205: 'Q+A'
Written by Henry Bromell
Directed by Lesli Linka Glatter
Synopsis: Carrie and Saul try to get the truth from Brody for once and for all as
they are holding him captive. Meanwhile Dana gets involved in a messy
situation as she goes joyriding with Finn Walden.
Review: And who said television shows needed big budgets, lavish special effects and ambitious action sequences to be successful? Proof positive, if any were needed, that dialogue and chemistry are the cornerstones of any drama, 'Q+A' is an astonishing episode, built almost exclusively around the interplay between Claire Danes and Damien Lewis. While they may have scratched the surface of what made them Emmy winners in last week's 'New Car Smell', here they essentially give a warts-and-all presentation, turning one super-long, extraordinarily well written scene into, and I'll say it without any semblance of hyperbole (okay, maybe a little), a modern masterpiece. Carrie's systemic deconstruction of the self-built walls around Brody is an absolute delight to watch and crucially, it never drags for a second, despite being one of the longest scenes in the show's history. There are other sublime moments in the interrogation room: Carrie picking Brody up from the fetal position after she's broken him down, his phone conversation with Jess, the 'bad cop' moments from a prickly Peter Quinn (Rupert Friend is a superb addition, by the way: give him an Emmy too!) and, of course, the opening shots of a clearly terrified Brody, his legs shaking, his lips quivering, telling us all we need to know about his state of mind. If it weren't for the unfortunate intrusion of Dana and Finn's utterly reckless road trip, which, frankly, strains believability somewhat given what we know about these characters, this would most likely be the best hour of television we're likely to see all year. Unfortunately, these scenes have the undesired effect of wrenching us away from the real meat of the drama, distracting rather than entertaining. For all this is an extremely brave episode in many ways, if only the production crew had been that little bit braver and given us an entire hour set in that one room (Babylon 5's magnum opus, 'Intersections in Real Time', springs to mind here), then maybe we would've seen a perfect score. As it is, Homeland will have to make do with another (9).
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