The plot twist doesn't excuse how boring the episodes have been so far imo. I'm still disappointed in the series so far. I'm not someone who needs it fast paced but I think they should have had more strands of the story going at once if that makes sense. Like, showing us more of Quinn and what's going on with Brody, even if it's just a little to keep it more interesting.
Homeland on Ch4 (UK Pace) - No Spoilers! (Part 2)
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Originally Posted by SideshowMark:
“A good point, but in hindsight I think she reacted like that because he took it too far. I don't think she expected to be treated like that by the hospital staff, so her reactions in the hospital were real.”
“A good point, but in hindsight I think she reacted like that because he took it too far. I don't think she expected to be treated like that by the hospital staff, so her reactions in the hospital were real.”
That's probably why Saul took it that far !
Excellent twist .
I love the relationship between Saul and Carrie .
They've now established a potential location link between the financial investigations and where we last saw Brody. Perhaps other threads in the story so far will converge in some way.
Originally Posted by Smudged:
“The plot twist doesn't excuse how boring the episodes have been so far imo. I'm still disappointed in the series so far. I'm not someone who needs it fast paced but I think they should have had more strands of the story going at once if that makes sense. Like, showing us more of Quinn and what's going on with Brody, even if it's just a little to keep it more interesting.”
“The plot twist doesn't excuse how boring the episodes have been so far imo. I'm still disappointed in the series so far. I'm not someone who needs it fast paced but I think they should have had more strands of the story going at once if that makes sense. Like, showing us more of Quinn and what's going on with Brody, even if it's just a little to keep it more interesting.”
I haven't found the start to this series boring but I have found it hard to watch. The acting of Claire Danes has been so good that I've found her character completely believable and it's been stressful!
I think they should have brought Brody in from the beginning and I missed him this week, but I suspect next week will be Brody's story so far.
A ponderous episode, until the last 5 minutes. I'd quite happily leave the Dana storyline, but the Carrie one provides some kind of payoff to the last 3 episodes.
Agree with comments above that that final scene with Saul is beautifully acted. You can see how much it has cost Carrie in terms of her stability, and that Saul regrets what he has put her through even though it was in his eyes a necessary action.
So now it appears we have completed the switch from Brody the double agent to Carrie the double agent. And his presence in Caracas is now surely no coincidence (as some suspected last week), given Quinn's assassination target and the money trail both leading back to the same city.
It's way too early to say Homeland is back to its best, but I do think the writers are doing the right thing in layout out this drastic new direction over so long. It wouldn't have been plausible to just do it in one episode - we had to see Carrie's suffering and make it reasonable for a foreign party to assume she would consider turning.
Now they just have to deliver on the premise ...
My weekly review ...
http://slouchingtowardstv.com/2013/1...3-ep4-game-on/
Agree with comments above that that final scene with Saul is beautifully acted. You can see how much it has cost Carrie in terms of her stability, and that Saul regrets what he has put her through even though it was in his eyes a necessary action.
So now it appears we have completed the switch from Brody the double agent to Carrie the double agent. And his presence in Caracas is now surely no coincidence (as some suspected last week), given Quinn's assassination target and the money trail both leading back to the same city.
It's way too early to say Homeland is back to its best, but I do think the writers are doing the right thing in layout out this drastic new direction over so long. It wouldn't have been plausible to just do it in one episode - we had to see Carrie's suffering and make it reasonable for a foreign party to assume she would consider turning.
Now they just have to deliver on the premise ...
My weekly review ...
http://slouchingtowardstv.com/2013/1...3-ep4-game-on/
Originally Posted by nomad2king:
“They've now established a potential location link between the financial investigations and where we last saw Brody. Perhaps other threads in the story so far will converge in some way.”
“They've now established a potential location link between the financial investigations and where we last saw Brody. Perhaps other threads in the story so far will converge in some way.”
And, of course, Quinn's part of the six-target assassination in episode one took place in Caracas too ...
It's surely no coincidence that Brody is in Caracas. But to what end, I wonder?
Have to say again that people who want more out of a series of which only 4 episodes have been shown would never be able to read a book .
It's the unfolding of a story which holds the attention and if you don't have the ability to, in this case ,watch it unfold then see how things come together , then maybe you should be watching something more action packed from the start?
It's the unfolding of a story which holds the attention and if you don't have the ability to, in this case ,watch it unfold then see how things come together , then maybe you should be watching something more action packed from the start?
Originally Posted by slouchingthatch:
“A ponderous episode, until the last 5 minutes. I'd quite happily leave the Dana storyline, but the Carrie one provides some kind of payoff to the last 3 episodes.
Agree with comments above that that final scene with Saul is beautifully acted. You can see how much it has cost Carrie in terms of her stability, and that Saul regrets what he has put her through even though it was in his eyes a necessary action.
