#pincushionproteas

[hellyeahomeland]

4.12 | 8.08, requested by @pincushionproteas ↳ “He’s one of mine.”

[hellyeahomeland]

I literally hated this episode and I can’t even say that about tower of David. And the Jazz wasn’t even good jazz

Ok, I’ve had like 30 seconds to breathe. Last episode Saul found out that Carrie was after Anna. Why didn’t he change his legacy plan right then and there? Why didn’t he call Dorit be like destroy that envelope and don’t give Carrie anything ?

I’m curious why you didn’t like it. I thought it was basically perfect. 

It wrapped up the season plotline in a satisfying way and the Carrie/Saul relationship both elegantly and unexpectedly. 

Carrie destroyed the relationship, burned every bridge, but then: you wait, you lay low, and then you come to life.

Carrie is who she always has been but she’s--shocker--happy! I could not have asked for anything else. The twin smiles in the closing seconds were beautiful.

Also, the jazz was great! 

[hellyeahomeland]

(1/3) Interesting discussion on the podcast of whether Carrie is able to cross the line and kill Saul as well as give up the asset. I struggled with how quickly Carrie agreed to give up the asset. Intel agents go to great lengths to protect their assets, partly from a practical reason- it costs a lot to develop and maintain an asset and if you lose one, not only is expensive to start all over again, the access that a nperson had may not be replaceable.

From a moral standpoint, having an asset means that they are risking their lives for you, either voluntarily or by coercion. The moral justification is that at least you will do anything to keep them safe. Giving up an asset so easily goes against the core principals of an IC agent and Carrie’s own character. She’s always shown more care for others than herself (Lynn Reed, Quinn, Max, etc) Even wanting to drop a bomb on Saul’s head had less to do with not caring about Saul and more about losing Aayan (another asset). I get that the writers had to wrap up the story quickly, but I just don’t see it in her character. When has this girl ever accepted the only options presented to her?

Carrie’s playing an “end justify the means” game, which is classic Homeland. If she can prevent full-scale war and save hundreds if not thousands of lives, is it worth it? Carrie decided it was, and I buy that she came to that decision quickly. 

While Carrie has shown more care for others than herself, she’s also shown more care for completing “the mission” than others. The mission here is to secure peace in the Middle East, and she is stopping at nothing to do that. (Also, the people you mentioned that Carrie cared more about than herself all died fulfilling some mission or task that Carrie asked them to do). 

I’d argue that entertaining that type of human tradeoff is very in character for Carrie. She did it in season three when she convinced Brody to go to Iran. She knew he would die then, but decided that installing Javadi as head of the Revolutionary Guard was more important. She also did this at the end of season five when she agreed to wake Quinn up if he had some valuable info to provide (we also discussed on the podcast). And she does it to herself in season seven when she gets herself imprisoned in Moscow. 

The natural conclusion of this steady escalation over the years is the destruction of her relationship with Saul, and I think that’s pretty fucking perfect. 

[hellyeahomeland]

Do you think when the realtor says that ‘the house has been vacant for two years. The owners are asking for too much’ foreshadows that Y is asking too much of Carrie to kill/betray Saul? That would kill me. Though, if Carrie gives up her daughter but doesn’t give up Saul, that would also kind of kill me. Also, if Maggie shows up in the last episode for Carrie’s funeral I might die. What if they both die and that’s why Saul’s sister is there too? In conclusion, this show is killing me.

My interpretation of that line was that it was a dig at the show being off the air for two years. The “owners” in this case being Fox 21 and Showtime as the studio and network, respectively. This might be a reach, but I can’t see it any other way. 

I’m not putting much stock into the IMDb list for the last episode. Amy Hargreaves did confirm she filmed some stuff but at this point I’d put far more money on it being a scene where Carrie watches Maggie and Franny from afar (before going on the lam??) than a funeral. 

The good thing is there’s only one more week of this. 

[hellyeahomeland]

It’s been almost a year since your last pod.... any interest in a new one ?? 👍

I’ll show interest in recording a new podcast episode when the producers of Homeland show interest in making a new season.

[hellyeahomeland]

(1/2)This could be a group question depending on how many Quinspiricists there are. To the believers, at this point do you want Quinn back? I do/did, but seeing Carrie’s dark downward spiral, I almost hate the idea of Quinn coming back to save the day.

(2/2)It’s seems so anti feminist and anti Carrie to me. I appreciate how they are making her loss of Quinn so palpable (maybe others disagree but I do see her grief coloring her every move or whatever AFG said). But even though I want him to return (and legit thought that was him texting Saul) now doesn’t seem like the right time. She needs to pull herself out just a little bit for it to feel right. Does anyone else have thoughts?

You know, I don’t actually know. I want Quinn back for Carrie’s sake, because I honestly believe the “don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone” of it all has really crystallized her feelings for him. 

But what you say really resonates with me. I don’t want Quinn to come riding in on a white horse to save her from the mess she’s created on her own. Carrie needs to handle her own shit. 

We got an ask way back in June presenting a scenario that I am wicked on board with. If you don’t wanna click, essentially somebody’s all set to kill Carrie and a sniper takes Carrie’s would-be killer out from super far away. That sniper? Peter fucking Quinn.

[hellyeahomeland]

Re motherhood, it’s interesting to note the ways Carrie’s love for Franny HAS transformed her. She refuses to accept that she has to leave F in S5. She tries so hard in S6 to take care of her (& Quinn). In S7 she says she wouldn’t kill herself bc she could never do that to F. The loss of Q would have sent her down an even darker path, but she has F to think of. No, she’s not the best mom & doesn’t always put F first, but she has modified her behavior. She struggles w/ caring for those she loves.

That’s fair and true. She has changed, in some part, since becoming a mother. And we can’t discount that. I guess my overall point is, is it good enough? I hate writing those words because it sucks to think that it’s not. But it might not be. 

[hellyeahomeland]

I love Max so much- ‘I had a Zyrtec’ ‘she had cabernet’ - what would we (and this show) do without him?! Any chance you can persuade MS to do an interview like AH did? Besides homeland character stuff, I’d love to hear abt his experience shadowing LLG for the finale. Maybe he can also tell us where Virgil’s been hiding!

Max can do no wrong and we must protect him at all costs.