Mabel

maybe it has already been discussed - but how come Jamie didn't really age a bit? and Claire in the past looked decidedly younger than in the present. perhaps, it's the hair. I don't remember the first season - but is Claire supposed to be older than Jamie or about the same age? the actress definitely looks older.

Do all British series have such short seasons? 6 episodes roll by far too quickly. Will there be a Christmas special this year, I wonder. I do wish they'd focus more on crime-solving, like they did in season 1 (and even season two was better in this respect). Right now it is treated more like an afterthought - something they want to wrap up quickly. The show dwells too much on relationships and other soap oper-y moments. Pity, really. I originally started watching for James Norton, but right now my favorite character is Leonard, by far))))). I would love to see this character develop further. And it would be great if Amanda relocated.

It'd be a pity if the summary put you off! It's still quality entertainment - nice way to pass an evening. James Norton is as delectable as ever. Robson Green is great too. In the last episode the actor who played Wickham in the classic Pride and Prejudice made am appearance. The guy has not aged well! It will be interesting to see where they go with Sidney.

Would like to discuss season three here. Any thoughts? Overall, the season seems darker than the first two. Sidney having the crisis of faith, Geordie cheating on Cathy, Leonard trying (unsuccessfully) to go against his nature and marry - it's all rather gloomy. And the cases are really sombre, too. Also it seems that there are very close parallels between the case-of-the-week and protagonists' personal stories. Didn't notice it that much in the first seasons. It is curious where they are going with the introduction of Mrs M's estranged husband. And I'm not sure I like Amanda and her story - it's boring

For me Danny and Sophie were the most boring. And Justine with Ben somewhere close. Would have loved a spin-off with Margot. Some Ethan would also be nice. He was more of a plot device this season

they should've ended the season with a shot of Ethan and Alice walking away from the plane and one of them saying 'I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship' ))))

pity the show got cancelled. it was not perfect, but entertaining enough. and the second season was way better than the first.

The criticism for most part is not about the death per se but about the way it was handled - gratuitously. Quinn's death and the whole episode could have been cathartic, but they were not - because of haphazard and all-over-the-place writing for most of the season. Probably because the writers are nowhere near Tolstoy. Or Shakespeare.

absolutely! Peter Krause has a very limited range of facial expressions. it's so annoying. he is easily one of the most boring characters on the show. He and Danny. Tessa is a fun addition but she looks so much older than a 15-year old.

Heavy-duty plot armor. Mandy is one of the producers of the show. Enough said. We are all just supposed to completely suspend our disbelief and rejoice that Carrie and Saul will be able to 'further explore their mentor - mentee relationship'.

If the writers go with the plan they've announced - take the next two seasons overseas and have Carrie back at the CIA, it might mean less Frannie. Although seeing that there is still somebody Carrie cares about besides herself is not bad. Hopefully, Max will receive a more prominent storyline next season. Preferably, staying away from Carrie. And I wouldn't mind Rupert in flashbacks / dream sequences (the one with Brody in season 4 was good)

Goes to prove how well-liked the character was from the very beginning. And considering the writers didn't really have any specific plans/story arc mapped out when they got Rupert to join the cast, it is all due to Rupert's terrific performance and dedication to the character. He definitely deserves an Emmy. Although perhaps putting him up as a Supporting actor would be a safer bet. I wonder who he will be up against as Lead actor

Hope they fix the issue soon. Read your fanfic on 6.12 - that's precisely what the writers should have done with the episode to give Quinn (and us) closure! Thank you!

I am not sure how sequels/spin-offs should be made but this feels distinctly like Good Wife 2.0 - rehashing the same scenes / characters / antics / mannerisms. same old, same old. it's entertaining, sure, but somewhat lacking. In The Good Wife all storylines were anchored around Alicia, and even though she became truly unlikeable in the later seasons, there was a sense of coherence and purpose. I don't see it in The Good Fight - it's so disjointed and all over the place. Maia's storyline is very loosely connected (if at all) to the cases-of-the-week. It's annoying. and Maia is not strong enough to carry the show like Alicia did. bottom line: less Maia, more Diane. the show should stop building on The Good Wife and venture into some new territory.

really like your LJ! thanks for the effort. but for some reason the pics in some posts are gone. are there some regional restrictions on viewing them?

