Recap: ‘Homeland,’ Season 1, Episode 5, ‘Blind Spot’

“Homeland,” Season 1, Episode 5, “Blind Spot” begins with the capture in Pakistan of the sole survivor of the group of Al Qaida terrorists who held Brody in captivity for so many years. This may be the break Carrie is looking for.

Spoilers surely follow.

What follows is a depiction of a modern interrogation which does not involve waterboarding or gunshots to the kneecaps in the Jack Bauer style. It does involve clever use of psychology. Brody, against Carrie’s wishes, is in the back room feeding information to Saul as he starts in on the Al Qaida prisoner. Saul reminds him that his leader is notoriously unforgiving toward minions who allow themselves to be captured. If he agrees to talk, he can save eight family members. He is invited to write them down.

What follows consists of the captive being subjected to extremes of heat and cold and loud music. This slowly, but inexorably breaks him down. He then fills out the list of people he would like to be saved, but then pleads that he is ignorant of anything the CIA might want to know.

Meanwhile Brody pulls some strings so that he might “confront” his former captor. This proceeds pretty much as one suspects, with spittle and a good pounding of the terrorist by the Marine.

Later, the terrorist kills himself with a razor blade that somehow got missed by all of the body searches. Did Brody slip him the blade during the wrestling match? Carrie and Saul both think so.

Carrie would like to haul Brody in. Saul advises patience, Carrie blows up at Saul and is thrown out of his house and, perhaps, her job. She runs to her sister’s house for solace, which she gets, oddly enough, from her young nieces. They are, after all, one reason why she does what she does, to keep the innocent safe from the barbarians.

A question arises. Who is Mira, the young lady from India, and what is her exact relationship with Saul? The age difference wouldn’t necessarily suggest a romantic relationship and there seems no tender chemistry between the two. But it will be something fascinating to watch unfold.


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