So now it appears we have completed the switch from Brody the double agent to Carrie the double agent. And his presence in Caracas is now surely no coincidence (as some suspected last week), given Quinn's assassination target and the money trail both leading back to the same city.
It's way too early to say Homeland is back to its best, but I do think the writers are doing the right thing in layout out this drastic new direction over so long. It wouldn't have been plausible to just do it in one episode - we had to see Carrie's suffering and make it reasonable for a foreign party to assume she would consider turning.
Now they just have to deliver on the premise ...
My weekly review ...
http://slouchingtowardstv.com/2013/1...3-ep4-game-on/”
“A ponderous episode, until the last 5 minutes. I'd quite happily leave the Dana storyline, but the Carrie one provides some kind of payoff to the last 3 episodes.
Agree with comments above that that final scene with Saul is beautifully acted. You can see how much it has cost Carrie in terms of her stability, and that Saul regrets what he has put her through even though it was in his eyes a necessary action.
So now it appears we have completed the switch from Brody the double agent to Carrie the double agent. And his presence in Caracas is now surely no coincidence (as some suspected last week), given Quinn's assassination target and the money trail both leading back to the same city.
It's way too early to say Homeland is back to its best, but I do think the writers are doing the right thing in layout out this drastic new direction over so long. It wouldn't have been plausible to just do it in one episode - we had to see Carrie's suffering and make it reasonable for a foreign party to assume she would consider turning.
Now they just have to deliver on the premise ...
My weekly review ...
http://slouchingtowardstv.com/2013/1...3-ep4-game-on/”
There surely has to be a reason for the presence of Leo beyond offering a (possibly dangerous) distraction for Dana? I sincerely hope so given the airtime committed to these two.
Originally Posted by The Ambassador:
“Carries reaction when alone watching Saul testify at the inquiry doesn't add up if she was undercover all along.
Does it?”
“Carries reaction when alone watching Saul testify at the inquiry doesn't add up if she was undercover all along.
Does it?”
It doesn't have to, it was purely to keep the viewers off the scent...
Originally Posted by storm818:
“It doesn't have to, it was purely to keep the viewers off the scent...”
“It doesn't have to, it was purely to keep the viewers off the scent...”
That to me is just lazy though, the writers couldn't think of plausible scene to write so they just put in a red herring.
I guess we'll see how it plays out over the serie, I suspect Carrie we end meeting Brody again.
Originally Posted by Casmana:
“Have to say again that people who want more out of a series of which only 4 episodes have been shown would never be able to read a book .
It's the unfolding of a story which holds the attention and if you don't have the ability to, in this case ,watch it unfold then see how things come together , then maybe you should be watching something more action packed from the start?”
“Have to say again that people who want more out of a series of which only 4 episodes have been shown would never be able to read a book .
It's the unfolding of a story which holds the attention and if you don't have the ability to, in this case ,watch it unfold then see how things come together , then maybe you should be watching something more action packed from the start?”
I can go along with this to a certain degree but there seem to be an increasing number of frustrating dramas on TV where everything comes together around a series of previously unseen twists in the last few minutes/episode.
I'm often left with that feeling why didn't I just tune in at the end as everything that had gone previously counted for nothing anyway.
After two series the will he/won't he Brody scenario had run its course. This series is obviously a slow burner but after 4 episodes all i've got is Brody is in Venezuela, Carrie is deep undercover, some Iranian is behind the CIA bombing and I still don't care about Dana.
Still be watching but it does feel like they are padding it out a bit.
Originally Posted by storm818:
“It doesn't have to, it was purely to keep the viewers off the scent...”
“It doesn't have to, it was purely to keep the viewers off the scent...”
Alex Gansa explained her reaction in a recent interview. If you watch it again, you will see that she is not actually surprised by what she is hearing. It was meant to show her amazement at how it actually affects her emotionally to know and understand that she was in fact to blame for what happened.
Ok. That was a good twist. I'm not sure it completely hold up logically, but it's much more enticing now than it was before...
This season of Homeland seems to be suffering from a major ratings slide :
http://uk.tv.yahoo.com/homeland-thre...151100836.html
http://uk.tv.yahoo.com/homeland-thre...151100836.html
I don't like this twist with Carrie being a double agent, I mean yes it's a good idea her being a double agent, but it's way too vague/subtle when/how she & Saul hatched this plan & also there are way too many factors involved. How did she know where one-night-stand man lived? I thought they did the deed at her place, & on the subject of her place, I thought she lived in a house, so how come there's communal underground parking?
I'm glad that Mike is still on the scene to support Jess.
I'm glad that Mike is still on the scene to support Jess.
it was a good twist , but I thought it was ridiculous that she went to Saul's house , and moreso that they spoke outside !
