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Morris Schæffer
10-01-2011, 07:53 PM
I wasn't sure about this show when I saw the trailer. At least not sure enough to commit to yet another new show, but glowing reviews are through the roof!

http://www.metacritic.com/tv/homeland/season-1/critic-reviews

I'm gonna give it a chance. I should too because it's from the producer of 24, Howard Gordon which translates to "up my alley." It starts tomorrow, after Dexter.

http://s2.daemonstv.com/tv/up/2011/08/Homeland_S1_BloggerArt-550x798.jpg

[ETM]
10-01-2011, 08:02 PM
The pilot has been available online for weeks now, for free. I've been raving about it everywhere I go. It's superb.

Morris Schæffer
10-01-2011, 08:07 PM
;375057']The pilot has been available online for weeks now, for free. I've been raving about it everywhere I go. It's superb.

I must have missed that :D

[ETM]
10-01-2011, 08:12 PM
Yeah, on the 14th, in the TV Discussion thread: http://match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=371910&postcount=7815

Barty liked it too.

Barty
10-02-2011, 04:39 AM
When me and ETM agree you know it's good.

Winston*
10-04-2011, 10:25 AM
Liked the pilot, though Morena Baccarin as the mother of two teenagers stretches credibility a bit too much.

[ETM]
10-04-2011, 11:52 AM
Baccarin is 32. She could have two teenagers if she got married at, say, 18. She can play 3-5 years older, which would make it okay. We still don't know how they met and got married.

Mara
10-04-2011, 07:31 PM
Your praises convinced me to check it out. Very interesting. Sometimes it felt like it was getting a little too self-congratulatory, like it was already counting its Emmys, but for the most part felt pretty genuine. The cast is really solid, including Morena Baccarin, when I thought her acting was kind of weak in Firefly. Mandy Patinkin, whom I love, could not have looked any more like Steven Spielberg.

I'm really curious if they're willing to show an honest portrayal of a functional person with mental illness, or if they'll just use it for melodrama. Obviously, I'm hoping the former.

For whatever reason, the copy I watched was edited. I'm kind of glad, given what I saw of some of the images.

Mara
10-04-2011, 07:36 PM
And I like the location they're using for filming. It's in North Carolina, but with some shots in DC. They're doing a good job of preserving the atmosphere of the area, and don't want it to look like it's coming from a studio backlot.

Lucky
10-04-2011, 08:48 PM
Well, this show is on my radar now. If you guys continue having high praise for it I'll pick it up in-between seasons.

[ETM]
10-04-2011, 09:30 PM
For whatever reason, the copy I watched was edited. I'm kind of glad, given what I saw of some of the images.

You saw the copy that was shown online by Showtime, heavily edited.

Mara
10-04-2011, 09:37 PM
;375706']You saw the copy that was shown online by Showtime, heavily edited.

Did they cut out entire scenes, or just blank the bad words and blur the images? Because if it's the latter, I'm fine with that, but if it's the former I feel like I should track another one down.

[ETM]
10-04-2011, 10:05 PM
It's the latter. Morena Baccarin has nice breasts.

EyesWideOpen
10-05-2011, 12:12 AM
They did the same thing with the new episode of Dexter.

Mara
10-05-2011, 12:18 AM
;375717']It's the latter. Morena Baccarin has nice breasts.

I'll live.

Winston*
10-05-2011, 12:56 AM
;375525']Baccarin is 32. She could have two teenagers if she got married at, say, 18. She can play 3-5 years older, which would make it okay. We still don't know how they met and got married.

Sure age wise it works out. But a woman who has given birth twice and had to deal with the stress of her husband's disappearance in Iraq while raising two children alone would not look like Bacarrin does in this show.

I thought that sex scene was gratuitous.

Winston*
10-05-2011, 12:58 AM
I wonder how this show is going to keep up the tension. I liked the pilot but ostensibly it doesn't seem like a premise that can sustain itself indefinitely.

[ETM]
10-05-2011, 01:22 AM
I thought that sex scene was gratuitous.

I'll live.

Irish
10-05-2011, 01:22 AM
But a woman who has given birth twice and had to deal with the stress of her husband's disappearance in Iraq while raising two children alone would not look like Bacarrin does in this show.

Welcome to Hollywood?


I thought that sex scene was gratuitous.

She was topless ... And you're complaining?

I agree with you about the long term viability of the premise. I'm expecting they're going for season long arcs, with Damian Lewis as the big bad. Something similar to 24, Dexter, etc. Lots of ways to play it. I can't imagine they'd settle for the same cat and mouse game season after season.

Winston*
10-05-2011, 01:26 AM
She was topless ... And you're complaining?

You're so gaaay.

Mara
10-05-2011, 01:30 AM
Welcome to Hollywood?

But in other ways it was trying hard to seem realistic. You can't have it both ways-- can't hit the really gritty, contemporary buttons if every character is impossibly young and pretty.

Winston*
10-05-2011, 01:45 AM
Nice to see Damian Lewis in a decent role btw. Such a good actor.

Irish
10-05-2011, 04:05 PM
But in other ways it was trying hard to seem realistic. You can't have it both ways-- can't hit the really gritty, contemporary buttons if every character is impossibly young and pretty.

Sure you can. Virtually every thriller and cop show does this. Singling out Homeland for it makes no sense if youve ever seen any othe US tv show. (There's some exceptions, but mostly you get actors that look like they just stepped out of a Marlboro ad and actresses would could easily double as runway models.)

Or do you think Ozark hillbillies look like Timothy Olyphant and FBI profilers look like the women on Criminal Minds?

We're talking about a show, after all, that opened with an early sequence on Claire Danes running arond Iraq doing her Damon/Greenzone best. Not quite what I'd call "realism."

Mara
10-05-2011, 04:13 PM
Sure you can. Virtually every thriller and cop show does this.

And it's stupid.

Realism is a spectrum, and good shows can be found anywhere along it. Justified is not a very realistic show. (Raylan would be serving several life sentences by now, as well as being seventeen times dead if it were.) But it's a good show. Criminal Minds is not a realistic show, and also a piece of crap.

My issue with Homeland is that it is hitting several different points along the realism spectrum at the same time, and it needs to figure out where it belongs. Either it is a gritty, realistic look at a post-September-11th world, or it is a slick spy thriller. Any attempt to be both will just come off as ridiculous.

That first scene with Claire Danes is a good example of non-realism, as you pointed out. Her blonde hair being barely covered by a scarf as she speeds through enemy territory: ridiculous. But the torture/imprisonment flashbacks appear to be trying for a more gritty realism.

Irish
10-05-2011, 04:51 PM
I think you my be reading it wrong. The show is Manchurian Candidate mixed with Three Days of the Condor. They're going for the same audience that's drawn to stuff like 24, Rubicon, and the BBC's Spooks, aka MI5. In other words, it's a detective show with action spy thriller elements.

