TV DramA

Homeland:

Americanisation

McDonaldisation

Cultural imperealism 

Capitalism

Consumerism

Islamphobia/phobic

Homeland plot notes season 1




ep1: 
In flashback, Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) is shown in Iraq, where she is working as a CIA case officer. She bribes her way into a prison, where one of her informants is being held - a bomb maker who is soon to be executed. As Carrie is spotted and dragged away by guards, the informant whispers something into her ear.

Back in present day, Carrie arrives late to a meeting at the CIA Counterterrorism Center, where she was reassigned following the Iraqi prison incident. Director of Counterterrorism David Estes (David Harewood) announces that Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis), missing and presumed dead for eight years, has been rescued during a raid on an al-Qaeda compound. Carrie later confides in her co-worker and mentor, Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin), that what she was told by her informant in Iraq was that "An American prisoner of war has been turned." She concludes that the POW in question must be Brody. Saul flatly rejects the possibility of the CIA conducting any investigation into Brody, who is now a beloved war hero.

Jessica Brody (Morena Baccarin), Nicholas' wife, is shown having sex with Mike Faber (Diego Klattenhoff). Mike is later revealed to be Nick's best friend when he was captured, and a fellow Marine. Jessica is shocked to receive a phone call from Brody himself announcing his return, and she heads to the airport with their children, 16-year-old Dana (Morgan Saylor) and 12-year-old Chris (Jackson Pace), to greet him. While Brody is on his way home, Carrie is preparing to conduct her own unauthorized (and illegal) surveillance operation. She enlists her friend Virgil, an independent contractor, to install hidden cameras and microphones throughout Brody's house, which Carrie can monitor from home. They successfully complete the installation before Brody gets home. Carrie begins watching Brody's every move.

The next day, Brody is the subject of a CIA debriefing, where Carrie, David, and various other CIA personnel are present. Brody is questioned by everyone regarding his experiences as an al-Qaeda prisoner. Carrie asks Brody if he ever had any contact with Abu Nazir, the leader of al-Qaeda. He says no, but he's lying, as a memory of Brody's is shown of himself with Abu Nazir. Carrie is skeptical and asks again repeatedly before David puts a stop to it.

Later on, Brody goes to meet someone in the park. Believing that he may be meeting an al-Qaeda contact, Carrie, Virgil, and Max (Virgil's brother) follow him. But instead he meets up with Helen Walker (Afton Williamson), the wife of Tom Walker, a Marine who was captured together with Brody. Walker has also been missing for eight years, and Brody tells Helen that her husband was beaten to death while in captivity. Helen asks Brody if he was present while Tom was killed, and he says no, but again he is shown to be lying as Brody's memory of the beating is shown while he is clearly in the room. Carrie goes back home, where she meets a furious Saul already in her house. He has discovered her illegal surveillance setup and tells Carrie she'll be reporting to the Inspector General and to "get a lawyer, you're going to need one". Carrie, in desperation, makes a pass at Saul, who leaves in disgust. Carrie is despondent and seemingly on the verge of a breakdown, but she eventually gets herself together enough to go to a bar, looking for a one-night stand. While chatting up a man at the bar, she studies musicians playing live at the bar, along with news footage on the TV of Brody's return, and suddenly has a revelation. She rushes over to Saul's house and shows him various news clips of Brody that day. She notes that every time Brody was on camera, he was tapping out a distinct sequence with his fingers. Carrie suggests that it looks like a coded message, possibly intended for a handler or sleeper cell. Saul agrees that it's something that needs to be investigated further.

In the final scene, Brody is jogging through Washington. As he jogs, we see more of his memories of the Tom Walker beating. This time it's clear that, under command from Abu Nazir, it was actually Brody himself who beat Walker to death. Brody pauses from his jog to gaze at the Capitol building.

ep2: 

Brody (Damian Lewis) wakes up in a panic from a nightmare in which he was commanded by his al-Qaeda captors to bury his friend Tom Walker. He lies in bed sobbing while Carrie (Claire Danes) watches and takes notes from her home. The next morning, Jessica (Morena Baccarin) shows Brody that her arm has bruises all over it; while sleeping, he had grabbed her arm and was shouting in Arabic. His wife and kids go out and Brody is left alone for the day. He sinks into the corner of his bedroom and sits there in silence for the entire day, as though he's back in his cell in Iraq. 

Saul (Mandy Patinkin) visits a judge he has history with (Michael McKean). He apparently has some leverage over this judge and asks to be granted a FISA warrant, in order to make Carrie's surveillance of Brody technically legal. The judge reluctantly agrees. Saul also checks in with the CIA cryptography team, who were not able to decode Brody's coded message, if indeed it was a coded message. Saul then presents Carrie with the warrant temporarily legalizing her surveillance, which will be valid for four weeks. Carrie reports Brody's disturbing behavior to Saul, who says that if Brody had indeed been turned, then he would be embracing the hero role in the media.

Lynne Reed (Brianna Brown), a consort of Prince Farid Bin Abbud (Amir Arison) of Saudi Arabia, is interviewing young women in Washington D.C. for the Prince's harem. She calls up a spa to make an appointment. In fact, the call is received by a CIA duty officer, who reports the call to Carrie, revealing that Lynne is a CIA informant working for Carrie. The next day, Carrie meets up with Lynne at the spa. Lynne reveals that she has recorded footage of Prince Farid meeting with Abu Nazir. Carrie reports these developments to David Estes (David Harewood) and requests agency protection for Lynne. Estes is pleased with the lead but denies the protection. He tells Carrie that Lynne needs to download the contents of the Prince's phone.

