Homeland [Showtime - US] [ Spoilers ]

Richard Dower · 18-12-2011 2:33pm

MagicMarker wrote: »

Now I know what I'll be watching all day today. Sweet!

+1....trust me, Grammer will blow you away!....he's gripping to watch, the stuff he does

don ramo · 19-12-2011 12:23am

Richard Dower wrote: »

Season finale tonight!

WOW no way,

:cool:

Basq · 19-12-2011 1:11am

Feature length finale too! :cool:

Looking forward to this!

Jagera · 19-12-2011 7:58am

Looking forward to the finale. I'm wondering how much loose ends they will tie up, and how much they leave open for season 2. I hope we're left with some closure, at least to wrap up parts of the story.

Also going to check out Boss, as per suggestions above.

Mr E · 19-12-2011 2:29pm

Just watched it there now. Lets just say it pisses all over Dexter's finale from a great height.

If they gave out Emmys for individual scenes, Damian Lewis would get one for his work in the bunker. I held my breath for the whole thing. Loved the hooks for season two (both from Abu Nazir and Carrie's memory at the end).

If anyone is on the fence about checking this show out, get off it now. Absolutely thrilling, rewarding and compulsive finale.

Long 9 month wait ahead.

EarlyStorms · 19-12-2011 3:12pm

I can’t wait to see the finale when I get home tonight. This show is hands down the best new show out there. The acting is just tremendous even in Ep’s were not alot happens you're hooked due to the incredible acting. I can’t recommend this show enough.

DeepBlue · 19-12-2011 4:09pm

I was hoping they wouldn't cop out on the finale. I should have known they would but somehow I felt they wouldn't. Never place your faith in a television network.

Also never buy cheap middle-eastern electronics. :pac:

Biggins · 19-12-2011 4:19pm

Spoilers below - Yes, I know its in the title of the thread - but just in case!

Gawd... great show and the final link to the whole long jigsaw revealed (if it was possible for the spy agencies to learn) in Carrie's words before the electroshock treatment... I went "NOOOOOO... Don't shock her!!!! She has to tell someone!!!"

Damn!

Bloody Brody getting off too so far! GRRRR!!!!

Friggin' 9 months to the next one. Gawd, I'll be chomping at the bit!

Tristram · 19-12-2011 5:13pm

Very well done! My favorite show on TV the last while.

Gingervitis · 19-12-2011 5:53pm

The only problem or two I may have with that fecking brilliant finale:
1, The bomb doesn't blow the first time (acceptable I know, with Brody being manhandled into the panic room) still a bit of a deus ex machina.

More importantly 2. That they're gonna throw in an amnesia plotline that's gonna frustrate the hell out of me in season 2. They'll play it out, she'll remember eventually - then what? She's blackballed from the CIA; Saul will listen to her, sure, but any investigation will have to be entirely off the radar.

I noticed that Damian Lewis hadn't been confirmed to be returning for the second season, which was a very smart move in relation to the plot. In an age of internet trawling for spoilers and gossip, the finale didn't deserve to be spoiled in knowing whether Brody carried out the attack or not.

One thing I noticed on the Onion AV club review of Homeland is very true: by keeping Brody in the picture, they've avoided having to introduce a new villain for the second season - a tactic which has successively proved to be a bad one if you consider 3 out of the last 4 seasons of Dexter...(the less said the better).

Not to sound like a fanboy, but this show needs more attention. Gripping TV, and a cast at the top of their game. I would suspect either Claire Danes' previous episode or Damian Lewis' bunker scene would give Bryan Cranston a run for his money when the Emmys roll around...

mewso · 19-12-2011 9:50pm

Great series, good finale but I'm a bit disappointed really. The idea of dragging this into a second series and beyond will have diminishing returns I feel. Not to mention how much drama can we have now with a villain who has no plan to kill anyone just "influence policy" and a possible 12 episode recovery period for the hero? With no tangible terrorist plan then it may just concentrate on exposing the vice pres. which has far less appeal to me. Colour me impressed but concerned about the future.

ktulu123 · 19-12-2011 10:59pm

Best new show on TV by far! Just watched the finale, class! The nurse at the end should be shot!