The over the top violence is to one up network shows like CSI, NCIS, and Castle, which have rather benign premises while still showing a lot of blood and guts. I'm not sure if that really qualifies as gritty or real.

Your point on the spectrum is well taken. I mentioned those other shows because they are going for a certain amount of realism, one that's grounded in formula and a very specific tv universe.

Irish
10-12-2011, 12:01 PM
Well, now we know how they paid for the first episode .. By gutting the budget for the second episode.

Notching like spending half the run time watching Dane watch another character on tv.

Not a fan of the stuff in the garage. Seems like a convient red herring.

amberlita
10-12-2011, 02:41 PM
Nice to see Damian Lewis in a decent role btw. Such a good actor.

Yes indeed. Did I ever tell you that I watched Keane based on your recommendation? He was great in that, as he is in everything.

Mara
10-12-2011, 11:09 PM
I liked this episode better. I felt it had a more consistent tone, and I was very interested in the expanded universe (the harem spy girl, the CIA woman's family difficulties, etc.)

The main guy is doing a great job of being extremely expressive and empathetic while barely speaking. It's a demanding role.

ledfloyd
10-15-2011, 06:52 AM
decided to give this a shot and it has it's hooks in me. i'm less intrigued by the... intrigue than i am the examination of how brody relates to his family who he hasn't seen in 8 years and the surveillance stuff involving claire danes. the scene in which she was struggling with whether or not to watch brody and his wife have sex and decided to take the headphones off only to put them back on was really well done. that whole plotline in general seems to raise lots of questions about the surveillance and voyeruism that is becoming a larger and larger part of our society. they're also handling the mystery surrounding brody really well, even if i'm not completely sold on the portrayal of danes mental illness yet. promising stuff, especially considering it's on showtime.

Mara
10-24-2011, 06:34 PM
I was a week behind but I'm caught up now, and interested. Carrie's continuing unethical involvement with the family makes for some gripping character stuff. I'm glad they're moving along the money plot, and for now keeping things ambiguous with Brody.

I must say that I hate the opening credit sequence, which is too long, pretentious, and overly expository.

[ETM]
10-24-2011, 06:41 PM
I must say that I hate the opening credit sequence, which is too long, pretentious, and overly expository.

By far the worst part of the show. I pretend it doesn't exist.

ledfloyd
10-24-2011, 07:40 PM
continually impressed by just how good this show is. best drama on tv right now.

Henry Gale
10-25-2011, 03:45 AM
I finally watched the first three episodes back-to-back late last week and just finished the new one a couple of hours ago and yeah, this is really good stuff. It's a lot to wrap my head around, having watched them all in such a short span, but there's very little I have to nitpick about it at the moment, I'm just glad that I'm now into it since I'm pretty sure it'll become a show worth discussing deeper as it continues.

To anyone that doesn't feel like it'd be their thing, I'd say it's definitely worth giving a shot despite how the tone and subject matter of the show may come across as cold, insular or not particularly entertaining. I know that whatever summaries or promos I saw made me think that, but luckily there were enough people I tend to agree with saying it was really good that made me check it out now (and I do realize it's only four weeks in, but these last several weeks of TV have been ridiculous for me to sort through). Even with the amount of praise it's gotten, it's still been the biggest and best surprise of the season for me.

Mara
11-07-2011, 06:42 PM
Whoa. That was quite an episode.

I think they're veering away from the serious, realistic look at post-9/11 paranoia into a more television-ish drama/thriller, and that might be a good thing. It works a little better that way, and I'm really intrigued to see where we're going.

I could tell they were teasing a sexual fascination between Brody and Carrie, but I didn't think they'd pay it off so quickly. Can't wait to see what happens.

Henry Gale
11-07-2011, 07:53 PM
Even with the episode or two before this I was starting to have suspicions about Saul being the person playing both sides. So with this episode pushing that idea so strongly, I can't tell if they're intending on actually going in that direction with his character or just using it as a misdirect to mess with the audience.

This was also the easily most 24-feeling episode the show has done so far, especially the way it played much of the Faisel and Aileen stuff (though obviously done considerably quicker than that show would have), but also in the way this week's found new ways of heightening tension, interweaving and complicating the characters' alliances, loyalty and their motives (particularly Claire and Brody), which is the more favourable half to my comparison to the Jack Bauer show. The final polygraph scene was really well done, not to mention surprisingly chilling.

Mara
11-15-2011, 02:45 PM
This is really starting to look like 24, but without a hero... which makes it a more complex and interesting story. But I think a little subtlety wouldn't hurt. I feel like we learned far too much about Brody, and I didn't like his sudden openness. Unless, of course, it is also an act and he's still hiding stuff. He has practically been written out of the narrative of the show now, and I hope he doesn't become a redundant character.

Mara
11-15-2011, 07:12 PM
Also, a note to the showrunners: you don't need a sex scene every episode (or two every episode, or three.) There are other ways to advance plot. Thanks!

Henry Gale
11-15-2011, 07:42 PM
This is really starting to look like 24, but without a hero... which makes it a more complex and interesting story. But I think a little subtlety wouldn't hurt. I feel like we learned far too much about Brody, and I didn't like his sudden openness. Unless, of course, it is also an act and he's still hiding stuff. He has practically been written out of the narrative of the show now, and I hope he doesn't become a redundant character.

Well I wouldn't say that. Especially since we learned that Walker, his good pal who he also believed to have murdered him, is now revealed to be the P.O.W. that was turned and set to carry out a major attack. I can't imagine Brody not being one of the first people they turn to in helping them prevent that, as well as using to help them anticipate the moves he may make, even just from knowing him personally. Then in a potential second season that can lead to whatever trust he's built with the CIA in his potential political career and whatnot. I don't see him not having a role to play in the foreseeable future of the show. Plus, this is a show that has adapted to some pretty major developments in a short amount of time already. Carrie's four week surveillance of Brody's home lasted, what, until episode 4?

Either way, I loved this episode more and more as it went along, eventually coming to the conclusion that it was the best episode so far.

Mara
11-15-2011, 07:45 PM
Actually, I agree. This was a great episode. I'm just concerned with how it's going to effect the rest of the season. Loved all the gorgeous outdoorsy stuff.

Mara
11-22-2011, 01:03 AM
Hmm.

Hmmmmmmm.

ledfloyd
11-28-2011, 06:26 AM
i realllly don't know what to make of this twist.

Mara
11-28-2011, 05:35 PM
I have concerns.

Mara
12-06-2011, 05:22 PM
I... have concerns.

[ETM]
12-06-2011, 05:24 PM
I suspect the show started to change at about the point where it deviated from the Israeli original. The change in subtlety is palpable.

ledfloyd
12-07-2011, 12:45 AM
;388620']I suspect the show started to change at about the point where it deviated from the Israeli original. The change in subtlety is palpable.
yeah, i almost feel like it's falling apart. even the characterization (which i thought was the show's greatest strength in the first half of the season) doesn't seem nearly as well done anymore. crackpot theory: the show was better when there was more nudity.

