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S04.E03: Shalwar Kameez


Athena
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Carrie ventures a delicate alliance with her counterpart at Pakistan’s secretive Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Fara fails to recruit a key asset, forcing Carrie to intervene. Still reeling over events in Islamabad, Quinn zeroes in on a potential lead.

 

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I actually enjoy the Carrie-Quinn dynamic, though I'm surprised there were so many characters talking about it out loud in this episode - that was kind of jarring.  I do think it works, at least from Quinn's side, and I've been sensing a tension since last season - for sure starting in The Yoga Play, but maybe earlier - Quinn's so poker-faced I guess it's hard to pinpoint.  Obviously it's been one-sided.  Even Dar Adal picked up on this (I thought) back when Quinn had to shoot Carrie and he was asking him why the hesitation.  Dar's been on alert about this since last season.  Anyway, I enjoy it but I hope they slow it down - I hope they don't go there this season.

 

Something that's been bothering me:  everyone upset that Quinn seemingly made a decision to save Carrie over Sandy.  It almost seems like they're saying he should've sacrificed Carrie to save Sandy?  I guess I don't get it, since the conversation is always about choosing one or the other, not a discussion of how he could've saved both.  Are people pissed that Carrie didn't die instead of Sandy?  I understand if they're saying his feelings will cloud his judgment in heated moments in the field in general, but the criticisms seem less abstract than that.  It looked to me like the mob opened Sandy's door, Quinn shot someone trying to grab Sandy, then the back window was broken and it looked like they might've had Carrie by the ankles trying to pull her out, so Quinn shot that guy, and by that time it was too late for Sandy.  It seems to me that Quinn's judgment was correct in stopping Carrie from leaving the car to go after Sandy - they probably would've all ended up dead if they went after him.

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The medical student kid is acting like he's not who people think he is. If he is an imposter, it would make his lack of emotional reaction to his family dying reasonable. Just speculating, though.

 

I wouldn't mind a Quinn-Carrie hook up.

Edited by WaltersHair
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It seems to me that Quinn's judgment was correct in stopping Carrie from leaving the car to go after Sandy - they probably would've all ended up dead if they went after him.

 

 

I don't know what else Quinn could have done. I never thought that he'd chosen Carrie over Sandy; I thought the mob was just too strong and he didn't have a chance to save Sandy. 

 

I buy that Quinn had feelings for Carrie and she's completely oblivious to them. He didn't assassinate Brody when he had the chance because of how it would affect Carrie. Like littlemasacara I thought that Dar Adal had suspected, but Quinn is so stone-faced and (until now) controlled that I figured they wouldn't go further than Quinn doing Carrie's bidding while Carrie will never reciprocate.

 

I never got the sense that Quinn's actions during killing of Sandy Bachman had anything to do with Carrie though; I still think Quinn's actions were the only reasonable thing to do in that situation. So I don't really get where the line of questioning from the CIA-therapist came from. Just Dar Adal working on a hunch?

 

I wish Homeland would stop with the romance stuff. This season has me riveted just with the spy stories, Carrie in Islamabad, Aayan's story. Why mess it up with more ill-conceived personal drama?

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Like others, the whole Quinn you're in love with Carrie is not jiving with me. If he does have romantic feelings for her, the last place he needs to be is working with her again. There's no way he can be objective if he calls himself being in love with her.  I really liked his continuous interaction with the apartment manager, even if was simply for her to prop him and Carrie.

 

Carrie accosting Aayan in the bathroom was a bit much. If I were him, I'd be a little bit suspicious of first the 'reporter' approaching him, now her 'station chief', faking an illness to try and get him to talk.  And on top of that promising him the world for his story. I wonder if/when he has a moment to think about it, he'll realize there's more Carrie's story than being said.

 

Interesting contrast between Carrie and Quinn at the end of the episode. She was overjoyed that he was going to be returning to the ME to assist her. While he looked sick with distress.

 

They're still laying the groundwork for future episodes. Another strong episode though.

Edited by Enero
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So....did she say she loved Quinn like I love you like a friend?  Or did she say I love you like.....I love you?

 

Confused.

 

I don't think it was either. I think she was using the term "love" very loosely like many of us do. She was ecstatic that he was going to join her team and expressed that joy with "you know I love you!"  Hence Quinn's dry response of "Yeah." He knows Carrie no more loves him than the man on the moon. He knows that her expression of "love" was her way of expressing her excitement over him returning to the ME to help HER out, not about any personal feelings she may harbor for him. At least that's what I got from the scene.

