Homeland season 4 (RTE pace)

DRose1 · 08-10-2014 11:20pm #1

Just finished the first episode there and thought it was ok.

The main question I have is aimed at Rte. Why did they not show episode 2 as a back to back with episode 1 like they did in the US... Brainfart by those in Montrose or is there is some logic behind the decision I am missing?

The Black Oil · 08-10-2014 11:29pm

That bothered me a little as well. I thought in previous years they were more or less in sync with US airings (a day or two behind, sure) and I kept up with the US thread even when watching on RTE. Bit annoying to be an episode behind and I'll likely avoid that thread until the series has ended, but hey. Next week we've a later air time (22:30) due to football. I don't think I'll stay up that late for it.

As for the episode, we're back with some familiar elements, jazz included.

4.01

Things are messy at home and at work for both Carrie and Saul. The show's critical of US foreign policy and walks both sides of that, I think. It's littered throughout the episode through Carrie, Saul (some pointed lines), Quinn and the Lt.

The situation that unfolded is a cluster****, but I don't know that I entirely bought the dramatic weight of it until fairly late on. The bombing site didn't impact me much until we saw the line of bodies. The episode opens with setting up the hit which seems like a well-rehearsed routine for all those attached to this post. Do I buy Carrie as Chief of Station? Not sure yet. It was good see her questioning the quality of the intel from off, though. Interested to see what's the come with the potential radicalisation of the young lads, though I hope it's not that straightforward.

Go Harvey Go · 09-10-2014 12:58am

DRose1 wrote: »

The main question I have is aimed at Rte. Why did they not show episode 2 as a back to back with episode 1 like they did in the US... Brainfart by those in Montrose or is there is some logic behind the decision I am missing?

[PROBABLY-POINTLESS-ATTACK-ON-RTE]

I can't help but think that there was some logic behind this decision... some rather faulty logic, that is.

:rolleyes:

[/PROBABLY-POINTLESS-ATTACK-ON-RTE]

lukin · 09-10-2014 9:54am

DRose1 wrote: »

Just finished the first episode there and thought it was ok.

The main question I have is aimed at Rte. Why did they not show episode 2 as a back to back with episode 1 like they did in the US... Brainfart by those in Montrose or is there is some logic behind the decision I am missing?

Brainfart by Montrose more likely. They probably didn't even know that the US premiere was showing ep 2 as well as ep 1. They made a big boast in their advert about screening the new season premiere "less than 48 hours after it airs in the US". They are actually a week behind and will be for the rest of the season unless they show ep 2 and 3 together next week.
I was going to fire off an email of complaint but it doesn't bother me when I can get the latest ep from the cousins in the US the morning after it airs.

pegasus1 · 10-10-2014 10:39pm

maybe the states will have something interrupting the regular schedule for a week,sometime soon

Chimaera · 10-10-2014 11:01pm

Just watched the first episode there.

The show is definitely better for not having Brody in it, Carrie's a more interesting character without the weight of her infatuation for him dragging her down.

ghogie91 · 15-10-2014 1:54pm

I watched both episodes last night in the new season.

The scenes that should have been impact scenes really disappointed me. Like the bombing of the building that was suppost to have a wedding in it, it was near silence in the CIA before the birthday cake came out. It wasnt exciting at all, the line of bodies came up and that again didnt carry any real feeling of drama. The fact that Brodie is now dead is giving Carrie the lead roll, since I too think she is more interesting that him I am happy but I think the BiPolar Baby Struggling CIA Chief think will have to get involved waaaay more in action sequences or major decisions to really make a season out of it. She no longer has Brodie to refer back to when the story gets a boring.

The Black Oil · 19-10-2014 3:52pm

4.02

Quinn hitting the bottle and doing some droning of his own. CIA Director seems little more interesting this year, though seems unlikely to last the season, I'm guessing. The scene with the bereaved kid being doorstepped by journalist could have had a tad more oomph, imo. I really liked the close up shot of Carrie in the kitchen - felt very much a prelude to the homicidal beat later on. Much of the rest of the episode was classic Carrie - getting in everyone's face.

The word is accountability

The Black Oil · 21-10-2014 10:46pm

4.03

Jumping back to last week - I may be wrong, but I can't recall many US dramas where the lead female character has walked out on her child in the 'I have no choice' way, as Carrie put it.

Quinn's finally awake. I think in the video it was made to look like a truck blocked the car with the station chief, which would tie in with the guy with the ear piece. Carrie's making friends, as always. Shade or two of Brody when she went through the security screening and the Marine checked her bag. That's a pretty slick apartment she's based in.

Bathroom sales pitch was a bit odd, intimate and effective, but recruiting is rarely glamorous. Now we have a target. I'm interested to see the show crank up this aspect of things. Good to see Fara back, accent included. Jazz running, must try that. Need more Saul. All in time, I suspect.

Anachrony · 22-10-2014 9:28pm

The Black Oil wrote: »

I may be wrong, but I can't recall many US dramas where the lead female character has walked out on her child in the 'I have no choice' way, as Carrie put it.