Brody is in the kitchen when he spots a reporter lurking in his backyard. He goes out and tells the reporter he has ten seconds to get off his property. The reporter takes the opportunity to start asking Brody some questions instead. Brody violently strikes him in the throat while son Chris (Jackson Pace) watches in horror. Brody, looking disoriented, wanders off, eventually arriving at a mall. He enters a hardware store and browses for a while before eventually grabbing a small carpet. When Brody arrives home that night, he enters the garage and drops off his bag from the hardware store. Carrie and Virgil (David Marciano) are watching, but Virgil admits that they didn't install any cameras in the garage. Mike (Diego Klattenhoff) talks to Brody after dinner, encouraging him to re-enlist, when he'll be given a promotion and financially taken care of. Brody is insulted at the offer; he can tell that the higher-ups put Mike up to making this pitch, and that they want Brody to be the "poster boy". He angrily declares that his days of taking orders from the U.S. Government are over.

Lynne is leaving a hotel when she is bumped into by Virgil, who on purpose spills tea on her. She goes to the bathroom to clean up, where Carrie is waiting for her. She gives Lynne the device needed to download the Prince's phone data hidden in a makeup compact. Carrie tries to set Lynne at ease, lying to her that Lynne is under 24/7 protection.

Carrie visits her sister Maggie (Amy Hargreaves). Maggie is a psychiatrist and has been pilfering samples of an anti-psychotic medication to give to Carrie. Maggie expresses concern that she is jeopardizing her own practice by doing so, but Carrie says she has no other option, as if she pursued any kind of treatment on her own, her secret would be out and she would surely lose her security clearance with the CIA. Maggie gives her a week's supply of pills.

A flashback is shown of Brody's time as a prisoner. Brody emerges from his cell and seems surprised by the fact that he is able to walk freely about the compound. He encounters a room full of worshipers in the middle of Muslim prayer and stops to watch them. Back in the present day, Brody heads to his garage. He puts his newly purchased carpet down on the floor and kneels down on it; he begins to pray, reciting Al-Fatiha from the Quran. Later that day, Brody goes outside in full uniform to talk to all of the media camped out in front of his house. Carrie is watching the cameras and excitedly calls Saul and tells him "It's happening, exactly like you said. He's out there playing the hero card!"

ep 3:

Prince Farid (Amir Arison) leaves the room after having sex with Lynne (Brianna Brown). While he's gone, Lynne takes the opportunity to download the contents of his phone using the device Carrie gave her. Finishing undetected, the Prince returns and presents Lynne with a gift: a diamond necklace.

At the Brody household, a large TV crew is present, preparing for a televised interview with Brody (Damian Lewis) and his family. Dana (Morgan Saylor) later hangs out with her friends and discusses the surge of media attention. Unhappy with the media's dishonest portrayal of her family, she considers sabotaging the interview. Dana reveals more discontent in a car ride with her mother, Jessica (Morena Baccarin); she knows about the affair with Mike (Diego Klattenhoff) and resents her for it.

Brody conducts the first part of his TV interview. The host asks Brody about his experiences as a prisoner of war. Brody says his captors tried to make him lose his faith, told him his Marine brothers weren't coming to get him, and that his wife was in the arms of another man. An event that he fails to mention is shown in a flashback, where Brody is being 'saved' from a beating by Abu Nazir (Navid Negahban), who comforts him and gives him food. The second part of the interview is with Brody and his whole family to discuss his re-integration with the family. The interview goes smoothly, possibly thanks to a talk Brody had with Dana beforehand, where he asked her to cut her mother some slack, as she and everyone in the family are going through a difficult time.

Carrie (Claire Danes) briefs a team at headquarters regarding the lead on Abu Nazir. She reports that Prince Farid was seen talking to Nazir, and that her asset has procured the Prince's phone data. She expects there to be evidence of a money transfer on the phone. Later, Carrie has another rendezvous with Lynne, who delivers the contents of the Prince's phone. Lynne says she's barely left the Prince's side for over a year, and expresses doubt that he could have terrorist connections. Carrie turns the phone data over to an analyst at the CIA, but they find nothing at all incriminating.

Lynne is instructed by the Prince's majordomo, Latif Bin Walid (Alok Tewari), that the Prince wants her to visit a new business partner of his and show him a good time. Lynne is rather suspicious as she usually gets such orders directly from the Prince. She calls Carrie and tells her the situation. Carrie smells a potential lead and lies to Lynne again, assuring her that the CIA has people watching and protecting her. Carrie and Virgil (David Marciano) then drive off to attempt to keep tabs on Lynne themselves. Lynne leaves the club but her "driver" shoots her dead, takes her diamond necklace, and leaves her body in the alley. Carrie and Virgil arrive on the scene. They see that Lynne is dead and leave immediately on Virgil's insistence.

The Prince is interviewed by the police regarding Lynne's murder and seems genuinely devastated, further casting doubt on his involvement. Carrie is wracked with guilt after she promised Lynne protection that wasn't really there. Saul tries to get her mind back on the case. Carrie speculates that the true connection to Abu Nazir might not be the Prince, but somebody in his entourage. Saul notes that there's a missing diamond necklace, and jewelry is often used as a conduit for financing terrorist operations.

Latif negotiates the sale of Lynne's necklace, eventually getting $400,000 for it. A young couple is then shown purchasing a new home. They have paid with cash, and seem quite pleased with the fact that the house is very close to the airport.

ep 4:

Brody (Damian Lewis), now promoted to gunnery sergeant, is in the midst of a string of public appearances which have made him an extremely popular figure. The Vice President's chief advisor Elizabeth Gaines (Linda Purl) talks to David Estes (David Harewood). She is interested in possibly recruiting Brody to run for public office but has questions about his mental stability. Brody gets a ride home from Mike (Diego Klattenhoff) after a speech to a graduating class of troops. The conversation turns to Brody and his family. Brody turns hostile and sarcastically thanks Mike for "being there" for his family and for his wife, strongly implying he knows about Mike's affair with Jessica. Brody later starts making veiled comments to Jessica (Morena Baccarin) implying the same.

