I think off the rails may have been overstated on my part, but I have been let down a little this year compared to how great last season was. I think Claire Danes and Damian Lewis have been a little over the top this year and there are just a lot of unbelievable (in a bad way) moments to this season (helicopter, Brody having a video chat on his phone from Nazir that the CIA doesn’t see or hear after taping his phone for weeks, Nazir having access to a helicopter but living behind a generator in an abandoned warehouse….). Last night’s show was better, but catching Nazir was a bit anticlimactic. I do think they have set it up for an epic season finale though and can’t wait to see how they wrap it up. Overall I still think it’s a very entertaining show, just not as great as I hoped.

quote:

Originally posted by GlennK:
catching Nazir was a bit anticlimactic.

+1, couldn't agree more. The only twist i see is that Brody decides to follow in Nazir's footsteps. But Walden is dead so next target is Carrie and the CIA?

After this latest episode, I felt a sudden, upward acceleration and when I looked down, I could make out the outline of a shark far beneath me.

I was talking about Homeland with a coworker and as we discussed the last couple of episodes some other problems came to mind. Did the CIA really not question Brody in the death of the VP? Hellooooo!!! He tried to kill him before and he went to the VP’s office on very shaking ground. I hope they go back to a more realistic storyline next year. I’m still entertained, but I have friends that are already out on this show and I can see why.

Finally caught this weeks episode.

Excellent show as always. The show is obviously shifting towards members of the CIA and their rogue internal members wanting to renege on their deal, and kill a U.S. congressman. The leadership on this case has their own agenda.

The VP with a pacemaker having a cardiac event is no surprise or stretch. People with pacemakers have such daily. The VP has been dead a very short time, and it takes weeks for final results of such events.

Viewership continues to break records each week, with this weeks audience being up 8% over previous all-time highs. ( previous week) Season two is up 35% in their ratings over season one.

Showtime has a powerful 1-2 punch on Sunday night.

I'm anxious to see what happens this Sunday.

quote:

Originally posted by wine+art:
The VP with a pacemaker having a cardiac event is no surprise or stretch. People with pacemakers have such daily. The VP has been dead a very short time, and it takes weeks for final results of such events.

Oh, come on. This is not some random guy with a bad pacemaker, this is the VP! He was found dead next to an admitted terrorist that came very close to blowing himself and the VP up. The CIA wouldn’t at least raise an eyebrow about this? They wouldn’t ask why Brody was there or try to trace his calls? How did Nazir know where the pacemaker box was anyway? If he has such friends in high places, why was he alone in that warehouse in the end? And what cell provider do both of them use to be able to have a perfect video chat from the VP’s office and a warehouse in the middle of nowhere? Whatever it is I want to switch to it because my phone doesn’t even work in my office.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GlennK,

quote:

Originally posted by GlennK:

quote:

Originally posted by wine+art:
The VP with a pacemaker having a cardiac event is no surprise or stretch. People with pacemakers have such daily. The VP has been dead a very short time, and it takes weeks for final results of such events.

Oh, come on. This is not some random guy with a bad pacemaker, this is the VP! He was found dead next to an admitted terrorist that came very close to blowing himself and the VP up. The CIA wouldn’t at least raise an eyebrow about this? They wouldn’t ask why Brody was there or try to trace his calls? How did Nazir know where the pacemaker box was anyway? If he has such friends in high places, why was he alone in that warehouse in the end? And what cell provider do both of them use to be able to have a perfect video chat from the VP’s office and a warehouse in the middle of nowhere? Whatever it is I want to switch to it because my phone doesn’t even work in my office.

The VP was with his running mate, a VP hopeful and a US congressman, not a terrorist. The CIA is not in on the deal that was cut by David and his rogue team including putting Peter in charge of OPS. That is why Carrie, Saul and others were not even aware of who this person running OPS was as he is not CIA...thus they decided to find out who he was on their own. It is this rogue operation that now is trying to run interference against Saul. Saul knows David is dirty.

I cannot help you with your phone at the office.

quote:

Originally posted by GlennK:
because my phone doesn’t even work in my office.

AT&T?

I just watched this week's episode tonight, and I'm starting to see the ways of GlennK. There were definitely some bad moments in this one. So, Carrie goes into that warehouse/plant thing with at least 4 agents, then 2 of them disappear, so her and the other guy decide to go investigate a hiding place for the most dangerous man in the world on their own??? And then where did everyone else go?

And then Galvez (think that was his name) heads off on his own. This guy is at a spot with lots of ambulances, and he decides to drive off on his own because his gunshot wound is bleeding out? And tells nobody about it?

That stretched a bit further than I had expected from this show, but I still enjoyed the hell out of the episode.

I'm witholding final judgement until Sunday night.

That said, I thought the first four or so episodes of this season were outrageously strong in that they served both plot and character development. Since then, character (and, at times, plausibility) has seemed to take a backseat to plot. I still love it, but... it is not quite the same. But, I'll re-evaluate Sunday night.