MagicMarker · 19-12-2011 11:10pm

expectationlost wrote: »

the purposely dropped a bomb on his compound and the president went on tv to talk about, they are not going to forget it.

Are you happy now?

expectationlost · 19-12-2011 11:55pm

MagicMarker wrote: »

Are you happy now?

not really they didn't really explain how they wouldn't know about it, or match the data of the bombing of 82 kids with his fallow period, again its what I talked about when I first started watching about these cia guys being in a bubble.

The Black Oil · 20-12-2011 12:00am

Yes, quite brilliant, I thought. I almost automatically clicked into this thread just after 7 this morning, glad I didn't just in case.

After last week I looked up Lewis on IMDB and it lists him as being involved in another series. That didn't really sway me any particular about whether or not he'd survive here.

I had a thought this morning, before watching, that maybe POTUS wasn't the real target, but if he was meeting some Saudi prince or some such and that Abu Nazir wanted to take out, with the president being a bonus, rather than a general 'fcuk you' to America. Surely the Secret Service would be quite edgy given that the POTUS and VPOTUS are essentially on lockdown and Brody's war hero status shouldn't give him an automatic pass and particularly nowadays, they would be alert to threats from suicide bombers, but Walker opened the door.

Re Carrie, you'd have to wonder about next series…The ECT scene was pretty tough going. Gingervitis, I think your second point is a very fair one. Can they really stretch the Lewis thing for another 12 episodes?

I mentally punched the air when the vest didn't detonate (can you imagine if we had that as a cliffhanger? Probably would have been knocked as a cop out), not because he didn't die, but because for a split second, it completely pulled me in and threw the tension out of whack, for me anyway. Also, the whole scene with closeups on Brody (and I think some later on), was just really well-done.

Later on you knew he'd go looking for the video card memory at the dead drop - is it definitely gone?

Towards the end I was scrambling to think of who was the standout, my money's on Patinkin. Also, the actress playing Dana did a really good job when Carrie came to the house (scene fizzled out a little once the police arrived and threw the bracelets on Carrie) later when she was speaking to Brody. Earlier on, before Brody said grace, I thought she might say something about the present for Jessica at the dinner table.

Best line - 'Good God, somebody actually came up with that language'.

MagicMarker · 20-12-2011 12:07am

expectationlost wrote: »

not really they didn't really explain how they wouldn't know about it, or match the data of the bombing of 82 kids with his fallow period, again its what I talked about when I first started watching about these cia guys being in a bubble.

They didn't know because it was covered up.

crushproof · 20-12-2011 1:33am

I knew the bomb wouldn't go off....but naturally enough deep down I was hoping it would, and really it should have. Or at least someone would have noticed, I doubt anyway would get out of a locked down area without being searched or scanned in one way or another.
And gah!!! Those last words before the electro.... not a hope now she's gonna remember.
No idea what's in store for season 2, hopefully it doesn't delve deep into Congress politics and stays focused on the CIA, Saul and Carrie.... although I'm not quite sure what role she'll have to play, unless of course she goes and works for the Germans or French!

TwoShedsJackson · 20-12-2011 9:02am

mewso wrote: »

Great series, good finale but I'm a bit disappointed really. The idea of dragging this into a second series and beyond will have diminishing returns I feel. Not to mention how much drama can we have now with a villain who has no plan to kill anyone just "influence policy" and a possible 12 episode recovery period for the hero? With no tangible terrorist plan then it may just concentrate on exposing the vice pres. which has far less appeal to me. Colour me impressed but concerned about the future.

It was a really good finale to a great series. Why worry about what happens in the second season and whether or not they can keep it up, trust the writers until they prove they can no longer do it I say...

mewso · 20-12-2011 10:17am

TwoShedsJackson wrote: »

It was a really good finale to a great series. Why worry about what happens in the second season and whether or not they can keep it up, trust the writers until they prove they can no longer do it I say...

Concern for the direction a series might take is not the same as any real concerns I have

I like to speculate about where a series might go. The fact that Brody didn't either get caught or go through with his plan was a dissappointment to me. I give the series full credit for everything else.

pH · 20-12-2011 10:19am

To me Homeland sums up what is all wrong with US TV - it was well acted, well made and yet lacking a coherent story or plot.