[ETM]
12-07-2011, 01:06 AM
crackpot theory: the show was better when there was more nudity.

I will support this theory out of completely selfish reasons.

Mara
12-07-2011, 01:12 AM
I think the show could still turn it around and pull something great, but it sure is feeling less like an original, fascinating oddity and more like 24-but-with-cussing.

However, loved the scene where Saul was using his ruler to spread peanut butter on a saltine. No dialogue, just a nice little character moment.

[ETM]
12-07-2011, 01:19 AM
Yeah, the little moments are still good.

Mara
12-12-2011, 08:25 PM
This episode was much stronger, and Danes, Patinkin and Lewis were all acting up a storm. If this show nails the landing, I'm still willing to declare it a win.

ledfloyd
12-13-2011, 10:38 AM
yeah. i felt sooo helpless during that final scene. wow.

Henry Gale
12-13-2011, 08:48 PM
Alright, after a couple of weeks where I was started to worry about the direction of the show (I thought "Crossfire" particularly felt like an episode from an entirely different, dramatically weaker show), this brought me back to remembering why I loved it in the first place.


yeah. i felt sooo helpless during that final scene. wow.

Putting us in the same position as Carrie by not knowing who it actually was at the door displays how good the show can be with making a small twist so effective and uniquely terrifying without delving into the sensational (like, say, the explosion last week). And then yeah, the final shot was both impossible to bear and beautiful to watch.

Thirdmango
12-18-2011, 04:11 PM
As I write this I'm in the middle of episode 5, I first started watching this tonight. It has the need to watch it element of 24 but I often have weird concerns as the show progresses. Maybe it's because I'm from Provo but the strange pot shot at BYU was a bit confusing, it seemed like someone on the writing team really doesn't like Mormons maybe? "Here's our next naked harem girl, she's a recent grad of BYU the college listed at the top the most times on the least partying schools in America." Or perhaps they're just going along with their entire theme of everyone has the capabilities, even the most "righteous".

Also I had no idea that was Inara from Firefly, and I realized I never realized she was Inara during V's run either.

Mara
12-18-2011, 05:09 PM
It was my impression, given the reading of the line, that they were trying to make her from the most unexpected place possible. I'll admit I kind of laughed.

Henry Gale
12-19-2011, 07:00 AM
I'd say they pulled it off. Further reflection later, but for now, I feel quite alright with that ending.

ledfloyd
12-19-2011, 08:03 PM
yeah. an extremely strong episode. my only complaints were very small ones, but i'll hold off on diving in until everyone has caught up. what i'm saying is hurry up guys.

Thirdmango
12-22-2011, 01:16 AM
alright, I'm done. My major complaints are my same major complaints I had with season one of 24. Just with those moments of, "Oh look, Jack Bauer and the terrorist are driving next to each other, if only they knew!" Like

the final moment of, "oh no I'm going to have electro-shock therapy and lose my short term memory but I just remembered the name of the boy I hope I don't forget..." Or there's the lady in episode eight, "Oh no I've done a terrible thing and turned on my husband who's going to murder people. Get away, they want to stop you from murder!" I don't know how many times shit like that went down in 24.

It's okay if they aren't so close you can taste it and then they miss the mark. Let them be a bit more far off, it's okay, it's not going to ruin the narrative. I would have liked to see this be a one season thing and finish there but alas there needs to be a second season I suppose.

I loved the psychological what not, when they were sticking to that stuff I liked the show, when they turned into 24 I got annoyed. I'm glad there will be time for me to calm down because though I liked aspects I think I disliked it more overall then liked it and I need time to let it sink in before I'll probably find it good enough to continue to the next season.

Benny Profane
01-27-2012, 12:59 PM
I'd say this ranks up there with the best TV dramas of all time. Finished the season last night and I was really impressed.

Morris Schæffer
01-27-2012, 03:06 PM
Well, damn Benny, high praise indeed which is awesome because this is one show I'm gonna watch very soon.

Mara
01-27-2012, 03:14 PM
I'd say this ranks up there with the best TV dramas of all time. Finished the season last night and I was really impressed.

I felt that it began and ended strongly, but got a little muddled in the middle. I have high hopes for next season.

For instance, I hope they change the ridiculous opening credit sequence.

Benny Profane
01-27-2012, 08:11 PM
For instance, I hope they change the ridiculous opening credit sequence.

Yeah, I FF'd through that after the second episode or so.

ledfloyd
01-28-2012, 02:54 AM
http://blogs.indiewire.com/pressplay/homeland-is-showtimes-homeland-a-validation-of-the-security-state

discuss.

EvilShoe
07-06-2012, 03:04 PM
Finished this. After episode 7 it does start to veer into 24-territory a bit more, but I'd still say this is great television.

Lewis & Danes are great, but so is Patinkin.
My favorite scene of the season is probably the one where Saul's wife tells him she's leaving him, and then Carrie shows up.

I'm also pleasedthe show hasn't revealed who the mole is yet. I don't want this to turn into 24, where every season a new traitor is revealed.

I guess that's my biggest concern in general: that this might turn into 24. The twists here worked in general, but that's because the characters do as well.

I'm intrigued to know what season 2 will look like, but also a bit worried. Time will tell.

Morris Schæffer
07-12-2012, 09:49 PM
Saw episode 7 tonight. Man, they certainly kept teasing and teasing which isn't a bad thing as it keeps proceedings more grounded and realistic than 24. That said, I was waiting for it to grab me and tonight I think that it's gone ahead and done just that with the reveal of of what's behind the house (marine one's landing pad) and that the black soldier is presumably very much alive.

Doesn't Mandy Patinkin just rock? Maybe it's the beard. Seriously, cool actor.

Morris Schæffer
07-18-2012, 05:24 PM
Final bunch of episodes just blew me away really. I love this show, but like some others, wonder how it's going to segue into season 2. I meanwe've got a villain who's prone to chicken out at the least opportune moment and in the case of our heroine, they've literally hit some sort of reboot button although I wouldn't go so far as to call it contrived.

I like the show's switch to more 24-type territory. We all knew the big thrills would eventually materialize and they're exciting and plausible. Take the sniper's position. It obviously guarantess him a getaway window, but it also syphon's all the relevant folks into the right direction, beyond the metal detectors and into the small room...with Brody.

And Lewis is really great in this finale. I've always seen these suicide bombers as relentlessly devoted to the cause, deeply religious and calm in these final moments. That he doesn't flick the swith out of love for his family is certainly very cute, but now I wonder whether we should continue to take him seriously as an antagonist in the next season.

At the same time, such duality and nuance is nicely contrasting with a show such as 24 which deals only in absolutes. Brody's battered and anguished face in these climactic moments was shattering to watch and his single tear rolling down his cheek as much a realization that he loves his family and, even more powerful perhaps, that he's failed his mission, he's failed to avenge the death of Issa and the other 81 boys, victims of a US rogue mission.

