Homeland

Picked up S1 last night and am going to start watching it in a few. Having swept all those awards recently got me curious.

Any fans of the show? Whatcha think of the new season so far?
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I haven't watched the show yet, because the premise isn't very compelling to me. But I'll admit the awards sweep made me very curious about it. I'll probably check it out some day.
 

Darkman

Obey the one Law of Tooth & Claw
I've found it to be a surprisingly interesting & very good show to watch. I admit I wasn't too thrilled about it to start but its grown on me quite abit. As for the second season, the way they ended last weeks episode has me glued to the screen to see where this show goes next.
 

Johnstantine

Skibbidy Boo Bop
Eh, it was alright. I haven't watching any of the second season yet, and I probably won't until it's done.

The show does a good job of suspense (like, really good), but the character development isn't all that wonderful. Claire Danes is fucking annoying, while Damian Lewis does a great job. The supporting cast, however, is awesome. Mandy Patinkin is great, as I love him in everything, and Morena Baccarin does a wonderful job playing her character.


I will tell you this, though, the final episode of the season has one of the most intense moments ever. Like, holy fucking shit.
 
I fell asleep last night, 2 episodes short of finishing S1. It grips you at the start but slows down in the middle before revealing a twist about
Walker being alive and Brody's promise made with his captive
and that's where I'm at right now. So far it's good, not great. I have high expectations about the end, now that you mention that Johnstantine ^_^. This weekend a friend of mine's staying over on Sunday and she hasn't watched any of the new season's episodes, so I'll wait on watching it with her.

I think Danes is trying to be like Deb from Dexter with the aggressive attitude and cursing, while she doesn't come close, her character's evolved a bit. Patinkin and Baccarin kinda steal the show. Mike (the character's) performance is under-rated.
 
I recently watched the first season and I'm watching the first episode of the second season now. I also got interested in the show because of all the awards it won and I have to say I've enjoyed watching it so far.

Johnstantine said:
Claire Danes is fucking annoying

IncantatioN said:
I think Danes is trying to be like Deb from Dexter with the aggressive attitude and cursing, while she doesn't come close

I agree with your opinions about the majority of the cast but I disagree when it comes to Claire Danes; I actually liked her performance (but I've always liked her, so perhaps I'm biased)
 
Finished season 1 last night. Damn, I like Danes' character during those last 3 episodes and great acting on her part. What happened to
Walker was predictable and even the whole outcome to the bunker scene only because I know there's a second season and I've seen Brody on a poster for it, so I kinda knew he'd survive somehow
. Have to admit, I didn't see that last scene coming
where she recalls Brody mentioning the kid's name in his dream
. Overall a decent-to-good first season. Nothing great.

Anyone on board season 2? How is it so far?
 
IncantatioN said:
Anyone on board season 2? How is it so far?

I've watched three episodes of season 2 and I'm enjoying the show as much as I did during season 1. I particularly liked the ending of the third episode.
 
Yeah, great ending that. The next 2 episodes have been great as well. Brody was smart
not to mention Roya when he admitted stuff to Carrie towards the end of the interrogation, so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. Will he play both sides or tell Roya about the compromise and then work against the CIA by not giving them the full picture? I think we'll know in the next episode, but I also think at some point he'll switch sides for his convenience because he's shown how adaptable he can be.
 
Bumping this since the new season began airing. 3 episodes in, I hope the plot picks up a bit. The first episode showed good promise. Second was kind of compromised for me because of Dana's side story and I think her character's being plain annoying. But at the same time, things don't go as planned for
Claire and as much as it sucks for her character, I like that
. Anyway the third episode focuses on
Brody and doesn't go much into explaining how he got there or was hunted/ shot at by Columbians, can only suspect he was bouncing from one place to another so he wouldn't get caught cos of that 10 mill bounty on his head. The whole daughter-Brody thing didn't work for me but I'd like to see how he gets himself out of this one. Interesting things happen when Claire's at the CIA, so I hope she can get back somehow. So far this season hasn't grabbed me fully.
 
