Accurate description. But you left out Kashmir. This single issue has dominated Pakistani psyche since the 1950s. Its become an obsession, unlike any in world history. It has been bringing Pakistan down, whereas it has not stopped India from progressing.

Whatever your views on it, Pakistan has to accept that no nation in the world will secede territory, so what does it seek to achieve? Why is an entire nation killing its future over this?

The ambassador's husband is so selfish. Death for him is an easy option.

Did the ambassador throw the belt out of reach? She looked surprised when Carrie told her that the husband was in the car. In the prison, the husband called Martha's name when she was about to leave the prison, was it because he couldn't reach the belt?

WOW. Just turned onto this pile of crap. The first series was kind of good, but my God the unbelievability of this show is beyond words!
In a scene just know a guy compromises all the lives of agents and people in a safe room by pushing a woman out of the way and handing over a laptop with top secret agents names....then a few scenes later he is still in his job, in charge of the people he endangered.

WHAT A PILE OF CROC!

I assumed he didn't have the courage to go through with it?

I enjoyed that episode but I do feel if this happened in real life, it would induce war between the US and Pakistan, not just a breakdown of international relations.

I thought that it happened in Libya recently when the US ambassador was killed. Too lazy to check it on Google as it's late. If I am not mistaken the US ambassador was killed and also some other important embassy staffs in Libya.

I am. Didn't like him at all in the last series but he's not the pain we expected him to be and he's been surprisingly supportive of Carrie and Quinn. Someone commented on the Guardian website that his entire dialogue should consist only swearing because he does it so well!

Kashmir was supposed to be dealt with by of a referendum. The worlds so called biggest democracy India said they would give one and never did and almost certainly never had any intention of giving a referendum on the issue. Maybe you should be considering why does India not want to give the people of Kashmir that referendum? Why are they so prepared to have such hostile relations with their neighbour and ex country men and women over one state even more so when India says they are the world's biggest democracy?

In any case, Kashmir doesn't really come into US relations with Pakistan anyway.

It wasn't a list of secret agents, it was a list of Pakistan's (or assets as they call them) who help them. I agree it was a little bit stupid opening the vault risking those life's inside, but equally watching people you know get executed in front of you and not do anything must be tough.

Have to admit I'm enjoying season 4 of Homeland a lot than the other 3 seasons. Another great episode.

I think you have to suspend your belief in reality when you watch Homeland and enjoy it for what it is.

Secret Tunnels into an embassy in an extremely volatile country....seriously??

Just being able to walk into the CIA station chiefs private quarters to swap medication ?

Driving out of the embassy compound with no authorisation just hours after a major attack ?

I have had the misfortune to watch some of this series as my OH still really likes it. I simply cannot bear the Carrie character and therefore stopped watching 2 series ago.
I know in any drama you have to suspend disbelief but to me, Homeland does this to the extent that the whole brief has become farcical:

Mentally unstable person (on or off medication) in such a senior position?

Said person constantly endangering other staff member's lives as well as her own?

Said person constantly making bad decisions, being generally unpleasant and walking out of meetings?

It simply beggars belief that this person is not in prison for her actions, never mind still being given carte blancje to do what the heck she likes.

To be fair though, this is the fulcrum of the whole show, the fact that the Carrie character is actually a fantastic agent, but one who has a number of problems which make her a nightmare to work with... in the first season this aspect was used dramatically in making Carrie the only person to suspect that Brody had been turned, but no-one would believe her... since then it's been downplayed (probably too much to be honest), but it's still the foundation of the series...

very disappointed to see the fara character getting killed off last night , had a bit of a crush on her

I thought they should have turned off the screen for a while. I'm sure that's what happened in 24 one time in that situation.

I thought this was the most 24-like episode of Homeland ever. Almost everything in it had happened in 24 at one time or another! Sometimes more than once. Quinn seems to be the new Jack Bauer, so I was surprised that his sidekick survived.

