Brigette Watches Homeland, S4/Ep10: "13 Hours in Islamabad"

Homeland was the source of 37 heart attacks last night.

I hadn't watched the previous episode until about an hour before this one aired, so for me, it was a double-dose of heart attacks. First, we barely get a resigned Saul back alive in exchange for prisioners, and then right when he takes his glasses back from Carrie-- symbolizing his re-acceptance of his life and  identity-- the convoy they are traveling in gets blown to shreds.

But Saul and Carrie weren't the target! It was just a distraction so the terrorists could crawl through the tunnels and STORM THE EMBASSY.

Then, pretty much the scariest thing that could have happened happened: as Lockhart and the like are scrambling to delete everything and get out of there, the terrorist march right into into drone-central and start shooting everybody! Ahhh!

Those who survived the attack make to the safe room, which of course the terrorists find, and then they begin systematically shooting Americans, insisting for Lockhart to step outside and turn over the ONLY copy of the CIA's list of assets. (Did we know about this before? Seems a little convenient.) Seeing everyone get shot on the camera feed showing the other side of the door is horrifying, but it's not until Haqqani threatens to behead Fara in front of all of them that Lockhart agrees to step outside and hand over the list. What results is just the worst: they kill Fara anyway. Quinn and another worker shoot at the terrorists, the terrorists shoot at them, and then some of the terrorists--including an injured Haqqani-- get away.

After all of this goes down, Boyd convinces his wife to give him his belt so he can hang himself. She struggles with this, agrees... but he doesn't go through with it! I'm not one for hanging yourself, but talk about adding insult to injury. How much has he put his wife through by this point?  Boyd is basically the worst person ever.

Americans are ordered to GTFO of Pakistan, and for once, Carrie seems to agree-- especially considering it's no secret that the Pakistani military didn't rush to their aid-- but Carrie can't go just yet. She has to go find Quinn who has gone rogue, hunting the streets to avenge Fara's death and find where those terrorists are, one white Motorola phone at a time. (I mean, they looked like Motorolas.)

For a season that has been weird, to say the least, and arguably emotionally disconnected, this episode payed off in a big way. I have not screamed at my TV watching Homeland in quite some time, so, mad applause for that.

Questions:

Am I the only one who felt like Boyd wasn't being monitored that closely? Not only was he slipping information to the terrorists and giving Carrie fancy LSD, but he gave information about the TUNNELS, which was HUGE. Boyd is basically responsible for all of those people dying. And he was just chillin' in that cell, talking to his wife. At one point the bars weren't even closed, and I think at another point he was walking around. Did I miss something??? Was none of this as weird as I thought it was??

Why was Lockhart so emotionally attached to Fara? Why was that where he drew the line? Did I miss something where they bonded at some point? I get that someone had to die-- this was a very big event, and the fact that Carrie and Saul survived the car bombs and then the shower of snipper rifle was kind of unrealistic, so whoever died had to be someone we would feel. But do we feel for Fara ourselves? I always liked her, don't get me wrong, but I don't think we got to know her enough to be truly destroyed that she's gone.

And now, the most important question: didn't that part in the safe room remind you of Panic Room with Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart? Remember how when that movie first came out, you couldn't tell if Kristen Stewart was a boy or a girl, and after watching the entire movie you still had no idea? Was anyone else so distracted by remembering Kristen Stewart's once ambiguous gender that they almost forgot what was happening for a minute on Homeland? No? Just me then?

Well, anyway. There are only two episodes left, so it's down to the wire! Will Quinn die in his quest to get the bad guys on his own, further supporting the idea that anyone who is even remotely interested in Carrie will die? Did Carrie mean it when she said she wanted to go home? Was this the final straw? Will she try to live a normal life with her Brody baby? Somehow I doubt it. All I know is that no one is safe!