There is a lot to go over in this week’s episode recap of Homeland! A lot pays off in this episode, yet more questions are brought up again. In this episode, titled A Red Wheelbarrow, more is found out about the Langley Bomber, Saul makes an international visit, and a main character gets shot! Josh provides this week’s episode summary of Homeland, and as usual, both Josh and Violet provide their opinions and thoughts on the episode!
Don’t need the Homeland episode recap for A Red Wheelbarrow? Click here to jump directly to Josh’s thoughts on the episode!
To see Violet’s thoughts on this week’s Homeland episode, A Red Wheelbarrow, click here to get directly there!
Homeland, Season 3 Episode 8: A Red Wheelbarrow Recap Overview
Need a quick Homeland episode recap of Season 3 Episode 8, titled A Red Wheelbarrow? Here is a summary of events for the episode. Each event is linked to the more detailed Homeland episode recap for A Red Wheelbarrow if you need more information!
- Saul and Mira seem to be getting along better. Quinn and Carrie investigate the Langley bomber. Saul meets with Chief of Staff Higgins, and discusses Iranian regime change.
- Saul’s plan is going to the president for approval. Carrie is unhappy with Saul‘s answers to questions regarding Brody. Saul also has a trip planned–and Carrie isn’t to know where or why.
- Carrie meets with Franklin, who has her find out more about what the CIA knows about the bomber. Carrie has the doctor check out her unborn baby, and Carrie hasn’t been taking care of it very well. Meanwhile, Fara receives a visit from the Inspector General
- Carrie warns Frankin about what the CIA “knows” about the bomber, and her plan works–Franklin calls Bennett to figure out what to do. The CIA hears their plan through wiretap to move the bomber out of the country. Meanwhile, Mira‘s boyfriend is up to some mischief
- Franklin moves into move the bomber–however, he actually has other plans. Carrie wants to stop him, but Quinn stops her to avoid botching the whole plan–shooting Carrie in the arm. The bomber is killed by Franklin.
- We find out where Saul‘s trip was–to visit Brody. Looks like Brody may be coming home.
Homeland Episode Recap: A Red Wheelbarrow, the Details
Lockhart Doesn’t Have the Clearance
On Season 3 Episode 8 of Homeland, titled A Red Wheelbarrow, we begin watching Saul making breakfast for Mira. They seemed to have had a great night, and Saul brings the breakfast up to Mira in bed. Mira asks if he can stay home, but he has to have a meeting at the White House. Meanwhile, Quinn and Carrie are analyzing various suspects to try to discover the Langley bomber. They do not seem to be having much luck. Quinn is discouraged by their efforts, considering how many times the people visiting the CIA that day have already been investigated inside and out.
Outside, Fara has sat in the parking lot for what appears to be awhile, then she opts to drive away.
Saul has his meeting with Michael Higgins, White House Chief of Staff, and Senator Lockhart has attended the meeting as well. Lockhart makes his allegations to Saul with Higgins present, Saul plays coy, but tells Higgins he turned Javadi. Higgins seems to initially agree with Lockhart. Saul then makes a bold statement–he tells Higgins that Lockhart has to be excused since Lockhart doesn’t have security clearance to hear the next phase of the plan. Higgins agrees after some huffing and puffing by Lockhart. Lockhart leaves, and Saul begins explaining his long-term plan–regime change. Higgins seems to be in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Mira has a meeting with her extra-curricular friend, and tells him that it is over, and that she wants to try again with Saul. He isn’t happy about the news, and becomes almost irate. She quickly exits, to avoid making further of a scene in the coffee shop they are at.
Time to Play Leland Bennett
Back with Saul, he is talking with Dar Adal. He tells him that Higgins is taking his proposed plan to the president. Dar Adal mentions a trip that Saul is going on–and Saul says that Carrie can’t know about it. Dar Adal also seems impressed with Saul’s plan. Dar Adal and Saul then visit Carrie and Quinn, who are still working on finding the bomber. Carrie asks Saul some questions, and Saul seems to be playing dodge-ball. Specifically, she was asking about Javadi’s knowledge of Brody’s involvement . Dar Adal interjects, and asks about Carrie and Quinn’s plan. Quinn tells Dar Adal that they need him to make an approach to Leland Bennett to flush out the bomber.
