Homeland: New show on Showtime

That cliffhanger felt like an episode of 24.

 

For a season that started out slow it sure has picked up steam the last couple of episodes. Sure can't wait for the next one.

 

And Carrie had already hinted earlier that something else was up. The embassy break-in?

 

No doubt! A slowburn season for sure, but a very intense last three episodes. A mini cliff-hanger. Sux we have to wait 2 weeks for a new episode.

 

Was the call from Saul's wife a trigger? And if so, does that make her suspect?

 

Glad to find a Homeland appreciation thread here. We've been huge fans from Season 1, epi 1. This last episode was definitely an edge of your seat suspense thriller. I don't remember any show from any medium in the past year or so produce that level of sustained suspense for one hour. None, nada.

 

That is actor Mark Moses. He played Duck Phillips on Mad Men and prior to that Paul Young on Desperate Housewives. He's good in this role.

 

yes good actor , i remember him from Desperate Housewives , same kind of character actually

 

Duck! That's where I know that guy from. It was bothering me. He's the same kind of almost smug weenie that he was on Mad Men. He's good at it.

 

A little trivia - did you know that part was originally played by the actress who played Lydia on Breaking Bad? Apparently they filmed the pilot with her, then decided to replace her for some reason.

 

I thought the EXACT same thing!

 

A trigger for what? That was an ambush, not a bomb planted in the vehicles.

 

What has happened to F. Murray Abraham's character? Has he even appeared in this season?

 

He appeared earlier this season. He was part of the effort to straighten out Quinn, after he was somewhat traumatized by the killing of the CIA station chief in Islamabad. He interrogated him at the office in one episode, and showed up at Quinn's place when he was living with the woman from the hotel for awhile.

I'm guessing he's not been in recent episodes just because his character is still based in the States.

 

That's right...it's coming back to me now!

I'd like to see the next season based back in the US since terrorism in the Middle East is so common (sadly) but without the inter-personal drama.

 

RPG could have been aimed at GPS coordinates of his cellphone???

 

Probably put off by her demands for camomile tea and stevia.

 

Personally I sort of miss the "family drama," another storyline to supplement the CIA drone drama. It was appropriate to me with Brody, he was away imprisoned a long spell, converted, turned, how he and his family interacted was a necessary part of the story, and I even liked the second season drama with his daughter, she was the one that seemed to touch him and be most touched by him, it was part of the overall emotional territory for me. There's little emotional territory here this season, a bit of Quinn being upset at shooting the kid and holing up drunk with his landlady, a bit of Carrie shirking her maternal duties, a tiny bit of the ambassador and husband. . . . I sort of miss that other level this season.

If next year is in the States . . . they HAVE to touch base on the daughter and Carrie's relationship or lack of relationship.

 

I hope they stay well clear of Carrie's daughter or any of the Brody Bunch - those elements have been a millstone around the show's neck for too long. I also hope that they don't do more of Carrie's behaving crazy due to her mental illness. Seeing her deal with it is not (anymore) as interesting as the showrunners seem to think it is.

There's been near universal praise for the show this season since it ditched the self-indulgent bits and embraced a tightly focused narrative, with tension and intrigue, while still dealing with human friendships in a high stakes operation.

 

I'm not missing Brody's daughter - she was a pain in the ass! The whole plot line seemed a bit directionless too.

 

Me neither. I know the kid is there, but she should be a non-factor. The entire plot line was a mistake, imo.

 

I would never expect Dana to be a big plot element, though realistically I can see that Carrie and Dana would in real life possibly have occasional connections, and I would WELCOME this sort of "real life" connectivity on this show.

What I dislike the most about this season is the lack of a "real life" feel. Sure they're off in a foreign land fighting what they feel is "the good fight" (not my personal opinion). But people have lives, and this season there's less of this evident, and I would prefer to see more. This helps me to idenify with a character and invest emotion in the series. . . I feel less invested this year. Maybe next season there will be more "meat" of this type to chew.

As for Carrie's mental illness displays. . . I find this quite interesting. I lived a few decades with a wonderful woman battling her mental illness, my late wife. Carrie dealing with her illness (or NOT dealing with her illness) was one of the elements that made me a loyal watcher.

 

Maybe in a few years when she's in university she could be recruited by the CIA. That's about the only way they could make her interesting.

 

A few comments your post made me think about:

1) I wonder if as Dana grows up, she becomes involved with Carries baby - as obviously they are half-siblings - maybe even being the major caretaker of the child.

2) You state lack of "real life".... well are you a CIA operative? I'm not. With so much going on with the terrorist issue, how do we know this isn't the real life a CIA operative would experience in a foreign land where danger is imminent round the clock - never letting go? This may just be their "real life" at the moment, similar to those at war on the front lines (something else I have no real experience with), which would seem that becomes all encompassing and is your "real life" while it occurs. No time for anything but.

3) We all know Carrie's psychological issues, and I do agree in some respect that to relax that story line, in that they make her a station chief in a high alert area, with her known afflictions, seems to be off the mark. I could see her being part of the "fight", but station chief???? But how much can they play the mental illness card - assuming as they seem to infer she religiously takes her medication which seems to be working for her. Obviously dosing her with some type of hallucinogen instead of her regular medication plays to the fact they know she is taking her medication without missing it (something I believe I remember from the early seasons, where she didn't keep up with her meds).

 

No I have not been a CIA operative, but I think there is more to a life like this than just what we've been seeing, and I'd like to see it, it would have made me more interested in this season. But it appears I'm in the minority and I'm fine with that, used to it in fact. But another season "stripped down" like this and I may end up not following the show.

I was astonished that she would be able to blackmail herself into this position and make it over there and be able to keep it despite some of her actions this season. One has to suspend disbelief for many aspects of this show. But Carrie's mental illness, and how it is both a strength and a weakness for her, is what sets this show apart from many others in my estimation.