Carrie (Claire Danes) has one day left before the FISA warrant expires, and she still has no solid evidence against Brody. She asks Saul (Mandy Patinkin) for an extension on the warrant, but Saul says to focus on the money trail instead and that the surveillance equipment in Brody's house must be removed the first chance she gets. The next day while the Brodys are at church, Carrie, Virgil (David Marciano), and Max (Maury Sterling) enter their house and remove all the cameras and microphones. Carrie takes the opportunity to search Brody's house, finding his Good Conduct Medal, and the garage, which had no cameras. She searches the entirety of the garage finding only the mat Brody uses for salat and the dish he uses for ritual purification before prayers. She thinks nothing of the two.

At Langley, Carrie delivers a briefing where she explains that nine hours after Lynne's death, Latif Bin Walid was seen at a laundromat which is also a known front for a Hawalalocation. Since then, they have security camera footage of 51 customers entering the laundromat, any of whom could be the recipient of the money transfer via the sold necklace. Their job is to investigate those 51 people. Raqim Faisel (Omid Abtahi), the man who bought the house near the airport along with Aileen Morgan (Marin Ireland), is on the list. Carrie eventually turns her attention to Raqim when it's learned that he made three recent trips to Pakistan. Carrie, along with analyst Danny Galvez (Hrach Titizian), start looking into his past and agree to surveil him the next day.

Carrie and Danny follow Raqim as he heads home from work. Aileen is home and receives a call from an unknown source saying "tell him traffic is bad on the Beltway." Aileen immediately runs upstairs and posts an American flag in the window, which is a signal to Raqim to steer clear of the house. Raqim spots the flag and keeps driving. Carrie and Danny continue to follow him for a while, come up empty, and eventually take him off the list of suspects.

The Brodys are hosting a party at their house. Gunshots are heard in the backyard. Everyone runs outside to find that Brody has killed a deer that had wandered into their yard, much to everyone's shock, especially his son Chris (Jackson Pace) who previously had taken a liking to the deer. Jessica finally unloads all her frustrations on Brody, taking him to task for his carelessly using a weapon and terrifying their children, along with his sexual dysfunctions and overall disturbing behavior since his return. She demands that he seek some kind of counseling.

The next night, Brody tells a relieved Jessica that he's decided to go to a veteran's support group meeting. Carrie, after losing her camera feeds, has resorted to staking out Brody's house; she follows him to the meeting. She walks into the meeting and pretends to bump into him. Brody recognizes her from the CIA debriefing. Carrie acts embarrassed and says she's not supposed to be there. She leaves, but Brody follows her outside. The two have a brief, flirtatious conversation. They form a connection over their mutual wartime experience in the Middle East, and lament how hard it is to talk about with people who weren't there.

ep 5:

Carrie (Claire Danes) visits her father, Frank (James Rebhorn), with the intent of pilfering some of his pills (he also has bipolar disorder). She manages to get some, but her visit is cut short when she gets a call telling her that the CIA has Afsal Hamid (Waleed Zuaiter) in custody, who was the lone survivor of the raid where Brody (Damian Lewis) was rescued in Iraq. Meanwhile, Saul (Mandy Patinkin) is at the airport, picking up his wife Mira (Sarita Choudhury) as she returns from India. Saul similarly gets a call about the captured terrorist and has to leave immediately, not even able to take Mira home.

Carrie and Saul arrive for an interrogation of Hamid. Sgt. Brody has also been summoned. Brody recognizes Hamid as his guard when he was in captivity. Flashbacks are shown of Hamid severely beating Brody and then urinating on him. Saul conducts the interrogation alone in the room with Hamid, while Brody and Carrie watch on camera and are able to talk to Saul via an earpiece. As the interrogation progresses, Brody feeds Saul details of his captivity, so that Saul appears all-knowing. Saul then offers to protect Hamid's family from Abu Nazir, if he's willing to talk. Hamid is then left in the interrogation room with the lights blinking, the air conditioning on full, and intermittent blasts of loud metal music are played. After many hours of this treatment, Hamid is seemingly ready to cooperate. He says he doesn't know much, but gives up an e-mail address to which he once passed along a message. The address is eventually traced back to the university where the previously investigated Raqim Faisel is working. A short time later, Raqim's home address is ascertained.

Brody meets with Estes (David Harewood) and makes a plea to have a face-to-face with Hamid. He argues that he's earned the right to confront his torturer, and that he needs to put that chapter of his life behind him. Estes knows such a thing shouldn't be permitted, but ever the careerist, he is persuaded. With guards present in the room, Brody sits across a table from Hamid who is having a meal. After some taunting by Brody, Hamid spits in his face. Brody grabs Hamid out of his chair and wrestles him to the floor. The altercation is quickly broken up. Brody goes home to find that he missed Chris' (Jackson Pace) karate match, but Mike (Diego Klattenhoff) was able to give Chris a ride. After a tense confrontation with Mike, Brody later goes into Chris' room to find him praying. Chris says that for eight years, he and the family prayed for Brody to still be alive. Now, they pray that he's going to be okay.

Saul calls Carrie to inform her that Hamid is dead. He had somehow obtained a fragment of a razor blade and slashed his own wrist. Carrie, along with a team of agents, raid Raqim and Aileen's house but it is now empty. Carrie initially suspects a tip-off from within the CIA, especially with Hamid also mysteriously ending up dead. 

Saul is home with Mira, who is at the end of her rope. She says she is tired of her life revolving around Saul and his all-consuming work. As this conversation is going on, Carrie shows up. She's learned of Brody's meeting with Hamid and has a tape of the camera footage with her. She is furious that Brody was allowed to have contact with Hamid, and points out that in the melee, Brody pulled Hamid into the blind spot of the camera, giving him ample opportunity to pass Hamid the blade. Saul is also angry that Brody was permitted to meet with Hamid, but refuses to take Carrie's suspicions up the chain of command, as there is still no hard evidence. Carrie says she will take it up with Estes, whether Saul approves or not. Saul counters that if she does so, she'll be fired. Carrie storms out after a nasty argument.

