This chick is apparently a Nazir family friend and reminds Brody of his love for Nazir’s son, Issa. Tomorrow would have been Issa’s 13th birthday and she mentions that for his 10th, Brody’s gift was a slingshot to keep away the crows that scared the boy. Having proven her connection, she assigns Brody to use his meeting the next day with Estes to steal information from Estes on possible strike points. She gives him a code to access Estes’ files, which sounds a little harder than bugging the DEA ASAC in New Mexico if you ask me. Brody reminds her that he agreed to use his political access to influence policy, not perform terrorist activities.
Brody is encouraged to remember that this is a war and he needs to do his part. He was hoping killing Tom Walker, the 2nd POW, would be the extent of his hands getting dirty and he is unsettled at being told more is expected of him.
Cut to what seems like a zombie youth therapy session where an androgynous blazered kid stands up and says she can’t stop thinking about the irony of Israel bombing Iran to stop Iran from bombing Israel. We find out this is the new fancy school Dana is not making so many friends at when we cut to her smirking in the crowd.
“Please tell me more about your 16 year old expertise in foreign policy”
Some more kids stand up to say military force can be necessary and that “Arabs” don’t see human life the same way we do. Dana speaks up to correct one in that Iranians are Persian, not Arab. But it turns out she is in a Quaker Meeting House and gets softly rebuked for breaking the Gentle Airing of Concerns rules.
A terse exchange ensues where the kid continues talking about how Persians and Arabs all want death to the infidel, so why not pop off a few nukes to keep things under control? Dana calls him a “douche” in a stage whisper and the two have a “yeah, what do you know?” fight back and forth where we learn the douche is a kid of the Under-Secretary of State. I expect Dana to shoot back that her dad is a Congressman and POW Hero #1, but she says “Yeah? My dad’s a Muslim”.
Uncomfortable silence follows, including Dana’s own at the realization she’s gone too far and also revealed her father’s secret, but a handsome young rebel jokes “yeah and my dad’s a Scientologist”. He is clearly earmarked as her friend and love interest going forward.
“She seems rebellious and impulsive and possibly from a troubled home… jackpot”
Cut to the CIA Safehouse in Cyprus. Carrie has a new brunette ‘do and is being grilled on her cover Canadian identity. She is having trouble remembering simple stats and seems not as sharp as usual. She also plops down to a kebab and declares she doesn’t eat meat. I don’t remember that being true last time, but I might be wrong.
Forgetting your mother’s maiden name might be less suspicious than that bad wig
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8 Comments
I LOVE this show. Carries big ass smile at the end was great. I had a big smile and was laughing . One thing I remembered when I saw the previous season re-runs they had on. When Sol took the lie detector test the needle spiked when they asked about slipping the terrorist a razor blade. He ran out of the room and never finished the test. I hope he is a good guy but it’s something to think about. So great to have this show back. Good job on the recap…I am sure it’s tough to recap with everything going on. Carrie and her dad are bipolar.
@JKW – I loved that moment of her being back on her game too! I had forgotten about Saul (spelling correction alert!) having a possibly shady backstory, but as her only supporter it makes sense that he has an unorthodox story somewhere too.
Also thanks for the correction! I don’t know why I was thinking schizophrenic, I even read recently that Claire Danes did an extensive amount of research on the behavior and affectations of bipolar people to study her role. She’s getting major kudos from the medical and mental health community for her portrayal.
Now I am interested. What does the US Embassy in Beirut look like? I am always interested in how television shows or movies portray other countries especially when they get it wrong. Was the portrayal of Beirut at all factual? Okay back to recap.
I am very biased because Lebanon and Beirut specifically is one my favorite places. Beirut is moder, metropolitan, diverse and developed. The cafes, clubs and shops are some of the best in the world. Beirut used to be called the Paris of the Middle East and has worked very hard to rebuild that since the war. The most “rustic” thing about the city is the bullet holes that still riddle many of the buildings.
My guess is the filming took place in a smaller village outskirt in Israel or Jordan. It looks like Egypt but there’s no way they could have filmed there recently. Also Lebanon is very liberal. The offices we worked with had women in headscarves and also women who looked like they shopped at Bebe for work clothes. It was more conservative in more rural regions, but I travelled from Tripoli to Tyre and was never looked at askance in short sleeves, long shorts and an uncovered head.
As for security, the US building there are extremely guarded. In general all embassies are compounds with perimeter walls that are mandated to be a certain height and thickness. There is also a regulation on how far from the first building the wall must be (space for people outside with rocket launchers etc), and how thick the outside walls of the buildings must be. In regions with strife the roads and entrances would be cordoned off and heavily patrolled and guarded. I was there in a relatively peaceful period 3 years ago and we still never left the hotel without a convoy of armored, tinted cars. Much less driving out of an Embassy in a single sedan through the front entrance. Its laughable.
The regional unrest and deepseated strife is a shame because Lebanon is lovely and very lush. Their national symbol is a tree because of their dense forests. Beirut is located on the sea and has a lovely coastline and mountainous topography. The city is very hilly and views of the harbor are breathtaking. The food and hospitality of the Lebanese is fantastic and traditional dinners are a hours-long 50+ plate affair. The cost of war is dear in both lives and culture for us all.
Glad you caught the Schizophreniz vs Bipolar disorder diagnosis. Many people with Bipolar are very high functioning in high stress careers and remain stable with meds & stable schedules, big difference with schizophrenia! Love the recap, looking forward to the next episode!
Nice recap, Mrs. Mia. As a fellow “prestige premium cable” recapper, I know how hard it is to focus on being funny about a show you love. And you don’t even have Paul Sparks and Bobby Cannavale making a meal out of every piece of scenery they can find to make it a little easier.
And while my own experience isn’t nearly as exotic as Beirut, whenever I watch Dexter I rupture tiny clusters in my brain spotting all the Long Beach landmarks that they use to sub for Miami, most egregiously the Long Beach convention center’s mural of blue whales. In Biscayne Bay. Really? Maybe it’s Showtime that doesn’t bother with continuity.
Correction noted Mrs Mia. I was assuming Sauls name was short for Solomon. Hope her sister sent a load of her meds with her or she will be bouncing off walls. Claire Danes does a great job and so does Damian Lewis. It sounds so weird when he speaks in a Brit accent. He was great in Band of Brothers. I have watched that over and over for yrs.
It will be interesting to see if Carrie goes off the map. After Saul turned her in at that VP affair, she may not trust him.
I don’t know if anyone else saw this but….this was an original series from Israel.
Wow, references to MSCL and The Game in one recap? I am impressed! Love this show, love Claire Danes. I am looking forward to the next episode like I used to look forward to seeing Jordan Catalano every Thursday!