I can't say I like how the show is going so far this season; to be honest I thought the latest episode was quite boring. I hope things take a turn for the better soon or I'll probably stop watching.
 
Episode 4 was frustrating.
It felt like a reboot switch was pressed and the season NOW wants to begin. I don't get why Carrie was so hateful at Saul early on if she was in the know of the plan, she even cussed him out, I guess because she had to go through electro-therapy? I marathon'd the first 3 episodes before watching 4 and I don't see the point or continuity in Tower Of David. As annoying as Dana's plot was in this episode, what she said about the last true thing she heard from her Brody was a good scene. I'm sure Carrie's been followed when she got to Saul's place. It'll be interesting if she was followed and that faction uses her.
 
IncantatioN said:
Episode 4 was frustrating.

I'm with you. I guess it's not really a spoiler, but just in case:
did they really need four episodes to get where they are now?
 
m said:
I'm with you. I guess it's not really a spoiler, but just in case:
did they really need four episodes to get where they are now?

Nope.

Episode 5 was a bit of a mix bag still.
The down side was Dana's situation at the end of the episode, with no improvement ... back to square one for her. The up side was Saul's arc and the little things said with big implications for the future of the CIA's way of operating. The new guy doesn't seem to care about who he hurts on the way to bagging the target, that's the key difference between him and Saul. Anyway, what happens next with Javadi and Claire will be interesting. Saul plans for everything that's happened so far with Claire? I'd like to see him outsmarted just for that hahaha.
 
What did you think of episode 6, m? Wasn't as predictable, some highlights -
Carrie's pregnancy but I wonder if the CIA knows cos this is the CIA, I'd imagine they check all her stuff from time to time, etc. especially if you're as unpredictable as Carrie. Javadi killing his ex-wife and getting hit by Saul like that was cool. Carrie and Saul planning this whole Javadi capture the day after Langley is sort of a stretch but that's what they're going with. They've spent a lot of time on Dana vs Chris, so something's up with that ... maybe a connection to Brody's return?
 
IncantatioN said:
What did you think of episode 6, m?

I thought the episode was better than some of the previous ones.
Man, the way Javadi killed his ex-wife was vicious. I was wondering why he stopped by that house when he initially got to the States; that most certainly cleared it. Yeah, Saul breaking(?) his nose was cool, too bad it was too little, too late. Brody's return? Who's this Brody you talk about? :troll: But seriously, I'd really like to see what's going on with him, though I guess he's most likely exactly where we last saw him, getting addicted to heroin.

I still haven't watched episode 7, I hope I'll get to it soon. How was it?
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Just finished Season 1, but I'm not compelled to go any further.

Brody is a great character, but everything else about this show feels very pedestrian to me. By the end, I wasn't quite sure why I was still watching other than the base urge of "gotta see how it ends!", which quite frankly just doesn't do it for me anymore. Based on the reviews and the hype, I was expecting something special. What I got was a neat character surrounded by mediocrity.

I have to admit, it had a very strong opening. A solid pilot that had me engaged from the start. My excitement petered out shortly afterward though... My hesitation in investing in the show to begin with, the predictable premise, proved true in the end.
Whether Brody is or isn't actually a sleeper-cell terrorist isn't very interesting suspense within the trappings of a TV series that spans three seasons now ("Hey, I bet he doesn't actually blow himself up in the first season finale").
The structure of the show itself kills any suspense.
The show literally introduces a bomb, and then fails to utilize it, instead sticking to a predictable path.
It regularly raises the stakes, yet refuses to capitalize on them for fear of upsetting the status quo.

To me, this is among the cardinal sins of most TV dramas today--pretending to take chances with an edgy premise, but never actually taking the leap. This is in part why I love shows like Breaking Bad and The Wire. They were not beholden to the traditional structure of a TV series, nor afraid to completely change their formulas, upending the tables of sets, actors etc., to adapt to the story as it unfolded.