Carrie goes to Langley and cleans out her office. She then shows up at her sister Maggie's (Amy Hargreaves) house, now an emotional wreck. In tears, she tells Maggie "I think I just quit my job." She complains about now having nobody's support, not even Saul's. The episode ends with Carrie unable to sleep and contemplating her future.

ep 6:

Carrie (Claire Danes) arrives at Langley, seemingly rejuvenated. Everyone there is in disbelief that Afsal Hamid was able to kill himself. Carrie proposes that a polygraph test be administered to everyone who came into contact with Hamid. Carrie is excited because Brody (Damian Lewis) will be on the list; she's confident he won't be able to pass the polygraph. The testing process begins that day. Carrie is the first to take the polygraph. She passes every question, except for when she's asked if she has taken illegal drugs while employed by the CIA. Meanwhile, Saul (Mandy Patinkin) interviews a neighbor at the abandoned house that Raqim Faisel (Omid Abtahi) had bought, and he learns that Raqim was living with a woman there.

Raqim and Aileen (Marin Ireland), now on the run, arrive at a safehouse. They're about to enter but Aileen spots a booby trap on the door. Now under threat from al-Qaeda as well as the authorities, Raqim thinks they should turn themselves in, but Aileen refuses. At Langley, they've managed to identify Aileen Morgan as Raqim's girlfriend. They check into Aileen's background, and it's discovered she lived in Saudi Arabia for five years as a child. Saul is called on to take the polygraph. He's agitated from the beginning, and the polygraph indicates he's lying when he denies giving the razor blade to Hamid. He stands up and aborts the test, saying he's too busy and will finish it tomorrow. 

A memorial service is held for Tom Walker. Brody delivers the eulogy while fighting back memories of beating Walker to death. Afterwards, Carrie finds Brody and tells him about the polygraph test he has to take; they schedule it for the following day. At the reception, Brody and Mike (Diego Klattenhoff) are chatting with some other Marines who attended the service. One of the Marines, Wakefield (Marc Menchaca), is drunk and turns belligerent. He angrily asks Brody why he came home alive, while Walker was killed. Brody says he was lucky. Wakefield then says all the men there wanted to have sex with Jessica while Brody was gone, but only one of them did. At that point, Mike attacks Wakefield. Brody then pulls Mike off Wakefield and, immediately sensing Mike is being defensive about his affair with Brody's wife, starts punching him without hesitation, saying, "you were my friend!" After bloodying Mike, Brody gets in his car and leaves.

That night, Carrie gets a call from Brody, who's at a bar and wants someone to talk to after his tumultuous day. Carrie arrives and they once again hit it off, having several rounds of drinks and enjoying getting to know each other. Both drunk, they walk out to the parking lot. Carrie admits to Brody that Hamid killed himself, and that the purpose of Brody's polygraph test will be to determine if he gave Hamid the razor blade. They start kissing, and end up having sex in Carrie's car.

Raqim and Aileen are staying in a motel. Their room is suddenly sprayed with machine gun fire. Raqim is killed, while Aileen escapes.

Saul takes the polygraph again and passes this time. He enters the observation room with Carrie, as Brody's test is next. Brody takes the test and easily passes on every question, including the one asking whether he gave Afsal Hamid the razor blade. Carrie is flustered, but has one more gambit - she tells the interviewer Larry (James Urbaniak) to ask Brody if he's ever been unfaithful to his wife. Brody looks right into the camera which Carrie is observing, and says "no." The polygraph reading doesn't budge. Saul wraps up the test, and Brody is excused. Carrie is now in the difficult position of knowing Brody is able to beat the polygraph, but unable to reveal to Saul how she knows this. Saul tells her to accept that Brody passed the polygraph and that it's time to forget him as a suspect.

Carrie goes outside. Brody drives up to her and tells her to get in his car. She does, and they drive off.

ep 7:

Aileen (Marin Ireland) attempts to flee to Mexico but is apprehended when she gets off the bus in Nuevo Laredo. Saul (Mandy Patinkin) is there and takes Aileen into custody. He brings her on a 30-hour car ride back to Virginia, hoping to use that time to convince her to divulge her role in the terrorist plot.

Brody (Damian Lewis) explains to Carrie (Claire Danes) that he needs to take a little time away from home. After stopping at a bar and having some drinks, Carrie suggests they go to a cabin out in the country that her family owns. They have sex shortly after arriving, and spend an enjoyable, romantic day at the cabin together. Both seem to be much more comfortable and at ease with each other than with anyone else.

Dana (Morgan Saylor) gets drunk with her friends at home and falls through the plate glass door. With Brody gone, Mike (Diego Klattenhoff) is called upon to help. He repairs the door while Jessica (Morena Baccarin) takes Dana to the hospital to get stitches. Mike and Jessica later express how much they miss each other, and how much of an upheaval it's been to have Brody back in their lives. Dana, however, would prefer that Mike stayed away, telling him "there's no place for my dad when you're here."

As they drive cross-country, Saul relates to Aileen his own experiences with a strict Jewish upbringing, and his marital difficulties, in an attempt to get Aileen to open up. As Aileen gets more comfortable with Saul, the topic of Raqim Faisel comes up. Aileen's desire to secure a proper Muslim burial for Raqim compels her to cooperate. She tells Saul everything she knows. Saul calls Estes (David Harewood) and tells him that Aileen's job was to buy the house near the airport and wait for a visitor. The visitor spent over an hour on the roof. Estes sends Galvez (Hrach Titizian) over to the house to inspect the roof. He discovers that there is a direct line of sight to a landing pad for Marine One, the President's helicopter, and that it is within an expert sniper's range.