Most US dramas with a brooding anti-hero protagonist have a male lead. And even those rare cases where a female gets to play anti-hero, usually caring for their family is their one redeeming quality. Carrie is a rare lead female anti-hero, and in her case her main redeeming quality is that she believes very deeply in her work, while her personal life is a mess.

Gekko · 24-10-2014 3:57am

Really enjoying this so far this series - poor Quinn is getting totally mindfúcked!

Saul's new gig / private outfit seems like it will become more intriguing too as will Carrie's colleagues in the outside office.

The Black Oil · 28-10-2014 11:47pm

4.04

Well, if there's one this episode made clear it's the amount of lies Carrie tells for a living. Fara slipped into her alternate accent rather handily, though flecks of her greenness are still evident, Quinn's own state of mind is still a little... That the uncle bloke is still alive was nice twist, if perhaps not too surprising.

More Saul this week, good, and yes, everyone should do some gardening. His meeting with Zaf from Spooks was fun. The general's earlier remark about Sept 11th is likely a common ish belief in some places, I'm guessing. They do at least appear to want to make something of the Pakistani characters and not just speak about them, e.g. the ones blackmailing the professor. Always something personal recruiters can squeeze.

With all the little touches of physical contact this week, the young lad was bound to have sex with someone, ahem!

The Black Oil · 05-11-2014 11:17pm

4.05

Continuing last week's pattern, it's slippery ISI who have the advantage with the CIA being mostly blind. The kid was never going to go for the initial approach about the uncle. Baby angle was a bit odd - however as said, we're in LEM mode - lying, exploitation and manipulation. Save for the bit at the end, and first mission jitters, Fara might be better intel gatherer this year.

Good to see Saul back in the field, well, trailing someone, even if you saw the airport rouse coming. iirc, not the first time he's had airport related bother, eh?

'OK, I'm trying to be ballsy here, but I'm not into suicide'. Good line.

Spiderman666 · 11-11-2014 11:30pm

Carrie was right. Take the shot! Saul is a patriot and knows the sacrifice a patriot must make for his country.

The Black Oil · 11-11-2014 11:51pm

4.06

Somewhat obvious episode, I suppose. We are sort of lacking in stand out scenes at the moment, well, until the back half of the ep.

Glad to see end of the bedroom banter. Decent play by Carrie - not that 1,000 GBP is a lot of money, but coupled with the passport and heightened risk/fake grab, she baited the hook effectively. You knew the jihadists would be wise to his appearance and have the inside track thanks to the ISI. That agency really has the upper hand again and the CIA's sloppiness is only too apparent. On Carrie's watch. Speaking of the jihadists, we do need a little more screen time to get a sense of their motives, beyond the violent/hating America element.

The professor bloke dropping off a bottle of sauce - hardly a bug in it given the rest of what he was able to pull off. Quinn kept quiet there despite the prof's reaching for profile on Carrie.

Are we back in wavering mental health territory again? There were a few of clues here.

- Carrie being a complete dick to Fara. iirc, Saul (AKA, God) had a similar scene last year. It does feel a little like they're pandering to a certain section of the audience, though.
- Take the shot! I think this is actually an interesting moral dilemma - Hollywood aside, what if it really was the head of the CIA?
- Her general lack of attention, self-care and irritability - well, that's always been there, really.

8mv · 12-11-2014 12:01pm

Liked that episode last night. Thought the season came to life at long last.

The Black Oil · 20-11-2014 3:25pm

4.07

Switching out the meds - that's some nasty business right there. I liked that the effect was pretty immediate. Sensory perceptions out of whack, paranoid delusions, irritability. The Brody thing was totally unexpected, talk about burning Carrie, ouch.

Haven't been all that keen on Lockhart in the past, but credit to him for not pussyfooting around the locals. 'I'm telling you now'. I also liked Saul's talk with the uncle. No, the show's not Islamophobic. Um, also, I think that's the second time he's had listen to people get the ride.

'Go ahead, say it. I sent him to his death.'
'We all did.'

Chimaera · 20-11-2014 3:36pm

I initially thought Lockhart had done well: sticking it to the Pakistanis, but then it occurred to me he made a total balls of it. In that moment he showed his entire hand to them and showed exactly how important getting Saul back is to them. The Pakistanis are running rings around the Americans right now and the Americans don't even know it.

Carrie's hallucinations were extremely well filmed. Watching it in surround sound just made it that much creepier.

When I saw Brody first, I thought I'd called it right at the end of last season when I felt he hadn't been killed in that hanging. Revealing it as a hallucination was a bit of a shock.

I was also a bit surprised Quinn hadn't picked up on her mental state sooner. He knows her better than anyone else there and should have copped that she was even more bat**** crazy than usual.

Beano · 20-11-2014 4:49pm

Chimaera wrote: »

I initially thought Lockhart had done well: sticking it to the Pakistanis, but then it occurred to me he made a total balls of it. In that moment he showed his entire hand to them and showed exactly how important getting Saul back is to them. The Pakistanis are running rings around the Americans right now and the Americans don't even know it.

