimate voyeurism it portrayed in its first four episodes through a similar arc. I feel like there was never really anything else like that on TV. Also enjoy giving Carrie some background/tethers to the real world by introducing her family. Such great scenes there.
• Lows: None, really. We’re getting into the episodes now where objectively there is not much separating them, just more into my personal preference.
• Better or worse than I remember: Better, I think. The highs feel higher. I appreciate them more.
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26. “The Yoga Play”

• Overall: I like this episode so much for what it builds in the first 40 minutes and then does in the final 10. Gansa talked a lot about the season being built in 3 “acts” and so this was first episode of Act II. Very, very good.
• Highs: The Carrie/Jessica scene is the best kind of awkward and so interesting. Homeland is not the kind of show that throws different pairings together all the time, but I appreciated this as a nice bookend/closure to the AMAZING scene in “Marine One.” There is so much history there — it’s very rich and deep, even though not a lot is said. The final sequence is terrifying. Carrie and Quinn is so sexual. Like.
• Lows: Nothing specifically, although I remember when watching it I wasn’t crazy about the Saul/Lockhart stuff. I appreciate it now more since I like Lockhart.
• Better or worse than I remember: Better, actually. I enjoy it a lot more. Even the Dana stuff is tolerable.
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27. “Still Positive”

• Overall: Very good, not great.
• Highs: Carrie being a badass. The way Carrie looks at Quinn after he offers her the kindness of not pressing about Brody. The resolution-ish of the Brody family ~dramaz of earlier in the season is welcome.
• Lows: THIRTY. USED. PREGNANCY. TESTS.
• Better or worse than I remember: Luckily my anger from the pregnancy reveal has greatly subsided but this episode is not as exciting as it was on first watch. Even half way through season three there was still the sense of “what exactly is this season about??”
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28. “In Memoriam”

• Overall: Half a fantastic episode.
• Highs: Everything after Nazir is killed is wonderful. Bits and pieces before he chases Carrie through the tunnels are also good. The Roya scene is genuinely shocking and terrifying, very well-acted. The first ever Carrie/Quinn “closeness.” DANA BRODY AND HER MILK. MY FAVORITE THING EVER. Also the closing scenes between Jessica and Brody and then Carrie and Brody haunt me to this day. Tremendous acting, from Morena Baccarin especially.
• Lows: Carrie thinking Danny is the mole because he’s a Muslim. The contrived way they had Carrie figure out Nazir was back in the tunnels and then have him chase her? What the literal fuck? Dumb as shit. I hate this almost more than I hate the Carrie gets kidnapped story. Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb.
• Better or worse than I remember: The good parts are better than I remember but I hate the bad parts even more now. This is the kind of shit that bogged season two down.
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29. “The Clearing”

• Overall: Good episode. Almost becomes really good, just not enough Carrie.
• Highs: The general ambiguity of Carrie/Brody here is highly compelling. It’s hard to believe now but that kiss in the clearing was a Big. Deal. It’s still pretty sexually charged, but there are remnants even here of what makes this relationship so problematic. Also Marin Ireland is fantastic here.
• Lows: Never a fan of Brody verbally abusing Carrie.
• Better or worse than I remember: About the same. This episode holds up pretty well on rewatch. Many of the scenes are beautifully shot.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

30. “Clean Skin”

• Overall: Pretty good. The death of Lynne Reed is entirely obvious once we’re made to like and respect her. This episode has a lot of interesting and “gutsy” scenes, I’m just not entirely enthusiastic about it.
• Highs: The conflict between Carrie and Saul this episode is interesting — precursors to their rift in season three but a little inverted (‘treated me like them…”), which I appreciate now. The final scene between them is wonderful. The Brody family drama this episode is actually entirely well-done. The scene where Brody masturbates in front of Jessica is horrifying and I admire the show for really going there. It’s disturbing. Carrie’s reaction is priceless.
• Lows: The ending with Aileen and Raqim and the dumb house by the airport. Bizarre acting. I suppose it had to be that way, though.
• Better or worse than I remember: The first 50-some minutes are better than I remember but the last minute is far worse than I remember. Oof.
• S4 Countdown Posts [x]

31. “Tower of David”

