'Homeland' Season 8 Episode 7 Review: An unsuccessful outing for Saul and Carrie in their different missions
Spoilers for 'Homeland' Season 8 Episode 7: 'F****r Shot Me'
It's a race against time for the lead characters, Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) and Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin), as they go on their own hurried missions.
Picking up from after the gripping end from 'Two Minutes', 'F****r Shot Me' gives a look at Haissam Haqqani's (Numan Acar) fate after he surrenders to the US hoping to get a fair trial after being accused of killing the two Presidents. Abdul G'ulom, who's out for his head seems to be the only man content as Haqqani is handed over to the Afghan government.
The episode also sheds light on G'ulom and firmly cements that he is a sly operator and a manipulator. Especially in the storyline where he changes one of the assigned judges hours before Haqqani's trial. Prior to this, we see Saul attempting a truce with Tasneem Qureshi (Nimrat Kaur) as they work together in borrowing time from one of the judges to prove Haqqani's innocence. To see Saul go to the extremes to shield Haqqani show his strong moral compass — a trait that we have seen time and again in 'Homeland'.
Shifting the focus to Carrie, who's now a fugitive, it's easy to draw a parallel with Steve Rogers from 'Captain America: Civil War'. Max (Maury Sterling) may not be a brain-washed assassin, but he's been a valuable asset and a friend of Carrie since Season 1 and Carrie is pulling out all stops as she attempts a daring rescue mission. With Yevgeny Gromov (Costa Ronin) by her side, she finds as an unlikely ally in Mike Dunne (Cliff Chamberlain).
'F****r Shot Me' is titled after Max's exasperated phrase, the first that he mumbles when Carrie meets him after Yevgeny arranges a deal. However, that attempt is a failure after Haqqani's son, Jalal (Elham Ehsas), takes control of the situation. It appears that they plan to execute Max live on television putting his fate into question again. In the end, it's a bit of a failure for both Carrie and Saul. Max isn't safe yet, and G'ulom, after anticipating Saul's move, thwarts the plan to perfection.
'Hannibal' star Hugh Dancy as John Zabel, a slick political consultant whose views closely align with Hayes’, gets an introduction and by the looks of it, Saul's days as the President's National Security Advisor may be numbered.
Yet another episode of 'Homeland' that is unpredictable and riveting. If the final season of the long-running political thriller is planning to go out with a bang, it's making sure each episode is worth the watch. With Carrie now officially branded as a fugitive, only time will tell how she pulls off two missions and how it may end for the complex character.
'Homeland' Season 8 airs 9 pm ET on Showtime.