Edited by Enero
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See, I always thought Peter had feelings for Carrie so this entire storyline feels entirely natural to me. In fact, I don't think the show has ever tried to hide his blatant favoritism, especially when he thought Saul had dumped Carrie in a psychiatric facility without any consideration, and he was clearly anguished during his visit and then later on when he found out she was pregnant.

 

Now, whatever is going on isn't strictly romantic (Quinn looks too fragile for anything to happen between him and Carrie to be honest); he is super messed up and Carrie is in denial about 90% of the things going on in her personal life. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I get it. They've worked closely for a while now, are always in danger, share the same crazy line of work and have managed to keep each other alive throughout all of it. Do I feel terrible for Quinn? Absolutely. He looks miserable while Carrie is able to keep going relatively unscathed, probably because the job gives Carrie life but on the other hand it's destroying Quinn. It's an interesting dance IMO and I like how the show has handled it so far. It's a good story.

 

Oh Saul. Can't stay away.

Edited by Mia Nina
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I initially really liked this show because it was, as I described it "24, but realistic". It would seem that in the fourth season they have given up on this idea. Let's examine:

 

So Quinn wants to quit. Here is the CIA's process for a resignation. They interview him and ask him all kinds of inappropriate questions about his personal life. He tells them to fuck off and they accept this as him saying he does not resign as of this moment. However, he stops showing up for work and ignores calls from his boss. Eventually, the boss visits him in person to find out what is going on. He assaults the boss, offers no coherent explanation for his actions and shows himself to be compromised by over-consumption of alcohol. At the end, he inserts himself into a completely seperate operation that he wasn't even a minimal part of. At this point, if the CIA lets him back in they deserve every bad thing that happens as a result!

 

Also, is he in a hotel or an apartment? I've never seen a hotel room that had a hallway before.

 

Carrie was solid in this episode. She wasn't taking shit from anyone, she was getting results and she set up her own station without anyone else finding out what she was doing. I loved that she put on the leather jacket and seduced the kid. Farah reminds him too much of home. The crazy Western lady in the leather, begging him to help? Well, there's something special about her, isn't there?

 

Carrie was way too shocked by Saul having an old girlfriend. Why didn't you say anything, Saul? Well, perhaps because first of all it's none of your fucking business and second, you ought not be surprised that the former head of the CIA has some secrets!

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I keep forgetting to add that I'm also really enjoying Laila Robins' addition to the cast. I think the new cast members this season - Robins and Suraj Sharma - were good choices. I'd add Corey Stoll to that too, but we know what happened there :(. Biggest disappointment ever as he was one of main things I was looking forward to this season. 

 

I thought it was a bit too cutesy having Nazanin Boniadi use her real accent when pretending to be the British reporter and then switching back and forth. A little too gimmicky and it really took me out of the scene. Couldn't she have pretended to be Canadian or even an American working for a British news desk (eg. exactly the same cover Carrie used when talking to Aayan)?

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is he in a hotel or an apartment?

I think he said last week that it's an apartment. He paid six months rent in advance.

 

Unintentionally funny moment - when Quinn told the manager to quit cleaning up his apartment. He ended up sounding like one of those people on Hoarders. Don't move my beer cans! I left them EXACTLY where I want them on the floor!

  • Love 4
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Something that's been bothering me:  everyone upset that Quinn seemingly made a decision to save Carrie over Sandy.  It almost seems like they're saying he should've sacrificed Carrie to save Sandy?  I guess I don't get it, since the conversation is always about choosing one or the other, not a discussion of how he could've saved both.  Are people pissed that Carrie didn't die instead of Sandy?  I understand if they're saying his feelings will cloud his judgment in heated moments in the field in general, but the criticisms seem less abstract than that.  It looked to me like the mob opened Sandy's door, Quinn shot someone trying to grab Sandy, then the back window was broken and it looked like they might've had Carrie by the ankles trying to pull her out, so Quinn shot that guy, and by that time it was too late for Sandy.  It seems to me that Quinn's judgment was correct in stopping Carrie from leaving the car to go after Sandy - they probably would've all ended up dead if they went after him.

 

I keep thinking that perhaps the real target of the mob - and the ISI - wasn't Sandy but was Carrie, and Quinn's actions obviously prevented that. And maybe this was an internal operation? That's just speculation, though.  Because, yes, I am not sure what else Quinn could have done.