That Ex senator was mad to trust that Haqani. It was obvious he would try and kill everyone once he got what he wanted.

Although, I've enjoyed every season of Homeland, this is definitely turning out to be one of the best. Apart from an engaging plot, they've introduced some great new characters into the series - Martha, her spineless husband (who will always be Paul from Desperate Housewives to me), Khan, Tasneem. Lockhart is more interesting than Estes and even Haqqani is turning out to be a pretty menacing villain (I just wish he didn't remind me of Catweazel )

It's a drama. Not real life. Not even intended as a docu-drama on the CIA. In real life a lot more people unnecessarily die because of the actions of seemingly sober, sensible politicians advised by CIA. Take Iraq and Afghanistan. for example with no doubt plenty of CIA involvement on decisions made.

Are Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George W Bush, Tony Blair in prison after doing what the heck they liked ?

[quote=FrankBT;76054975]It's a drama. Not real life. /QUOTE]

Exactly. Like the best drama, it gives the intelligent viewer enough to wonder about without preaching, dumbing down or getting mired in complexity. All while telling a gripping story with characters you care about.

And the really great thing about Homeland, it makes you realise that things are probably 100 times more insane, shocking and unbearable in real life.

All this from one telly show. Quite remarkable really.

In my opinion no, he didn't have the guts to go through with it, he really is pathetic. Can someone please remind me, as I've forgot, what did Nazreen have on him to make him commit treason?

She knew he was the one leaking secrets to Sandy.

I've been wanting the answer to this question too, but I don't understand your answer. Where would he have obtained intel. that would be of interest to the Pakistanis? His wife wouldn't have that much, would she? Also what was his motivation for contributing said info.?
Apologies if this was all covered in the early episodes - I did watch them, but it seems to have escaped me.

More confused than ever now.

Great series tho' - can't recall ever seeing anything on TV before that actually made me feel tense, like the prisoner exchange and the terrorists getting into the embassy did.

Were we ever told why he was doing that? Financial motives maybe?

Someone (sorry but can't remember who, possibly Tasneem) mentioned that the "secrets" had come from the Ambassador's desk. I don't think that it has been made clear why he did it in the first place, but in my opinion it was because he is a weak man who resents putting his career on hold for his more powerful wife, and so he did it to get back at her. They seemed on the brink of separating before it all came out. He probably justified it to himself that he wasn't really doing any harm as he was passing secrets to one of their own.
However I don't know if we ever found out who Sandy was passing them onto or who he was visiting when he got killed.

As you've not watched this series, your views are naturally limited but the really big decision that Carrie made and had countermanded was in the Ops Room when she ordered the drone strike on the meeting with Saul and the terrorists in the desert when the terrorist was using Saul as a human shield.

If Carrie's decision had been acted upon, Saul would be dead but so would a prominent terrorist, the release of the prisoners could not have been leveraged against Saul's release, the attack on the embassy would not have taken place and the 40+ American deaths would not have happened.

She made absolutely the right call for the right reasons but the more emotional men in the ops room (Quinn and ? Lockhart?) refused to let her order stand. All the subsequent attacks and deaths would have been prevented if Carrie's order had been carried out.

Of course, there'd have been no storyline either if the drone had attacked and killed Saul et al ... but Carrie when her meds are balanced is one heck of a Middle Eastern specialist.

Obviously, I do agree one does have to suspend belief on the amount of latitude she has to carry out her work but that's the case with most of these series... 24 is utterly absurd but no less gripping for that. Some of the seasons, anyway. Overall, Carrie being bi-polar and doing her job well is not that big a leap of faith for me. This series is as excellent as the first - I'll forgive a lot to have a drama that makes me feel exhausted at the end of an hour because I've been so tense.

That's my interpretation too - weak man seething with resentment over his wife's successful career which requires him to globetrot after her. Of course, wives of male diplomats have been doing that for centuries...