So I'll keep waiting for that next great show to emerge, because this isn't it. It's merely okay, with a solid lead.
 
Walter said:
Whether Brody is or isn't actually a sleeper-cell terrorist isn't very interesting suspense within the trappings of a TV series that spans three seasons now ("Hey, I bet he doesn't actually blow himself up in the first season finale").
.

That's certainly a problem for new viewers, but for people following the show as it aired it probably wasn't as much so. It certainly wasn't for me
(particularly since I don't follow news mentioning show renewals, returning characters, etc.)

Walter said:
So I'll keep waiting for that next great show to emerge, because this isn't it. It's merely okay, with a solid lead.

Good call. Based on your comments on the show I think you would be better off if you don't go any further because it doesn't get better. I'd say season two is on par with season one but season three is, in my opinion, a lot weaker than the first two. As I mentioned earlier on this thread, I myself am considering whether I should continue watching or not, but I'd say will probably watch season three in its entirety and decide when it ends.

Anyway, I watched episode 7 and it was OK
I liked that they finally mentioned something related to Brody's innocence; I thought this season would be focused on clearing his name and boy was I wrong.
 
I agree with m on this one, I think you should stop right there Walter. Season 2 gets marginally better but only by a short margin. Season 3 thus far hasn't been nearly as tense as the first two.

I couldn't give up watching the show because of the time already invested in this season. With this season I think, they're trying to be a bit over-reaching and too smart for what it should be with twists n such. Doesn't flow as well as it should, episode 3 in point.

Episode 8 -
liked that scene where Quinn tries to get Carrie to stop but also shoots her; in the ambulance when she asked him to get close I thought that would be the moment she tells him that she's pregnant but it didn't happen; Saul picking up Brody was kind of predictable, I'm sure he has big plans for him to work secretly for the CIA and infiltrate some organization in the process; Fara's arc in the episode was the highlight for me - that sort of conflict where she's angry about Javadi's actions and can't let go, plus the conflict with her father and the social pressures for her family in Iran affected by her job is a probably the most real life scenario situation we get to see in the show.
Decent episode.
 
Episode 9 was
pretty bad. There's no real consistency. First they show a lot of Quinn and give him much importance, now the focus shifts back on Brody and Brody forgets he has a family outside of Dana that he cares about, he snaps back in shape so quick, the melo-drama between Brody and Carrie, bringing Brody back into play for such a pivotal far-fetched mission with many what if's is just ... reaching to me. Highlight of the episode - Virgil and Max.
 
I just finished watching episode 9 and I don't have much to say except that I completely agree with you.
 
I just watched episode 11 and I think it's the episode I've enjoyed the most the whole season, which might not be much all things considered, but still... I'm actually looking forward to watching the season finale.

Going into the finale I wonder how the writers plan on solving the current situation,
on one hand I'm still rooting for Brody, but on the other hand, if he gets out of this one it will be a bit more of what Walter was saying: how can there be any suspense if he's basically untouchable?

Probably my favorite part of the episode was the scene where Abu Nazir's widow and Brody met. I think the scene was well done overall, but her performance in particular was what stood out to me.
 
Good end to the season, I was glad the writers
didn't pull Brody out of that sort of end-game situation because then it would be pretty unbelievable. This is good closure and gets the series to start on another arc/ direction. Brody's part is explored and done with. What I didn't like was Brody's family's exclusion/ reaction to the consequences of Brody's actions, etc. (by the writers) in the 4 month jump. I suspect they'll leave some of that for next season?

This was a weird, weak season - their weakest so far. It could've done without the first 4 episodes. The last 2 episodes saved the series, sort of.
 
I'm with you, I also think it was a good season finale.
I also agree that ending Brody's arc was the right thing to do, but it was still a bit sad to see him go.

I think this is actually a good point to stop watching, I'm not sure I want to sit through another season for just two good episodes.
 
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