Utterly predictable, a plot holes only an idiot could ignore, with no balls to actually deal with any of the real issues about terrorism on US soil - when given an option in the plot the writers take the "Sunday TV movie" way out - even worse no "story" can ever be told because there couldn't be any other reason for making 12 episodes of TV except to get another 12 episodes made next year could there?

So the plot for season one seems to be summed up as "one woman on the verge of mental collapse beats the rest of the CIA in figuring stuff out, yet still can't actually achieve anything and instead everything turns out fine because of a bit of faulty wiring".

TwoShedsJackson · 20-12-2011 10:50am

mewso wrote: »

Concern for the direction a series might take is not the same as any real concerns I have I like to speculate about where a series might go. The fact that Brody didn't either get caught or go through with his plan was a dissappointment to me. I give the series full credit for everything else.

Well he fully intended to go through with it as we saw in the bunker, yes it was a bit of a deus ex machina that he failed but they knew they had a second series at that point and wanted him back.

The series was head and shoulders above anything I else I saw on US TV this year.

So the plot for season one seems to be summed up as "one woman on the verge of mental collapse beats the rest of the CIA in figuring stuff out, yet still can't actually achieve anything and instead everything turns out fine because of a bit of faulty wiring".

This is far more realistic than what would normally happen on US tv, the series showed that powerful people will usually get away with the **** they do and there is very little the lower ranks can do about it.

Normally Carrie would have been redeemed in the last episode and it would have been all 'oh you were right all along, congrats!!' here they set it up for redemption and then tossed her off the edge. You don't see that too often.

I didn't find it predictable by usual tv standards.

stevenmu · 20-12-2011 11:14am

pH wrote: »

So the plot for season one seems to be summed up as "one woman on the verge of mental collapse beats the rest of the CIA in figuring stuff out, yet still can't actually achieve anything and instead everything turns out fine because of a bit of faulty wiring".

Don't forget that he was still going to go through with the attack after fixing the wire, until the daughter rang him after being prompted by Carrie.

Another way to sum up the plot could be "woman destroys career and sanity to prevent a terrorist attack, but doesn't even get to know that she succeeded. No one else even believes that the attack was to take place, and the terrorist is still on the loose and positioning himself with the highest levels of government".

donnacha · 20-12-2011 2:06pm

really enjoyed that - as others have pointed out, if you haven't got around to watching this then you are missing the best new us series.

so much to look forward to in series 2 - where are the leaks within the cia and other agencies coming from, what did walker do with the video card or will abu nazir use this to force brodys hand to do more than just influence the presidential candidate, dana I'm sure is going to play a big role now that she knows brody converted to islam (that scene with her on the phone to brody was compelling viewing). not sure how the carrie role will play out next year - claire danes is one hell of an actress - for those who haven't seen her golden globe performance then check out the hbo movie temple grandin.

The Pontiac · 20-12-2011 11:04pm

This series could have be so good. Great acting bar Claire Danes, who was totally unconvincing as a CIA agent. Sol and the other CIA agents were excellent. Broody's family were also superb, especially the daughter.

The writing was excellent and the plot was good and believable up to a point. That point being when Walker came 'back from the dead'. Like you could believe one marine had been 'turned', but the two of them?

It just got more ridiculous as the series went on. The finale was just Hollywood bull****e.

Imagine if some-one like Sonja Sohn (Greggs from The Wire) had played the part of Carrie? I know Carrie was suffering from bi-polar, and this was important to the plot, but thought she went totally overboard.

I guess this is why The Wire is a modern day classic. You forget you're watching a TV series, as everything is so realistic. I felt this for the first few episodes of Homeland only.

The Black Oil · 21-12-2011 12:57am

Hollywood bull? Was it directed by Michael Bay or sentimental twaddle from Mr. Spielberg?

Anyone who doubts Danes' acting chops should watch Temple Grandin. I'll grant you that she did perhaps stream a bit of TGesque mannerisms in episode 11 of Homeland, but I don't buy the overacting or unconvincing thing at all. I don't think there are many examples of main character female CIA agents on the small screen, if so, I'm happy to about about one as a point of comparison. There seems to be this whole mystique about the CIA agents that people buy into.

