Was Dana’s boyfriend played by the same actor who played Zack in this past season of Dexter?
Yup. I recognized him almost immediately. He’s got a rather unique look.
And sorry about constantly hyping on Danes, but she really does kill the show for me the moment she shows up. There’s a reason SNL even had a skit lampooning her “acting style”. Thankfully we’ve got the great Mandy Patinkin and F. Murray Abraham as a counter.
I’m not quite sure why I keep watching this. I think it’s because I keep hoping for the promise that the first season seemed to have. It was less a soap opera about Danes and more of a political thriller. Hopefully they’ll return to that formula this season.
Just finished Season 2 over the weekend, a little disappointed there’s not a way to buy the episodes as they come out like with other stations. I enjoyed Season 2 much more than the first, which had some good stuff, but seemed bent on the gimmicks surrounding Brody - like the way the show Sam and Diane’d his loyalties. Season 2 didn’t have to worry about that and could just focus on the story, although I felt like the second season lost me a bit once the car wreck kidnap stuff starts.
Awaiting the twist where the kidnap/pacemaker/skype stuff was all Brody’s idea instead of Abu Nazir’s.
Her crazy eyes during the Senate hearing were especially lively.
At this point it would just be inconsistent characterization if Clair Danes toned it down, wouldn’t it? Like it or not, her behavior is entirely consistent between the two seasons and is a big part of that character. If she suddenly started doing less crazy eyes, etc., it would have to be explained with an explanation within the series regarding medication or some other excuse.
That’s true. Once you start portraying your character with a mental illness in a manner that’s borderline comedy, you really need to stick with it or people are going to assume the director won out on his attempt to get you to an acting class. Then what do you have? Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria!
Who needs Brody anymore when we have Dana taking selfies, kissing her boyfriend, and eating dinner.
They could always shave her tone it down by writing in a dose or two of electroshock, or perhaps a lobotomy.
Whoever in the writing room thought S03E02 was a good script that made for good tv? They were wrong.
Worst episode to date. If the next two are as bad as this one (which is, admittedly, very unlikely) I’ll stop watching.
I didn’t hate Quinn, but I wasn’t fond of him initially, so it’s weird that his screen time is now what I look forward to most. Pretty much the only time I’m not just rolling my eyes. And I still think Danes is doing a good job with what she’s been given, but it’s no fun to watch.
The show has too much going on to have the A plotline for multiple episodes be Carrie dealing with bipolar. I have a hard time seeing how she legitimately hid for over a decade from pretty much everyone at the CIA.
Yeah, I don’t like the Carrie stuff because I don’t see how it can continue. Season 2 was already pushing it with how unhinged she got but still finding a reason to pull her back into action at the CIA, and now I feel like they’ve gone far enough I can’t imagine buying any justification for her to return to the agency. Even if getting her committed started as a political move, the way she’s breaking down now (never mind running to the press) is just going to make it too ridiculous to believe the agency would ever work with her again. I hope I’m wrong, but I hope I’m wrong quickly, because I don’t really care about Dana and her family at all, and Carrie was great as someone fighting to keep things just together enough to survive and keep being brilliant at her job, much less exciting to watch her just fall apart.
Quinn was the best thing in this episode and only for one scene. No Brody at all once again, meh. Still don’t care about Dana.
I thought Dana’s scenes were handled really well, especially toward the end between her and her mother. Given the circumstances, the reactions and behaviors of both characters were completely believable, and it’s important for the show to cover it. It’ll make it especially important if Brody can somehow prove his innocence (if he actually is innocent in the latest attack)
Definitely in disagreement about the episode. I thought it was fantastic. Very nice to have a slower-paced episode that focused more on character than plot, even if Carrie’s scenes are getting a bit redundant. Only part that was completely out of character was Saul’s ridiculous racism.
Totally agree with you. I don’t get the hate for this last episode. I thought it was one of the better ones they’ve had in a while.
Not great - but I thought 03x03 last night was quite a bit better than episodes 03x01 and the horrible 03x02. Still looking forward to a resumption of some CIA spy-shit; you know, what the show is supposed to be about?
They did a decent job creating a little world in that tower but damn, they are pushing the hell of it a bit. Really hoping they would defy conventions and not have him take the heroin at the end.
I kinda see this show as a way-less-shitty 24 now. As that it’s still pretty good.
I really love the pace of these last two episodes.
For its first two seasons, Homeland has been so incredibly fast-paced with far too little room to breath. Its best episodes in the first two seasons were where things just slowed down, enabling character to grow instead of plot point after plot point.
The first was somewhat mediocre, but these past two have done a fantastic job building that character, exploring the absolute hopeless situations they’re both in, and making it next to impossible to think of how they can get out of it. Brody actually taking the heroin at the end only makes his situation more hopeless and complex.
This episode was fine in the sense that the Brody stuff was good for a character I wish wasn’t on the show any more, and the Claire stuff was good for a character whose overall situation I don’t enjoy.
Or put another way, I’ve seen more people complaining about this episode than the last two, which I think is weird. This was good for where the season is right now, if you’re unhappy about how we got here, why weren’t you unhappy before?
Not talking about anyone in this thread, just other reviews and twitter stuff I’ve read.
I think the people complaining about this season so far are just upset it’s not exactly like the hectic and unrelenting first two seasons, rather than trying to judge it on its own merits.
This season actually gives me confidence in the series I didn’t previously have. The first two seasons were heavily reminiscent of 24 in how there were crazy twists and turns every episode, and as the series went on season after season, it was abundantly clear that it simply couldn’t sustain that pace for the long haul.
So I’m glad that Homeland hasn’t followed that same pace and is instead making some different moves to justify its continued existence - focusing on the lives of the characters and how they learn to cope with the tragic events of past seasons, rather than constantly introducing new conspiracies and events to build on top of the previous ones.