Meanwhile, Fara has returned home, and we meet her father, who seems to be slightly disabled. We also learn that he thinks she works at a bank, not the CIA. He then asks “Why are we not rich?”
Dar Adal meets with Leland Bennett. He warns Bennett that his business has come up in relation to terrorism, and that there is a meeting coming up regarding his business. He tells Bennett to “get in front of this” to avoid a catastrophe, but Bennett declines.
Carrie Needs to Stop the Booze
Carrie then meets with Paul Franklin, at a church of all places. He asks her to find any information regarding the investigation and to report back. Carrie goes home, and calls Saul to tell him that “it’s on.” Meanwhile, Saul and Mira have dinner, and Saul says he has to go away for a few days.
Meanwhile, Carrie takes some personal time, and she is having an ultrasound, but refuses to know if it’s a boy or a girl. She then meets with a doctor, and the doctor seems a bit concerned about Carrie’s attitude towards the baby. The doctor asks if she wishes to terminate. The doctor warns her, for the baby’s health, she needs to change her habits. Carrie then tells the doctor she is working on making things right with the father.
Fara has a visitor at her house, an investigator from the Inspector General. He tells her about knowing her visit to the murder scene and driving to work and leaving. The investigator tells Fara that she will be at work tomorrow. And it sounds like she may be in trouble. Meanwhile, her father has overheard the conversation, and he is unhappy to hear that she is working for the CIA, telling her she is endangering their family back in Iran. They argue further, and she then makes a bold statement: “I’m an American!”
Time to Catch the Bomber
Next, Carrie and Quinn meet with other CIA operatives, and they discuss their operation to flush out the bomber. Carrie goes to another church, and warns Franklin that they know a lot about the bomber, but not his location. Carrie gets him to confirm that the bomber is still in the U.S.
After Carrie leaves, Franklin calls Bennett. They discuss the bombing, and we see that the CIA has a tap on them, hearing the conversation. Bennett then tells Franklin to get the bomber out of the country. The CIA then figures out that Bennett is sending a text to someone. They can’t identify who, but they assume it is the bomber, and they plan to have a team ready to move in to capture him.
Next, we see Mira’s boyfriend, installing something onto a computer–in Saul’s house–secretly, without even Mira’s knowledge. He makes his getaway without Mira discovering him. The device seems to be surveillance, as we hear the TV in Saul’s house through his phone.
Quinn Shoots Carrie…?
Meanwhile, Carrie and the team work on capturing the bomber, as Franklin pulls up. Carrie spots a weapon on Franklin, and wants to move in, worried that he is going to kill the bomber. Everyone, including Quinn, tells her to stand down. On the phone, Franklin tells the bomber he is compromised, and asks for his room number. The bomber is concerned about his safety, but then eventually tells Franklin his room number. Carrie wants to move in still, and Dar Adal warns that moving in will jeopardize the entire mission. Carrie moves in on her own, as Dar Adal and Quinn tell her to go back. Dar Adal orders lethal force. Quinn then warns her that he will shoot her–and does with a sniper rifle. As Carrie thought, Franklin kills the bomber–and then disintegrates his body–Breaking Bad style.
Quinn and the team grab Carrie, who was shot in the arm. Carrie is in agony, and is asking where Saul is. Carrie, in her agony, seems to think something is up.
Saul’s Visit to Brody
Moving to Saul, we see he is in Venezuela. He has come for the man: Brody. He pays the man who has been keeping Brody “safe.” He is taken to where Brody has been held, and watching Saul, we see his conditions are not the most pleasant. Brody is in a drugged up stupor, barely being able to look at Saul.