• Overall: This is such an ambitious episode, it aims so high but it just doesn’t all fit. I admire the writers for what they were trying to do but I feel like so much gets lost in translation. This episode would be immensely better if it bookended Carrie’s story with Brody’s. The first half being Brody and then the alternating for the second half is bizarre.
• Highs: The performances, mostly. Watching this again I had forgotten just how much Damian conveyed the brokenness of Brody. And the horror and frustration of Carrie — even before we know why she’s so frustrated — is front and center and so hard to watch.
• Lows: The structure, mostly. Some of the parallels between Carrie and Brody are a bit too on the nose but interesting nonetheless.
• Better or worse than I remember: About the same. This was never an episode I was crazy about but I respected it. Still do. Still don’t like it that much.
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32. “Two Hats”

• Overall: Again, good. Not great. I feel like there is a lot of interesting stuff in that episode that doesn’t exactly lead to anywhere: Quinn’s mysterious past (not one but two scenes of him interacting with Julia are later cut for unknown reasons), Brody praying with Nazir, etc. If you’re astute at this point, you’ll notice that many of these lower-ranked episodes are light on Carrie. That’s not a coincidence, it’s an actual cause-effect relationship.
• Highs:The original reveal of just who Peter Quinn is cannot be rivaled. It was a true WTF moment watching live. Carrie’s interactions with Brody this episode are spot on. I love the scene where she tells him she sent Mike to watch after Jess and the kids.
• Lows: Within the episode, not much. It’s half-transition, half-filler. No one really seems to give a shit that Abu Nazir found his way into America, which is concerning.
• Better or worse than I remember: Neither. This is not an episode I revisit often. It’s one of those that I feel relies on you watching it the first time round to be genuinely gripping (and it was, back in the day).
• S4 Countdown Posts [x] [x]

33. “Gerontion”

• Overall: Pretty good. We’re getting to that point where all the episodes are actually very close in quality save for the lowest and the highest.
• Highs: This episode is SO FUNNY. Dar Adal says “fuck monkey,” Tracy Letts says “What the fuuuuuuuck,” and Carrie Mathison is a first class bitch to Fara. AKA my dream episode. Also the final scene with Quinn and Carrie is so good. Javadi manipulating Carrie is also wonderful after she tells Fara not to let him do the same to her.
• Lows: …I could fully do without Mira on this show anymore. There, I said it.
• Better or worse than I remember: Way better. I had this #35 on the list originally until I watched it again and realized the error of my ways.
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34. “Broken Hearts”

• Overall: At least it’s not boring. An episode filled with dumb af turns and some seriously questionable acting from Damian Lewis.
• Highs: The scene when the VP dies is genuinely gripping. Carrie yelling “asshole” at a driver and stealing a trucker’s phone. Dana saying “super spy or some shit idk.”
• Lows: The Carrie getting kidnapped plotline is so inane and sounds like a first draft clunker. Honestly. What were they thinking????? Also, Skyping Blackberries.
• Better or worse than I remember: About the same. Claire does the best with what she’s given. Just totally, totally questionable.
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35. “A Gettysburg Address”

• Overall: I used to say this is my least favorite episode but it’s probably just the dumbest. I think it suffers from post-“New Car Smell” and post-“Q&A.” It’s an average episode, but pales in comparison to the two previous episodes and actually the first five that came before it in the season. A transition episode to the rest of the season, but the worst part is it foreshadows the middle of the second season’s insistence on cheap thrills to wow us.
• Highs: Carrie Mathison getting stressed out at Virgil and Max’s incompetence, Peter Quinn calling Brody a liar, Carrie offering herself to Brody to calm him down. This episode is actually filled with many fantastic scenes until the end. Which brings me to…
• Lows: The goddamn storm troopers invading the tailor’s shop and then walking out the front door. WTF?!?!?!? On this show???? Also the last scene with Carrie and Brody. Perhaps OK in theory, but frustrating in execution.
• Better or worse than I remember: Better in some parts, but the end, in hindsight, is much worse.
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36. “Crossfire”

• Overall: This is the episode I feel least enthusiastic about of all 36. There’s nothing that pulls me in. The CIA story feels like filler, the Brody flashbacks actually do make me feel sad for him but in hindsight the motives feels a little half-baked. Like three-quarters baked. It’s worth noting that this is like the sister episode to “Tower of David.” Gansa has said that they initially wanted the episode structure to be the flashbacks bookended by Carrie’s narrative, which probably would have worked better. The same way “Tower of David” would have worked better if told in three separate parts. Alas…
• Highs: Carrie in a headscarf, Carrie taping the FBI guy’s basic confession.
• Low: Damian Lewis’ flashback hair.
• Better or worse than I remember: Neither, just more boring.
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