And that's quite remarkable because Homeland bravely succeeds in creating the kind of villainy that is relatively easy to identify with, to understand even. I didn't get the feeling these Al-Quaida operatives were brainwashing American soldiers, but instead almost converting them through more benign, compassionate means. That's a pretty bold idea, but it really results in an action show that is more nuanced than others as per its bad guys. I almost, almost wanted the bomb to go off although admittedly also because every one around Carrie was so dead set in antagonizing her. Really felt for her.

Carrie is a wonderful character. I totally did not expect her condition to play quite such a big part towards the end. Oh it could have been silly, and for a brief moment I thought it was going to be when she ran out of the car and started talking to, well, dirt really, but Danes is very convincing. It's kind of a courageous performance.

She and Saul have a great relationship. Really wonderful, but never phony. Saul has no qualms about turning her in if he thinks she's lost it, but that mutual respect remains. It's quite moving.

And then her final words before the anestethic kicked in. That was a shock too! A Good one to be sure. I'm sure the sister will inform Saul.

To top it off, Morena Baccarin is hot!

Lucky
09-16-2012, 02:21 PM
Well the hype was for good reason. Comcast OnDemand has the first two episodes (albeit, edited) up, so I watched them last night. Need to get my hands on the rest. I'm even considering a brief subscription to Showtime while the new season airs so that I can catch up on Showtime OnDemand.

ThePlashyBubbler
10-01-2012, 05:14 AM
After the Pilot :lol::


Very interesting. Sometimes it felt like it was getting a little too self-congratulatory, like it was already counting its Emmys, but for the most part felt pretty genuine.

On one hand I feel like this show is insanely overrated. At the same time it's also pretty good.

transmogrifier
10-01-2012, 11:39 AM
I was strangely underwhelmed by the opening to Season 2. Partly I think it's because having Brody as a possible VP is ludicrous, and I couldn't stop rolling my eyes at the safe sequence - I don't buy any of that nonsense. They've painted themselves into a corner with his character, and I hope they get him out soon. Not to mention the hoary "He's a Muslim!" slip up seemed unusually manufactured and melodramatic for this show.

Carrie's relationship with her family was much more interesting and her getting back into operations like a duck to water a more fertile ground for plot developments.

I'm wary ATM.

Mara
10-01-2012, 01:04 PM
After the Pilot :lol::

I did not remember that. How prescient.

I'm interested in the new season, but it's not a huge priority for me. I guess I didn't miss the show that much.

Acapelli
10-02-2012, 12:57 PM
I was strangely underwhelmed by the opening to Season 2. Partly I think it's because having Brody as a possible VP is ludicrous, and I couldn't stop rolling my eyes at the safe sequence - I don't buy any of that nonsense. They've painted themselves into a corner with his character, and I hope they get him out soon. Not to mention the hoary "He's a Muslim!" slip up seemed unusually manufactured and melodramatic for this show.

Carrie's relationship with her family was much more interesting and her getting back into operations like a duck to water a more fertile ground for plot developments.

I'm wary ATM.
In a world where Sarah Palin was a vice presidential candidate for one of the two political parties you're gonna complain about Brody's potential nomination? Did you see the jokers that were running for president under the republican ticket this year?

Loved Carrie's insane smile as she was getting away from that Lebanese cop

transmogrifier
10-02-2012, 11:11 PM
In a world where Sarah Palin was a vice presidential candidate for one of the two political parties you're gonna complain about Brody's potential nomination? Did you see the jokers that were running for president under the republican ticket this year?

Loved Carrie's insane smile as she was getting away from that Lebanese cop

Yes, I am. Not because he wouldn't be a candidate in real life (who really cares?) but that it makes for a lot of implausible drama given the terrorist angle.

Acapelli
10-03-2012, 02:51 PM
but what exactly is so implausible about it? because he's a secret terrorist?

it's not like he's out there making videos like OBL or something

Mara
10-03-2012, 11:58 PM
I guess I didn't miss the show that much.

OR SO I THOUGHT. I found the premiere very absorbing. I hope we've worked through some of the writing problems. There are a few improbabilities, but there always were... I'm feeling forgiving.

Mara
10-04-2012, 12:52 AM
Oh, and can we talk about reporter lady's hair? IT IS AMAZING.

Barty
10-08-2012, 06:17 AM
Breaking Bad quality of Television, tonight's episode was.

Fezzik
10-08-2012, 08:25 PM
I need to see if this is available on Netflix, as I don't have Showtime.

Everyone I know who has seen it loves it.

Henry Gale
10-08-2012, 11:00 PM
Definitely an exhilarating episode of television with a few of its best moments so far, but some major plausibility issues keep it from that completely satisfying, top-tier television level for me.

Still, very impressed with just how quickly they're moving some things along. A recent Vulture article compared how it took Dexter seven seasons to do what this show essentially did in seven episodes, and though that might mean Homeland won't have enough juice to sustain it as long, I'm perfectly okay with it maintaining that pace in its current state.

Mara
10-09-2012, 12:38 AM
The writing is more solid (so far) this season, although as others have mentioned, there are some implausible twists.

The acting, however, continues to be amazing. Danes' freakout on the roof was epic, and Patinkin's Papa Bear moments were a highlight.

It looks like this season has decided to feature Dana as a main character. I have mixed feelings about her taking a more active role.

ledfloyd
10-09-2012, 03:46 AM
that was a fantastic episode, but i feel like it put a pretty firm sell by date on either brody maintaining his secrecy or patinkin's character. unless something hugely improbable happens.

Benny Profane
10-09-2012, 02:24 PM
that was a fantastic episode, but i feel like it put a pretty firm sell by date on either brody maintaining his secrecy or patinkin's character. unless something hugely improbable happens.

Agreed. Surprised that video was exposed in just the second episode.

Claire Danes has the "crazy eyes" down pat. She is really putting out some terrific performances on this show.

Mara
10-09-2012, 02:46 PM
Danes is pregnant, by the way. I don't know if it will affect filming or not, and if it does, how they will handle it.

Benny Profane
10-09-2012, 07:27 PM
So Brody placed that card in the rocks before his suicide mission and went back afterwards and it was gone. I imagine that the next episode or two will be about piece together who snagged it and how it ended up at that apartment. Or maybe many copies were made and spread to Nazir's people all over to spread morale.

Since when does the CIA use skype?

Also, we still don't know who the mole is, the one who tipped off the professor and the blonde terrorist.

I think it could be Estes just cause he's so sleazy. And because he let Brody have a moment alone with that prisoner. And because he left Brody alone in his office. And because that reporter somehow knows the combination to his safe.

Any predictions about how this season will unravel?

EvilShoe
10-10-2012, 03:41 PM
Wonder where they're going with that... I only see a few options.