Exactly! maybe showrunners intended to glorify Quinn's death, but this is not what it came across like on the screen. It felt rushed, last-minute, and cheap. especially the way it got swept under the rug so quickly. and you are right about the message about discarded wounded vets. they could have told a much more rewarding story with Quinn. but, alas, they opted for yet another cliche.

this is so funny and right to the point)))): http://carrie-quinn.livejournal.com/200526.html

I was under the impression that both Alice and Margot were elder sisters (with Margot pushing 40 and Alice decidedly older - 43-45 mb). with Tessa I think the writers definitely screwed up the timeline, perhaps intentionally ha-ha - Blackwell Security that featured in White Collar, a guy with eidetic memory = Mike Ross from Suits (maybe it was Gina Torres who pitched the idea))))). The writers do have a wide range of sources. It's alomst funny. Sybil and Tessa pestering Margot was fun to watch (their whole dysfunctional family is, actually). and getting Alice's (and other characters') backstory was nice. overall, very light entertainment - precisely what's needed after the dreadful finale of Homeland last week. and the last shot was great! will be interesting to see how the meeting between Ben and Ethan would go

thank you for your insight about BPD! that certainly played a big role in Carrie's relationships, so it seems. the way it was portrayed, Carrie was definitely very passionate about Brody, and not so much about Quinn, especially in seasons 4 and 5. she did care for him in a way in season 6 - but that was a case of 'too little, too late' and layered with guilt too boot. It was all just not enough to beat that 'unrequired love' vibe we've been getting (whether intentional or not). the scene with 'why' and Carrie's trembling chin was probably meant to portray that she does love him. why couldn't she say something to him??? make a guy feel a little better for once? maybe the writers didn't want to repeat Brody's story (as far as I read, Brody/Carrie romance was not supposed to be a prominent feature in the beginning but the writers went along with actors' chemistry and the fan support). maybe they thought they'd do things differently this time. Sorry, it just didn't work. in the end we are left with Carrie, who's exhausted all possible story lines and I struggle to think of what they'll cook up for next season. just spare Max, please! mb have Carrie and Saul hook up, since both have invincible plot armor and will be the last two people standing at the end of the series run.

http://carrie-quinn.livejournal.com/200386.html - have never heard of the 'woman in refrigerator' trope, but it fits Quinn's story perfectly: "Rupert Friend himself said that this is Carrie's show ... that it's about her journey. Why I find this interesting is that initially, Quinn was supposed to be the male equivalent of Women in Refridgerators. For those of you who do not know, Women in Refrigerators is a term used in Comic Book Fandom, sometimes in SciFi Fandom and has become a term to describe a rather common trope where a woman's intense suffering is used to kickstart or progress the male protagonist's storyline. The woman is typically the protagonist's partner, family member, or love interest. The origin of the term was in a comic book story, where the protagonist found his female partner murdered, and hidden in his refrigerator. Homeland is always described as Carrie Mathison's story with the core relationship being that of Carrie and her mentor Saul. Brody was a significant male lead, but ultimately his life, suffering and death were used to progress Carrie's storyline - showing us how her ethics were compromised, how she fell in love, how she was affected by his actions ... how she fell pregnant and became a mother etc. Similarly, Quinn was introduced as a guest star to progress Carrie's storyline. Thing was, he stuck around and he was clearly more than just a Quinn in a Refrigerator. As time passed, he became a character in his own right with his own storyline, interactions with other characters and his own journey and backstory. As I've observed before, I think there's a lot of behind the scenes crap that we don't know about ... the writers, Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin probably did not like what they considerered the key storyline/characters being subverted for a character who had started out as a secondary character. Hence, by the time we get to seasons and 5 and 6, the show runners have tried incredibly hard to return Quinn to the role of Women in Refrigerators. They put him through intense, profound and almost ridiculous suffering ... physically and emotionally. It's pretty horrific. What I think is really interesting is that yet again, Rupert Friend somehow managed to overcome this attempt to reduce him to the Women in Refrigerators trope and remained an incredibly compelling, interesting and nuanced character .. "

