Homeland: New show on Showtime

While the Frannie angle isn't a favorite, I can't totally dismiss her storyline (as I have in the past) as it's an integral pivot point of not only this season but quite possibly, the whole series!

 

When I've been in that same situation, I've always let my kids stay home from school.....

 

Agree that CIA/FBI pretty much suck at guarding their witnesses this season - first Simone now Dante. And of course russian spies and ambassador chatting on mobile phone about every detail in their operation is pretty ridiculous as well. But then Anna Chapman wasn't a great spy in real life, LOL. And even a worse TV presenter this days. Still hot if that is any excuse...

 

An extraordinary episode, possibly the best since season 1. The stakes for Carrie are huge, and she finally realizes that she can't fight who she is. When she actually entertained the thought of maybe blackmailing her sister, I thought it was a bridge too far-and I'm glad she backed off. The hug she gave Lil' Brody was heartbreaking.
And you gotta hand it to Saul. Carrie is telling him that she's choosing her family finally over the job, and he's not believing it for a second (and neither are we). Just one more mission pleeeeze? Of course she eventually says yes.
Beau Bridges is great in every single thing he's in. As just one example, his role as the closeted gay university president in Masters Of Sex (opposite another great actor, Allison Janney). He was okay with the President's ambivalence towards him-until he wasn't.
This episode proves when you have good actors you don't need the action scenes that many other shows of this type rely upon. 7 seasons of character development pay off when it gets really personal, and when a great actress like Claire Danes, quivering lip and all, sells it like she does it makes for compelling viewing. Cannot wait to see how this plays out.

 

no offense, but i do think you're in the minority here. for me, a family court drama and episode overwhelmingly devoted to the obnoxious carrie and her daughter plotline was tedious. i mean, thank god that's over but sheesh i was seconds from just turning the episode off. this is not why i watch homeland.

 

I, for one, agree with @Splungeworthy. I thought the episode was powerfully dramatic and got to the core of Carrie's character. And it launched things into a final, decisive line of action. Pretty satisfying.

L.

 

That makes three of us at least. A great build up to a fundamentally important point in Carrie's life.

 

The show handled a problem; the daughter, brilliantly. Almost as if they understood that they had written themselves into a corner. Instead of some light, fluffy solution, they embraced the problem and got some very high drama out of it. For some inexplicable reason, seeing Carrie hugging her red-haired daughter was the perfect lead in to watching Billions!

 

That episode of Homeland and then Billions was one of the best nights of TV in a long time!

 

I also liked the episode and find the season a refreshing change from previous seasons which went too much in the direction of "24".

Great back to back shows on Showtime. My TV highlights for the week.

 

I know what you're talking about but still the episode was way too laid back and PC. Also what's next? Are they going to go to Russia and smuggle Evgeny or Simone out of their dacha in Sergiev Pasad (an amazing historic small town with the most beautiful monastery you can find in the Golden Ring around Moscow btw)? Well, if FSB/SVR sucks as much as CIA/FBI in guarding their men then I guess that's exactly what's going to happen. But in all honesty that would make this old Clint Eastwood cheese fest Fire Fox look believable in comparison. Hope there's gonna be more interesting action and twist before it's over, the show's been famous for that.

 

Agreed! I preceeded the 2 episodes with the DVR'd season premier of ICE. Talk about an outstanding night of TV!

 

Once again - they need a serious kick in the butt in the last few episodes and a real twist in the storyline. It's getting way, way too predictable and the episode's closing scene of Carrie and Saul in the car getting ready for a heroic mission is pure Hollywood. That's not the Homeland I love.

 

Never heard of ICE but I see it’s by Antoine Fuqua who did Training Day so definitely be watching that! Thanks!

 

Heh, I think you're in the minority on this one. I also thought it was an excellent episode. Danes nailed it.

 

i'm surprised! really?! not only was the courtroom stuff ridiculous but isn't this too little too late?

 

Why was it ridiculous? And why too late? Things happen in their own time - it takes time to reach a tipping point, and this was obviously it. Feannie is still young and placing her in a stable, nurturing environment can only be to her benefit, so I don't see it as being 'too late'.

 

i was ready for the franny subplot to be gone over a season ago.

 

Sure, I don't disagree. But here's the thing. Carrie is far from perfect and her actions have consequences. Perhaps her biggest failure is her relationship with her daughter, whose failings were revealed way back when Frannie was a baby and that infamous bath scene.

It's not an endearing character trait, but it is a part of what defines her. The writers have been consistent over the years in exploring the consequences of this dynamic. Earlier on, as an infant, it was easier for Carrie to offload her responsibilities to various caregivers. But as Frannie grew older, such behavior became more and more problematic, until it finally reached a tipping point (this past episode).

I think the trajectory was inevitable and in fact I think the writers did an very good job in handling the whole, messy situation.

 

Agreed, the last episode was just what this show needed, and it was really well done / affecting. No way she could've played her sister like that, they set it up flawlessly. Almost like it wrote itself. It did feel somewhat foreboding.. maybe a bit ham-handed to that effect.

 

Another +1 for this week's episode. Believable and a satisfactory resolution to the Frannie subplot.

The history of the show has been that the final episode of the season is largely epilog. That leaves only a little more than one episode to clean up the Russian story and the President's issues. It's gonna be rushed.

 

Well, at least I hope they did shoot Sergiev Posad on location. It's an incredibly beautiful place.

 

I frequent the Homeland subreddit and the overwhelming opinion there is that the episode was one of the worst ever. We know better. The show can actually be about both spycraft and humanity.

And I agree that the show has a history of making episode 11 the densest of the season. They have already done quite a bit of plot advancement off-screen. So strap in.

 

let's all hope the child is now gone, basically, forever.

 

...unless they carry some of it over to Season 8.