The Walking Dead – “Strangers”

Season Five, Episode Two

Grade: B

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I was surprised about the way The Walking Dead finished the Terminus story-line so quickly, but that seems to be the show’s new M.O., evident with the conclusion of “Strangers” showing the leftovers from Terminus who have kidnapped Bob from the group and are feasting on his left leg, because that’s what cannibals do. The old TWD would’ve waited a handful of episodes until revisiting these villains, but in season five, we’re getting fast-paced action and danger around every corner.

So what’s to make of this? Our group knew they were being watched and now we know by who. While I feel bad for Bob, it’s not like we shouldn’t have expected it. Him and Sasha have been getting way too close for comfort in a post-apocalyptic show, and the way we keep on seeing them showing PDI constantly should’ve been a red flag. Honestly, I thought he was bit by the zombie that popped out of the water, but this is much worse (actually I don’t know. You can debate which is worse). The only couple who has lasted has been Glen and Maggie, and even those two have taken a serious back seat early on this season. Sorry Bob, don’t you know the rules of horror? Never fall in love.

In “Strangers” we meet a new character when the group hears his screams for help. Gabriel is a man of the Bible, dresses like a priest and says he’s been living inside his church until now when he’s out of food. Rick doesn’t trust him and after following these characters for so long, he has plenty of right not to trust anyone. As we spend more time with Gabriel, it’s clear he’s hiding something and he seems to have reason to keep it a secret. But what’s more disturbing? The handwritten Bible? The creepy drawings? The threat scratched onto the side of the church? The speeding hearse? Pick your poison.

I don’t know how quickly TWD will disposs of Gabriel, but I wish they would give him at least a few more episodes because I’ve really enjoyed the religion theme during “Strangers.” It’s something that practically all of our survivors have dismissed. How could there be a God in a world overrun by zombies? But Gabriel surprisingly still has faith. He called for help, and they arrived. Is that enough proof for you?

How long until they realize Bob’s missing? And what is Gabriel really about? TWD is doing a great job at the moment by providing us with a cliffhanger without too much mystery. Come on, didn’t you all think that Bob was just tied up and they were going to have another cheesy close-death call before Bob was saved? I give TWD props for doing what they’re doing in such a whirlwind sort of way. Let’s see if they can keep going at this pace, or we’ll get a long story-arc on the road towards Washington D.C.

Homeland – “Iron in the Fire”

Season Four, Episode Four

Grade: B+

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It seems pretty clear what the writers of the show are trying to do, showing Carrie as some kind of monster as she slowly comes back to being human as the season progresses. Right now, there isn’t a viewer in the world who should like Carrie. You could somewhat sympathize with her I guess, but at this early point in the fourth season, she has attempted to drown her baby, abandoned her baby and her family, ordered the drone strike that massacred a wedding, and now she has seduced a young man with empty promises and sex. That’s quite a laundry list of reasons why I should hate Carrie Mathison.

Despite how much of a jerk Carrie can be, this was still a very solid episode for Homeland. Let’s start with the aspect of the show that has always been done incredibly well: spying. Whether it’s Quinn breaking into the ISI agent’s apartment to bug his phone, or if it’s Fara and Max trailing Aayan, Homeland is always able to keep us at the edge of our seat during these suspenseful sequences. I particularly enjoyed Fara going on foot in pursuit of Aayan when he gives a young medical woman money in exchange for what we can only assume are the drugs that he lost. But the kicker throughout this chase is that his uncle, the main man Carrie and Sandy were targeting during the drone strike, is still alive!

Things are becoming clearer now. We also finally see Sandy’s source as Professor Dennis Boyd. How has he been able to leak sensitive, classified information? He’s married to Ambassador Martha Boyd, but now that Sandy is dead Dennis is the direct target. He gets blackmailed by a Pakistani agent (did they really need her to be so damn good looking? Everyone on the show is too pretty, imo) who promises him that if he goes through one more mission, he’ll finally be free. If not, he’ll be exposed to treason that will also bring down his wife. Oh the drama!

What Carrie and Quinn are able to figure out is that since Haqqani is still alive, the whole thing was a setup to kill Sandy. But why? That’s the main question that Carrie and team will be facing. Meanwhile, it seems like Saul might be sticking around for a little longer, which is always a good thing. And it will be interesting to follow Dennis as he might be playing the Brody role as sneaking around offices and obeying orders from wherever this Pakistani woman comes from. Needless to say, it doesn’t look good for Dennis.

During all of what’s happening, it’s important to address what Carrie is doing to Aayan. She seems to have no concern at all that she’s lying to him about getting into medical school in London. She continues to feed him lies just so he can open up to her, and even though it’s working, it’s simply not working fast enough for Carrie and that’s why she seduces him. The scene before when she looks at herself in the mirror was brilliant. You know what’s about to happen, yet there is still that beating heart inside of Carrie that insists she isn’t a bad person. That voice inside of her is begging to break out, but she’s too ruthless to allow that conscious to take over. All I’m interested in right now is Quinn’s reaction when he finds out that Carrie and Aayan got hot and heavy. I hope he breaks someone else’s cheek bone in a diner (or whatever the equivalent is in Islamabad).