‘Homecoming’ Recap: ‘Optics’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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​As I settled in to watch the next episode of Amazon’s new thriller Homecoming, I have to admit that I was expecting more of the same, which is not a bad things by any means, because I love a slow burning mystery that haunts the audience as it slowly reveals its secrets and that’s precisely what this series has delivered in spades over the course of its first two episodes. But as it turns out, the next chapter in this fascinating saga, ‘Optics’, decided to change things up big time by taking the time to remove some of the mystique surrounding this facility by indeed confirming some creepy things are happening within Homecoming’s walls, but not before teaching us a little more about our two main characters.
 
Which quite frankly, is where we are going to start first with this recap, because I was taken aback by the fact that Walter and Heidi were finally revealed to be to wonderfully good people when all is said and done, since the series has kept them mired in mystery over the course of the first two episodes and this grand reveal came about by way of a moment of crisis that Shrier helped create when he took the keys to a van to get outside of Homecoming for a bit, and Walter went with him. Not out of fear or panic, but to support a fellow soldier and help him come to understand that their current situation did indeed revolve around helping these men recover from the trauma they experienced while on tour and it was magnificent to see Walter go this far to support a friend and help him find mental peace.
 
Because this could have put him in some serious trouble, had it not been for Heidi. For she took the time to overlook this as a minor slip from Shrier and a solid act of friendship from Walter and rather than chastise and lay on a guilt trip she simply let it go, and for that matter, she stepped in and defended Walter and Shrier when Colin came calling, demanding that both of them be released from the program and it was equally as magnificent to see Heidi try and keep these men in the program so they could receive the right treatment. But while both of these stories were warm and fuzzy, and helped to make Homecoming seem like a normal place for a change, all of that was wiped away with a single revelation.
 
For in the middle of Heidi and Colin’s conversation, the boss man revealed that they were indeed feeding a secret medication to the former soldiers, which sent chills down my spine since that meant the pills some of the men have been taking are placebos and it reaffirms that something fishy is going on here and well, these concerns were only further compounded in the future by way of a big reveal wherein we learned that Heidi actually doesn’t remember her time at Homecoming, or Colin for that matter, which is strange to say the least. And to make matters worse, we also came to learn that Agent Carrasco was able to uncover that Heidi’s last day at the facility was 5/5/18, the same day that Cruz was arrested for assault and it just so happens, that Heidi was hospitalized on this day and her time in the hospital was the reason for her release and well, the coincidence there is too great to ignore…
 
If anything, I have to admit that I am supremely stunned over the fact that we received a few answers this early on in season one’s run. Because I truly thought this saga was going to start sending answers our way around episode five or six. But here we are, fully aware now that Homecoming is indeed doing something shady with its ‘clients’ and that somehow, they managed to wipe Heidi’s memory and that something incredibly awful happened between her and Cruz on 5/5/18 and it wouldn’t shock me if the series continues to drop bombs our way so that the day in question becomes all the more ominous as we close in on it. Either way, I loved this episode, and I am so enjoying this series and well, I would like to know more please, so, if you’ll excuse, it’s time for another slice of pineapple…

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