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I keep thinking that perhaps the real target of the mob - and the ISI - wasn't Sandy but was Carrie, and Quinn's actions obviously prevented that. And maybe this was an internal operation? That's just speculation, though.  Because, yes, I am not sure what else Quinn could have done.

It seemed like such an excuse to amp up the odds against them when there was no gun in the rear of the car where Quinn claimed there was for Carrie to help out, but this speculation makes me wonder if it had been removed on purpose.

  In general I liked the episode. It did annoy me somewhat when Carrie was accusatory toward the security detail as to their lack of protection for Sandy, and then went about ordering them to let her roam freely. I also don't buy the great love that Quinn suddenly has for Carrie that is so obvious that the Government is aware of it. Sure, he's been shown to have concern for her in the past, but no moreso than one might expect between co-workers in a high stress job like theirs. It borders on sexism to assume that Carrie could only engender such loyalty because of her gender and therefore making the leap that it's love, or that the audience cannot relate to the characters unless there is a romantic facet to the material presented.

Edited by NorthstarATL
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Something that's been bothering me:  everyone upset that Quinn seemingly made a decision to save Carrie over Sandy.  It almost seems like they're saying he should've sacrificed Carrie to save Sandy?  I guess I don't get it, since the conversation is always about choosing one or the other, not a discussion of how he could've saved both.  Are people pissed that Carrie didn't die instead of Sandy?  I understand if they're saying his feelings will cloud his judgment in heated moments in the field in general, but the criticisms seem less abstract than that.  It looked to me like the mob opened Sandy's door, Quinn shot someone trying to grab Sandy, then the back window was broken and it looked like they might've had Carrie by the ankles trying to pull her out, so Quinn shot that guy, and by that time it was too late for Sandy.  It seems to me that Quinn's judgment was correct in stopping Carrie from leaving the car to go after Sandy - they probably would've all ended up dead if they went after him.

 

Sandy was the best lead they had about the wedding bombing since it was Sandy's source who provided the information that led Carrie to authorize the bombing.  From a pure intelligence perspective, Sandy was probably worth more than Carrie, and thus the one more worth saving, i.e, keep Sandy in the car and let the mob take Carrie.  Now that Sandy's dead, Sandy can't tell anyone what he knows.  Which is probably why the ISI orchestrated the mob attack on Sandy.

 

But I don't know if Quinn knew that it was Sandy's source who provided the whereabouts of the various people the CIA droned to death (as opposed to Quinn assuming that Sandy knew something about it in general, given that Sandy was the chief of station).  Even if Quinn did know, the attack was so fast, it didn't look as if Quinn had the time to think.  He was trying to save both Carrie and Sandy and reacting to whatever the latest threat was.

 

And once the mob had Sandy, there was no point in going after him.

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Poor Quinn. Every time I think I'm out, they pull me back in! I hope he doesn't completely lose it as a result of helping Carrie in her mission. Not to sound overdramatic, but I fear this may destroy his soul.

I'm afraid it might be worse, and Quinn ends up dead. He would not be the first "collateral damage" from Carrie's plans.

Edited by izabella
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I don't think there was anything Quinn could have done against that mob, it's not that he tried to save just Carrie but both of them. His "we didn't have a chance" was true from even before the YouTube video discovery. Glad it's pulled him out from his destruction pattern though. 

 

I liked Carrie this episode, she was pretty level headed.

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Okay, here's something I learned: Apartment Manager Red is named Eden!  That's what the captioning called her, anyway.

 

It's been obvious to me since before Quinn didn't assassinate Carrie that time that they were headed to Boneville sooner or later. The show can't help itself.

 

I want Saul to be back in the saddle, doing that spycrafty thing he does. Having him politick is dull. I've always been a fan of Laila Robbins, though. Glad to see her here.

 

Mystery still unsolved: how do the ladies keep those headscarves on their heads without pins or knots? I can't get 'em to stay up even when I'm stock-still in a no-wind room.

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It's been obvious to me since before Quinn didn't assassinate Carrie that time that they were headed to Boneville sooner or later. The show can't help itself.

 

 

I don't think he was ever assigned to assassinate Carrie, was he? Instead, he was supposed to kill Brody when Brody and Carrie were at the lake.  He didn't do it, though, because he thought it would destroy Carrie, and he was unwilling to do that.

 

Like others, I don't really see this burgeoning relationship between Carrie and Quinn coming from out of the blue.  I do think that the idea that everyone around Quinn is aware of it is a bit of a retcon, though.