Absolutely! And they couldn't even kill off a character decently. For chrissake, the guy was on the show longer than his predecessor, Brody, and all he got was 'he's dead. There was a memorial'. Rupert himself sounds disgusted with how his character was treated. That's pathetic. Compare to the terrific send-off John Reese, another troubled black ops guy, got on The Person of Interest. That was a way to go. Homeland is sure lacking in the writing department.

this season was so haphazardly written and so frustrating that I went back to watch some of the previous episodes - from seasons 2 - 4 (that featured Quinn). God, what a completely self-serving, egotistical and obsessed-with-mission persona has Carrie always been! Quinn was already seriously damaged at the beginning of season 4, he wanted out but she had to drag him back into her vortex, torturing him with Ayan's story etc. She then turned him down at the end of season 4 and it was a downward spiral from then on. I'm totally with Rupert on his interpretation of Carrie/Quinn scenario - they could have never been together. that would have been so wrong on many accounts. He definitely deserved better. and I think Carrie only truly loved Brody - for him she was willing to sacrifice a mission. so, I sincerely hope that in the next two seasons Max is not going to hook up with Carrie. He should stay as far away from her as possible. She is poison and should end up miserable and alone. I am not even sure she should get her kid back - seeing that she had zero feelings for the baby when it was born and nearly drowned the girl at one point. also, Quinn's interactions with Adal in previous seasons (take the fight they had in ep 3 of season 4) now take a whole new meaning, in view of season 6 reveal of the history of abuse.

wishful thinking, I know. just goes to prove the life is often stranger than fiction.

now that I've had time to sort of process what has happened, feel like picking at the plot a bit. What exactly was McClendon's plan? what I got from the episode was: 1. make the PE and some of her team leave the building under the pretext of a (fake, most likely) bomb threat 2. bomb ONE of the cars of the escort (why one? what was the idea? were they targeting the PE specifically or just wanted some disruption?) 3. McClendon also has a back up plan - two deltas (with a hit order on PE, apparently?). When McClendon hears that PE is still alive he sends them in. what kind of spec ops guys are those? isn't ultimately PE their commander-in-chief in a way? how can they kill her in cold blood - (she is not some dictator in a third-world country)? or they know they are going completely black here? how exactly were they going to pin it all on Quinn as it was not even certain he would show up at the scene (his walking into the garage and being caught on camera was a little too convenient)? How driving a little past the barricade saved the PE? The black ops guys could have still gotten to her. Don't really understand it. am still not clear on how the show reconciles 'the hit on Quinn' / 'framing Quinn' scenarios. and why were they watching Carrie at the beginning of the season? they could have proceeded with their plan without surveillance on Carrie. that would've been a much safer bet. what was the endgame of the plotters (bar Dar Adal, who was on the outside)? kill the PE and then what? or sequester her and refuse to release until she caves in (to office appointment demands or what?) Also, some random complaints: why bring up another 'young protégé ' of Dar's? We get it that he is a pedo. Or is that some spy play for next season? And if it is, will we get more of intelligence community vs POTUS next season? Didn't Gansa say that they are going overseas for the last two seasons? With Carrie back at the CIA? Why isn't O'Keefe in prison? He was caught on camera with Adal. Running the sock puppet factory. Saul got arrested for much less (for nothing, frankly). having said that, kudos to the showrunners for keeping it so tightly under the wraps. Quinn's death came as a complete shock (and there I was thinking it was Saul who had just died in an explosion and they wouldn't kill two major characters in one episode).

well, one would expect such a high-ranking official to be more persevering