Josh’s Thoughts: Homeland, Season 3 Episode 8: A Red Wheelbarrow
Wow, this episode of Homeland was pretty intense. Finally, we get to see Brody again! Sadly, not much has changed in his story since we last saw him–he is still drowning his sorrows in heroin. I guess the big question is–was Saul holding him there the entire time? From Brody’s last episode, we were told that this holding of him was a “favor” for Carrie. Is that maybe not the case? I would not think that Carrie would want Brody held in such terrible conditions. We see that Saul pays $10 million for Brody, so I am not quite sure where that comes in. Was Carrie’s “favor” trumped by the $10 million? I hope we get some clarification here.
Sadly, capturing the bomber was not meant to be for Carrie. I am surprised that Quinn took the shot at her, but I guess someone else would have taken the lethal shot, so it was the best case scenario for Carrie. I feel sorry for Carrie though. These CIA matters of playing the “long game” can seem aggravating, as it makes it seem like some terrible actions go without consequences. Or at least in the short term. I would guess this is also how Fara feels, with Javadi going back to Iran. For Carrie, however, it was less about the guilt of the bomber and more about the innocence of Brody. She wants her baby’s father cleared of wrongdoing, and she is clearly still smitten with the guy.
As for Franklin, I am curious about his actions. Was Bennett’s “get him out of the country” just code for killing him, or was it Franklin’s prerogative to kill him? I am leaning towards the latter, as there certainly seems to be some dissidence between Bennett and Franklin this episode. I have a feeling Franklin is trying to save his own skin.
Overall, I was very impressed with this episode. I guess the last thing couple of things I am wondering about is Mira’s boyfriend and his motivations, and where Saul ends up in 9 days. It will be curious to see where both of these threads lead.
Violet’s Thoughts on Season 3 Episode 8 of Homeland: A Red Wheelbarrow
If there was any doubt left in anyone’s mind about who the father of Carrie’s baby is, all that doubt has been washed away with Carrie’s statement to the doctor that she’s trying to make things right with the father — which means that the father is Brody. Carrie’s pregnancy explains why she went off her meds for awhile, trying out alternative coping methods, because she did not want the medication to hurt the baby. But apparently all that went out the window for awhile, since Carrie had no choice but to take the meds when she went into the mental institution, so from that point on she wasn’t too concerned about the baby’s health anymore. But now, finding out for sure that it was not Brody who was responsible for the Langley bombing, it looks like she has a newfound motivation to try to concentrate on the baby’s health.
I’m glad that Saul and Mira have reconciled and that Mira wants to give the marriage another chance. However, Mira’s boyfriend seemed very unhappy about this. I’m not sure what he was up to in Saul and Mira’s house, but it makes me suspicious that he may have only been with Mira in order to get intel through Saul.
I feel bad for Carrie that she got shot, but Quinn and Adal were right, they couldn’t risk having her compromise the mission, undoing all the hard work she’s done for the past couple months. It didn’t seem like there was any other way to stop her. I’m a little surprised that the shot knocked her out though, rather than merely cause her to grab her arm and scream in agony. Maybe Quinn knows a certain spot to hit? Will Carrie’s being shot affect the baby? Also, will her pregnancy be revealed to the CIA now?
Oh, and I must mention that I loved how Senator Lockhart got put in his place. That was awesome. Go Saul! Saul has less than 10 days left as Head of the CIA, and I’m guessing that the rest of this season will take place within his remaining time as Head. That must mean he has some big plans up his sleeve that he intends to have carried out within that time, and I’m interested to see what they are! It looks like Brody is a large part of those plans, with Saul retrieving him from Venezuela. I’m excited to see what happens next, now that Brody will be back!
Scenes from Homeland, Season 3 Episode 9: One Last Time
Here are scenes from the next Homeland episode, titled One Last Time:
Scenes from Homeland, Season 3 Episode 9: Horse and Wagon
What did you think of Homeland, Season 3 Episode 8: A Red Wheelbarrow? Let us know in the comments below!
