Semper I
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"Semper I" is the fourth episode of the first season of the
psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...
television series ''
Homeland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...
''. It originally aired on
Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
on October 23, 2011. Carrie's surveillance warrant nears its expiration, making her more desperate. Brody increases his presence in the public eye, but finds more turmoil in his personal life.


Plot

Brody (
Damian Lewis Damian Watcyn Lewis (born 11 February 1971) is a British actor, musician and producer. He rose to prominence portraying U.S. Army Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries ''Band of Brothers (miniseries), Band of Brothers''. Lewis won a Prime ...
), now promoted to gunnery sergeant, is in the midst of a string of public appearances which have made him an extremely popular figure. The Vice President's chief advisor Elizabeth Gaines (
Linda Purl Linda Purl (born September 2, 1955) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Ashley Pfister (Fonzie's girlfriend) on ''Happy Days'' (she originally played Gloria as Richie’s date in season 2 episodes 1, 2, 6 and 7), Sheila Munroe in ...
) talks to David Estes (
David Harewood David Michael Harewood (born 8 December 1965) is a British actor, presenter and the current president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He is best known for his roles as CIA Counterterrorism Director David Estes in ''Homeland'' (2011–2012 ...
). She is interested in possibly recruiting Brody to run for public office but has questions about his mental stability. Brody gets a ride home from Mike (
Diego Klattenhoff Diego Klattenhoff (born November 30, 1979) is a Canadian actor known for his portrayals of Mike Faber in the Showtime series ''Homeland'' and as FBI Special Agent Donald Ressler in ''The Blacklist''. He has also appeared as Derek in '' Whistler ...
) after a speech to a graduating class of troops. The conversation turns to Brody and his family. Brody turns hostile and sarcastically thanks Mike for "being there" for his family and for his wife, strongly implying he knows about Mike's affair with Jessica. Brody later starts making veiled comments to Jessica (
Morena Baccarin Morena Silva de Vaz Setta Baccarin (; born June 2, 1979) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Adria in season 10 of the TV series ''Stargate SG-1'', Inara Serra in the sci-fi television series ''Firefly (TV series), Firefly'' (20 ...
) implying the same. Carrie (
Claire Danes Claire Catherine Danes (born April 12, 1979) is an American actress. Prolific in film and television since her teens, she is the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2012, ''Time (magazine), Time'' named he ...
) has one day left before the
FISA warrant The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA, , ) is a United States federal law that establishes procedures for the surveillance and collection of foreign intelligence on domestic soil.
expires, and she still has no solid evidence against Brody. She asks Saul (
Mandy Patinkin Mandel "Mandy" Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television, and film. As a critically acclaimed Broadway (theatre), Broadway performer he has collaborated with Step ...
) for an extension on the warrant, but Saul says to focus on the money trail instead and that the surveillance equipment in Brody's house must be removed the first chance she gets. The next day while the Brodys are at church, Carrie, Virgil (
David Marciano David Marciano (born January 7, 1960, in Newark, New Jersey) is an American actor best known for his roles as Jeffery in '' Civil Wars'' (1991–1993), Detective Raymond Vecchio in the television series '' Due South'', Detective Steve Billing ...
), and Max (
Maury Sterling Charles Maury Wallace Sterling (born September 1, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for playing Max Piotrowski in '' Homeland'', Rafferty in the comedy film '' Beverly Hills Chihuahua'', and Lester Tremor in the action film '' Smokin' Ace ...
) enter their house and remove all the cameras and microphones. Carrie takes the opportunity to search Brody's house, finding his Good Conduct Medal, and the garage, which had no cameras. She searches the entirety of the garage finding only the mat Brody uses for
salat ''Salah'' (, also spelled ''salat'') is the practice of formal ibadah, worship in Islam, consisting of a series of ritual prayers performed at prescribed times daily. These prayers, which consist of units known as rak'a, ''rak'ah'', include ...
and the dish he uses for
ritual purification Ritual purification is a ritual prescribed by a religion through which a person is considered to be freed of ''uncleanliness'', especially prior to the worship of a deity, and ritual purity is a state of ritual cleanliness. Ritual purification ...
before prayers. She thinks nothing of the two. At Langley, Carrie delivers a briefing where she explains that nine hours after Lynne's death, Latif Bin Walid was seen at a laundromat which is also a known front for a
Hawala Hawala or hewala ( , meaning ''transfer'' or sometimes ''trust''), originating in India as havala (), also known as in Persian, and or in Somali, is a popular and informal value transfer system based on the performance and honour of a hug ...
location. Since then, they have security camera footage of 51 customers entering the laundromat, any of whom could be the recipient of the money transfer via the sold necklace. Their job is to investigate those 51 people. Raqim Faisel (
Omid Abtahi Omid Abtahi (; born July 12, 1979) is an Iranian-born American actor. He is best known for his roles as Salim, in the Starz Original ''American Gods'', Penn Pershing in ''The Mandalorian'', Saleem Ulman in '' NCIS'', and Homes in the fourth insta ...
), the man who bought the house near the airport along with Aileen Morgan (
Marin Ireland Marin Ireland (born August 30, 1979) is an American actress. Known for her work in theatre and independent films, ''The New York Times'' deemed Ireland "one of the great drama queens of the New York stage". She has received nominations for two I ...
), is on the list. Carrie eventually turns her attention to Raqim when it is learned that he made three recent trips to Pakistan. Carrie, along with analyst Danny Galvez ( Hrach Titizian), start looking into his past and agree to surveil him the next day. Carrie and Danny follow Raqim as he heads home from work. Aileen is home and receives a call from an unknown source saying "tell him traffic is bad on the Beltway." Aileen immediately runs upstairs and posts an American flag in the window, which is a signal to Raqim to steer clear of the house. Raqim spots the flag and keeps driving. Carrie and Danny continue to follow him for a while, come up empty, and eventually take him off the list of suspects. The Brodys are hosting a party at their house. Gunshots are heard in the backyard. Everyone runs outside to find that Brody has killed a deer that had wandered into their yard, much to everyone's shock, especially his son Chris (Jackson Pace) who previously had taken a liking to the deer. Jessica finally unloads all her frustrations on Brody, taking him to task for his carelessly using a weapon and terrifying their children, along with his sexual dysfunctions and overall disturbing behavior since his return. She demands that he seek some kind of counseling. The next night, Brody tells a relieved Jessica that he has decided to go to a veteran's support group meeting. Carrie, after losing her camera feeds, has resorted to staking out Brody's house; she follows him to the meeting. She walks into the meeting and pretends to bump into him. Brody recognizes her from the CIA debriefing. Carrie acts embarrassed and says she is not supposed to be there. She leaves, but Brody follows her outside. They form a connection over their mutual wartime experience in the Middle East, and lament how hard it is to talk about with people who were not there. The two have a brief, flirtatious conversation.


