I am interested if her storylines are vital to the plot, but teen romances are not my cup of tea.

Was talking about Fara not Carrie


She is there to analyse bank records, and was part of the CIA team interrogating the bankers (with Saul). Her role has been defined. It's just pure prejudice.

Dana probably being set up by Leo, unless it's a pregnancy/topless photo scandal about to come out.


Are they just making up a new "baddie" now that Abu Nazir is dead. Is Javaidi the new target? Feels like it's just out of the blue.

Another slowburn episode tonight but i don't mind it as they're clearly taking their time this season which hopefully will eventually pay off towards the end.

I'm not sure it was a wise idea to have the Brody family as season regulars this time around. I'm not really sure where the writers can go with the family now but with Brody back next week judging by next week's ad for Homeland i think we'll see less of them. They shouldn't command most of the screentime. I don't mind Dana, but i'm not a big fan of the Dana/Leo romance but i think they're leading somewhere with her character which i think we'll see towards the middle of the season.

For me the best storyline tonight was the introduction of Fara to the CIA and working for Saul. I think she's going to be a really interesting addition to the season and i hope we see more of her and Saul's relationship. Saul's turning into a bit of a badass this season but now that's he's been made Head of the dept. i suppose he has to be a little bit more tougher and ruthless just like David Estes was, but nice to know he still has a heart with the last scene we saw.

Carrie i'm bored of - off her meds or not? Who cares! Just get her back to what she does best and less of the bipolar stuff.

I thought Rupert Friend was fantastic tonight and Peter Quinn is one of the best characters in Homeland. I wish there was more of him, such a fascinating character. I liked that he was standing by Carrie despite everything and i loved the confrontation he had with the banker who refused to help Saul. Quinn rocks!

We're only 2 episodes in and there's still another 10 episodes to go and as the saying goes: it's not how you start, it's how you finish.

Brody family seem irrelevant. Probably only there in case Brody makes contact - are they under surveillance?

Quinn is the only consistent character. Saul seems to have had a personality change now that he's the boss and Carrie is so full of drugs that she's not much good to the story at the moment either.

I agree that he's very watchable and the actor plays the part extremely well, however I have a problem with the way the writers seem to have decided to turn him into some sort of cartoon James Bond with a conscience, it doesn't feel at all real.

That was only the first episode mind you. If there's more episodes with him doing espionage covert stuff then you may have a point! As for killing the kid, i think any sane person would have that playing on their mind. The guy's only human!

I'm hoping that Dana's line about "actually wanting to live now" is a sign that she'll soon be killed off. I can but hope.

Perhaps she is going to be placed in a position of danger and that will bring Brody out of hiding, but I can't see how the teen romance storyline will lead to that situation.

Agree about Peter Quinn. A great character!

How many people in the building know what she was meant to be doing? Even she didn't seem to know, as Saul had to tell her, after she thought she had successfully completed a task and found nothing.

I was referring to the meeting with the bankers not just random "people in the building". Never mind....people seem to want to jump down my throat this evening

I noticed in the opening credits tonight that we never got to see last week that Sarita Choudhury has been made a season regular. She plays Saul's wife but is given very little screentime. I don't see the point unless she's going to make an impact later on in the season.

They had the cast listed during the closing credits last week, and indeed, her name was also there last week. I believe she was actually announced as a series regular last year. It was funny that the guy that played Abu Nazir was also in the credits, and he was barely in the show; the actress that played Roya Hammond should've been a regular, I think. I can understand Rupert Friend not being in the cast because he entered the show episodes in. It is interesting. It reminds me of Veronica Mars

I understand what you are saying, but I thought it was refreshingly honest. The show didn't skirt round the issue - there will be the odd CIA operative who would feel like those men and women who looked at Fara when she walked into the CIA building or what Saul said to her. They could have have gone all PC and been 'polite' about it w/o talking about/addressing the white elephant in the room. From the CIA's POV it was understandable to show their feelings of fear, anger and resentment toward a Muslim, given that 219 of their own were killed on their own doorstep.

But I also liked that Fara was allowed to show her feelings being treated like that, which was appalling. To see her cry all alone in the room was very effective. In the end, she is a human being with feelings, and the character is there to show that not all Muslims are terrorists.

Of all the scenes tonight, I really loved the scenes with Fara, Saul and Quinn. Very subtlely done, I thought.

As for Saul, I think he is up to something that he can't really disclose to either Carrie or Quinn. I don't think he trusts anyone just yet w/o endangering what he trying to do or expose and/or hurting the people he cares for. He's always been an engimatic character, and I find him fascinating.

Hmm, that was a little bit too ponderous for my liking. I don't mind exposition, but when it comes at the cost of genuine suspense it all feels a bit flat.

