Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress

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George Santayana had irrational faith in reason - I have irrational faith in TV.

Monday, February 26, 2018

Homeland 7.3: Separating Truth from Hyperthinking

Homeland bounced back tonight with a strong and surprising episode 7.3. In fact, it was one of the most unusual weaves of the series, with a familiar tapestry in almost every scene, slightly turning to reveal something unexpected yet immediately obvious in retrospect - in other words, the most appealing kind of narrative.

The best of this came at the end, with Wellington ordering the air strike in Syria against the President's wishes. Linus Roache, who was compelling and unpredictable as King Ecbert in The Vikings, is doing it again as Wellington in Homeland, in which he's not (yet) President, but now making as well as calling the shots in the White House. I especially liked this, because it has no analog that we know of in our political reality.

And in second but still strong place is O'Keefe turning the tables on and nearly getting Saul. Again, this was well motivated in retrospect and almost tipped off in a conversation but still somewhat surprising to see on screen. On one level, this story at the compound is another Waco, On the other hand, it's something much deeper, if only because O'Keefe is so much more media savvy than David Koresh, not to mention accurate about what the President is doing - or, more precisely, what Wellington is doing, but there's no way that O'Keefe can see that difference.

And it was a powerful night for Carrie, too. Her dilemma - of being able separate true connections from those her hyperactive mind might generate - is really the template for this entire season. When the enemy is a foreign terrorist, or even some American like Brody under the sway of a foreign terrorist, it's a little easier to separate truth from hyperthinking than when the enemy is in the White House.

And by the way, this set up is much more dangerous than Trump in our reality. Elizabeth Keane seems ten times smarter and more in control of her impulses than Trump. And as much as I can't stand Chief of Staff Kelly, he so far hasn't revealed any of the depth of deception and treachery of Wellington.

And I'll be back with more next week.

See also Homeland 7.1: The Worse Threat ... Homeland 7.1: Carrie vs. 4chan