Carrie and Brody cook dinner and have sex again. During the night, Brody has a nightmare. He wakes up yelling out "Issa! No!" Carrie hears this and tries to calm him down.

The next morning, while discussing breakfast, Carrie slips up and mentions Brody's favorite brand of tea: Yorkshire Gold. Brody asks how she knows the tea he drinks and accuses her of spying on him. Carrie, knowing she's been caught, elects to turn the tables; she directly accuses Brody of being an agent of al-Qaeda. Brody reacts incredulously and challenges Carrie to ask him anything she wants. Carrie obliges and grills Brody about all his suspicious behavior since his return and the holes in his story. Brody maintains his innocence but makes some revelations. He admits his conversion to Islam and that he often prays in his garage. He says the "Issa" he mentioned in his dream was the name of a guard who treated him well. He did beat Walker to death, given the choice of killing Walker or being killed himself. He had indeed met Abu Nazir but concealed it from everyone because he had a genuine affection for the man. His suspicious finger movements are a reflexive motion coming from clutching prayer beads.

As Brody is leaving, Saul calls Carrie. He reports that Aileen has identified the "visitor" who was on the roof of her house. It was Tom Walker. Not only is he alive, but he's the prisoner of war who was turned. Upon hearing this, Carrie rushes out to Brody to apologize. She desperately tries to explain that despite her suspicions, the time they spent together "was real". Brody leaves, feeling betrayed, and Carrie is reduced to tears. Brody arrives home that night, and peeks in on his wife and kids as they lie in bed. He sits down in the living room and starts crying.

ep 8:

Tom Walker (Chris Chalk) is in Washington, D.C., homeless, begging for money on the street. Mansour Al-Zahrani (Ramsey Faragallah), a Saudi diplomat, passes him a key and a note written on a dollar bill.

Carrie (Claire Danes) and David (David Harewood) talk to Walker's family. Helen Walker (Afton Williamson) says that her son Lucas (Jaden Harmon) reported having seen his dad, but believing him to be dead, she did not believe it to be true. In another room, Saul (Mandy Patinkin) questions Brody (Damian Lewis), who still insists that Tom Walker was killed in Iraq.

When Brody returns home from Langley, he and Jessica (Morena Baccarin) have an emotional conversation concerning her relationship with Mike. She expresses regret for having moved on while he was gone, but tries to get him to understand how long she waited for him. He says he does not blame her.

Saul shows Carrie his lead: Tom Walker calls his old home when his family is not home, just to hear their voices on the answering machine.

Elizabeth Gaines (Linda Purl), the Vice President's chief advisor, calls the Brody household during dinner, inviting Brody to "the party of the year". The family accepts her invitation.

At Saul's house, Mira Berenson (Sarita Choudhury) is packing to leave for India, and Saul is clearly upset about her plans. Carrie shows up and tells Saul that she personally contacted Brody after her surveillance operation was shut down. She insists that her personal contact with him is over. He is at first disapproving, saying it should never have happened, but then softens.

A task force is set to trace Tom Walker's next call to his family's house. Helen Walker answers his call, but he hangs up. The task force is not able to trace the call.

At Elizabeth Gaines' party, Gaines insinuates that Brody can be groomed to replace a politician who will soon resign because of a scandal.

Tom Walker calls again, and this time Helen Walker talks to him as the FBI traces the call. But she feels as if she has betrayed him, and she warns him to run. The FBI chases him into a mosque. They rush in and accidentally kill two men who were there for morning prayer, and Tom is able to escape. After this, David suggests that they inform the public about the news, dubbing him as a "terrorist". Meanwhile, Tom Walker uses his key and note to enter a storage facility, where a sniper rifle is waiting for him. The next morning, Carrie goes to Brody's house and tells him that Tom is still alive and that he is the turned prisoner of war.

Saul rushes home to see Mira. This is the morning that she is leaving for India. She is packing her things into a cab. Disappointed in the way things with Saul's career force him to be somewhat of an absentee husband, she says goodbye and the cab drives her away. Saul returns to his house, alone.

Mansour Al-Zahrani comes home at night to find that someone is waiting for him. He discovers Brody, who attacks him, furious, because Abu Nazir's people had told Brody that he had killed Tom Walker—his friend. He tells Al-Zahrani that he is done talking to Abu Nazir and to "tell him it's over."

ep 9:

The episode recounts events in Brody's captivity, interwoven with events of the present day.

Three years ago

For the first time in five years of captivity, Brody (Damian Lewis) is given suitable living quarters. Abu Nazir (Navid Negahban) puts him into a fully furnished bedroom and bathroom and gets him a shave and haircut. Nazir has a young son named Issa (Rohan Chand), whom he introduces to Brody. He asks Brody to live with Issa, and teach him to speak English. As they spend time together, Brody teaches Issa to speak English and takes on a fatherly role, and the two form a close relationship. As the first source of meaningful human contact in many years for Brody, he grows quite attached to the boy.

One day, the school Issa attends is destroyed by a drone strike. Issa and 82 other children are killed. Brody is devastated by the loss. Later on, Abu Nazir and Brody watch a speech made by Vice President Walden (Jamey Sheridan) addressing the strike. Walden claims that a missile struck Abu Nazir's compound and that any images of dead children are merely images fabricated by the terrorists for propaganda purposes. The flashbacks end with Brody and Abu Nazir praying together as they prepare Issa’s body for burial.