Anyhow, I've pulled my thoughts (such as they are) together for my weekly review. Just a 3/5 for me this week, and it was very nearly 2/5.

http://slouchingtowardstv.com/2013/1...-ep2-uh-oh-ah/

Yes I thought that was the main point of her character, hopefully next episode will show her being treated for her merits rather than the perceived, and so far unfounded, threat she poses.

Made the show for me.

Also agree about Saul. Definetely think he has a bigger picture in mind.

I was glad they took the trouble to explain about the whole bathroom remodelling thing! Also since Jess said she did it all herself, and didn't mention anything about Mike helping, he must certainly be out of her life.

Did Saul deliberately push Carrie over the edge. Thinking it may lure Brody out. Crazy Carrie is getting a little tiring now.

I think his cruelty towards Fara was a way to get her to apply herself. It worked. So he wasn't being nasty for nasty's sake. Well I hope that's the reason. It seemed so out of character. But he did tell his wife he isn't suited for the job of Director.

That is what we've been waiting for since S1 E1.

The programme has a very clear pattern now:

Interesting, fast moving episodes to start the series.

Lots of boring, irrelevant trivia to bulk it out.

Interesting, fast moving episode to end.

To be fair, they crammed more into a single episode of 24 than a full series of Homeland and yet, they fail to gain any benefit or advantage to this extra time.

Dana waved to the surveillance team when she came home from rehab. There's always the backdoor though

So many in here wanting things to happen , wanting rid of people who bore them etc. Give the series a chance ! It's only episode two fhs!

Claire Danes acting skills are beyond reproach . I could almost feel her mania . Plain to see Saul was upset at having to pull the rug from under her . Now deperate to keep her protected and from shooting her mouth off [always a problem in the manic phase of bi polar]

I thought Dana while denying her father to Jess is deeply upset, proven when she knelt on the mat so wanting of him.

Perhaps it's strange, but I'm liking this season a lot more than I did seasons 1 & 2. I'm not surprised it's a bit of a slowburn at the moment - they literally (and realistically) have to start from scratch. Most of their leads have gone: Brody has gone underground; their best operative Carrie has been compromised; the CIA is pretty much a headless chicken fighting for its very existence (not to mention, its reputation). Nothing has gone to plan as they expected it to.


I'm not a big Dana fan, either. Last season had me grinding my teeth with her. But this time round, I can see her relevance and that of the rest of her family. In the end, I think it is worth exploring via the family that complex mix of knowing Brody is being framed, the family are being pillored undeservedly and knowing that the family (and the rest of the world) believe Brody to be a terrorist and the after effects of thinking that your father/husband is a terrorist. I do think that a teen romance won't do justice to the complexities the family faces, though. So yeah, I agree this Dana stuff has to lead somewhere, or else what is the point?


Me too! Fara gave as good as she got in the banker's interrogation. The banker's attitude toward her was a kick in Saul and Quinn's backside - after all, they treated her just as badly, and it was a clever way to get Quinn and Saul back on side.


Seriously, she needs to wise up - at least I'm so desperate for her to wise up because of what she is capable of. She's mentally ill but she isn't stupid. Most people see her as crazy, of course, but unfortunately, she can't yet see or understand that however true her story is, it still sounds far fetched to the so-called sane people. And in many ways, it is a bonkers story, though it is true. (ETA: And coming off her meds and triggering off her mania is not really helping people to believe her 'bonkers' story) Still, I can't wait for her to turn the table round right back at her detractors. And as much as I don't like Claire Dane's "wide-eyed" acting, my heart broke for Carrie when she heard Saul sell out - Claire played that scene so well. I do think this season seems to go all out to debunk a whole load of assumptions we may have about terrorism, mental illness/mania, terrorist/conspiracy theories, and who is or is not a 'patriot' in this so-called war on terror.


Again, of all the people I thought would come to Carrie's immediate aid (i.e. Saul), it certainly wasn't Saul but Quinn who had some issues with her last season - and he was so gung-ho last season. But it's good to see just how badly every character has been affected by CIA bomb and Brody, which is a very interesting take on season 3.


Good point

Remind me again what is the point of the brother here? At least the sister had her cut wrists and teen romance bit to stay kind of relevant, but the brother??

The missing $45m? Was that used in the bombing plot. Or is it for something in the future.

Maybe it's mole money. Saul wants Fara to keep the money hunt hush hush.

Follow the money Fara but tread lightly, as WW would say.

What actual evidence did Carrie have at the time? It more coincidence than anything else that the direction her obsession took happened to be the correct one. If everybody else had convinced themselves that Brody had been turned, then she probably would have obsessed about him being innocent. Even then she was wrong about Brody in some respects. He did more than he let on eg killing of VP.

Made me chuckle.

I wonder if Lord Green is a fan of the show

PS
Assuming he is still a Lord?