Production

Series developers and executive producers
Howard Gordon Howard Gordon (born March 31, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. He is well known for his work on the Fox action series '' 24'' alongside the Showtime thriller '' Homeland'', which he co-developed with Alex Gansa and Gideon Raf ...
and
Alex Gansa Alex Gansa is a screenwriter and producer. He co-developed the Showtime series '' Homeland'' with Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff. He was also one of the series' executive producers and showrunners. Gansa produced and wrote a number of scripts f ...
co-wrote the episode, and
Jeffrey Nachmanoff Jeffrey Nachmanoff (born March 9, 1967) is an American screenwriter and director. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 2004 blockbuster film ''The Day After Tomorrow''. He wrote and directed ''Traitor'', which was released on August 27, 2008. His ...
directed.


Reception


Ratings

The original broadcast had 1.1 million viewers which exceeded the rating of the pilot episode.


Reviews

Emily VanDerWerff of
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
gave the episode an A−, and praised the new story arcs and the fleshing out of some of the secondary characters. Scott Collura of
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
gave an 8.5/10 rating, and said regarding the final scene "Claire Danes and Damian Lewis are great together onscreen, and the show has been building to this moment since the pilot".


References


External links


"Semper I"
at Showtime * {{Homeland 2011 American television episodes Homeland season 1 episodes Television episodes written by Howard Gordon