I am still waiting for mute boy, to say something, that is now my main motivation in watching the show!

The Chris Brody drinking game, where you can still be under the limit after 3 series.

Well given that the CIA wouldn't actually deal with homeland security we wouldn't really get too far if it wasn't far fetched.

Has anyone worked out how El Nino knows Carrie ? [ Brody asked why are you helping ,El Nino says you know Carrie Mathison so do I ] If he knows Carrie why hasn't he contacted her? Why wait until now to cash in on the reward ?
How did Brody get shot and ended up in Caracas anyway? A far cry from Canada ?

I am sure that I saw Mira's boyfriend swap the computer mouse when he broke into the house.
Could he be a possible terrorist just using her to get to Saul ?

Thanks!

Personally I think it's likely she will lose the baby somehow. If she does have it, it's difficult to picture Carrie as a mother and role model ...

No - it's been clearly signposted all along that Brody's presence in Caracas is no accident.

We know Brody was delivered to Venezuela via a people smuggling network. His 'captor' fully expected his arrival and mentioned that he was doing Carrie a favour. And Saul knew exactly where he was and the suitcase of cash he was carrying seemed to be treated as a straightforward payment rather than a ransom.(There was no tension surrounding his arrival - it was all very matter-of-fact.)

This points to Saul having had a hand in the whole affair. As we know from Carrie being committed and the whole Javadi plan, Saul has been playing a long game all along. Brody is a pawn under his control who was pushed to one side for a while but is now being brought back into play at a time of Saul's choosing - to be sacrificed, I suspect.

I expect this week's episode will tell us what Saul's plan for Brody is. I'm 100% certain it will be linked to his plan to move Javadi up the chain of command, as he has already said phase two of his plan is all about.

Unless it was all part of a pre-arranged deal. I've read it as Saul pulling the strings in the background, keeping a pawn in his wider game out of harm's way until he needs to activate him to drive phase 2 of his plan for Javadi. Brody being smuggled into Venezuela was orchestrated all along - remember that his 'captor' was expecting his arrival all along.

Saul knew all along. I thought the final scene suggested that it had been Saul who had been pulling the strings all along, although Carrie may have been involved in the operational details of the plan.

He was being smuggled to Venezuela. He went via Canada as (a) the border isn't far from DC - much easier than trying to take him all the way south and (b) it's relatively easy to get across the border undetected.

We don't know for sure how El Nino knows Carrie, but I assume he is known to her from previous operations. It's a bit like James Bond being known by every 5-star hotel he strolls into ...

Is it just me, but I can't stand Saul

Yep, just you.

He's one of the most interesting characters in the show, alongside Quinn and Dara Dahl(sp?)

I can't either, so that is two of us!
I liked him a lot in Series One, but now he looks too morally compromised to me.

Well, I gave in and started watching again and within 2 episodes I was shouting at the TV again! Oh for goodness sake, in which land, in which secret services organisation, would you ever find a screw-loose, loose cannonball like Carrie?
No wonder the CIA burned down - it deserves to if it employs idiots like Carrie.

And as for Brody, I did not miss him at all the last few episodes. Get rid of Carrie too - in a nice way, of course. Maternity leave or something.

So what and who exactly would you like to see?

According to sky's guide,

There is really no need to be sarcastic.
I don't like Saul now, but I can see his importance in the CIA and look forward (perhaps) to seeing how the story pans out.
Whereas I find Brody and Carrie both extraneous to the story now and irritating in the extreme. They can be lost from the plot and it would still work.

I got the feeling Saul may have told the Venezuelan to tell Brody that he knew Carrie. That way Brody would think he was safe.

I liked the quote I read in the TV listings about following the 2 double acts in Homeland, Carrie & Quinn and Saul and his beard

I can't get over his remarks about Farah wearing a headscarf. I really don't understand what the programme was doing with that scene and the fact that they haven't gone back to it at all makes me think that they expect the viewer to see it as a reasonable thing to say to someone. It ruined the character for me.

Yes, that's how I've interpreted it too. At the very least Saul was aware of what was happening with Brody, if not pulling all the strings himself.

I think it was intended to show the level of Dar Adal's hatred to serve as a counterpoint to Saul. Saul is willing to set aside his prejudices to work with his enemies for the greater good. Dar Adal's feelings are much closer to the surface and more likely to influence his decision-making.

Not wishing to fall out with you but the sarcastic smiley is available for use?Is was not meant to be offensive to you .
I just wondered that as you don't like Saul and think Carrie and Brody could be dispensed with, what you would like to see ?
I don't agree with you that Carrie aand Brody could be lost from the plot .
For me , personally from the very first episode Series1 it's been about them and how their lives are entangled with each other .

Homeland has really been back on form for the past 2/3 episodes and been more enjoyable for it.

I certainly didn't expect Saul to be smacking Javadi in the face, Quinn to be shooting Carrie, Mira's secret lover to be a spy or for Saul to have known where Brody was all this time leading us to believe Saul knows exactly what he's been doing right from the very start and is the 'puppetmaster' so to speak. This has definetely been one long game indeed.

We're more than halfway into the season now and we have a pretty good idea of the stakes and the various conflicts: Saul turning Javadi into an asset, Lockhart trying to burn Saul to the ground, Quinn's desire to quit and Carrie's attempt to prove Brody's innocence things are really starting to ramp up.

So looking forward to tonight with a Brody episode.

In many ways it feels that Homeland has been setting up for its inevitable end. I don't think it realistically has much longer (2 more years maybe).

What did Saul say they needed Brody for in 7 days?