Review: HOMELAND 1.8 - Achilles Heel

Wow, no seriously wow.  This has been the best episode of Homeland so far, everything thing it left us wanting more of last week was provided and we now know for certain that Tom Walker (Chris Chalk) is alive, back in the USA and is clearly planning something along with terrorist Abu Nazir.  Whilst over at Brody’s (Damien Lewis), he is going back to his wife following Carrie’s (Claire Danes) admission that she thought he was a terrorist.

“Achilles Heel” was based firmly on the main story line, there wasn’t to much room for backing story's.  We got a little, enough to get a grasp (a good one) I would say.  This is going to be one ride on the final few episodes of this season and is easily materialising into a show which premise could span a second and possibly even third season.
 

It turns out every man has an Achilles heel (of course), but this was meant in the sense that it's what you always go back to.  Saul (Mandy Pantikin) told his wife she was his Achilles heel and it was made clear that Tom Watson’s is his wife and son, think of it as a weakness.  The CIA managed to track him down eventually, taking full advantage of Watson's weakness when Saul found that he called home everyday, but wait, not to speak to his wife.  Watson rings when he knows she’s going to be out only wanting to hear their voices on the messaging system.

We were introduced to Watson begging in downtown DC, holding up a “Homeless Vet” sign, not long into that he spots a diplomatic vehicle, I’m thinking he’s going to kill someone in that car.  I was wrong, you just can’t guess with this show.  Watson is handed a folded up bank note by the occupant in the back clearly someone important, inside the note is a key to a secure lockup facility, in there is one single item.  A sniper rifle, we all know where this is going.

 

It would seem that Brody is being groomed for a position that he could only have dreamed about prior to his capture, he and his wife Jessica (Maria Bacharin) are invited to a party by Elizabeth Gaines (Linda Purl), why, that’s their first thought.  It soon becomes clear that they are being put into the spotlight to takeover from a disgraced congressman, one of the heads of military I think.

I really liked the twist we got at the end of this weeks episode, will it turn out to be a twist?  Brody being in the house of the Diplomat who handed Watson the key to the lockup.  Is Brody simply just angry at the fact that these people let him believe that his colleague had been beaten to death by him, or is he part of a bigger plan?  If Elizabeth Gaines gets her way and Brody becomes part of the political elite so to say then he is in a much more dangerous and threatening position.  His excuse to Carrie in last weeks episode "The Weekend" was pretty convincing but, he clearly knows more than he is telling anyone right now.

This for me has been one of the best, if not the best episode of this opening season, it has set up a brilliant premise for the remainder of the season which I'm sure is going to leave us wanting more from the second.

Homeland continues on Showtime Sunday 27th November 2011 at 10pm