Bcharmer

I just remembered something. During the scuffle with Scotty, Noah utters the words, "I'm gonna fucking kill you." In the very next scene, after he tells Max that Whitney is pregnant by Alison's brother in law, he says,"If you don't stop laughing, I'm gonna kill you." Now, having Noah say that one time, is enough to plant that seed in the viewer's mind that he may have actually killed Scotty (not that the seed needed planting, but anyway), but to have him say it again, so soon after the first time? A bit of over-kill, perhaps? No pun intended.

We certainly could, Attica. But who has time to individually write the price on each product in a salon by hand, these days? That's why (at least at my salon) they just use one of those price cards that are affixed to the shelves. No fuss, no muss. :) I like the "I drink your milkshake!" comparison. It was definitely an "I spill your shampoo!" moment.

Regarding the shampoo bottle. I laughed to myself when Alison looked at the bottom of the bottle and saw a price tag there. For one thing, if you buy shampoo at the salon (where I assume Helen got hers), you don't often see a price tag on the bottom, or anywhere on the bottle itself, for that matter. The price is usually displayed on the shelf in the salon. I suppose each salon is different, though. I've also tried one of the Alterna shampoos in the past (if you have dry, naturally curly hair, you'll try just about anything if it claims to help with that), but at less than half that price, on the internet. Never a price tag. But mostly, it just seemed unrealistic because a price tag would not stay ON in the shower. It would get wet and slide off, or deteriorate into shreds, pretty quickly. Would Helen leave the tag on, anyway, even if it had one? I have a hard time thinking that she would. So, the whole thing just seemed silly to me, and a way to show how disrespectful Alison is. As if having sex with Noah in Helen's bed just didn't quite accomplish that enough.

Obviously, it's Dar Adal's involvement that Lockhart was suspecting, when he asked Carrie if she knew if anything was going on that he should know about, with the Pakistanis. He said, "There have been meetings at the White House, the national security council. Something's up."

That didn't stop The Killing from not solving the mystery at the end of the first season. :) So, Alison didn't realize she left a bra behind? Really? Funny how her whole demeanor suddenly changed after she found the pregnancy test in the trash (and I agree, who would throw that away in the kitchen trash? - unless, maybe, the bathroom trash can was empty, and it would have been too noticeable there). She obviously assumed it was Helen's, and figured there would be no way Noah would leave his pregnant wife. Unless I read that wrong.

After finding out where Haqqani was hiding out, instead of that elaborate bomb plan that went nowhere, why couldn't they just drone him? No one left to do that?

I know it can be confusing, but Alison and Cole aren't living with Ma Barker. They were there for the family dinner, but came home to their chilly abode later. From what I read, the show was originally written with several seasons in mind, but they didn't yet know if it would get picked up for a second season. When I first heard of the show, (I thought) I read somewhere that they planned for three seasons (which made me doubt the sustainability of it, based on the premise), but now I can't find any source for that. I can only find an interview* that confirmed they never intended for it to be a limited series, but for it to have multiple seasons. I still feel it would have made for a good miniseries, but it would have needed to be tightened up quite a bit, and close to resolution at this point. *http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/the-affair-co-creator-sarah-treem-we-wanted-to-tell-a-story-about-two-good-people/2

Okay... this was driving me crazy, because I could have sworn she said she couldn't swim. So I just rewatched the beach scenes from the second episode (the Butler's party). In Noah's version, they walk out to the beach, and Alison immediately runs into the surf, up to her calves, holding her shoes in her hand. She says, "Join me. It's beautiful!" No further discussion about water. In Alison's version, they walk out onto the beach, and here's their convo: Alison: Wow. I've never been on one of these beaches. Noah: You want to go in the water? Alison: No. I can't swim. Noah. You live at the beach and you can't swim? It's a travesty! Alison: Not really. Noah: Well, I'm a swimmer. I'll teach you. Alison: (chuckles) Right. End of water convo. So, were there more conversations in later episodes, then, where they talked about her fear of the water?

I missed the part about her being terrified of the water. But I do remember her telling Noah (can't remember who's version this was, though) that she couldn't swim. He said something like, "You live on the beach and you can't swim? I'll teach you!" Not being able to swim is a little different than being terrified, but I do agree that it's more likely she was with Gabriel when he drowned, and she was unable to save him.

