My first thought while watching this scene (knowing it was Hebrew) was “uh oh, people will think Saul is a Muslim/Terrorist”
I don’t think so. Lots of people, even non-Jews, will recognize the opening words. It shows up in lots of movies.
What was the point of Roya and the terrorists getting caught with the C-4? Was that plot intended to fail so that everyone would relax?
I thought it might be something like Oppenheimer:" I have become death, destroyer of worlds "
Brody’s car was driven from the car park to outside where the service was being held, there’s no CCTV at CIA HQ so Brody has to go on the run?
Did the writers just see ‘The Fugitive’, or some other on the run clearing his name’ movie trope?
Nicely doe for sure, but …
I didn’t recognise them and assumed he was speaking Arabic. I didn’t think that meant he was a terrorist, though, I thought he would have learned Arabic for the job and was using it to be respectful. I also know of one person who did think it meant Saul was a terrorist.
The overt symbolism of a Jewish, senior American Intelligence figure praying in Hebrew amid 200 dead CIA/families seemed pretty unambiguous.
Put it alongside the odd merging of Al-Qaeda with Hezbollah.
The TWoP recap of this ep is interesting. They are usually 90% hilarious and 10% moral reflection most of which I can agree with.
This one is about 50:50 and as for the reflective comments… I either don’t understand it or disagree. Case in point …“Every martyr is first and foremost a terrorist.”
You two budding CIA agents have never heard of IMDB, or even Google?
It probably is. But if “private memorial ceremony at CIA headquarters” is on that list, then that is one very long list.
Because compared with the rest of TV, it is. The four big networks have almost nothing but stupid sitcoms and stupid “reality” shows. The cable stations with names like The History Channel, The Learning Channel, and Animal Planet have crap about Honey Booboo and Finding Bigfoot.
Just to ressurect this thread, and I’ve enjoyed reading it all! I watched the last two episodes of Season One again, and damn it, I love Saul but deep down, I think Saul is a terrorist. He helped Carrie piece together her “wall” of evidence but wasn’t around when Estes shut it down. He wasn’t there to defend her. Then in the finale, He non-chalantly walked through the security screen with his cell phone, knowing full well doing such a thing would set it off. My sense is he was checking for it to work, so that when panic occurred after the sniper bullets all hell would break loose. Then Carrie phones him, she’s outside and she’s getting amazingly close to the truth, the sniper attack was a diversion. Saul then proceeded to get her out of the way by letting security know it was a crazy woman out there speaking nonsense. It just seems to me everytime Carrie gets close, Saul stops her, and it’s not because of good intentions, it’s because of his double agent standing. He needs Carrie close, as the saying goes, keep your friends close and your enemies closer… so that he can anticipate the moves of the good guys. Now, Saul is at the head of CIA. He may be saying Jewish prayer, but for me it could be a cover for his ultimate intentions.
Does anyone else have these nagging feelings about Saul? Mandy Pitikin is one helluva a great actor, he embodies nuance like nobody’s business. It’s thrilling to watch him weasel out of the lie detector for instance, and manipulate it so Estes is in shit. Now Estes is dead. It just makes me wonder…
It’s probably from watching too many movies and shows on the themes in this series, but I do share that misgiving about Saul. Part of it is knowing how these writers tamper with your expectations and even with the feedback viewers are giving them. And on Mandy’s skills in what you describe. I suspect they’re leaving it up in the air until the right moment (next season or even later – if the show continues) to pull the reveal that he’s either in on, or in charge of, the whole thing.
His situation with his wife is a big clue, I suspect.
IOW, you’re not alone. 
Yes I agree the wife connection is palatable. She’s Indian, so close to the action in Pakistan, but Saul may have ties there… it will be an interesting season 3. I feel somewhat relieved I’m not the only one. Saul is such an integral part of the what makes the show watchable.
No doubt. He’s the glue to the whole thing. Even with their stellar work, Lewis and Danes couldn’t keep this show as exciting as Mandy has. If they do choose to relent to the pressure to make Saul a bad guy, they will be driving a stake through the show’s heart – unless they’re way better creatively by then – like bringing in somebody like Christopher Walken or Kevin Spacey. 
Ha! truly, I think Spacey or Walken would love the work. It is an intriguing show and the twists are fun to watch, even if they are baffling at times. I’d hate to see Saul break bad, because the audiences needs someone to cling to since Carrie is so convincing in her mania, it’s tough to love her sometimes.
Right. And one thing with Damian is that I can’t shake the Band of Brothers connection. He was just “too good” in that.
I don’t really see that at all. The value in Homeland for me is the central relationship itself (off/on), and each party to it (what side is Brody on, what side of the crazy line is Carrie this week …). As well as the really smart shape of that relationship, the performances are screen gold.
The further you move away from that core, the less Homeland makes sense. Sure, the guy playing Saul does gravitas very well, but it’s mostly faux gravitas covering up bullshit plot developments built on not knowing if there will be a second, then a third season.
I love Damian Lewis and Claire Danes in this series, they’re mesmorizing, but I also think that more and more I suspend my disbelief in Claire falling for him, just so the plot moves along. I think the Saul character has played it very close to the chest, much like Brody in season one, and so what made the Lewis character intriguing in season one, the Saul character is becoming more and more layered in season 2 and 3. I’m actually more interested in how Saul deals with his new status at the CIA, the F. Murray Abraham character, and the suicide that Saul (allegedly?) tried to prevent.
Mole in the CIA is Peter Quinn!
Peter Quinn is Abu Nazir son.
Clue-The personal anger he showed when stabbing Brody with a knife into the table,
Like A betrayal to his father.
It was never Abu Nazir son that had died in the bombing but an orphan.
Philadelphia policewoman is Peter Quinn sister and she orchestrated
the faux SWAT team at tailor’s shop,so that’s the reason he survived the shootout.
Lightbulb moment-when I saw Abu Nazir be revealed for the first time after Brody
his helicopter didn’t see him. I thought I was looking at Peter Quinn for a minute
in the lowlight.
Outside the box-IN Season 2, Episode 10 -Seul meets Dar Adal played by F.Murray Abraham who
was revealed that Quinn is working for. Actor F.Murray Abraham has a long career playing bad guys
“Scarface (1983)” for one and I’m assuming the writers brought him in to expand his character
bad guy guy acting ability.