With regard to missing nuances and subtleties, I record every episode and we watch it twice - always. And we enjoy it as much the second time, as we did the first time.
This show is incredible, I haven't enjoyed anything as much as this since the fanastic journalistic/politic series State of Play written by Paul Abbott which was on television about 10 years ago with John Simms, David Morrissey and Bill Nighy.

High praise indeed. State of Play is possibly the best British TV series of the last 10-15 years and I regularly re-watch on DVD - though the less said about the Hollywood remake the better...

In the first episode we saw an unkempt Brody being rescued from a dingy room yet the latest show has him living in relative luxury , clean shaven & well dressed .

I guess when the child died Brody was put back in the cell as he wasn't needed anymore.

Or more likely, the cell was needed to give the impression that he was a tortured POW rather than one living in luxury hatching plans with Abu Nassir...

Yes, we chose not to watch the Americanised film version, and in fact felt very sad that it was thought necessary to 'transport' the story to America. The BBC drama was perfection.

Yes, I was confused by this too. Surely Brody would be more likely to be 'turned' if he continued to be given special treatment and kept in relative luxury.
Alternatively, perhaps this was all part of the plan. He was deliberately put back into the hole for a time, and was told he would be allowed to be 'saved' by the US troops and therefore they had to make it look like he was still a prisoner.

Yeah the subtitle at the start of that series of scenes said something like 'three years previously' so there was plenty of time for him to be all bearded up again (lol), planted and then tipped off to the Americans to be found (although it would still be a trifle callous of Al Qaeda to call in the raid on its own people knowing that they were quite likely to be wiped out in the raid as they were before Brody was found....so maybe there's more to come yet from that scenario...) so i find it more likely that he wasn't put back in the cell so much as a willing participant in the operation, if not a main contributor as he'd know how best to set the plant and the sting so that the Shermans would accept it all as credible......

All in all a great episode 9 in my humble opinion, so i was surprised to see it slated as 'clatteringly hollow' in the Telegraph blog. It's very likely that their reviewer is so much cleverer than me that i wouldn't pick up the finer points of how Brody was turned as a result of seeing his VP lie on the tv with regard to the attack but i think it was harsh. As it is, i'm more concerned about how much of this will be completed by Ep12 and how much will be left to carry over to series 2 (but that's small beans, i'm loving it at the moment.....best series on tv since FlashForward imvho)


(*edited to add link)

An interesting morality on show there.

A good episode but i missed the carrie / Brody chemistry i think their scenes together have been brilliant.

I watched it and was wondering if that really was his son or just some kid he used to turn Brody

in reply to some above i would have said that Brody was kept in a good condition until his mission began i.e growing his beard / hair and having to take a beating to let the Americans believe he has been a POW.

You are in the wrong show then. Far too many shows concentrate on love between characters rather than the main story.....(LOST for eg

Thankfully this series is not about how the love story between 2 actors plays out. Its a espionage/secret service/terrorism drama. Thank god for that.

I’ve got a feeling this season will end with Brody being responsible for stopping Walker, thus making him even more of a hero…and it’ll be set-up in a way to question whether he did that for honest ‘all-american’ reasons or as part of a longer game to establish his position for the ‘real’ mission…which will be to take out the VP (once he’s president) in a very personal and public way.

errr...you mean 'The Event' dont you.

FF had a great start but useless middle and ending. Far too complicated and loose ends. The Event was million times better and had a great ending.

No you misunderstand me, not the 'love affair' i just love the chemistry and intensity between them, the 2 actors are doing a brilliant job of engrossing themselves in the characters and i wanted to see more of the fallout from the walker discovery and how Brody could no work Carrie as she now suspects he is innocent

That's how I read your post too. The chemistry between Carrie and Brody is one of cat and mouse. They're pivotal to the series and when their characers collide we find another side to both of them.

Another great ep for me too. The telegraph journo has his view but I don't agree with it. After last week's ep I was thinking Brody would struggle to get out of Abu Nazir's clutches because of the leverage that could be put on him and his family. But I under-estimated what led Brody to being turned against the powers that be in his country.

Crucial ep in that we now know for sure Brody is acting willingly against his Government - whether the reasons for it hold up for everyone is up to them, they do for me.

We still don't know what Brody's "mission" is but it seems it's not along the assasination lines Walker is pursuing. The plan for him is something different entirely.

Whether him being in position to run for office was part of that plan then, circumstances have moved in his and Abu Nazir's favour since then, so it's definately an added bonus now.

Where I stand on this depends what the deal he and Nazir agreed was. If it's a terrorist act then I hope he doesn't go through with it. If it's to help bring down a corrupt political administration from within - then I'm all for Brody going ahead with it.

Excellently put that is what i meant

But now it seems putting Brody in the political shop window is now very much part of the plan. All political power brokers and lobbyists, like Elizabeth Gains have money behind them - what if some of that money/power behind her is Saudi?

The Saudi Embassy official (we still don't know who he is) is connected to Walker, Brody, Abu Nazir and maybe even Farid too? But it's also possible he's connected to a few on the US side of the power base too.

<OT>
i presume (didn't watch unfortunately, missed the first two eps and couldnt ctch up after that) that The Event ran its scheduled course?.....FF didnt, had to suffer a 3-month mid-season break courtesy of their host network (ABC iirc) and, having been written toward a 2-series schedule was then cancelled when ratings didn't pick up after the 3-month break....which was no shock considering the combination of 1: the convoluted plot and 2: the inability of middle America to follow said plot....hence there was loose ends...a great shame.
</OT>

as you were move along Homeland fans, nothing to see here

sorry Homeland fans off topic bit here

OT>>> Yes Event ran its course, had a brilliant ending and the plot was beautifully revealed. No sequels planned yet.

end of OT>>>>

The wheels are coming off for me.
Why did Nazir get Brody to believe Walker was dead?
What was Nazir's original plan for Brody?
How and Why is Walker turned? We have had nothing on this and if nothing is forthingcoming, then that is a big hole for me.
Brody as Senator/Congressman. OK I can live with that, but no Gains being in cahoots with Nazir seems absurd.

It is but Howard Gordon (who has developed Homeland) took over on 24 as showrunner starting with Season 5, that season was critically acclaimed and swept at the Emmys. The next year however Season 6 (considered the worst) was produced with Howard now taking the blame. 24 was able to pull it back but Howard Gordon isn't perfect and Homeland could just as easily tail off, I wouldn't say it's better than 24 until we see if it can stand the test of time.

Yes, I thought the same.

And nobody has commented yet on Brody knowing how to do tricks with a "soccer ball"!

It wasnt the best keepy uppy