Okay, one more nitpick. When they were getting ready to evacuate the embassy, I found it a bit questionable when Martha said she hadn't seen her husband "all morning." I understand her intention... "It's time to go, but I haven't seen Dennis yet. What could be keeping him? Maybe someone should go check his cell, and make sure he hasn't overslept (wink wink)." And that Carrie had to tell her he was already in the lead car, and would be traveling in custody? Had he really hung himself, Martha would have been notified of that waaay before then. Was she thinking that the guard outside his door, or anyone, would not have checked in with him after her visit, or later that night, or even earlier in the morning, to at least bring him food? Surely, someone would have discovered his body hanging by a belt (and where would he have hung himself from, I wonder?) long before it was time for them to depart, and Martha would have been told immediately. To pretend that he was just late, was a little unrealistic. She should have known by then that he didn't go through with it. Of course, we were all waiting to find out if he was dead, or not, but if Martha was unaware by that point, it should have been fairly obvious that he wasn't.

To be honest, that was the first thought that ran through my mind when learning about this series, and I still feel that way. Miniseries seemed about right... but three seasons? I just do not know, at this point, if I'll care enough to come back for more. I have no problem dropping shows after the first season. And this may be one of them.

Just a small nitpick. Haqqani: "Give me the list, or I will kill her, right here, right now." Perhaps it's just me, but for some reason, Haqqani using that (overused) phrase just seemed out of place. Didn't bother me until the second viewing, when I wasn't as caught up in the drama and knew what was coming, but it made me wish the writers had him say something a little more terrorist-y.

Also, closed captioning uses that name when he's speaking, but offscreen. That's how I'm reminded that his name is Bunny. Otherwise, I hear him being called "General" when directly addressed.

Speaking of... when I first saw the "Lipless" nickname here, I first thought everyone was talking about Martha. Seems equally appropriate, doesn't it?

It's a good'n! :)

Schadenfreude?

Bunny said that if they see, or hear of a drone anywhere over the area, then Saul would not be returned. That was part of the agreement. The conversation in the hangar went like this: Redmond: Assuming a successful handover, may I remind you of your agreement. The prisoners, once exchanged, will remain with the Pakistani military custody. That was the preeminent condition of the White House that Director Lockhart and you agreed to. Bunny: Yes, of course. We do not want to see these people on the street any more than you do.

The show has been renewed for a fifth season.

Yup. Agreed. My sentiments, exactly.

While I was more than ready and willing to see Brody killed off, I think I'd stop watching if they killed off both Carrie and Saul. I can't agree that it would be the right thing to do. If Saul dies, that would be a shame, as he somehow anchors the show for me. I just love his character (I never loved Brody's character, at all), but the show can go on without him. Killing Carrie would be the death of Homeland, in my opinion. Just like killing off Walter White would have been the death of Breaking Bad, before the series finale. I completely understand that it stretches credulity by having both of them survive that convoy attack, but it can happen, and I hope it does. And I hope Redmond lives, too. Plausibility, or lack thereof, on this show has always been an issue, but when compared to, say, How To Get Away With Murder (which I had to stop watching after the third episode), this is a downright documentary.

Phenethylamine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenethylamine

I like Redmond's character. There's something about Michael O'Keefe, though, that reminds me of David Costabile. Whenever he's on screen, I think of Gale Boetticher (Breaking Bad) and Rick Messer (Damages). Just thought I'd share.

While first watching the store scene, I thought it was taking place after Noah confessed, simply by the way Helen was acting. But then I remembered we were watching Alison's version, and remembered that Noah hadn't had his panic attack yet. The timeline became very clear to me then. Helen might have suspected there was something going on between Noah and Alison, which might have accounted for the way she acted toward Alison in the store, but Noah didn't confess until later. Her not mentioning Alison's visit to the store was interesting, though. Also, those glasses on Helen... have we seen her wear them before? That was kind of distracting.

This would be great (and less contrived), if that phone call had been real (and if Noah had accidentally overheard what would have been a private conversation between Oscar and the cops), and not staged for Noah's benefit. What purpose did Oscar have in faking a call to the cops, if not to trap Noah into warning Alison about it? So, it was less of a "Bingo!" moment for me (that required some thinking on his part), and more of a "Aha... just as I suspected!" kind of moment. Either way, it really was pretty slick.

He was putting it on. Definitely.