Present day

Carrie (Claire Danes) meets with Special Agent Hall (Billy Smith) from the FBI at the mosque. They review the SWAT Team's actions and how Walker (Chris Chalk) improbably escaped. They conclude that Walker must have had prior knowledge of the interior of the mosque. The imam (Sammy Sheik) of the mosque is outraged that two innocent worshipers were gunned down and is publicly disputing the FBI's claims that their agents did not shoot first but were merely returning fire. Carrie believes the imam may have information on Tom Walker and his presence at the mosque, but that the only chance he might cooperate is if the FBI admits the truth about the mosque shooting. Carrie meets with Agent Hall again trying to convince him that the FBI should come clean. She has no luck, but she was also secretly recording the conversation, in which Hall admitted that his agents shot first. She wants to use the tape as leverage to force the FBI's hand, but Estes (David Harewood) doesn't allow it.

After doing some shopping, Brody is attacked in the parking lot by two men who beat him, knock him unconscious, and take him away in their car. When Brody wakes up, he's alone in a room with a computer monitor with a webcam. Abu Nazir appears on the screen in a video chat session. Brody confronts him with the knowledge that Tom Walker is alive, and that Nazir has been deceiving him for the past eight years. Nazir reminds Brody of the events that led them to this point, and that it was Brody's own decision to embark on this mission. Nazir attempts to reaffirm Brody's faith, and his commitment to the mission.

Tom Walker is in a forest calibrating his rifle and taking practice shots. A hunter named Dan happens by and they talk briefly. The hunter is unnerved and goes back to his truck where he has a newspaper and finds Walker's photo on the front page. He goes to make a phone call but is shot dead by Walker. Walker then drives off in the hunter's truck with the body in the back.

Carrie visits the imam at his home. She warns the imam about the potential backlash facing him, and the mosque, if he was harboring and protecting a man who ultimately committed a terrorist act. The imam still offers nothing but, later on, the imam's wife calls Carrie. She reveals that at the mosque, Walker was regularly talking to a man with diplomat license plates on his car, and that the number on the plate indicated he was from Saudi Arabia. It doesn't take long for the CIA to use this information to identify Saudi diplomat Mansour Al-Zahrani (Ramsey Faragallah) as Walker's handler. Saul and Carrie begin watching him, but are limited in what they can do, as Al-Zahrani has diplomatic immunity.

Nazir ends the conversation with Brody. Al-Zahrani walks into the room and tells Brody that Vice President Walden is going to ask him to run for office. Brody is to accept the offer as a sign of his commitment to the cause. Brody goes home and explains his absence by telling Jessica he was mugged. Jessica tells him that there's a message for him on the voice mail from the Vice President.

ep 10:

Vice President Walden (Jamey Sheridan) visits Brody (Damian Lewis) at his home. He offers Brody the chance to run for a seat on the House of Representatives soon to be vacated by the disgraced Richard Johnson. Brody accepts the offer. Jessica (Morena Baccarin), however, is resistant to the idea, fearing the media scrutiny and disruption to their lives. Jessica also reveals that she knows Brody and Carrie had an affair, much to Brody's surprise.

Carrie (Claire Danes) and Saul have been digging for dirt on Mansour Al-Zahrani (Ramsey Faragallah), the Saudi diplomat who was found to be conferring with Tom Walker (Chris Chalk) at the mosque. He is heavily in debt, yet is making large deposits to a Swiss bank. He is also leading a  closeted gay lifestyle, and they have photographs to prove it. Carrie and Saul corner Al-Zahrani at the bank he frequents, and stage an interrogation. Carrie presents the photos and threatens to out Al-Zahrani to his wives, his children, and his ambassador. Al-Zahrani calls her bluff, saying to go ahead and expose him, and that his wives already know he's gay. He starts to leave, but Carrie tries a new approach. She threatens to have Al-Zahrani's daughter, a National Merit Scholar attending Yale, deported to Saudi Arabia. Al-Zahrani finally agrees to cooperate, posting a signal at his house which indicates to Walker that they are to meet at noon in Farragut Square the next day.

Brody tracks down Mike (Diego Klattenhoff) and tries to make amends after their falling out. Brody apologizes, and forgives Mike for his relationship with Jessica. He then asks Mike to appeal to Jessica to support his run for Congress. Brody also calls Carrie, wanting to discuss something personal. They agree to meet at Carrie's. Carrie is led to believe there will be possible reconciliation, and is heartbroken when Brody merely tells her he is running for Congress and wants to confirm that nobody knows about the affair they had.

Al-Zahrani arrives for the meet at Farragut Square, where various agents are undercover and waiting to seize Walker when he arrives. Carrie is there coordinating the operation. A black man who looks like Walker arrives, carrying a briefcase, but none of the agents can confirm it is him. Carrie observes that the man is carrying a briefcase in his left hand and has a watch on his right wrist, but that Walker is known to be right-handed. As the man approaches Al-Zahrani, Carrie attempts to evacuate the area. Walker is watching through a window nearby and, with his cell phone, remotely detonates a bomb that is in the briefcase. The bomb explodes, killing Al-Zahrani, the Walker look-alike, and three bystanders, while grievously injuring many others. Carrie is left with a severe concussion.

Jessica tells Brody that after discussing it with the children, they all fully support his run for Congress.

Saul visits Carrie in the hospital. He tells her that the man who delivered the briefcase was a homeless man hired by Walker. Saul concludes that Walker was tipped off and that there must be a mole placed somewhere in the government. The duo watch Brody on television officially announcing his candidacy in the special election.

ep 11:

Saul (Mandy Patinkin) goes to the hospital to pick up Carrie (Claire Danes), who has been there for a week recuperating from her injuries. To his shock, he finds Carrie acting like a totally different person, talking a mile a minute, and ranting and raving about needing a green pen and theories about Abu Nazir. Saul and Maggie (Amy Hargreaves) take Carrie home. Maggie explains to Saul that Carrie has bipolar disorder, that the trauma from the explosion triggered a major manic episode in her, and that she'll need to be supervised around the clock while her medication takes effect. Saul agrees to start staying overnight at Carrie's house. Meanwhile, Estes (David Harewood) meets with Vice President Walden (Jamey Sheridan) who is being kept in a safehouse after the bombing at Farragut Square. Walden is going to announce his candidacy for President soon and is frustrated that he's under protection and not out campaigning. He tells Estes he must track down Tom Walker and to "fire somebody...I don't care who."