I'd be interested to see how the series went down the States. I can only imagine parts of the nutty American right talking about how unAmerican it is for daring to tell its the story in the way that it has and for not conforming to the Jack Bauer model. Mind you, the same idiots will probably seize on elements of The Dark Knight Rises trailer as being socialist propaganda.

Elohim · 21-12-2011 7:12am

What an episode! I was gripped from start to finish.

Awesome plan to get Brody into the bunker, lucky the VP doesn't get his own private safe room but I can let that slide.

jcf · 21-12-2011 10:24am

The writers pussied out ..... and whats the point of showing us at the end that
she remembered but then gets her head fried ?? surely she should have stopped it and got up ? - then an ending ... now she won't remember in S2 and it will be another 6 seasons of her chasing him ...

jcf · 21-12-2011 10:29am

<Ollie> wrote: »

This series could have be so good. Great acting bar Claire Danes, who was totally unconvincing as a CIA agent. Sol and the other CIA agents were excellent. Broody's family were also superb, especially the daughter.

The writing was excellent and the plot was good and believable up to a point. That point being when Walker came 'back from the dead'. Like you could believe one marine had been 'turned', but the two of them?

It just got more ridiculous as the series went on. The finale was just Hollywood bull****e.

Imagine if some-one like Sonja Sohn (Greggs from The Wire) had played the part of Carrie? I know Carrie was suffering from bi-polar, and this was important to the plot, but thought she went totally overboard.

I guess this is why The Wire is a modern day classic. You forget you're watching a TV series, as everything is so realistic. I felt this for the first few episodes of Homeland only.

Exactly - I really thought the writers were above this "saved just intime bull****" - about to press the switch and then his daughter calls ??

if the writers had BALLS he would have hung up and detonated - that would surprise the viewers, I could see it coming, also could see Nasir getting him to kill Walker a mile off ...

Biggins · 21-12-2011 12:04pm

Elohim wrote: »

What an episode! I was gripped from start to finish.

Awesome plan to get Brody into the bunker, lucky the VP doesn't get his own private safe room but I can let that slide.

Youi can bet in real life, the real VP will now! :pac:

pH · 21-12-2011 12:08pm

jcf wrote: »

Exactly - I really thought the writers were above this "saved just intime bull****" - about to press the switch and then his daughter calls ??

if the writers had BALLS he would have hung up and detonated - that would surprise the viewers, I could see it coming, also could see Nasir getting him to kill Walker a mile off ...

Because they'd written themselves into a corner, can't kill the main character, can't have him blowing people up, and certainly can't exclude the possibility to "series 2".

The more I think about it, Homeland really is up there in silliness with 24, which is fine, 24 was fine in a dumb-US-TV kind of way, silly flawed heroes and cartoon character "baddies", with an improbable and senseless story, and multiple plot holes - but the fact that some people are putting this show on a pedestal seems crazy to me.

JohnK · 21-12-2011 1:31pm

jcf wrote: »

The writers pussied out ..... and whats the point of showing us at the end that
she remembered but then gets her head fried ?? surely she should have stopped it and got up ? - then an ending ... now she won't remember in S2 and it will be another 6 seasons of her chasing him ...

They had already pumped her full of the anaesthetic so shes lucky she was even lucid enough to put the pieces together, she never had any chance of just jumping up from the bed.

mailforkev · 21-12-2011 1:42pm

Pity it's all over, was a great season. Loved the unpredictability of it all.

I was kinda hoping that Brody in the bunker would shout out Allahu Akbar or something like that as he pulled the trigger and then not explode but still out himself.

redt0m · 21-12-2011 1:46pm

mailforkev wrote: »

Pity it's all over, was a great season. Loved the unpredictability of it all.

I was kinda hoping that Brody in the bunker would shout out Allahu Akbar or something like that as he pulled the trigger and then not explode but still out himself.

Yeah, this is what I was half expecting too, if they weren't goin to have the bomb go off

Still, good show

The Pontiac · 21-12-2011 7:26pm

Black Oil wrote: »

Hollywood bull? Was it directed by Michael Bay or sentimental twaddle from Mr. Spielberg?

Anyone who doubts Danes' acting chops should watch Temple Grandin.