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I have been into the idea of a Carrie/Quinn relationship since season 2, but this episode kind of killed it for me for some reason. It was too obvious or something? I thought the dialogue between them during the phone conversation was horrendous.

 

And it doesn't help that they are losing me with Quinn's character. I miss the snarky, light-hearted Quinn from early season 2. 

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So Quinn invites Dar Adal into his living room, has a conversation with him about leaving the agency and puts him in a deadly chokehold while his civilian girlfriend is in the next room?

 

Oh, okay.

Edited by VioletMarx
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The most horrifying thing for me this episode was Carrie trying to eat that microwave meal without even putting it on a plate!

 

And I thought we were supposed to pick up that Quinn had developed a thing for Carrie last season. That was certainly my impression.

 

Also: Saul needs to come back properly asap.

Edited by Big Bad Wolf
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The most horrifying for me this episode was Carrie trying to eat that microwave meal without even putting it on a plate!

 

 

Does she ever eat? My thoughts before that scene were, "When will we see Carrie actually consume food?" So, when she took something out of the microwave, I said, "Finally." Then her phone rang. Don't remember if she even had a bite. But something looked green, so at least there were vegetables in it. A spy needs her strength.  

Edited by Bcharmer
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there was no gun in the rear of the car where Quinn claimed there was for Carrie to help out, but this speculation makes me wonder if it had been removed on purpose.

At first I thought the gun had just slid under the seat like what happened to Kima on the first season of The Wire (always tape it securely in place!) but now that Quinn knows the attack was planned, it makes me think that someone at the embassy or the CIA knew about it and took the extra gun out of the car ahead of time.

Edited by ElectricBoogaloo
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I took Carrie's "declaration of love" as that she loves that Quinn will come be on her team, not that she loves Quinn.  Remember last week when Quinn told her "it's not about you, Carrie".  But in Carrie's mind, it IS all about her.

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Since when could Saul and the ambassador have been engaged?

 

In Season 1, Saul and Mira had been married for 25 years.

 

In Season 3, Saul & Mira were together in Tehran before the Iranian revolution, when Saul & Javadi were friends, or at least on the same side.

 

Now, when Saul and the Ambassador served in Beirut together, he proposed?

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Since when could Saul and the ambassador have been engaged?

 

In Season 1, Saul and Mira had been married for 25 years.

 

In Season 3, Saul & Mira were together in Tehran before the Iranian revolution, when Saul & Javadi were friends, or at least on the same side.

 

Now, when Saul and the Ambassador served in Beirut together, he proposed?

 

We don't really know Saul's age but if we take Mandy Patinkin's age as the closest guess, it could work.  Patinkin was born in 1952 - if Saul is around the same age, it means he would have been out of college by 1974.  Perhaps Beirut was his first assignment, and he could have been there prior to 1979, when the Iranian Revolution took place.

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At first I thought the gun had just slid under the seat like what happened to Kima on the first season of The Wire (always tape it securely in place!) but now that Quinn knows the attack was planned, it makes me think that someone at the embassy or the CIA knew about it and took the extra gun out of the car ahead of time.

I agree. I think the attack was a cover up. We have no idea who the guy is that Peter saw on the video, but I don't think he will turn out to be who/what they think he is. Sandy's actions were very questionable. His phone call to his source right before the attack let ~whoever~ know exactly where he was. It was Peter's and Carrie's bad luck to be close enough to get in the way.

I liked Pete's little grin when the manager said she'd take on his boss.

Edited by Haleth
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I agree. I think the attack was a cover up. We have no idea who the guy is that Peter saw on the video, but I don't think he will turn out to be who/what they think he is. Sandy's actions were very questionable. His phone call to his source right before the attack let ~whoever~ know exactly where he was. It was Peter's and Carrie's bad luck to be close enough to get in the way.

I don't know who that guy is either, but isn't that the same guy who broke into Aayan's room and warned him not to give any more interviews?

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I agree. I think the attack was a cover up. We have no idea who the guy is that Peter saw on the video, but I don't think he will turn out to be who/what they think he is. Sandy's actions were very questionable. His phone call to his source right before the attack let ~whoever~ know exactly where he was. It was Peter's and Carrie's bad luck to be close enough to get in the way.