Brody takes his family on a trip to Gettysburg, proposing it as a way to spend time together before he embarks on his campaign for Congress. Brody shows the family where the Battle of Gettysburg took place, and tells them stories of Civil War heroes. Later on, they go to a diner for lunch, and Brody excuses himself to get something at the drugstore. Brody instead heads to the back of a clothing store. Waiting there is a man who has tailored an explosive suicide vest for Brody. Brody tries on the vest while coldly asking whether the explosion will sever his head cleanly off his body.

Saul spends the night going through the sea of papers that Carrie had been working on all day. He groups everything by the color that Carrie assigned it and puts it all up on a wall, effectively producing a timeline of Abu Nazir's activity. Carrie and Saul analyze the timeline the next morning and focus on a period of inactivity from Abu Nazir which, unbeknownst to them, coincides with the death of Issa.

The Brody family returns home. Dana (Morgan Saylor) finds the package that contains the vest. Brody doesn't let her open it, claiming it's a gift for Jessica (Morena Baccarin). Dana shows her boyfriend some unsettling footage that she recorded of her father on her camera: a long period where he stood blankly in front of the battlefield, completely still.

Despite her father's (James Rebhorn) protests, Carrie calls Brody. She describes the period that Abu Nazir went silent, and asks Brody whether he has any insights into it, since he was there and had a personal connection with Nazir. Brody offers to come over and discuss it. Shortly after, Carrie answers her door, anticipating Brody's arrival, but she finds Estes at the door instead. Estes reveals that Brody talked to him, confessing to an affair with Carrie and claiming that Carrie was spying on him and continually harassing him. He finds Carrie to be acting bizarrely and discovers the "timeline" which is made up of highly classified materials that shouldn't be in her home. Estes, already looking for a scapegoat, needs no more convincing-- he fires Carrie.

ep 12:

Day one

Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) records a videotape of himself, explaining his future actions as an attack against a domestic threat — namely Vice President Walden (Jamey Sheridan) and his advisors, whom Brody blames for the deaths of 82 children during a drone strike in Pakistan. He leaves the camera's memory card at a drop-off point. Meanwhile, a depressed Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) is visited by Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin). Carrie implores Saul to follow up on her investigation into Abu Nazir (Navid Negahban). She also wonders aloud why Brody betrayed her by turning her in, leading Saul to realize that Carrie is in love with Brody.

That night, Tom Walker (Chris Chalk) commandeers an apartment overlooking the State Department, which is the site of the Vice President Walden's upcoming policy summit. After subduing the apartment's resident, Walker sets up a vantage point at the window for his sniper attack. Meanwhile, in his garage, Brody is discovered by Dana (Morgan Saylor) as he conducts a Muslim prayer ritual. Brody admits to Dana that he converted to Islam while he was in captivity and asks her to keep it a secret from the rest of the family.

Day two

Saul presents David Estes (David Harewood) with a heavily redacted CIA document, believing it to concern a drone strike against Nazir. Estes dismisses the document and tells Saul to focus on protecting Vice President Walden. Brody gets dressed for the summit, concealing his explosive vest under his Marine uniform. Dana, well aware of her father's bizarre behavior, becomes uneasy and asks him not to go. Upon hearing about the summit on the radio, Carrie recognizes it as a possible target for Walker and Nazir. She asks Virgil (David Marciano) to drive her there. At the summit, Carrie witnesses Brody's arrival.

As lawmakers convene in front of the State Department, Walker opens fire. Walden's chief aide, Elizabeth Gaines (Linda Purl), is shot in the back and killed. As Walker continues to fire into the crowd, the surviving VIPs are rushed into a secure bunker beneath the Harry S Truman Building. In the chaos, Brody is dragged past the building's metal detectors (since his suicide vest contained metal ball bearings it would have been detected). He finds himself in the bunker with Walden, Estes, and other high-ranking officials.

Outside, Carrie contacts Saul and tells him that Walker's sniper attack is merely a diversion from the terrorist's actual attack. During the conversation, Carrie realizes that Brody has been sequestered with Walden, and tries to tell Saul that the elimination of the Vice President and the other high-value targets is the true goal of the attack. However, Saul believes that Carrie's obsession with Brody is resurfacing. After dismissing her theory, Saul sends Secret Service agents to contain her. Carrie figures out what is happening and escapes in Virgil's car. 

Inside the bunker, Brody approaches Walden and attempts to detonate his explosive vest, only to find that the device has become disabled owing to disconnected wires. He retreats into a bathroom stall and works on repairing the vest. Meanwhile, Carrie arrives at Brody's house and encounters Dana, urging her to call her father and talk him out of the attack. However, Dana dials 911 and reports Carrie to the police. After Carrie is confronted by Jessica (Morena Baccarin), she is placed under arrest.

After repairing the vest, Brody prepares to enter the bunker and carry out the attack. However, he receives a call from Dana, who tells him about Carrie's accusations and insists that Brody tell her that he will be returning home that night. After much agonizing, Brody makes the promise and forgoes detonating the vest. When an all clear is given, Brody and the other dignitaries start to file out of the bunker.

Day three

Saul meets with Vice President Walden. He demands to know the story behind the covered-up drone strike, and has brought along a big bargaining chip in the form of evidence that Walden authorized torture when he was head of the CIA. As Walden cannot allow that to be publicized, Saul is shown footage of Walden and Estes ordering the drone strike that killed 82 children, which was deemed to be acceptable collateral damage in their attempt to kill Abu Nazir.

