Homeland - Episode 1.08 - Achilles Heel - Interview with Alex Gansa & Howard Gordon

So can you guys just tell me first who’s who?
Alex Gansa: I’m easy to recognize: I’m the one with a sinus infection.
Howard Gordon: And I’m just the one who’s hung-over.
Gansa: Can I just ask you? We’re in the process of second-guessing ourselves now, what was your reaction with the big [SPOILER ALERT] Brody reveal?

I think I actually said out loud, “Ahhhhhh!”
Gansa: [Laughs.] Oh my God. It was not the greatest shot of all-time, the chair shot. But at least it was shocking.

That was quite an ending for an episode. It seems to really open things up in terms of taking the focus away from Brody exclusively, making it less purely about whether he’s been turned or not.
Gansa: Yeah, absolutely. The intention actually in the episode was to be able to spend time with Brody before you knew [SPOILER ALERT] he actually had been turned in captivity, and to really live in his state of mind and his relationship with his wife and family; to really settle into a character without suspicion over his head.
Gordon: And also to forward his political profile, the potential of what’s going to happen to him.

So we know now that he’s been turned — but that he’s rebelling against that.
Gansa: That’s exactly correct. In other words, since we sort of exonerated him in the episode previously — well, not entirely, but he did answer all the questions Carrie asked him on the porch truthfully, so hopefully there was a sense at the end of the weekend of, Wow, I think he’s innocent. And we did want to live with him for a little period of time in the next episode where you felt that way, and then rather than just do a big reveal at the end of the episode and just finish, Oh my God, he’s been turned, we wanted to take it one step farther: Oh my God he’s been turned, but he’s backing out of the deal. That was the intent.

Source: Full interview @ Vulture