Saul gets killed before he can share the information. Please no, Patinkin's great in this.
Saul's the mole. Please no, I don't see how his character can survive such a twist.
Brody gets forced into becoming a double agent. I could live with that. Seems like it would cut the show's lifespan short though.

Mara
10-10-2012, 03:45 PM
I assume option 3. But I'm curious to see if they can pull it off.

ledfloyd
10-10-2012, 05:18 PM
option 4

the evidence gets destroyed/lost/stolen before saul can get it to estes. or option 5, saul gives it directly to estes, and estes is the mole. without the evidence nobody will believe saul.

EvilShoe
10-10-2012, 05:24 PM
I think 4 would be too much of a cop-out. Don't see the writers doing that.

5 on the other hand...

Then again:
If Estes is the mole, then why would the journalist (or whoever she is) lure him downstairs so Brody can steal the files? It doesn't necessarily rule out his involvement, but then why would Abu Nazir not ask him the info straight up? Because he's testing Brody?

I guess Estes doesn't have to be mole per se, someone else could fulfil that role and make sure the evidence doesn't make it to the higher-ups.

Although, wouldn't Saul make a backup?

Benny Profane
10-10-2012, 05:28 PM
Yes, I think he was testing Brody. The meeting with the journalist was all for show. That's why Estes agreed to the dinner date afterwards. Guys in his position at the CIA don't just go on dates with media members.

transmogrifier
10-11-2012, 09:15 AM
Why does there even have to be a mole? I'm sick of that convenient little plot device in all stories like this.

EvilShoe
10-11-2012, 09:33 AM
Give Gordon a break: the man loves his moles. We should be grateful he's not at the third or fourth yet.

Benny Profane
10-11-2012, 05:29 PM
Why does there even have to be a mole? I'm sick of that convenient little plot device in all stories like this.

There doesn't have to be a mole. But if there's no mole, who tipped off the professor's girl about the CIA coming to their house? How did the reporter get the code to Estes's safe? As long as it's explained adequately by the writers then it's not important if there's a mole or not. But that would just be my initial guess.

transmogrifier
10-11-2012, 11:48 PM
That's what I mean - right from the start they could have played out the same story without needing to raise those questions. But it seems as if they are relying on the mole card to allow them to get away with pesky plot problems and I really hope they don't go that route.

EvilShoe
10-12-2012, 02:45 PM
Not the biggest fan either, but they brought it up in season 1 so it needs to get addressed at one point. From reading interviews with Gordon, it seems like he's learned his lesson from 24.

EvilShoe
10-19-2012, 08:08 PM
The Lebanese government threatened to sue Homeland (http://www.executive-magazine.com/in-focus/homeland-beirut-lebanon-lawsuit-controversy/5269), because of the way the show portrayed Beirut.

A few hours later a car bomb went off (http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/19/world/meast/lebanon-beirut-blast/index.html?eref=rss_mostpopula r&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn _mostpopular+%28RSS%3A+Most+Po pular%29) in Beirut. I don't want to joke about this as it's awful, but... yeah.

Henry Gale
10-22-2012, 07:12 AM
I don't know what's more impressive: These last two episodes, the show's willingness to already jump at these (more or less inevitable, but still major) plot developments, or that they've done all this with eight episodes still left in the season.

For a show that spent the majority of its first season not even definitively letting us know whether Brody was actually a terrorist, it's nice to see its storytelling ambitions evolving in such fine, accelerated form.

Mara
10-22-2012, 10:53 PM
Yeah, this episode was unexpected in all the right places. This season has been very confident.

Benny Profane
10-23-2012, 01:17 PM
So is Carrie officially back working for the CIA? Or still a temp on a per-need basis? There was never a "welcome back" line so I'm not sure. Also, Carrie said last year that the CIA wouldn't let her work there if they knew she was bipolar. And now they know.

Regarding Brody, I think he will now help the CIA track down Nazir, as they originally planned before Carrie blew their cover. Otherwise I have no idea what they will do with his character.

Benny Profane
10-23-2012, 02:41 PM
Also, would the fact that Vice President Walden had a confirmed terrorist as one of his VP candidates effectively kill his election chances? Will he make Estes keep it quiet? Is that even possible if Brody just disappears?

transmogrifier
10-23-2012, 10:26 PM
Well, they are certainly moving the story along at a full clip, which is just as well as I don't think I could have stood more of the same idiocy as having a well-known congressman act as courier for some random terrorist suspect who needs to get to a safe house.

Benny Profane
10-24-2012, 03:57 PM
Well, they are certainly moving the story along at a full clip, which is just as well as I don't think I could have stood more of the same idiocy as having a well-known congressman act as courier for some random terrorist suspect who needs to get to a safe house.

It's possible that Brody was sent on that mission because Nazir was going to kill both of them when they got there.

But if the motivation doesn't go any further than what you stated, then yeah, it was a pretty lame segment of the show.

Benny Profane
10-30-2012, 08:26 PM
That interrogation scene pretty much locked up the Emmy and Golden Globe for Danes and Lewis again.

Also really liked the ending. Carrie has endured a ton of shit and just experienced a huge breakthrough both professionally and emotionally, and you can tell how much it meant to her in the moment. But then everyone goes home. Brody hugs his kids and sexy wife and Carrie is drinking alone. Perhaps the greatest victory of her life and she has nobody to share it with. Downbeat end to a triumphant moment. One of the show's overarching themes is aloneness (physical and emotional) and what it does to the psyche. I thought this ending depicted it perfectly.

Mara
10-31-2012, 06:21 PM
That interrogation scene pretty much locked up the Emmy and Golden Globe for Danes and Lewis again.

Yeah, EMMYS FOR EVERYONE. That entire sequence was great, great television.

Everything else suffered in comparison, especially the VP's son stuff.

ledfloyd
10-31-2012, 06:28 PM
Everything else suffered in comparison, especially the VP's son stuff.
that was just an awful, stupid plotline. i hope it doesn't turn into a landry situation.

Henry Gale
11-01-2012, 06:26 AM
That interrogation scene pretty much locked up the Emmy and Golden Globe for Danes and Lewis again.

Also really liked the ending. Carrie has endured a ton of shit and just experienced a huge breakthrough both professionally and emotionally, and you can tell how much it meant to her in the moment. But then everyone goes home. Brody hugs his kids and sexy wife and Carrie is drinking alone. Perhaps the greatest victory of her life and she has nobody to share it with. Downbeat end to a triumphant moment. One of the show's overarching themes is aloneness (physical and emotional) and what it does to the psyche. I thought this ending depicted it perfectly.

Yup. A third glimpse at Saul going home and similarly finding himself proud but ultimately empty could have just as easily been provided to rub this in even further.