Originally Posted by 19Nick68:
“After two series the will he/won't he Brody scenario had run its course. This series is obviously a slow burner but after 4 episodes all i've got is Brody is in Venezuela, Carrie is deep undercover, some Iranian is behind the CIA bombing and I still don't care about Dana.
Still be watching but it does feel like they are padding it out a bit.”
“After two series the will he/won't he Brody scenario had run its course. This series is obviously a slow burner but after 4 episodes all i've got is Brody is in Venezuela, Carrie is deep undercover, some Iranian is behind the CIA bombing and I still don't care about Dana.
Still be watching but it does feel like they are padding it out a bit.”
Exactly, it's not about needing it fast paced or action packed but not a great deal has happened to occupy the mind and keep you thinking. As you say, it feels like there was room to show more in the episodes so far but they've been padded out. Hopefully now the twist has been revealed it will improve in that regard.
Originally Posted by Virgil Tracy:
“it was a good twist , but I thought it was ridiculous that she went to Saul's house , and moreso that they spoke outside !”
“it was a good twist , but I thought it was ridiculous that she went to Saul's house , and moreso that they spoke outside !”
They couldn't arrange a time and place as she wouldn't know when she would be able to get away and spending 5 hours making sure she wasn't followed.
Originally Posted by nomad2king:
“They couldn't arrange a time and place as she wouldn't know when she would be able to get away and spending 5 hours making sure she wasn't followed.”
“They couldn't arrange a time and place as she wouldn't know when she would be able to get away and spending 5 hours making sure she wasn't followed.”
According to what we what have learned about spying from both fact and fiction over the last forty years one of the first things that spies learn is how to establish a secret and secure way of communicating with each other and with their contacts. Codes, dead letter boxes, disposable mobile phones etc etc.
Carrie and Saul are both very experienced CIA spies but for some unexplained reason they did not think of a way to communicate with each other in secret about their plan.
Originally Posted by wazzyboy:
“There surely has to be a reason for the presence of Leo beyond offering a (possibly dangerous) distraction for Dana? I sincerely hope so given the airtime committed to these two.”
“There surely has to be a reason for the presence of Leo beyond offering a (possibly dangerous) distraction for Dana? I sincerely hope so given the airtime committed to these two.”
Well, we know now that he's a killer - whether accidental or otherwise.
Really, though, the whole storyline smacks of the need to give Dana and Jessica something to do in Brody's absence, rather than write them out. I'm finding it difficult to either engage or care about this particular plot.
Originally Posted by slouchingthatch:
“Well, we know now that he's a killer - whether accidental or otherwise.
Really, though, the whole storyline smacks of the need to give Dana and Jessica something to do in Brody's absence, rather than write them out. I'm finding it difficult to either engage or care about this particular plot.”
“Well, we know now that he's a killer - whether accidental or otherwise.
Really, though, the whole storyline smacks of the need to give Dana and Jessica something to do in Brody's absence, rather than write them out. I'm finding it difficult to either engage or care about this particular plot.”
This sub-plot will give a bit of peril for Dana and some worry for Jess. Since I Sky+ the episodes, I can fast forward the Dana story knowing that I will not miss anything important before Dana is rescued.
Originally Posted by slouchingthatch:
“Well, we know now that he's a killer - whether accidental or otherwise.
Really, though, the whole storyline smacks of the need to give Dana and Jessica something to do in Brody's absence, rather than write them out. I'm finding it difficult to either engage or care about this particular plot.”
“Well, we know now that he's a killer - whether accidental or otherwise.
Really, though, the whole storyline smacks of the need to give Dana and Jessica something to do in Brody's absence, rather than write them out. I'm finding it difficult to either engage or care about this particular plot.”
Well if that is true, then why not just have the son killed off, as he is of no relevance whatsoever.
Originally Posted by batdude_uk1:
“Well if that is true, then why not just have the son killed off, as he is of no relevance whatsoever.”
“Well if that is true, then why not just have the son killed off, as he is of no relevance whatsoever.”
He never has been, but then he's not part of the principal cast. My point is that if Morgan Saylor and Morena Baccarin weren't major characters in the main credits, they would probably have been written out. I'm sure the Dana/Leo storyline will somehow relate back to one of the main plots eventually, but for now it feels like filler and I'm personally struggling to care about the story at all.
Originally Posted by Killary45:
“This sub-plot will give a bit of peril for Dana and some worry for Jess. Since I Sky+ the episodes, I can fast forward the Dana story knowing that I will not miss anything important before Dana is rescued.”
“This sub-plot will give a bit of peril for Dana and some worry for Jess. Since I Sky+ the episodes, I can fast forward the Dana story knowing that I will not miss anything important before Dana is rescued.”
I'm sure it will, and I assume it will tie back to Brody or Carrie somewhere down the line rather than being a pure standalone plot. For now, though, I'm struggling to find any reason to engage with this. It just doesn't feel very Homeland at all.
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