We have always known that Carrie has psychological issues, but in “The Vest” we get a picture of how mentally unstable she is when off her meds. Surprisingly, despite being high strung, she was highly functional and intuitive during her manic period. On my first watch of the episode, I had no clue what she was rapidly spouting out or its meaning, just as Saul couldn’t understand. On a second viewing, it was all much clearer.
Here are a few of her comments:
“The important thing right now is the green pen.”
“Nazir’s movements in green, after fallow yellow, always creeping towards purple are methodical, meaningful, momentous and monsterous.”
“Isn’t this amazing? Somewhere down there is a sliver of green. This is how everything works. You wait, lay low, and then you come to life.”
“There’s no time, Saul. It’s high purple.”
Ultimately, Saul understood how she was organizing Nazir’s timeline: Yellow was mourning. Green was revenge. There was a plan. And, finally purple — Nazir was ready to put it into action.
Carrie may have seemed crazy, but her manic period gave her the ability to see very clearly. Her condition was partially what has made her a top CIA agent. Of course, it wasn’t without its down side, which was shown through her obsession with Brody and then falling for him.
Nazir’s plan is starting to take form and it’s definitely not going in the direction that I expected. If you’ve been reading my reviews, I thought Walker was going to be the agent of physical destruction, while Brody was Nazir’s long game plant into the political system. But, instead, it seems that Nazir is playing for now and for keeps.
I also questioned whether Issa was actually Nazir’s son or just a pawn to gain Brody’s allegience. Given Carrie’s “fallow yellow” theory, it appears that Issa was in fact Nazir’s son and he was in mourning.
It seems odd that Brody would run for political office to just blow himself up right away. But, if that is the only way he can get close the Vice President, the presumed target, it’s more plausible. Plus, Brody didn’t care if the CIA found out about his affair with Carrie when he confessed it to them. If he was truly running for office, wouldn’t he have wanted that to remain a secret? Did he realize that Carrie was getting too close to the truth about the attack and that outing their relationship was his only way to discredit her?
If Brody is going to be a suicide bomber, then what is Walker’s role? An interesting turn would be if Walker actually shoots Brody to prevent him from exploding the vest and becomes the hero. He took out a terrorist diplomat and then the turned POW. What a shocker that would turn out to be!
Homeland has been a wild ride so far with twists and turns I never saw coming. I’m disappointed that there is only one episode left, but it is sure to be a shocker.
Odds and Ends
Clacked by Carla Day 
on Dec 12, 2011 @ 02:49 EST5EDT
I am considering the possibility that Walker is a failsafe. In the event Brody chickens out, Walker can set off the vest bomb with a sniper shot.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about Walker being a backup. I don’t think he can just shoot the vest though, you need a detonator to trigger that kind of explosive.
Don’t forget that Walker killed and maimed a lot of other people when he took out his diplomat contact (and the hunter, once the bullet is matched to Walker’s rifle). There’s really no way to spin him into a hero at this point.
Brody’s been close to the Vice President twice already before accepting the nomination, and the second time the Secret Service didn’t even frisk him for weapons. I think the point is that the suicide bombing will be a very public statement, at a symbolic location, and will kill many bystanders as well as the VP.
Carrie had no way of discerning why Nazir fell silent during yellow. It could just as easily have been an extended illness, injury, or relocation to a remote hideout. That she intuited mourning straightaway seems to be lazy writing, in that her conclusion will doubtlessly prove correct and the key to getting Brody to explain everything.
CJ: Be very happy you didn’t see the previews for next week’s finale. IMHO, it made it very obvious what the plot is.
*POST AUTHOR*
I did see the preview (after I wrote this). Stupid me went to the Showtime site and watched it. Though, I wonder how much of it is misdirection.
There is no such thing as “fallow yellow”. There is a paint color known as “pthalo yellow” or “thalo yellow”. Please read up on your colors before you publish something.
Carrie did say “fallow yellow.” Fallow means:
1.(of land) plowed and left unseeded for a season or more; uncultivated.
2. not in use; inactive
In this case, she meant inactive, as in yellow is Nazir’s inactive period that she is trying to find a reason for.
Please read up on your english language before you rudely comment on something.