Another great episode, except I similarly can't get behind the whole thing of Brody's daughter needing to now have major secrets of her own. I mean, I get it, they open up that storyline and they want it to have actual dramatic weight to it (with the added, fun, juxtaposition of having Brody begun his relationship with VP Walden out of his concealed hatred, and their children beginning one from a love of sorts), but with this whole hit and run thing, the next time we see the Waldens, they could just as easily have a banner hanging above their door saying, "The Waldens: We're cunts!", and it'd have about the same profundity.

Benny Profane
11-12-2012, 01:16 PM
Fastest hour in television.

transmogrifier
11-14-2012, 09:06 PM
Just not feeling this season. At all.

Henry Gale
11-15-2012, 12:14 AM
I just think they pulled the trigger too soon with Brody. Now we have to basically accept that this terror plot won't come to fruition until the end of the season, and they're basically going to have to pad time with all of these other set backs and family drama until then.

I kinda hope the attack happens next week and then the rest of the season is about Carrie, Saul, Estes, Brody & co. (and maybe even Walden) all taking the fall for it in different ways, and the rest of the season about them trying to pick up the pieces before being forced to face further consequences in Season 3.

But yeah, aside from a few individual moments, this was not a strong episode.

transmogrifier
11-15-2012, 12:26 AM
I just think the whole thing has gotten sloppy and unwieldy. Like the whole hit-and-run thing seemed dumb at first, but its even worse now that its being used to manufacture conflict in the CIA part of the story. Why not actually spend time with Brody and Walden and have Brody start to come to despise the man all over again due to constant reminders of Walden's craven hunger for power over everything else? Then Brody can start bucking against him and Carrie et all have to come in and try to smooth it out....Sure, it would take longer, but it would save us yet another cliched "the politicians going to cover something up because they only care about their public perception!!" nonsense hackery.

And I'm officially bored of the Carrie/Brody "romance".

Mara
11-27-2012, 07:47 PM
This season isn't perfect, but it has effectively kept my interest pretty well. I don't think we're having the sort of mid-season lull we got last year.

slqrick
11-27-2012, 08:26 PM
This season has felt a lot more like 24 at times, but I've been enjoying it for the most part. I really like the direction they're going with Quinn, and it's one of the more interesting subplots at the moment. I like the actress playing Dana but it was just boring arc for me all season.

ThePlashyBubbler
11-28-2012, 02:38 PM
The SNL spoof, of all things, almost ruined Dana for me because now all I notice is her hands in her sleeves and doing weird things with her fingers.

I wasn't as high on last season as most, but do think this one has been a small step down. A few solid episodes, particularly Q&A and the second one set in Beirut, but a lot of the in-between hasn't clicked for me. As much as the show can be effective at those big moments, I think it sometimes feels like it's straining for them -- thinking particularly of Brody getting whisked away by the helicopter last week, and Carrie's over-the-top "HE'S JUST GOOOONE."

I wonder how much Danes' pregnancy affected the plotting of this season, ie. how much she was actually available and able to do.

Thirdmango
11-30-2012, 10:13 PM
This is one of the shows that it usually takes me a couple days to get around to. But then that was how it was for me the first season too. I've never been a super fan, but I haven't stopped watching altogether either. Just a middle of the road show for me.

transmogrifier
12-03-2012, 11:02 PM
It's got super-incredible dumb. I think I'm out after this season.

Winston*
12-03-2012, 11:03 PM
It's got super-incredible dumb. I think I'm out after this season.

Think I might pass on the second season then. Enjoyed the first but could see it going that way.

transmogrifier
12-03-2012, 11:12 PM
You'll hear people praise the fact that the show moves the plot along at a super fast clip early in season 2, getting to certain revelations and events quickly rather than dragging them out - but it's been the biggest mistake ever.

Now we have the e-heart attacks.

ThePlashyBubbler
12-04-2012, 02:38 AM
This is what happens when your showrunner is the guy who was in charge of the last four seasons of 24.

Thirdmango
12-04-2012, 03:27 AM
This is what happens when your showrunner is the guy who was in charge of the last four seasons of 24.

which is funny because seasons 5, 7 and 8 of 24 were my favorite but I'm only mildly into this.

ThePlashyBubbler
12-04-2012, 05:18 AM
which is funny because seasons 5, 7 and 8 of 24 were my favorite

Interesting. When did you start watching?

I could easily see it being the type of show where the first several seasons you watch (whichever they might be) are the favorites, 'cause the premise only allowed for so much variation. I personally burned out on the familiar plot mechanisms every year sometime around season four.

(If you started with S1 and went straight through, then I think you're crazy ;))

EvilShoe
12-04-2012, 12:42 PM
I don't think this season is as bad as some people make it out to be. I'm quite enjoying it actually. (Even though the most recent episode didn't do much for me.)

Lewis is mostly to thank for this. The show gets silly, but he's so strong that it makes me overlook the flaws. Amidst all the silliness, there's this tale of a man trying to hold it all together. I'd say the character work in general is what elevates the material.

(And this is nowhere near the worst of 24.)

Benny Profane
12-04-2012, 01:15 PM
This season started out ridiculously strong but has unraveled in the last 2 - 3 episodes. My interest is waning but will finish this season at least.

EvilShoe
12-04-2012, 01:25 PM
I must say at this point I'm more interested to know what season 3 will be about, than about how this one will play out.

There's not really anywhere to go with Brody after this one, is there? Seems like he's a goner. I hope they can continue the show in a way that feels organic, instead of turning into a case of the season type show.

slqrick
12-04-2012, 01:45 PM
I thought the last episode was the first time the show truly entered cartoonish territory. Usually Lewis is able to sell it, but he was off I thought in this one. His conversations on Skype with world terrorist #1 while no one knew where the fuck he was, had something to do with it.

Acapelli
12-04-2012, 03:57 PM
http://i.imgur.com/Q0LPc.gif

show has gotten pretty bad, but i'm still enjoying it

Thirdmango
12-04-2012, 05:08 PM
Interesting. When did you start watching?

(If you started with S1 and went straight through, then I think you're crazy ;))

Looking back we sorta touched on this conversation in the 24 thread. But I watched it from the beginning and I hated hated hated the first season. I stopped watching the show after the first season because all it was, was 24 episodes of tension with no release. Also there was just too much, "Oh look here they are driving past each other, if only they'd seen each other, they were so close..." Groan. Someone convinced me to start re-watching it and I hated season 2 but I kept with it. Season 5 is amazing and the only season I own. I would recommend that season to anyone, it's so much fun.

ledfloyd
12-04-2012, 05:40 PM
that episode was completely, obnoxiously bonkers, and i can't decide whether i loved or hated it.

Mara
12-04-2012, 06:31 PM
This season isn't perfect, but it has effectively kept my interest pretty well. I don't think we're having the sort of mid-season lull we got last year.

I'm halfway through this last episode and I redact this post.

Because LOLWUT.

Mara
12-04-2012, 06:34 PM
These kids... argue... very slowly... and with very... little... inflection.

