Season three's big reveal may have been the cheapest thrill this side of a drawer full of positive pregnancy tests. In real time, here's how I felt about the "twist" that Saul and Carrie intentionally had Carrie committed to a mental institution: relief that Saul wasn't actually throwing Carrie under the bus, annoyed that my emotions for the past three episodes were so blatantly manipulated, critical of the moments we saw Carrie alone, skeptical of the actual timeline, and confused as to why that twist was even necessary. It was clearly a twist for the sake of a twist and it was a poor one at that. It cheapened nearly everything that happened before. The main problem is that Homeland has never used Carrie like this. The only time we knew something Carrie didn't know was in regards to Brody and that reveal was a slow burn that drove the entire first season. Its very nature was entirely different. From the get go, we went into the first season wondering about Brody as we studied his circumstances and tried making sense of his behavior. With Carrie in the mental institution, there was no inherent suspicion that what we were seeing was anything but genuine. It wasn't a fun speculation game in which moments were picked apart and theories formulated. We took this season at face value because we had no reason not to. When the twist happened it actually felt more like a betrayal than a thrill. In the moment my reaction went something like, "Oh, interesting! ...wait, what?" And honestly, thats a disappointing anti-climactic reaction to a show that used to have me holding my breath in suspenseful anticipation.
I simply don't understand why any of Carrie and Saul's plot had to be kept secret from the audience. I actually think if we were in on it the whole time, it would have been a fantastic storyline. We didn't necessarily need every detail, but just enough to keep us aware that something was afoot. Imagine seeing Carrie allow herself to be committed and drugged and subdued and terrified in that hospital knowing all along that she willingly put herself there. Imagine how much richer Claire Danes' acting would have read as she watched Saul's committee hearing on national television. Imagine seeing her break down alone in a hospital bathroom, and not because she's personally struggling with mental illness, but because she's sacrificed every single part of herself to the CIA including her mental illness. We could have had three fantastic episodes rather than one anticlimactic moment of a cheap twist being revealed.
I just keep thinking back to Carrie's slurred, pathetic, heartbreaking, "Fuck you, Saul" and how sorry I felt for her in that moment. And then how angry I felt about that very same moment after the twist set in. That could have been such an incredible scene if the writers simply chose to let the audience in on the plan. Carrie's "fuck you" would have been sad but for entirely different reasons. We would be worried she'd gotten in over her head. Knowing she willingly put herself in that situation--that she's drugged and slurring her words, that she's pissed at Saul for even asking this of her all while looking so pathetic that Saul is compelled to embrace her--is such an incredible moment that we were essentially robbed of for the sake of a twisty plot. Because the show was busy playing a trick on its audience rather than telling a layered story with nuanced character work. Yes you can go back and rewatch the scene and still feel some sense of that, but really the whole moment has been cheapened. It's not going to be nearly as strong as if we knew all this the first time around. You don't get a second chance at making a first impression. And just because you call something a "twist"--and imply that if you go back and rewatch the episodes, your experience will be enriched--simply doesn't make it so. Thats not how a successful twist works.
That being said, all of this was only a third of the current season. We've quickly moved past it and entered into some very interesting storytelling on Homeland. (So quickly that I suspect the writers realize they made a dumb decision). I'm enjoying where we are at this moment and what the show is trying to say about clandestine strategy, national security, and the sacrifices agents make for intelligence. Obviously there are other problems I'm trying not to get into at the moment*, but compared to the cheap twist a few weeks ago, these drawbacks pale in comparison.
Through all this mess, the remainder of this season is still compelling. The acting is superb, the characters are interesting, and this show was at one time pretty awesome. I believe it has some awesome left in it. But perhaps I'm in just as much denial as Carrie. Maybe I have a drawer filling up with evidence to the contrary. And maybe I'm refusing to accept the truth just yet. But I can't help but think if I give it some time, if I check back in again tomorrow, I'll finally get the results I want.
*Like the pregnancy...which...seriously? We're supposed to believe that Carrie was committed to a HOSPITAL without them discovering she's pregnant?! And if it's Brody's she would be showing by now. If not, then why would Carrie even hesitate to do something about it? This bitch is on lithium! That can't be good for a fetus!
*And Senator Lockhart? More like Senator Blowhardt.
No comments:
Post a Comment