And this makes me wonder who else was involved. Did the CIA plan the attack to rid themselves of someone who was giving classified information to The Bad Guys? Or is there a mole in the CIA who helped The Bad Guys plan the attack on Sandy? I originally thought that he was going to meet his source when the attack happened but what if he was meeting someone else? I also assumed that the source was the one who set him up for the attack but maybe the source was kidnapped or killed and whoever did it got the phone to contact Sandy. Heh, obviously I have no idea what happened since I am just throwing out a million different possibilities.

I really didn't understand Javardi's logic. I am here to make sure you aren't a loose cannon, you almost kill me, and then I'm like great, see ya! How does that make any sense? Since Quinn only almost killed someone (as opposed to actually killing someone), he seems fine?

Edited by ElectricBoogaloo
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And this makes me wonder who else was involved. Did the CIA plan the attack to rid themselves of someone who was giving classified information to The Bad Guys? Or is there a mole in the CIA who helped The Bad Guys plan the attack on Sandy? I originally thought that he was going to meet his source when the attack happened but what if he was meeting someone else? I also assumed that the source was the one who set him up for the attack but maybe the source was kidnapped or killed and whoever did it got the phone to contact Sandy. Heh, obviously I have no idea what happened since I am just throwing out a million different possibilities.

I really didn't understand Javardi's logic. I am here to make sure you aren't a loose cannon, you almost kill me, and then I'm like great, see ya! How does that make any sense? Since Quinn only almost killed someone (as opposed to actually killing someone), he seems fine?

 

I think you mean Dar Adal, no Javadi, correct?  And yes, I didn't get that, either.

 

With regard to the CIA involvement, I think it is possible that, at this moment, we might believe that somehow the CIA was a part of this attack.  Like I said, I thought in watching the episode last night that perhaps Carrie was the target, not Sandy.  (In part because of what Carrie said - what's the point of the ISI killing Sandy since his cover was already blown?) But I am also not sure it would make sense for the ISI to kill Carrie, since she isn't station chief there, but in Afghanistan. (IRL, though, I believe the ISI has close ties to Afghanistan).  So it may follow that someone within the CIA was going after Carrie but as of right now, that is kind of half-baked speculation on my part.

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Because it means Sandy's death wasn't due to angry Pakistanis recognizing him and taking action. Instead he died as a result of a premeditated and organized attack.

 

This is what I don't understand - if whoever wanted Sandy dead (his contact, ISI, US), wouldn't it just be simpler to shoot him somewhere and make it look like a robbery or something?  Murder by mob seems a bit uncertain. 

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Even as a longtime fan of Quinn and, to a lesser extent, Quinn-Carrie UST, I thought this episode went overboard with the omniscient "lurve" references and Quinn's angsty bare chest. I miss the old show-don't-tell subtlety of that dynamic (though I guess Apartment Manager had to overhear the Carrie reference for plot reasons), and repeated viewings haven't sold me on the "Quinn sacrificed Sandy because lurve" arguments. It's hard to see how he possibly could have saved all three of them, and it was Sandy who got them in that mess with reckless behavior to begin with -- Carrie seemed more save-worthy by virtue of being a bystander, essentially. Quinn seemed to be protecting the entire vehicle rather than throwing himself and Carrie to the wolves (in which case they couldn't have helped Sandy, anyway). At least, that's how I read that horrifyingly effective, chaotic scene.

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Even as a longtime fan of Quinn and, to a lesser extent, Quinn-Carrie UST, I thought this episode went overboard with the omniscient "lurve" references and Quinn's angsty bare chest....

Yeah, but at least he's not a terrorist, so I guess it's an improvement.

They really should have let Brody die at the end of season one like was originally intended. I loved Damian Lewis in Life and the first season of Homeland, but they really should've quit that OTP while they were ahead. Now it looks like they may be screwing up the Carrie-Quinn dynamic with too much unnecessary romance as well. We'll see. There's still hope that they might dial it back a notch, right?

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I really didn't understand Javardi's logic. I am here to make sure you aren't a loose cannon, you almost kill me, and then I'm like great, see ya! How does that make any sense? Since Quinn only almost killed someone (as opposed to actually killing someone), he seems fine?

I think you mean Dar Adal, no Javadi, correct? And yes, I didn't get that, either.
Maybe it was that Quinn was angry at the idea that he "let" Sandy get killed? Like maybe they thought he and/or Carrie helped orchestrate Sandy's killing, but Quinn's anger proved he didn't? IDK. That was just one of the thoughts that ran through my head after that bit. Edited by shapeshifter
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