Mara
12-04-2012, 06:45 PM
I'm confused that a show that had a tete-a-tete so powerful between Brody and Carrie just a few weeks ago can have a tete-a-tete so bad as the one between Carrie and Nazir.

Mara
12-04-2012, 06:56 PM
Poor Damian is trying, but that phone sucks as a co-star. It's giving him nothing.

Mara
12-04-2012, 06:58 PM
Hey, Brody! Guess what? You're not going to get away with killing the VP, because you just let a woman go free who knew that was what you were going to do. Therefore, you have absolutely nothing to lose by saying, "HEY GO TO A HOSPITAL."

ledfloyd
12-04-2012, 07:03 PM
Hey, Brody! Guess what? You're not going to get away with killing the VP, because you just let a woman go free who knew that was what you were going to do. Therefore, you have absolutely nothing to lose by saying, "HEY GO TO A HOSPITAL."
but she loves him. the text message will prove to be pretty damning though.

edit: that is, if this show has any respect remaining for traditional modes of logic.

Mara
12-04-2012, 07:08 PM
Am I tuning in next week? Well, chances are I'd have to watch Finn react to his father's death with complex emotions.

:|

ledfloyd
12-04-2012, 07:31 PM
Am I tuning in next week? Well, chances are I'd have to watch Finn react to his father's death with complex emotions.

:|
i don't know. when nazir skyped with his pacemaker plot i thought the show had completely lost me, but the actual scene involving the plot was so over-the-top and hilarious i don't know if i can look away.

DavidSeven
12-07-2012, 06:02 PM
All caught up.

I thought Season 1 was tremendous from start to finish. Season 2 had some incredible early episodes, but like others, I found it curious that they started showing their hand so early. The Carrie/Brody interrogation earlier this season felt like the series climax (amazing scene) -- how will they ever recapture that kind of emotional catharsis? I do wonder if we'll all look back on that scene as the clear cut moment when this series peaked.

Everything that's come after that interrogation sort of feels like they're tying up lose ends, but I'm still enjoying it for the most part. Pretty skeptical to how this show is going to have any legs after this season.

The hit-and-run subplot is just mind-numbingly stupid. MOVE ON ALREADY.

DavidSeven
12-11-2012, 06:39 AM
That whole fake wall/capture sequence has to be one of the laziest things I've ever seen executed on television given the suggested magnitude of that moment.

Dana has become just a terribly written character.

transmogrifier
12-11-2012, 06:59 AM
Yes. A trained sweep team couldn't find the hidden room, and it takes Carrie one glance? Not to mention the horror movie cliches that followed.

ledfloyd
12-11-2012, 11:06 AM
That whole fake wall/capture sequence has to be one of the laziest things I've ever seen executed on television given the suggested magnitude of that moment.

Dana has become just a terribly written character.
the crying over spilt milk scene was particularly awful.

Henry Gale
12-11-2012, 08:10 PM
Yeah, not sure what happened to this season, but this episode seemed to prove to me that this show's strength now resides wherever it really zones into and commits to tearing into the smaller, vulnerable stuff and finds quiet intensity there. Everything after the Nazir sequence was actually compelling, everything before it (with the possible exception of the Roya interrogation)... yikes.

Henry Gale
12-17-2012, 08:58 AM
I really wanted to use Saul's "smartest and dumbest fucking [show] I've ever known" line to describe where things had found themselves in the series, but then this finale ended up going the direction it did and ended up at least paying off a lot of the weaker and more absurd decisions the latter half of season made.

To me, this is a show that can crack great outlines for seasons and major story threads, but once it seemingly becomes crunch time for the writers to actually figure out how to dramatize them properly with believable plot mechanics and human emotions in play, they don't really seems to have strongest instincts about how to stick the landings. I had this problem in Season 1 too, but the bigger and broader the storylines became this year, the more apparent and glaring its flaws became too.

So maybe that's why people's memories of last season seemed more fond once this year's group of episodes began to take a turn for the worse. Enough time had passed to allow the overall strengths of Season 1 to build in our collective minds and block out the arguably equal flaws it endured along the way. Last year it had the leeway of being a less defined series with enticing characters and a fresh blend of themes (all from the guys behind 24 suddenly taking a much more pessimistic and relatable stance on the war on terror), but this time around, once we felt we knew the rules of the show's universe, it became harder for it to pull fast ones, even though they had bigger plates Season 2, and maybe too many of them spinning.

I just wish they had found stronger ways for the characters to get to the places they were had to be before that major halfway point, particularly when it came to Quinn and Estes' 180's. But in the end, they still managed to pull off a concluding episode worthy of the first half of this season after what started to seem like unsalvageable second half, and they did it all in 65 minutes. It felt a tad rushed, and it doesn't fix too many of my issues from the last bunch of episodes, but the course of events it put into motion were surprising enough to warrant the sudden gear shifts in storytelling, all allowing its characters to be in interesting places once again for Season 3.

DavidSeven
12-18-2012, 05:08 PM
I don't even know what to make of this show anymore.

On one side, the finale felt like a successful Hail Mary in that it managed to salvage the plot threads that came during the epic collapse following "Q&A". It felt clever, and they set themselves up for something interesting next season plot-wise. I just feel like this show no longer bears any resemblance to the one I initially found captivating. It seems like they're in full 24 mode now, and the small interpersonal stuff that they used to do so well is becoming a less and less a part of this show.

transmogrifier
12-26-2012, 11:59 PM
If Carrie had been capped in the forest at the end, I might have forgiven the utter craptitude of the season to that point.

I just don't care about Carrie and Brody's romance. At all.

Lucky
01-14-2013, 12:39 AM
Why would the show creator thank the actors who were killed off this past season in an acceptance speech? I guess the show has already aired, but ... spoiler alert?

Morris Schæffer
04-17-2013, 11:01 AM
That interrogation scene pretty much locked up the Emmy and Golden Globe for Danes and Lewis again.



That blew me away. I love how they've managed to write an interrogation scene where, excepting the knifingno torture is needed to extract the information that they need because the acting is unbelievable strong here.

A little pissed that they need to make up for the lack of action by giving Dana and Walden's son some stupid joyriding action. The show is better than that. Ditto for the episode where Brody has to transport the guy to a safehouse, but at least he acknowledged the stoopidity in a later episode.

I definitely thought it jumped the shark with episode 4, but then episode 5 (the interrogation) was so strong that I ended up being impressed.

So now Brody is a double agent, which I suppose was the only viable road left. He might still be having doubts however for fear of losing his family.

Will see episode 7 and the rest very soon. I kinda love this.

EvilShoe
11-25-2013, 01:38 PM
Anyone watching the third season?

Hm.

Lazlo
11-25-2013, 02:09 PM
Anyone watching the third season?

Hm.

Yeah, it's not very good, is it? I'm mostly still watching because it's shot in my hometown and I enjoy hearing it get ripped apart each week on the Grantland Hollywood Prospectus podcast.

