After throwing viewers for a loop last episode, Homeland has gone back to square one.  Almost all of the conspiracies and plot twists we've been dealing with since season one are gone, leaving the writers with an almost blank slate to work with.

The show is an hour long, but viewers will likely remember this episode for one scene - Carrie's interrogation of Brody.  The stage is set as Estes' mysterious “analyst" Peter (Rupert Friend) starts the interrogation by asking Brody the usual questions: are you involved with Abu Nazir, did you wear the bomb vest, blah, blah, blah.  Of course, Brody vehemently denies everything...until Peter busts out the confession video. 

The video has Brody visibly shaken, but he's not yet broken.  He admits to returning from Iraq with the intent to kill Vice President Walden, but he denies ever wearing the bomb vest.  He says they have nothing on him - no bomb went off, no vest was found.  Peter is fed up with Brody's bullshit, and proceeds to take a knife and drive it through his hand, Guantanamo style.  Peter's pulled out of the room, and Carrie is sent in.

Carrie shuts off all the cameras, and things start to get very, very personal.  Carrie knows Brody in the most personal sense - remember the weekend at the cabin in season one?  She knows he's a conflicted man who struggles trying to find the right thing to do.  Carrie tries to appeal to Brody's better side, talking about the difference between Brody the terrorist and “the Brody I fell in love with”.  She shows him that while yes, Walden is a war criminal who deserves to be punished, Nazir is no better.  A favorite quote from the episode: “He systematically pulled you apart Brody, piece by piece, until there was nothing left but pain.  And then he relieved the pain, and put you back together again, as someone else.”

This scene is yet another testament to the acting talent of Claire Danes and Damien Lewis, by far the best duo on TV.  While Danes is beyond great, Lewis really steals the scene here, the man doesn't have to speak a word to convey the constantly conflicting emotions his character is going through.  The look of relief on his face as Carrie holds his hand and tells him that he is a good person hit me hard, right in the feelings.

Carrie asks Brody what Abu Nazir's plan is, and Brody answers truthfully: he doesn't know.  He does, however, admit that such a plan exists.  So that's it.  Carrie has broken Brody...although I'm not sure that “broken” is really the right word in this case.  What does this mean for the rest of the season?  Brody is probably going to be called on to work as a double (triple?) agent for the CIA in an effort to capture Nazir.  However, don't think Brody is going to be Captain America from here on out.  Sure, he may not want to work for Nazir anymore, but he is not simply going to forget what happened to Issa.  I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see Brody working to ensure Vice President Walden gets what he has coming to him.

But let's cover one of the other really important things that happened this episode, the whole Dana/Finn carmageddon incident.  Up until this point, the romance between Dana and Finn was going great.  By ditching boring old Xander (remember how he would just sit around all day waiting for her to come home?) and going after the son of the Vice President, Dana was starting to really come into her role as a Congressman's daughter.  And Finn!  Until you ran that lady over with your car, I thought you might actually be a good match for Dana, and not just an entitled little shit.  How will this one play out?  Who knows?  But let's not forget, perhaps the closest thing to a trusting relationship on Homeland is the one that exists between Dana and her Father.  Eventually, this secret is going to come to surface, and I can't wait to see what happens.

And what about Peter?  When she first met him, Carrie remarked that she had never heard of him, despite knowing most of the analysts at the Agency.  Who is he really?  Estes insisted that he run the operation to catch Brody, but are we really supposed to believe he's just some analyst?  It'll be interesting to see if the good cop, bad cop dynamic Carrie and Peter have continues through the rest of the season.

All in all, this was another good week of Homeland.  It's tough to see all of the lies, deception, and conspiracy created by Homeland's first season dissolve into almost nothing so early in season two.  However, this gives the writers plenty of breathing room to spin us a new story, and they did a pretty damn good job last season, so I'm not too worried.