'Homeland' Season 3 Episode 2 Recap: Carrie Gets Committed ... Again

This week, I considered beginning all my Homeland recaps with the same recurring segment, a bit called, "What Crazy Things Did Carrie Do This Week?" In the first shot of episode two, Carrie impatiently knocks on Saul's door, noticeably vexed from his shameless revelation. It would've worked great for the segment. But then I figured, who wouldn't be distraught after being accused of involvement in the "second 9/11?" In fact, some of Carrie's meltdowns even seemed justified in this episode.

When Carrie knocks, Saul isn't home. His wife Mira opens the door instead, and attempts to pacify Carrie, who responds by saying that Saul, "sold me down the river in front of the fucking Senate Select Committee." I'm siding with Carrie on this one. How will admitting to a scandal help the CIA regain face? 

We cut to Fara, a young, hijab-wearing woman who gets out of a taxi near the bombed Langley site and enters the facility. CIA officials eye her watchfully as she approaches and reveals a CIA identification card. Turns out she's the new transactions expert who was hired to help Saul and Quinn parse the banking evidence that Quinn obtained on his last mission in Caracas. This is the mission where Quinn killed a banker (and, inadvertently, the banker's nine-year-old son) linked to Majid Javadi, the man who funded the Langley bombing.

Saul and Quinn look at Fara, dumbfounded by her headscarf. As Saul takes a call from Dar Adal, leaving Quinn and Fara alone, Quinn learns that Fara's been working with the CIA for only eight days. She was hired because most of the CIA's banking division was killed in the Langley bombing.

We follow Saul as he meets Adal, who reveals this episode's only veritable "crazy" Carrie moment. Which brings us to ...

What Crazy Thing Did Carrie Do This Week?

Adal informs Saul that Carrie got in contact with a reporter to reveal her side of the sex-scandal story. She not only opted to offer up CIA secrets, but raised suspicions that she was, in fact, the unnamed bipolar agent who had an affair with Brody. Not the wisest move, Carrie. Adal reassures Saul that he will stop her.

Carrie meets with Nicole Hung, the journalist who reported on Carrie's hot-water antics in the last episode. Carrie rants (on record) that everything Saul said on television was a lie, and that she couldn't get the CIA to believe her "for the longest time." Before she can say any more, three cops march into the newsroom and present Carrie with a psychiatric detention order.

There's a scene with Dana and Jessica Brody at Dana's psychiatrist's office. Not much to note here, but one important fact slips in: Dana exaggerates, saying her dad killed 300 people.

Carrie is chained to a bed in a psychiatric ward. Sounds familiar, eh? A psychiatrist comes to inform her of the commitment hearing she'll be attending the next day. When he questions her refusal to take meds, Carrie tells him they make her feel "dull," and miss things, like the Langley bombing, which killed 219 people. Yep, the number seems to be decreasing. Let's see if the trend continues.

Back at Langley, Saul checks in with Fara, only to find that she has learned nothing new from the banker's laptop. Frustrated, Saul mentions that while they're on the subject of "an event that left 200 Americans dead" — There it is! More on the numbers at the end — he might as well mention "that thing" on Fara's head. Apparently, it's a big "fuck you" to her deceased would-be coworkers. So, although Fara has every right to wear it, if she continues to do so, she better be the best analyst at the CIA — one with a clear idea of how to proceed with the investigation.

In tears, Fara tells Saul that she does, in fact, have a plan: to bring the New York bankers in charge of the wire transfers used to fund the bombing in for questioning. Nice save, Fara.  

Quinn goes to see Carrie and hints at her coming under CIA crosshairs if she continues to spill secrets. Figuring Saul put him up to this, Carrie kicks Quinn out.

Pre-hearing, Carrie's sister and father get a visit from Saul, who reaffirms what Quinn said about Carrie's safety being on the line. As Carrie prepares for the hearing, relatively composed, her family, having heard about the reporter incident, arrives bearing the bipolar meds. A distraught Carrie attempts a futile escape.

Fara and Saul, meanwhile, interview the New York bankers, who brush off any accusations that they didn't comply with federal regulation even after Saul shows them an email instructing them to, "delete all Iranian customer names to avoid any sign of US legal breach." Indignant, Fara calls them out on their greedy ways. They remain unphased.

Quinn, meanwhile, closes the episode by going on a spree of goodness. First, he walks into Saul's office and calls him out regarding Carrie's psychiatric commitment. He blames her erratic behavior on the CIA's unfair treatment. We get an eerie moment when Saul's face contorts in anger and agitation, oddly reminiscent of David Estes' stubborn demeanor.

Next, Quinn confronts the head banker outside a posh restaurant, giving the slightest hint of a threat, suggesting that he can only be patient for so long with "venal shitheads like you."

Fara and Saul finally stumble upon an interesting revelation. A quarter of the 20% bankers' commission fee for the wire transfers is mysteriously missing — that's $45 million vanished from the records. Saul suggests they keep mum about this for now.

In a moment that's reminiscent of the shock therapy at the end of season one, Carrie is sedated. Saul later visits in the hospital to tell her he's sorry. Poor Carrie responds with a glorious, "Fuck you, Saul." And, fin.

On the Dwindling Death Count

The number of those killed in the Langley bombing falls with each mention in this episode. Dana's number (300) is exaggerated, rounded up tremendously. Her life is directly affected by her dad's alleged monstrous actions, making her infamous. While the number of victims is much lower, she feels the impact on her life is just as traumatic. Carrie's number (219) is precise. She's aware of every single death because she feels guilty for what happened, and thus feels the need to account for every innocent life taken away. Saul's number (200) downplays the truth slightly, subconsciously softening the CIA's incompetence. Carrie's number can be seen as moderate and truthful, while Dana's and Saul's are extremes. Dana's number, embraced by the media, reflects news stations' penchant for exaggerating statistics. Saul, used by Lockhart, reflects the government's penchant for underestimating death statistics. Each number reveals key character details.

Till next time.