Carrie continues to watch Sgt. Brody while establishing communication with a civilian contact.
As I watch Homeland, it occurs to me that in the past ten years, there must have been a lot of TV shows about terrorism that were developed and abandoned because they were just too hard to watch. I’d really like to see some of those scenes because the stuff in Homeland is so unnerving that it actually makes me cringe.
Seeing the bruises on Jessica’s (Morena Baccarin) arm and knowing that Nick (Damian Lewis) put them there in his sleep is a really uncomfortable thing to see. It’s one of the many things about this show that taps into the conflicting emotions we all have about terrorism, privacy, patriotism and violence.
Another fascinating aspect of the show is seeing the world that these people live in. As Homeland Security experts, they see potential threats everywhere and know full well that they live by a different set of rules and laws as most Americans. The way Saul (Mandy Patinkin) so easily blackmails a judge in order to get a warrant to spy on an American war hero is only slight less disturbing than knowing that those kinds of things actually happen in real life.
It’s only the second episode and we’re seeing new characters in exciting situations. Carrie’s (Claire Danes) inside girl on the Prince’s staff was a glimpse into the kind of life many of us have heard about but have no knowledge of. Showing her dealing with the stress of her life was fascinating. It’s hard enough to deal with scumbags as part of your glamorous jet-setting job but then to be tasked with spying on them on behalf of your country? I hope she has good benefits.
Well, after seeing this episode, two mysteries are cleared up for sure; at some point, Nick became a Moslem and it’s perfectly legal to punch a guy in the throat if he’s in your backyard. Good to know.
Some stats and info about Homeland, “Grace”
TV SHOW – Homeland
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 1, Episode 2
AIRED ON – October 9th, 2011
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – Showtime/Paramount+
GENRE – Drama, Spy Shows, Thrillers
CREATED BY – Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon
CAST – Claire Daines, Mandy Patinkin, Rupert Friend, Maury Sterling, F. Murray Abraham, Damian Lewis, Morena Baccarin
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.