Carrie is released from police custody. Her sister Maggie (Amy Hargreaves) is there to pick her up, but Brody is also there to confront her. He reiterates to Carrie that he is not a terrorist, and berates her for terrifying his family and continuing to harass him. This conversation is Carrie's breaking point: With her life and career in a shambles, she now even doubts her own sanity, as nothing came out of her theory about Brody (she has no idea she actually stopped his attack). Clearly in distress, she stumbles into her sister's car and asks to be taken to the hospital.

That night, Brody goes to retrieve the recording he dropped off, but it is gone. He goes home, gets his gun, and goes to meet Walker, who doesn't believe the vest didn't work and pulls a gun on Brody. Walker has Abu Nazir on his cell phone, who wants to talk to Brody. Brody explains to Nazir that his vest malfunctioned, but that maybe it's a good thing that it did, as he's now a trusted ally of the man who's going to be the next President, and will be able to influence him. Nazir seems amenable but tells Brody that he must eliminate the "wild card." Brody shoots Walker in the head.

Two days later

Saul barges into Carrie's hospital room, where she is being prepared for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in hopes of treating her bipolar disorder. Saul tries to put a stop to the procedure, but Carrie is undeterred, feeling that she has no choice with her life in ruin. She mentions that short term memory loss is a side effect, but it's usually temporary. Saul tells her she was wrong about Brody but right about Abu Nazir; Walden ordered a drone strike that killed 82 children, including Abu Nazir's youngest son. Carrie is anesthetized before beginning the ECT. As she begins to fall asleep, she recalls the moment where Brody was shouting Issa's name in his sleep. She now realizes that Brody had a connection with Abu Nazir's dead son. However, the thoughts are fleeting as she falls asleep and the doctors begin the ECT, which induces a seizure in Carrie.

Practise Essay

ESSAY FORMULA

intro:
- No more than 1 or 2 sentences demonstrating that you understand the theory
- Demonstrating your own argument relating to how the theory can be applied to case studies
- State central argument
- Say which case studies you are going to be relating to

Paragraphs:

- SPaG

- Theory

- Terminology

- Contextual/Political Criteria:

Paragraph 1:

- Discuss how Equilibrium can be applied to the TV Drama

- Use lots of text references

- Counter Arguments

- discuss how it can be argued that every episode starts with an equilibrium and not just a disruption

- Link back to the question

- It is useful to apply Todorov's Theory

Paragraph 2:

- Discuss how Todorov's Theory of Disruption can be applied in the fist episode initially 

- Then discuss the pattern of disruption across season 1

- Conclude this by linking back to the question e.g. how this differs from being able to apply it to a film

- Add own opinion: Does it make box sets better than a film, if so then why

Paragraph 3:

- Resolution- what are they?

- How does this differ from films

- No Resolution = No Equilibrium

Conclusion:

- 3 main arguments showing which bits of the theory can be applied/which bits can't 

- Why

- Back to the Question

Practise Essay:

Evaluate the relevance of Todorov’s theory of narratology to long form television drama.

[10]

Narratology is the study of narrative and the function or purpose of narrative structure communicating meaning, messages and values in media products. Torodov's theory states that a narrative starts with an Equilibrium, goes through a Disruption and finishes with A Resolution. Although his theory is designed to be applied to Films with a single narrative and a clear resolution, this theory can be applied to a Season of a Long form TV Drama, despite having limitations.

Todorov states that narratives start with a state of equilibrium. In Homeland, this equilibrium centers in Washington DC around CIA Agent Carrie Mathison. It is established in episode one that it isn't in a good state of affairs, with Carrie attempting and failing to negotiate the release of a political prisoner. This can be considered a stable starting point for the narrative to follow as the episode the flash forwards to 8 years later. Torodov's Theory can be applied relatively simple here, as the equilibrium makes way fro a disruption to follow. 

In Homeland, the discovery of missing soldier Nicholas Brody starts the disruption, as Carrie begins to suspect that Brody is not all that he seems and has actually been turned by a terrorist group. This event drives the narrative, creating a story arc for the audience to follow. Todorov argues that a recognition of disruption occurs next in the narrative structure and sometimes this is almost simultaneous with the disruption itself. In Homeland, Brody's return is what sparks Carrie's suspicions, therefore following this argument. These suspicions unravel in episode 1 when Carrie has to uncover this evidence in a de-briefing with Brody himself. Todorov’s ideas regarding recognition of disruption are relevant here. His ideas help us to analyse just how the recognition occurs and, because it is a crime drama, when the recognition of disruption is revealed, it helps to create further suspense and engagement with the narrative.

Torodov's theory of Narratology supports the concept that there are narrative resolutions or some kind of closure to a narrative. However, there is no restoration of the equilibrium in either TV drama as the  convention of long form TV drama suspends resolution and episodes unravel over a period of time. This allows for further plot and character development to occur over time. Unresolved or Unanswered endings to different episodes allow for them to be solved at a later date, expanding the life of the season and allowing, again, for further development. This therefore is a limitation of Todorov’s theory and is only relevant here in identifying the differences between traditional singular narrative films and long form TV drama, as the idea of narrative closure is more relevant for single narratives rather than the complex narratives of long form drama where climax and resolution are delayed and sometimes never reached, as shown in the ending to the first season of homeland.

To conclude, it can be argued that Todorov’s narratology is relevant when analysing the use of narrative in long form TV drama but only to a certain extent. His ideas behind Equilibrium, Disruption and Resolution are all relevant to a limit. For example, Disruption is a key area and focus in Homeland, however Equilibrium is only achieved fro a short potion at the start and Resolution Isn't even achieved. Therefore, Torodov's theory is Mostly relevant to a long form TVDrama, save for a few areas and ideas.