'Homeland' Recap: Saul Updates Carrie On His Play; Brody Reunites With Dana & Gets Shipped Off To Tehran

by uInterviewNovember 25, 2013, 12:00 amNews >

Homeland’s fast-paced hour “One Last Time” opens with Carrie (Claire Danes) receiving treatment for her gunshot wound at the naval hospital and with Saul (Mandy Patinkin) and Dar Adal (F. Murray Abraham) trying to figure out how to get the now heroin-addicted Brody (Damien Lewis) clean and sober.

Homeland Recap

After Carrie is forced to admit to the naval doctors that she’s aware she’s 13 weeks pregnant, she gets a visit from Lockhart (Tracy Letts). Lockhart’s aim is to get Carrie to falter in her loyalty to the old guard of the CIA, namely Saul. He points out that it was him that got her shot. When that doesn’t work, he informs her that Saul has been in Venezuela, which Carrie clearly didn’t know.

Meanwhile, special ops men strap Brody down to his bed, beginning the process of “weaning” him off drugs. Since Saul says that bringing him to the hospital isn’t an option, he insists on Brody going cold-turkey. The problem with that method is that it’ll take roughly 10 days for the turned marine to be good to go – four days over the date of Lockhart’s confirmation.

Making matters worse for Saul is the fact that Lockhart has learned of his whereabouts. Max (Maury Sterling) and Virgil (David Marciano) investigate how Lockhart came into the knowledge and realize that Alan Bernard (William Abadie) planted a bug on his home computer. Dar suggests they give Brody a Nigerian drug that’ll get rid of the withdrawal symptoms in a speedier fashion, while giving him some hallucinations in the process. Saul agrees to it and the mission is a go.

Max and Virgil find out he’s an Israeli intelligence officer who’s now doing Lockhart’s bidding, proving that Lockhart’s corrupt and that Bernard’s dalliance with Mira (Sarita Choudhury) was likely all part of the plan. Saul wastes no time in confronting Lockhart, and getting him to postpone the confirmation process. When Lockhart wonders aloud why Saul doesn’t use the damning evidence to get himself the CIA Director position immediately, Saul explains his concern for both his wife and the agency’s reputation.

Saul Forces Brody Off Heroin, Tests Will To Die

In his hallucinogenic state, Brody imagines seeing his former best friend and comrade Tom Walker (Chris Chalk) who he shot after he decided not to go through with his suicide vest in season one. After smashing a chair in his cell, he picks up a sharp fragment and begins repeatedly plunging it into the flesh of his arm. When Saul goes in to stop him, Brody thinks it’s Abu Nazir (Navid Negahban). It freezes him, and allows the ops guys to restrain him.

When Brody arises with a clearer mind, Saul tells him that while he doesn’t believe he had a hand in the CIA bombing, he does believe he owes Saul one more mission. Brody outright refuses, proclaiming he’d rather die. When Saul tests Brody’s resolve in the matter, the former Congressman proves he meant what he said, so his soldiers have to save him before he successfully offs himself.

With Brody back in the states but unwilling to do anything for his own survival, Saul goes to Carrie in the hopes that she’ll help light a fire in Brody. She’s duly mad at him about his secrecy in the Brody op, but when Saul informs her he knows full well that she helped him get out of the country, she softens and hears him out about his new play: Get Brody in shape and send him to kill Javadi’s boss, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

Carrie Helps Saul Encourage Brody Into Action

Carrie is dubious about Saul’s plan, thinking that it might be a reach for him to presume that with Javadi (Shaun Tuob) in power it’ll solve the problems between the US and Iran, but she agrees to do what she can. When simply speaking to the weakened Brody doesn’t do anything, she brings him to see Dana (Morgan Saylor), who’s now working as a maid at a local motel. Muted by a sound proof van, Brody tries in vain to call out to his daughter. Brody is livid with Carrie, but she knows her plan worked in terms of forcing Brody to comply with Saul.

After some more encouragement from Carrie, Brody commits to getting himself in top shape for Saul’s plan. Just 16 days later and he’s already looking significantly more op-worthy so they give him the plan. Brody realizes it’s a long shot that he’s going to be able to get in and out of Tehran alive and pleads with Carrie to bring him to see Dana. She agrees to it, taking him to the motel. Dana reluctantly lets him into a room, where she then shouts through tears a series of rhetorical questions that show Brody she’s nowhere near able to forgive him his sizeable faults. Brody is more determined than ever to return from his mission alive.

Carrie, committing herself more to her mission than her love life time after time throughout the episode, held back from letting Brody tear down her business-like defenses. The final scene was no exception. As Brody gave Carrie one last look before taking his leave for the mission, she calls out to him, seemingly ready to tell him something personal, perhaps that she’s carrying his child. Instead she simply shouts out, “See you on the other side,” before the scene fades to black and the credits begin to roll.

Homeland airs Sundays on Showtime at 9/8c.

– Chelsea Regan

Get Uinterview's FREE iPhone App For Daily News Updates here.

Get the FREE Uinterview iPad app here and watch our videos anywhere.

For More 'Homeland' Recaps:

_{‘Homeland’ Recap: Carrie Gets Shot; Saul Visits Brody At The Tower Of David}