I'd be interested to see how the series went down the States. I can only imagine parts of the nutty American right talking about how unAmerican it is for daring to tell its the story in the way that it has and for not conforming to the Jack Bauer model. Mind you, the same idiots will probably seize on elements of The Dark Knight Rises trailer as being socialist propaganda.

I don't doubt her acting abilities at all. I just think she was the wrong person for the role, or acted the role as the director/s instructed her. This role could have been very intriguing - a CIA officer with serious mental issues whilst trying to hide it from the organisation.

I also liked the anti-american element. It's not too often you get this in an american TV series.

The show had many positives as I pointed out in my previous post. Such a shame they had to mess it all up, and spectacularly.

The finale was pure and utter hollywood garbage.

iMax · 21-12-2011 10:45pm

Pretty good summing up of the finale on Remote Patrolled (great blog from a TV producer).

I like mailforkev's ending & I'm sure it was a possibility, maybe even an alternate shot ending, I also would have liked to see him succeed, but ultimately I'm satisfied with the ending we got. Life sometimes works out like that.

expectationlost · 22-12-2011 5:45am

anybody know anything about the original israeli version, it always been described as focusing on the returning hostages.

don ramo · 22-12-2011 11:58am

<Ollie> wrote: »

The finale was pure and utter hollywood garbage.

what, how is that hollywood, the bad guy got away with it, he might have had a moral dilema but brody is still the bad guy (as is abu), and he did push the button bar the switch breaking,

and it pushed carrie (the good girl) so far over the edge she had to get her brain fried, i have no doubth the writers seriously played around with brody detonating, but then theyd just have a 24 thing going generating new bad guys over and over, when they have a great bad guy that fans love, and im delighted damien lewis is gonna be back,

great show roll on season 2:):):)

DeepBlue · 22-12-2011 4:35pm

don ramo wrote: »

what, how is that hollywood

It's Hollywood in the sense that you could almost see the cogs working in the mind of the writers where they tried to figure out "how can we write this so that it leads to a second series?".

don ramo · 22-12-2011 7:43pm

DeepBlue wrote: »

It's Hollywood in the sense that you could almost see the cogs working in the mind of the writers where they tried to figure out "how can we write this so that it leads to a second series?".

do whatever you like, with ratings like that for season 1 they could have just had carrie sitting at home watching the news for 84 mins, just to see if anything did happen, if he blew himself up they would have just cast a new bad guy like everyone esle does, and being honest if i had damien lewis in my show id wanna keep him too:D

McSpud · 24-12-2011 12:47am

Just finished this first series & really enjoyed it. It seemed fairly obvious he wouldn't detonate as they'd have lost a major character in Winters. Damian Lewis was perfect choice for the good/ban guy. Claire Danes was especially good in the last two episodes.

I loved the last few moments with Carrie on the hospital bed as she remembers an obscure name. I am sure they'll spend the entire second series dangling the chance she'll remember at any moment.

expectationlost · 27-12-2011 5:54am

of course the original israeli show was just one season

sink · 28-12-2011 3:37am

The VP might not have been blown away but I certainly was.

I had been saving this for when I was off work and I just finished watching the entire season over 2 days. Literally my heart was pounding during the finale, this is up there with the best. I was left guessing the entire time with a highly original story and characters that were well constructed and played to perfection. It could have so easily been a mediocre clichéd terrorism plot I almost expected to be let down. I always knew no matter what Damian Lewis would carry it but I was not expecting Claire Danes to be that good. She deserves an emmy, they both do.

This year has already been a fantastic year for TV with Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad and Boardwalk Empire all excellent. I was not expecting to add another to that list but this show is right up there. Highly recommended!

The Black Oil · 01-01-2012 1:22pm

Hollywood rubbish would be the first season of the remake of The Killing.

If this is correct, Homeland will be on More4 in February.

adox · 02-01-2012 7:06pm

Watched this in two sittings over the last couple of days and really enjoyed it overall. I thought the ending was a bit weak but understandable given that there was a second season coming.

I didn't buy the storyline of the first pow still being alive and both of them having been turned. Also not blowing himself up at the second attempt because his daughter asked him to promise to come home seemed an incredibly weak plot line.

Having said that, I suspended belief and went with it and found the show excellent overall.

