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Homeland Season 4 US pace
lovetochat
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Is there a thread for this? I cant find it!
So Homeland started last night in the U.S. I know the UK is likely to be a week behind, anyone watching US pace?
So Homeland started last night in the U.S. I know the UK is likely to be a week behind, anyone watching US pace?
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I thought it was a fairly low key start to the season though I was surprised a name as big as Corey Stoll was killed off so early (or was he?!). The scene in the bath was chilling but I don't think even Homeland would turn Carrie into a baby killer.
Weird seeing Nigel from Suits cast as Harris! Theyre such different characters.
The only negative was the bath scene for me as I felt uncomfortable viewing that.
Yep, Bradley James, known to most of us as King Arthur off BBCs Merlin is now in Homeland. Good to see that the British Revolution continues in USTV with loads of brit actors currently co-starring and on ocassion leading in top USTV shows.
I'm not keen on the personal life stuff, way too melodramatic and distracts from the spy stuff.
I hope they focus on the espionage more and there is a good conspiracy going on.
I think the personal life stuff is a relevant and important device if only to show how life in espionage takes its toll. Not only does it ground the show in the real (seeing as it is set in the present day), the personal at the moment centres on the main CIA characters who are currently in the heat of the battle - Quinn, Carrie and Saul - which is quite unlike using the Brody kids (or rather kid) and verging on self-indulgence. The events are bound to have an affect on those 3 characters, and their personal life happens to be the one place that offers them sanctuary and sanity from a pretty godawful risky job.
I guess I don't mind aspects of their personal life being shown if it adds to the texture of the character. For instance, would Quinn have had sex with the large woman if he wasn't emotionally affected? Even though he fought those two guys, would he defended her in at any other time? He might have been disgusted by their remarks but to punch, break and smash the perps, that's something else. And the sweet note she sent him was deeply felt by her, but can be read in so many ways from Quinn's perspective. Did he really fight for her or was the fight merely an expression of high wrought underlying emotions? I don't think any of that is melodramatic in the sense that it is over the top. Same thing with Carrie and Saul's own problems are just brewing on the horizon. If any of these were mere tack-ons like the way they used broody, moody Brody girl last season, then it serves little to no purpose to me as a viewer. But I wouldn't want the personal to get in the way of real narrative/zeigest of the show which are the conspiracies and espionage. Or else it will be far too soapy.
ETA: Despite the buzz that follows it, I'm still yet to be blown away by this show btw. But then that's me.
ETA 2: Wouldn't these guys be offered counselling anyway rather than be left to their own devices? I thought Americans were big on that kind of stuff: 'a counsellor will be available to you' and all that.
Ep 1- Utterly fantastic
Ep2 - Necessary 'private life' episode to clear the decks and setup the main part of the series.
The pacing and action in Ep 1 was very much 'old Homeland', breathless, clever, exciting and really well put together (In fact the only quibble, as ever, was 'how does Carrie keep getting promoted and keep her job when she constantly messes up?' - but I'm willing to let that slide)
Ep 2, as I say, was in some ways a brick wall after Ep 1 but I understand why they did it, we HAD to establish what Carries feelings are towards her baby and how she will continue on that front, we HAD to establish that Quinn remains in constant turmoil, we HAD to establish Lockhearts position and we HAD to ascertain Sauls current thinking now he is out of the agency.
Rather than spread that over 3 / 4 weeks and get in the way of the unfolding drama in Pakistan, they have addressed plenty of it in one episode thus clearning the decks for the future.
Barring Carries excellent manipulation of the ex case worker and blackmail of Lockheart it wasn't a great episode, but it served its purpose, and you can clearly see why they coupled the 2 episodes together. As a pair of episodes they provided the intro to the series - both in terms of storyline and characters state of mind. I'm really looking forward to next week.
Wondering when Fara is re-introduced after being promoted to full time cast member? I assume she will eventually form part of Carries Islamabad team. I can see her playing a huge part following an odd comment I read in the article on DS last week
Liked your previous post. Very well put.
I agree that the baby scene was awful and exceptionally uncomfortable viewing, but I'm not sure I agree that it wasn't needed. She is grieving for Brody and can't get past that at the moment. The baby (cute thing btw) looks like Brody, reminds her of Brody, and is represents a stumbling block in her career. She acknowledges that she won't make a good parent, maybe a degree better than Brody, but still a lousy one. And she's bi-polar. What better than to do the child a favour and let her die? And yet the baby is the only reminder of her love for Brody and he for her. He was happy that Carrie was going to have his child. And she did want the baby. And Franny may be what gives Carrie the stability she needs in her seemingly chaotic life.
I think the attempted infanticide showed a conflation of all these very dark, confused and stark feelings wrapped in one horrific moment. I'm not sure seeing her frazzled every time she needed to attend to the child would have made the same impact. Also it is interesting that it wasn't a colleague's terrible death that unhinged her but an innocent child. Tanked up on her bi-polar pills where she is unable to empathise, it had to take someone that pure and untainted to make her nearly go off the rails.
The same mix of instability, detatchment, post natal depression, stress, worry, etc, etc could as easily have been ascertained in many other ways : Leaving her crying, walking out leaving her alone in a cot, not caring that she had left Franny alone in the car when the ex-case worker threatened to drive off.
The emotion they were trying to emphasise was required, but as I say personally speaking the method they chose just didn't sit right. Whatever the reasons for it, it is hard to 'root' for a woman who would even contemplate doing such a thing to her own child.
I think the absence of Brody is what the show needed. That whole 'Carrie and Brody' thing was nothing but a soap opera sideshow in S2 and S3, very tedious.
The season has been set up very well, the story with the medical student looks interesting especially after we saw him clearing out those vials from his room (?vaccines against biological warfare?). I'm looking forward to the rest of the season. When I think how last season took several episodes before anything really happened, this is a good start,
Was a bit disappointed Carrie used her leverage against Lockhart to get the Station Chief posting in Islamabad. Had hoped she would use it to get him to resign (for bombing the wedding as opposed to bombing the wedding and selling secrets), and recommend Saul for the position. She could have still gotten the post that way but I suppose things aren't that easy and we have to see Saul as some security advisor in the mean time.
I think we need uncomfortable viewing once in a while more so with a show like this.
I dont think you could get to show the extremely different sides of the relationship in such a short scene.
Bath time is a very special time for a mother and baby, It a very gentle and intimate time and it show that mixed with one that is as far removed as you could get I thinks makes for TV that push's the viewer in how they feel and react to Carrie. I think Carrie needs to be extreme due to the job she is in,The way she goes about it and the choices she has made and continutes to make. We take out this side of her or water it down and I think the viewers feelings and reactions to her might soften and I think that would be a mistake
I dont think you are meant to root for her. Most of her actions IMO have been pretty unrootable
In terms of series speculation.. I'm wondering if the kid becomes pressured into a possible attack.. a sort of Brody type character that Carrie has to save? trying to work out if he really wants to do something or if he's being forced.
Also what happened to the intro and theme tune?
I'm pleased the old titles have gone as they went on too long. I'm a big fan of short title sequences.
I have just noticed Channel 4 are just showing episode 1 this Sunday, does this mean the UK will be 2 weeks behind from this point on? It probably means there's a weeks break coming up in the US soon so C4 are saving an ep to cover the gap??
Doesn't look like there's a break in the US schedule. Showtime appear to be running all 12 episodes without a break up to the finale on December 14th.
I do admit one thing that is concerning me, Islamabad is actually one of the cleanest cities in world yet not showcased on Homeland.