Offseason OT: Homeland Finale (Spoilers)

I considered it extremely unlikely that he was going to take the one-way trip, to the extent that I would have been about as shocked as any show twist has ever really shocked me. But even considering that, they did a good job selling the tension. I knew (on a meta level) that something would intervene to keep him from doing it at the last minute. The show kept it tense until the intervention happened, though.

Really great work by all involved. And now the long con for season 2.

Do you think Carrie will be back or do you think she’s been zapped out of existence as far as the plot’s concerned?

I’m not sure how much longer the cat and mouse game between Brody and Carrie will remain interesting without becoming redundant. I was sort of hoping for some resolution with brody blowing himself up or outing himself.

Last week’s preview sort of ruin the funed of the bomb scene. Since I saw Brody and Walker share screen time and that hadn’t happened it, it was obvious that Brody would walk out alive.

Love the finale overall. Brody capping Walker and Brody’s daughter talking him off the ledge were awesome.

My money’s on Galvez, based entirely on “TV Logic”. He’s a minor character that we don’t see for episodes at a time, but he’s there often enough that we remember him.

I finally saw it last night. I have to say that in addition to outstanding acting, particularly by Damian Lewis and Many Patinkin, the show is superbly written and shot. The composition of the scenes feels much mroe like film than television.

I think Danes gets a little too histrionic, but the role may be written that way. Her “manic” session also seemed really urealistic (at least based on the few bipolar people i’ve met—more caricature than grounded in reality—but again, that may be the script. Overall, she’s doing incredible work in a very difficult and range-y role.

It will be interesting to see if they can keep all this tension for a second season. The set-p has been nice, but if it devolves into just being the “Brady-vs-Kerrie with Saul as referee” show, it will fail. They are going to have to get some new characters in there. Walker’s death was kind of predictable, and alo a shame. Great character, and it would have been fun to have him lurking in the edges of scenes for another few episodes at least.

Overall, awesome show, looking forward to season 2. We subscribed to Showtime for the very first time this year, and this was the show that did it for us.

1. It is not believable that Walker would be used solely as a mechanism to get Brody inside. He had a clear shot at the V.P. Why not take out the highest value target rather than rely only on the conviction of a suicide bomber. Walker could have taken out at least two high value targets and many random others and Brody would have still been afforded entry into the saferoom to carry out his suicide mission.

2. The thematic element “who is the real terrorist, Abu nazir or the Vice president” comes off a little to blatantly for me. The vice president indiscriminantly bombs a school of 80 some children and Abu Nazir uses precision to take out explicit military targets. Is it really an act of terror if Nazir is taking out precision targets? Carrie’s driving instinct is that a lone sniper taking out 2-5 targets is not Nazir’s calling card. But taking out fifteen targets is?

3. Brody better be dealing with some major demons next season. He just shot his former best friend in cold blood in order to save his own neck.

1. Carrie stays, o’ course. It’s complicated to keep her in the CIA, but that’s who she is. Carrie as an out-patient w/ occasional bursts of prescience isn’t much of a show. And basically no Carrie, no Homeland, y’axe me.

2. The brain-frying adds a new wrinkle to the plot (as well as her cerebellum). You can go in several directions w/ it, one of them that it proves an effective treatment — a nicely counter-intuitive twist — which helps re-qualify her for work in the above institution. But to make that REALLY believable…

3. She’s gotta be vindicated. Nazir, whom Saul now sees she “got right”, is not enough; she’s gotta be proven right on Brody, too. But that compromises (or at least steeply downgrades) the career paths of both the VP and Estes, of course. Gee, too bad for them.

4. So Brody has to get found out (no doubt via the Issa connection) and has to abandon his get-close-to-power plan after 2 or 3 episodes. What to do w/ him then? You COULD make him the new Walker, the elusive on-the-ground weapons guy. But I doubt that can be sustained. And w/o Brody — just like w/o Carrie — there’s no Homeland.

So yeah, after the first third of season 2 things seem to me kind of in a bind plot-wise. Which is why I’ve never made a dime writing movie plots. Great series, in any case, immediately entering my Top 10 list.

p.s. Agree on the CIA mole: Galvez all the way, both for Chanumas’s “structuralist” rationale above and for his built-in explanation— the “split personality” background.