Homeland

Well that was mostly awesome. The interrogation sequence was superior television. And yes the stupid part was really stupid.

— Alan

Which stupid are you referring to? I can name a couple. One involves a car. The other was inevitable after last week’s episode in order to maintain the cast.

The car accident was SO 24. They might as well start introducing random cougar attacks. I can buy the other twists as consequences to the plot.

Yeah, the car accident. Felt very 24 to me too. Seems like every week Homeland manages to do enough to keep me interested in the next episode, but never optimistic.

I thought for sure that they were going to show that Abu Nazir was just waiting for an opportunity to do something the VP’s son, which would end up entangling Dana, but with the accident, it now seems like that story line is going somewhere else.

I had hoped they’d ground some of the intelligence stuff with some semblence of reality, but as of last night’s episode, the amount of issues I have with the intrigue aspects of the show has effectively overcome my ability to view this series as anything but a 24 knockoff. Apparently you can be a complete screwup and the CIA will give you a raise. And they may as well give the villains mustaches they can twirl while they plot nefarious deeds.

I’m still watching, but that’s only as a guilty pleasure at this point.

The cougar was a wtf bbq with a side of omfg slaw. The car accident was an obvious, easily predicted, consequence of two kids behaving like… two kids.

I still get what you guys are saying, I don’t like the daughter story line at all and it does seem like an obvious attempt to ratchet up the drama an unnecessary notch but it’s no cougar.

Not reading any posts in this thread… just started watching season 1 and am at episode 9… amazing series.

cant wait to watch season 2

I thought the forensics team acted foolishly this episode. As soon as Roya told Brody the team would find something, I figured it’d be a bomb. Then when Claire Danes tells New Guy to watch the fuck out, it was pretty dumb not to bail. Oh well. Good thing New Guy is a demigod.

Unfortunately, S02E06 is where this series takes an unalterable exit off course from ANYTHING remotely grounded in reality and has gone balls-to-the-wall Television drama. As Ronald D. Moore says disparagingly of such plot twists, “that was a TV moment.” sigh

It’s still a good show, but it’s no longer a great one. Indeed, it’s pretty clear that the greatness that was Season 1 is not going to be repeated. Damned shame. Not giving up on the show, but it took the left turn at Albuquerque when the Jihad SWAT team punked the CIA in broad daylight in small town Pennsylvania - without consequences no less.

Agreed with your larger point – season 1’s quality wasn’t sustainable – but the last thing you said doesn’t make sense. The shoot out was one of the last things to happen in the episode. I imagine the consequences will be explored in the coming episodes.

I apologize. I clearly articulated what I meant to convey very poorly.

I was commenting on the fact that in a small town on its “main street” at store front level, a group of SWAT team guys enters a store from the street and alley way with machine guns – and begin a sustained firefight. It was like some scene from the beginning of Half Life 2.

There are businesses located on either side of this tailor shop. It’s broad daylight. Yet there seems to be no reaction from the locals at all to these events and multiple machine guns being fired in broad daylight on main street.

True, it wasn’t a whole LOT of time that was shown in the scene, but there’s not a single citizen who is shown crouched down or gawking on the street outside, not even a wail of an approaching police siren to be heard as this goes on, either. It’s like the entire event happened in some deserted town. Nobody can be seen and nothing can be heard. There were no apparent immediate consequences or impact upon the town’s civic life that happened as a result of the Jihadist SWAT team attack. It did not feel real at all.

Instead, the whole scene had the feel and stench of bullshit hovering over it. It’s television - and it felt like television: staged, fake and totally disconnected from reality. Given that the show has played the “real” feel to its plotlines to great effect to date, the stench to season 2, episode 6, was particularly noteworthy. I found myself unable to suspend my disbelief and I dropped out HARD as the scene was unfolding.

Poor writing – but even worse direction and sound editing. Crouching citizens, local parents smothering their kids and terrified locals cowering behind cars and postal boxes would have gone far towards keeping that disbelief in suspension.

Yeah I didn’t like the Jihadist attack team part either. There was no local reaction–I mean, we can assume people just didn’t go off around the street and see what’s up considering–but still, Gettysburg actually has decent law enforcement presence from numerous local and federal agencies. It’s not really the middle of nowhere. I like the fact that it happened (that was a bit of a shock), but the aftermath should have been a lot better.

Last episode is coming up this weekend. Any predictions?

Oh and the sideplot involving the death of Brody is kinda lame and it feels like the creators are going back to their 24 roots of stupid ass sub-plots and big government agency machinations.

— Alan

I’m not sure whether it’s encouraging or discouraging that the CIA apparently has a 72 strikes and you’re out policy.

I do keep thinking that somehow that Brody or the CIA will use the hit-and-run subplot against Walden at some point in order to protect Brody.

— Alan

Okay so that wasn’t the last episode. There are two more. I was thinking, “There’s no way you can end with that.” Thankfully they didn’t :)

— Alan

I had my doubts about season 2. I thought there was no way they could follow up season 1 either dramatically or just in terms of coming up with plausible plot reasons for the two main characters to work together.

But they pulled it off: up until now season 2 has been a worthy followup to season 1.

(Mostly. There was the occasionally eye-roller, like the aforementioned Gettysburg shootout. My favorite moment was mole boy getting shot in the gut and then walking it off.)

Tonight, though, my fears are back. Carrie is now a Woman In Peril? In the Abandoned Steam Factory, no less? When did this turn into a low budget 80s slasher?

Plus they pretty much ruined a major character. The had successfully created a figure of menace cloaked in mystery and ambiguity … then gave him a mustache-twirling monologue that turned him back into an action movie cliche.

I agree that tonight’s episode was lame, and Carrie hasn’t gotten any good material since the first half of the season. I think Brody’s the character that’s been ruined, though. They resolved the ambiguity of his motivations, and now we’re just watching him jump through some hoops.

I liked the Nazir monologue, though. There’s no moustache twirling at all – he’s clean-shaven, and I’d consider that a totally plausible casus belli for a man whose family’s been annihilated by drones.

He merely appears to be clean-shaven. Deep down he has a mustache in this episode, and he’s twirling it with everything he’s got. His motivations had been established before, with considerably more grace and economy. All the monologue did is tell the audience that he’s mad - mad, I tell you! And he’ll stop at nothing!

Yeah… the show does kinda blow now. Boardwalk Empire’s been good, though!