EvilShoe
11-25-2013, 03:04 PM
Yeah, it's not very good, is it? I'm mostly still watching because it's shot in my hometown and I enjoy hearing it get ripped apart each week on the Grantland Hollywood Prospectus podcast.
It's just... weird. After those slow first few episodes the story finally gains traction, only to lead to
a Brody montage scene.

I thought they were trying to take the show back to its roots (not that those attempts were that great), but then they just went "eh fuck it, 24 lite it is".

Lazlo
11-25-2013, 04:06 PM
It's just... weird. After those slow first few episodes the story finally gains traction, only to lead to
a Brody montage scene.

I thought they were trying to take the show back to its roots (not that those attempts were that great), but then they just went "eh fuck it, 24 lite it is".

I actually haven't minded the Brody stuff. It's good to have the team have a clear mission, rather than wallowing around in their misery for eight straight episodes.

I am sick to death of Carrie. On the meds, off the meds, pregnant, in on Saul's plots, not in on Saul's plots, almost RUINING EVERYTHING they've worked for this whole time because of stupid Brody's potential innocence, I do not care for her and her being terrible. And can next week open with the Brody family being decapitated by werewolves and be done with them? Siiiigh.

EvilShoe
11-26-2013, 02:02 PM
Don't get me wrong, the Brody stuff is at least entertaining to watch. But if the show was going for silliness anyway, why were the first 8 episodes such a slog then? And yeah, the Carrie character has been ruined. As bad as the Brody family stuff is, at least Mike doesn't show up regularly anymore.

Hugh_Grant
11-27-2013, 12:09 PM
Yeah, it's not very good, is it? I'm mostly still watching because it's shot in my hometown and I enjoy hearing it get ripped apart each week on the Grantland Hollywood Prospectus podcast.

My husband and I are still stuck somewhere in season 2, but I had to respond to this because I live about an hour and a half south of where Homeland is filmed. I've been to the Charlotte airport umpteen times over the years, and I had to laugh at a scene in season 1 in which Mandy Patinkin picks someone up from what is supposed to be a Washington-area airport, but I know the CLT baggage claim like the back of my hand.

Lazlo
11-27-2013, 02:32 PM
And yeah, the Carrie character has been ruined. As bad as the Brody family stuff is, at least Mike doesn't show up regularly anymore.

Mike is the leader of my band of werewolves.

Lazlo
11-27-2013, 02:33 PM
My husband and I are still stuck somewhere in season 2, but I had to respond to this because I live about an hour and a half south of where Homeland is filmed. I've been to the Charlotte airport umpteen times over the years, and I had to laugh at a scene in season 1 in which Mandy Patinkin picks someone up from what is supposed to be a Washington-area airport, but I know the CLT baggage claim like the back of my hand.

Yeah, it's so insanely obvious to anyone who's spent any amount of time here. I can't get my head around it, so much so that to me these characters live and all the major events happen in Charlotte and they all just have six hour commutes to the CIA each day.

transmogrifier
03-17-2014, 01:24 PM
I'm not sure how I got through Season 3, considering pretty much every thing Danes' character did or said drove me insane. Brody really, really needed to die at the end of Season 1. Keeping him around so long destroyed the show.

Morris Schæffer
05-07-2014, 10:43 AM
Really love season three. I thought it was kinda amazing how they managed to totally not go into the direction everyone anticipated (a Brody manhunt) and still manage to be gripping and believable enough. Respect too for discarding big 24-style threats and finding the thrill in something smaller, something more intimate, but still keeping the show moving firmly forward. The finale made sense, no last minute heroics, just going where, I suppose, it needed to go. Love one of the penultimate shots of Saul walking out of the building and Carrie looking after him until he's out of sight. I dig these characters even if I do wish Carrie would, just once, follow goddamn orders. Yeah, there's some leaps of faith to be made, but i can accept that if it's not too outlandish and it wasn't.

Why do people complain about Claire Danes' performance? I think it's fab and when she's aggravating it's only because she's supposed to be. Doesn't mean you have to like it of course, but it's still in character.

transmogrifier
05-08-2014, 12:10 PM
I thought it was a terrible season.

EvilShoe
05-08-2014, 12:40 PM
Most people had problems with Carrie as a character, not Danes' performance. Looks like she'll be in a different place next season, so hopefully they tone down the histrionics.

I thought the season was wildly uneven. At least it became entertaining again once it embraced the silliness, near the end.

Barty
12-12-2014, 04:48 AM
So I watched the beginning of this season, the first 5 or so episode were very meh, and I stopped watching. Was told to catch up cause the show got good again, and boy has it ever. The last 4 episodes or so have been flat out spectacular.

Morris Schæffer
12-29-2014, 08:44 PM
edit: Just saw your reply Barty. The exact opposite of mine. I guess I should really brace for what's coming next. :)

5 episodes in, and this is a breathtaking season so far. It manages this amazing feat with still a complete lack of relative action or overly thrilltastic plot twists. These guys are actually, and I'm pumped to be able to say this, spying! Tracking, tagging, taking photographs, overhearing conversations. And how cool to see Art Malik - the bad guy from True Lies and the resistance leader from The Living Daylights - pop up in a small scene with Saul!


SPOILERS!!

The only gripe I had was that I felt it was a bit of a leap on behalf of Quinn, and immediately thereafter Carrie, to assume the guy with the earpiece in the Youtube video (Obviously filmed from about 4 trillion angels) was irrefutable evidence the attack on Bachmann was, as they said, premeditated. Although I suppose CIA folk are trained to pick up on those details and take them at face value. And I'm also a little hazy on the exact meaning of the Jihadi leader still being alive although that was a good twist. Totally didn't see that coming. Saul should also know better than to enter into toilets alone.

This is a great season so far.

Morris Schæffer
01-09-2015, 05:40 AM
Episode 9!!!!!!!! :eek:

EvilShoe
01-10-2015, 01:32 PM
I'm at episode 8. Great final five minutes with
Carry guiding Saul back to the terrorists chasing him.

I'm lacking a bit of a hook, but it's still a show worth watching.

Morris Schæffer
03-09-2015, 07:27 PM
Some S5 news:


Carrie will no longer be an intelligence officer,” Gansa revealed, after also mentioning that the new season will take place in Germany. Also, there will be a giant time jump. Two and a half years, in fact. So when the new season premieres on Showtime this September, it'll feature a new place, a new gig, and a new time

I honestly can't wait for this and find it encouraging they're mixing things up.

Morris Schæffer
08-13-2018, 07:34 PM
Season 7 was really good.

transmogrifier
08-14-2018, 03:10 PM
A three-year gap between posts. Not bad.

Henry Gale
08-21-2018, 12:41 AM
And just in time for the final season!

(I don't think I watched after Season 2's finale.)

transmogrifier
08-21-2018, 12:44 AM
And just in time for the final season!

(I don't think I watched after Season 2's finale.)

I crawled my way to the end of Season 3 and then dropped it.