Homeland

That’s weird. It sounds like it’s going to turn into a completely generic spy show. Season 3 did take some steps in that direction, I guess.

As long as Mandy & F are around, I’ll keep watching.

The end of season 3 makes it seem Mandy won’t be around. But they can change that in a heartbeat, I guess.

Mandy Patinkin is moving to the “private sector”, but as the CIA outsources a lot of its services to the “private sector” he is going to be involved. I guess the point to take away is that he will not be the DCI and so not be able to fix everything that goes wrong for Claire Danes’ character in her new duties as Istanbul Station Chief.

Maybe they’re just trying to get ready for the inevitable Patinkin “disappear from a TV show I star in for no reason.”

Didn’t he do that only for Criminal Minds, because the show upset him? Or did I miss something?

He did that on Chicago Hope, too. In fact, I read somewhere that he was persona non grata after CH for half a dozen years because he left the show high and dry. I love his work, but apparently he is not easy to work with.

Mandy will definitely be back… a creator/writer person was interviewed recently and he stated something to the effect that the CIA outsources a lot of work and Mandy is in the private sector now… this produces a lot of story possibilities… the CIA can outsource work to Mandy and he is back in the show.

Until recently I had no idea he was the actor with that funny, repetitive line in the Princess Bride… does everyone put on weight when they get older?? jeez… (except Brad Pitt)

I get the strong feeling the writers made a radical course change in mid-season. There are loose ends and awkward transitions everywhere. For example:

In case you haven’t finished the season

What was the point of Fara’s character? They spent a lot of time establishing her. Then after all that work, they promptly shuffled her off the show without giving her any reason to exist (other than explaining a truly unimportant plot detail.) Same with F Murray Abraham. Same with the French homewrecker/spy, though he at least got to do something splashy before being handwaved off-screen. Why the abrupt, clumsy exit for Dana when her entire family would become redundant by the end of the season? Why bother making Brody a heroin addict when it was irrelevant to both the theme and the plot? Etc. etc. etc.

Compared to how tight the first season was, it felt like the writers were stumbling around in the dark.

The showrunner has commented that two of the characters you’re talking about are there to build up the ensemble cast feel for season 4.

So there’s a reason, just a bad one. Cool.

I think the tension with Brody comes from the fact that the writers have been trying to kill him off since Season 1’s finale, but Showtime hasn’t let them. Just like they didn’t let Dexter’s writers kill Dexter at the end of the series. Homeland has done enough backflips to keep Brody relevant, and if Season 4 is done at all, it’ll be far better off without him. I’m certainly glad to see Dana go; it seems she only had one useful facial expression. I think this last season ending works as a series end if it has to, but I doubt it will. Showtime doesn’t have enough in the running as a replacement, it seems.

She showed the role of Muslims and Iranians living in America, and their conflicted views of what happens in their homeland. Also, it was sorta important that her uncle in Tehran (or whatever) was an opponent of the current regime, and was the liaison who delivered the sat phone to Carrie, let his place be the meeting point for the Mossad agents, went with her to the hanging, etc. This was an off-the-radar project, where it could be argued they couldn’t use actual CIA assets.

Same with F Murray Abraham.

He’s always been there to contrast with Saul. You never knew where his alliances were, and he showed the sort of lifer Saul could be if he always wanted to go by the book.

Same with the French homewrecker/spy, though he at least got to do something splashy before being handwaved off-screen.

He was important to making the Senator an ambiguous/potentially evil figure.

Why the abrupt, clumsy exit for Dana when her entire family would become redundant by the end of the season?

That was easily the most unfortunate handling. Thematically, the season was about redemption, and Brody was unable to be redeemed by his own daughter. Of course that made it easier to accept a suicide mission.

(Even more amusing is how his son is so non-existent.)

Why bother making Brody a heroin addict when it was irrelevant to both the theme and the plot? Etc. etc. etc.

That did seem pointless.

I think the point of making Brody a heroin addict was to prep him for being OK with dying. He wasn’t really in a place where hanging was just fine with him at the end of season 2. He needed to go so far down that death looked like a release to the audience.

Just “kind of watched” the last 4 episodes this week. Had it on in the background while reading, mostly.

Danes’ character has done everything but directly betray the CIA…wait, she has more than once, I forgot. And they hand her a coveted position? And with full knowledge of her mental issues?

Homeland has turned out to be a pretty damn good comedy. I thought they might be trying to play it serious back in season 1, but they found their comedic footing in season 2 and really amped up the laughs this season. Kudos to the team behind this delightful farce.

Out of interest, and I hope this hasn’t been discussed on one of the previous 10 pages, has anybody seen the Isreali series “Prisoners of War” on which Homeland is apparently based (according to the opening credits) and has any impressions to share how it compares or how close they are?

Isn’t not knowing that Mandy Patinkin played Inigo Montoya grounds for expulsion from these boards? ;)

They sure sanitized Brody’s fate quite a bit there.

I think there is a problem with the BBS. I see Jason replied to someone but can’t see to whom.

That might be true, but I don’t think it was necessary. The first half of the season was about the fallout of his actions and how it impacted his family, which was a good idea that was derailed by the “two kids on the run!” idiocy, and then his attempt and/or desire for redemption. After his daughter’s rejection, he was done.