Carrie's hallucinations were extremely well filmed. Watching it in surround sound just made it that much creepier.

When I saw Brody first, I thought I'd called it right at the end of last season when I felt he hadn't been killed in that hanging. Revealing it as a hallucination was a bit of a shock.

I was also a bit surprised Quinn hadn't picked up on her mental state sooner. He knows her better than anyone else there and should have copped that she was even more bat**** crazy than usual.

In fairness to quinn i think he did realise something was out of whack at the hospital but he got a kick in the balls for his troubles.

Baby4 · 26-11-2014 12:45pm

This post has been deleted.

Tranceypoo · 26-11-2014 6:00pm

Baby4 wrote: »

Last night's episode was excellent. Poor Saul!!! It actually showed Carrie's softer side, even if she is very annoying to watch for the majority of the time.

One thing annoyed me though- why not just tell Saul to wait somewhere remote, and send a helicopter instead of 2/3 agents in a beaten up VW Van...[/QUOTE

Only caught the last 15 mins of last nights episode, can someone tell me what the HELL??!!

The Black Oil · 26-11-2014 8:47pm

4.08

About the only cool head here was

the ambassador. Saul's little ploy to get the nail was decent. I liked how his initial breakout and alerting Carrie, etc, was fairly low key. They kept the main tension for later. Ugly, cruel and hopeless. Their relationship has always been so core to the show.

I'm not sure how Carrie twigged her meds were changed. Zaf from Spooks was bound to come to her at some point, I reckon. I did wonder if this was going to be the turning point of the season and we'd see Carrie get her game face back, but really, the CIA's still fairly screwed. The exception being they now know the professor's the leak. Poor form for the Pakistani recruiter to do some, ya know, basic intel work effectively in the lobby, but her smugness needs taking down a notch or two.

Interesting they managed to slip a reference to James Foley in there.

Chimaera · 27-11-2014 4:17pm

The Black Oil wrote: »

4.08

About the only cool head here was
the ambassador. Saul's little ploy to get the nail was decent. I liked how his initial breakout and alerting Carrie, etc, was fairly low key. They kept the main tension for later. Ugly, cruel and hopeless. Their relationship has always been so core to the show.

I'm not sure how Carrie twigged her meds were changed. Zaf from Spooks was bound to come to her at some point, I reckon. I did wonder if this was going to be the turning point of the season and we'd see Carrie get her game face back, but really, the CIA's still fairly screwed. The exception being they now know the professor's the leak. Poor form for the Pakistani recruiter to do some, ya know, basic intel work effectively in the lobby, but her smugness needs taking down a notch or two.

Interesting they managed to slip a reference to James Foley in there.

So Carrie screws up because of her personal feelings again!

I got the impression from the previous episode that Carrie hadn't taken those meds for a while (the whole panicked run back to the apartment to get them, etc.) so it wouldn't take too much to join the dots and figure out that her trip was connected to taking those meds again, and that her reaction was not normal.

Regarding the Pakistani guy, 3 possibilities: he's got the hots for Carrie; he's got a conscience; he hates yer wan from ISI. I'm betting on a combination of 1 and 3.

It'll be interesting to see how they deal with the Professor now. To me the sensible option would be have him followed to see what he gets up to for a few days. Get some intel and bring the situation back under control.

They've no easy way of dealing with the Saul situation at this point. He's going to be watched much more closely now. If the Americans blow up the location where he's being held, the Taliban guys just need to release how the Americans are so callous as to have killed the former CIA director to get them and it's a PR own goal.

Baby4 · 27-11-2014 4:42pm

This post has been deleted.

The Black Oil · 27-11-2014 5:14pm

Sometimes people get antsy about threads where spoilers aren't marked.

IanOBo · 02-12-2014 11:43pm

Lads that was amazing. High tension throughout. Top top class TV

TwoShedsJackson · 03-12-2014 12:00am

This season is a colossal improvement over 2 & 3 - Showtime really should have let Brody get blown up at the end of season 1 like the writers supposedly wanted to - when I think of all the Dana angst and all that crap they wasted time on when they could have been doing this sort of stuff in S2...

ixus · 03-12-2014 12:25am

The Saul piece at the end was so obvious. The subsequent CIA Directors reaction left me feeling "uh oh". Two school boy errors. Saying that, I was still caught off guard.

saggycaggy · 03-12-2014 9:16am

How many episodes are left in this series??

I was on the edge of my seat watching that last night. Excellent episode, big shock at the end. Who survives!?!

This can be discussed openly without spoiler tagging yeah??

kooga · 03-12-2014 10:30am

three episodes left in this season

MICKEYG · 03-12-2014 11:10am

Wondering about the reality of US marines leaving the compound. I know the attack was extreme but would this cause a huge diplomatic incident?

Homeland season 4 (RTE pace)

Comments