Excited for tonight, but hate to see the season end.

aside from the way Brody was framed, that episode was pretty disappointing.

the writers are getting amazing mileage out of that video. great use of that.

what the heck happened at the end??

is saul the mole??

i thought that was pretty weak.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jorgerunfrombulls,

Season finally started slow but ended well enough that I was glued to the screen. Tell next year!

Read that Claire Danes just had a baby boy. Congrats to her on that and all the show's Golden Globe nominations. That CIA issued pregnancy cloaking device is amazing!

Finally finished Homeland this morning as I feel asleep the first two times I tried to watch it. It started slow, but overall I liked it as I did not see that coming. I figured Nazir's crew would go after Brody, but not like that. The writers set it up so they can go in a lot of directions next season. Saul the mole? Tracking down Brody and/or the people that took credit for the attack?

I hope they address or at least look into where Carrie went after the explosion. If not its just another hole that doesn't make sense. I try to turn my brain off while watching the show, but there were just to many holes to overlook this season. I have never seen a show go from uniformly loved by the critics one year and then completely split the next year. Disappointed season overall after great first season, but it's still entertaining and can be saved with a good season next year.

quote:

Originally posted by jorgerunfrombulls:


is saul the mole??

Are you talking about the last scene?

Saul was praying in Yiddish.

I'm not liking all the Carrie & Brody love story, and hope that is over for now.

Excellent season, good finish and looking forward to next year.

I thought Saul was the star of season two. (Carrie season one)

I just watched the final episode last night. I enjoyed the season overall, but can see some complaints about certain areas...I still say it has way less flaws than other shows and the fact that we are mentioning some of this stuff is a tribute to how good the show really is on a regular basis. I agree that they really should address what story Carrie has to come up with to tell Saul and others about where she disappeared to for 10 or so hours after the attack. I also found it pretty odd that there was a memorial service for the VP and the President wasn't there.

I too was getting a bit tired of the love story, and the beginning half of the final episode was slow, but I did find it good for the development of the decision that Carrie had to grapple with. I loved Quinn's 360 and confrontation with Estes (disappointed he won't be around next season). I'm not sure I follow the comments that others made about Saul being the mole. Maybe I didn't catch something there.

Just saw the end. Loved it. The issues raised don't impact my enjoyment at all.

quote:

Originally posted by wine+art:

quote:

Originally posted by jorgerunfrombulls:


is saul the mole??

Are you talking about the last scene?

Saul was praying in Yiddish.

I was thinking he was the mole because he volunteered to do the burial at sea instead of going to the VP's service. They have done a good job of creating just enough doubt around Saul to keep people guessing. Saul is my favorite character by far on Homeland.

quote:

Originally posted by wine+art:
I'm not liking all the Carrie & Brody love story, and hope that is over for now.

Agree. Besides that scene when he confessed to her, they have always had awkward chemistry together IMO.

quote:

Originally posted by Wine Sparty:
I'm not sure I follow the comments that others made about Saul being the mole. Maybe I didn't catch something there.

Volunteering to oversee the burial of Nazir instead of going to the VP’s service, volunteering to drive the female terrorist when they tracked her down, giving her the glasses and leaving her alone to kill herself and a couple of other moments that I can’t remember now. I don’t really think he is the mole, but there is enough there to see it happening if the writers want to go that way. Although making the story plausible as not stopped these writers so far!

quote:

Originally posted by winetarelli:

quote:

Originally posted by PurpleHaze:

quote:

Originally posted by KSC02:
I must check out this Homeland you speak of...

I've had this in my Netflix queue for months now. Still showing "very long wait...."

Is this worth buying? In other words, will I ever watch the episodes more than once? TIA.... Otherwise, I'll wait very long.

PH

You may watch them 2 or 3 times. Probably not more than that for the next couple of years. But it is worth it to know why everyone is screaming about the show.

Plus, you can always just pop it in and pause it on Morena Baccarin for room aesthetics

Got this for Christmas. Being sick at home for 2 days allowed me to stage a Homeland marathon. Wow....

PH

quote:

Originally posted by wine+art:

quote:

Originally posted by jorgerunfrombulls:


is saul the mole??

Are you talking about the last scene?

Saul was praying in Yiddish.

No, I was aware that was Yiddish. I'm referring to the way the character is being set up. He has an aversion to lie detectors, he volunteered to be away when the bomb went off, and is one of very few characters who has all of the information (CIA, Brody, etc).

I'd be surprised, but that last episode threw me off completely - and not really in a good way.

Any story line that allows Brody back into the US would be a load of crap. If he's responsible for the bombing (which I don't think he is), the show loses a lot of credibility.

They were also beginning to reach a lot towards the end of the season. A lot of plot holes, but that's fiction, I suppose.

Still a good show, IMO, but nowhere near S1 for me.

Studiously not reading any posts on Season 2. Devoured Season 1 and now catching up on Season 2 on demand. Thanks to those who recommended I get off my ass and watch this. Fun stuff.

PH