Scruff · 05-01-2012 7:17pm

Finished watching this a short while ago and really enjoyed it. Deliberately didnt read anything about it anywhere so didnt know if there was going to be a season 2, although i suspected it. Really was on the edge of the seat when he was flipping the switch, didnt think he'd actually do it! i thought the daughter would have rang him before he had to. nice twist that.

I actually was really hoping it was a 1 season show and was going to go out with a bang (eh!ehh!!!) and a really fook u audience, bad sh1t happens attitude but most series arent like a Game of Thrones where anyone can lose their head.

That said i'm looking forward to season 2. Season 1 was the perfect length, they didnt drag the arse out of it with 20 episodes.

Morlar · 06-01-2012 1:11pm

Scruff wrote: »

Finished watching this a short while ago and really enjoyed it. Deliberately didnt read anything about it anywhere so didnt know if there was going to be a season 2, although i suspected it.

Same here, took efforts to avoid the publicity & spoilers & managed to watch the whole thing without knowing anything in advance.

Definitely recommend this series to anyone.

The acting throughout was fantastic, Claire Danes in particular towards the end of the series. I liked the lengths they went to with the characters, not the usual one dimensional drivel. They handled the subject matter respectfully imo, good to see a series that doesn't pander to the lowest denominator and patronise the audience to the usual extent. Hope S2 lives up to the same standard.

stevenmu · 06-01-2012 2:00pm

adox wrote: »

I didn't buy the storyline of the first pow still being alive and both of them having been turned. Also not blowing himself up at the second attempt because his daughter asked him to promise to come home seemed an incredibly weak plot line.

I thought that

two of them being turned was a little much alright, but I liked that he didn't blow himself up because of the daughter. It made him much more 3 dimensional than just the standard bad guy doing bad things because he's evil. Through the build up we got to see that he wasn't just evil or a nutcase, he loved his country but hated some of things it's leaders had done. He was deeply conflicted about what he was doing, and about the hurt it would cause his family. I found that much more believable and enjoyable.

ballyrhy86 · 08-01-2012 9:31pm

I just finished this series last night, great show.

As others have mentioned, I thought the idea of the two snipers being captured and both being turned was a bit of a stretch. Even the idea of the sniper team getting captured is a bit odd, given that the whole point of snipers is that they don't have to get close to the enemy. It must have been fairly unusual circumstances for them to get captured.

I think it might turn out that Walker had been turned before they were ever captured. Maybe Walker was a member of Nazir's cell well before the event. Nazir asks Walker to bring him a guy they can turn, who be an ideal candidate for political office. They think that a JFK type war hero would be a great propaganda tool if they can get him to turn against his own country. Walker then delivers Brody by virtue of them both getting "captured" and they set to work in trying to turn him.

ixoy · 08-01-2012 9:47pm

I too finished this last night - the show worked well watching nearly one episode a night.

It reminded me a little of "Sleeper Cell" in tone, more so than "24". All shows stretch credibility too. Like the rest of ye, I find it a bit difficult to believe they could turn highly-trained marines. Not sure why Walker was turned for example, given there was reason for Brody to switch.
The finale was tense, especially when Brody hit the switch for the first time. It would've been something to see him go off but nope, they had to think of the second season and back off. Shame it was by virtue of a last-second phone call.

Good acting for the most part and I liked Claire Danes in this. Yes she was manic and OTT but her character is meant to be intense. She was surpassed though by Mandy Patinkin (the way he reacted when he saw her unstable was excellent) and, of course, Damian Lewis who was great in the lead role.

How Season 2 will operate will be interesting. They'll obviously be doing the Senator angle but will they introduce a new investigative angle? Please don't do the amnesia element though - it's too obvious and too open to have her remembering in the last episode for a hasty finale.

jcsoulinger · 20-01-2012 7:00pm

I taught the series was good but not brilliant.

It should have ended with brody not going through with the bomb and returning home it was the climax of the whole series and the extra bit with him killing his partner was just over kill.

Carries electro shock story was good and very unexpected even though i found it very difficult to watch, I think there is a glaring mistake here tho, when sol tells carrie about the covered up drone strike that kills the kid he does not mention the kids name so how can carrie make the connection, please tell me if I missed something here?.

Homeland [Showtime - US] [** Spoilers **]

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Homeland [Showtime - US] [ Spoilers ]