Homeland is back to its peak of pure brilliance. This episode has made the statement that this show is back to its season 1 and 2 standards. The moment I saw the credits I was in complete shock. All aspects of this episode were absolutely fantastic.
First of all, the Russian storyline has really put Homeland on the edge. Sure the idea that the Russians implementing the American government sounds repeated but the detail the writers put into it is facinating. They display the extreme limits the Russian characters will go to keep their operations alive. I mean, killing one of your own to keep a plan alive is crazy. I can't wait to see what happens before the season ends with the Russians.
Next, Carrie and Saul's friendship is alive again!!!! The moment that they worked out together how to stop the Russians' plan is where I saw that the struggled past between them had gone. This is something I've wanted to see for a while after all the past events happened. Obsessed Homeland fans would've been so pleased like me. This detail has been a hidden layer this season which some people would've missed but whoever noticed it would be happy that their friendship is the same as the first few seasons.
Another aspect in this episode was discovering more details about what is going to happen over the custody of Frannie. As soon as Carrie's brother in law said that her sister was going to try and get custody of her made me shattered. As soon as Frannie was born a couple of seasons ago, you knew that somehow Carrie could lose her child which is what every Homeland fan wish wouldn't come true. Unfortunately at that moment, it's now a future possibility which would be heartbreaking to watch. Throughout season 7, they made their way through this season-based storyline that the relationship between Carrie and Frannie could be permanently ruined.
What really sold this episode for me was the final sequence. This was one of the greatest moments in Homeland history which made it into one of the best Homeland episodes of all time! From the moment where Dante says his last words to Carrie over the phone to the credits put me out of my seat! Carrie rushes out of the school so she can save him as fast as possible with Frannie desperate to make her stay. When Carrie backs out of the parking lot we see Frannie nearly run over as she tries to get to her mother.
As Carrie speeds to the hospital that Dante was staying at, we see glimpses of her head starting to go insane with the alternative vision that she killed Frannie. This put me in absolute shock when shown because it has showed that something that traumatic has sent her mental health instability through the roof. When she gets to the hospital, we see her struggle to get to Dante's room. The closer we get to the room, the more crazy Carrie gets. All these little signals of police sirens and bleeding children sets her off even more.
What made this sequence one of the greatest was seeing the flashbacks of Carrie's brain. Showing Brodie's death in season 3, Aayan's death in season 4 and Quinn's death in season 6 was devastating because it shows the deaths of the people Carrie cared about and Dante must've been one of them for her. I've never seen a flashback of past moments in Homeland before so seeing this was quite rare. The final moment where Carrie falls to the ground and her mental health hastaken over her was when I fell apart. This was the moment that made me accept the fact the Carrie is seriously crazy. Claire Danes' acting was absolutely brilliant and after this season, she should be back in award contention.
Overall this episode was absolutely breathtaking. This has really made the season stand out to the others in a good way and now I'm confident that Homeland is back to its regular self. FANTASTIC!!!
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