All Episodes Talk: Inside Carrie's Head

[David T. Cole]

The Dana story this season was just awful.

 

I can't remember Dana's story ever being good but wow with a cherry on top was the hit-and-run arc ever terrible.

 

I welcome this news and they can probably lose Brody too. Of course reading between the lines here we can see that season 4 will be all about Chris. That should make Sarah happy!

[ApathyMonger]

I like that they didn't even bother to say that Chris won't be around. Even the show's own publicity people don't care about Chris.

[scrb]

They really have to do a reboot of the show.  They first promoted it as an up to date Manchurian Candidate.

Brody wasn't suppose to last as long as he did -- there is speculation that Showtime forced the showrunners to keep Brody around.

So now, they kind of have to show a different threat and build plot arcs around it.

Maybe without keeping Brody and family longer than they should have, the writing can avoid some stupidities, like Brody texting from the situation room to warn Nazir.

[halgia]

I like that they didn't even bother to say that Chris won't be around. Even the show's own publicity people don't care about Chris.

...or we're getting a full-time Chris storyline, because he goes to Istanbul on a high school foreign exchange program!

[Inquisitionist]

I heard on the news this morning that it will be weeks before Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is reunited with his family.  What a contrast to the almost instantaneous return of Sgt. Nicholas Brody to his family on Homeland.  I know that was probably necessary from a dramatic standpoint, but it always struck me as absurd on its face.

[Blackie]

I FINALLY started to watch this show and it just happened to be the same week that Bergdahl was released, freaky!!  Can't say I was as impressed with S1 as I thought I would be and just sticking with S2 for as long as I can because it is getting bad fast.

 Anyways to be OT for this thread, I can't get that Brodie would be this devout "Muslim" yet he drinks and cheats on his wife.  Yes I know not all Muslims follow  all the tenants of Islam but he was supposed to be so moved by Islam that he converts yet all he does to follow his faith is pray once a day.  I don't know what people thought of this at the time.

Edited July 23, 2014 by Blackie

[Kel Varnsen]

Maybe without keeping Brody and family longer than they should have, the writing can avoid some stupidities, like Brody texting from the situation room to warn Nazir.

I am glad they finally got rid of Brody and his family. That said, one thing I did like about them was that they were kind of a link to the real world at least a little. I hope with the coming season they still have that, because I am curious to see what the US of the show is like. I mean in the world of the show, within the last couple of years there was a suicide bombing at a park, a huge attack on the CIA HQ, an elected congressman was revealed to be a terrorist, a terrorist hit squad was gunning people down and a terrorist leader was able to enter the US undetected and kidnap a CIA officer. Any one of those things would be huge, all of them together would be crazy. The show is called Homeland and I would love to see what things are like in the US homeland after all that happened, but a big part of last season was spent in Iran and South America. For example what is it like to go through airport security in a world where that kind of thing happens?

[Inquisitionist]

I would love to see what things are like in the US homeland after all that happened.

 

According to the spoilers I have read, it's doubtful you'll get your wish. 

Gansa said that the upcoming season will focus on Carrie, and will focus on how she does the job she was trained to do. He added, "We're going to see what an intelligence officer does on the ground. How she recruits assets, how she deals with the foreign government and her country team - the people she works with in the embassy - and the host country's intelligence services."

 

[Kel Varnsen]

According to the spoilers I have read, it's doubtful you'll get your wish. 

Gansa said that the upcoming season will focus on Carrie, and will focus on how she does the job she was trained to do. He added, "We're going to see what an intelligence officer does on the ground. How she recruits assets, how she deals with the foreign government and her country team - the people she works with in the embassy - and the host country's intelligence services."

I read that spoiler somewhere else and while it seems kind of an interesting thing to explore, I would still like to see what is going on in the US for an average person after all the shit that has gone down in the last few seasons.

[fashionroadkill]

I'm binge watching the first four seasons and currently about to finish season 2.

 

Man, the Brody Family is just awful (except Chris). For all that they actually know, Brody was tortured for eight years. But all they do is whine about how he's not the same old Nick Brody. Its exhausting.

 

And of course, popular opinion: Dana is the worst of them all.

[chocolatine]

I got Showtime last month and binge-watched the show too, just finished season 4. I like the show despite the Brody storyline being way, way too long (seriously, when he appeared last season in Carrie's hallucination, I almost threw the remote at the TV). I've been a fan of Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin for a long time, and now I'm also a fan of Rupert Friend.

 

A few things that bothered me:

- Brody apparently being a devout Muslim but still drinking alcohol.

- The locations for Beirut, Tehran, and Islamabad looking very different from the actual places. I understand that it wasn't feasible to film there, but it took me out of the story when Beirut looked so much like one of the seedy parts of Tel Aviv.

- That we didn't get closure on Jessica (other than Carrie driving by the house with Frannie, which is not really "closure"). After all the crap the poor woman's been through courtesy of Brody and Dana, I would have liked a 30-second scene of her being happy with Mike and Chris.

- Carrie's mom being back in the picture. I hope that storyline is dropped next season.

 

But overall, still a very entertaining show and I'm looking forward to season 5 next month. But TPTB, please, no more Brody.

Edited August 28, 2015 by chocolatine

[MJJohnson23]

I'm not sure if I missed something somewhere but how I remember season 4 ending was Saul decided to work with haissam haqqani (the main terrorist) and Dar. Basically selling his soul to get his job back and shows Carrie running out of the house freaking out. So why to start out season 5 would Saul be mad at Carrie? When he is the one who betrayed her?

Do you think it's going to be explained later? I'm so confused. Does anyone know why?

[kikaha]

Will Homeland ever tie up the loose end from a few years ago, i.e. the mole that had to be in Saul's unit?  

 

I also wonder if the woman who ran the Afghan spy agency last year will meet her Waterloo on the show, or is she gone forever as well? 

[terrence24]

Last year's final show had Quinn ready to blow up the car coming out of a compound with the lead terrorist in it, but he didnt pull the trigger. I don't recall why, but I know I saw Dar in the back seat with the terrorist. Does Quinn know Dar is a double agent?

[MochaJay]

Carrie was stood in the blast range of the car. She saw Dar inside the car, but once she was back in the states she said to either Saul or Dar she would not tell Quinn as he would be furious if he found out.

[Roseanna]

On ‎30‎.‎7‎.‎2014 at 3:52 PM, Kel Varnsen said:

The show is called Homeland and I would love to see what things are like in the US homeland after all that happened, but a big part of last season was spent in Iran and South America.

Homeland is an ambigious title as not only Americans have a homeland but characters of different nationality have a homeland, too. However, I doubt that the makers of Homeland have understand this.     

[Jextella]

I just binged watched S1-S6 while working on a huge project.  I lost track of the details behind a lot of the assignments, etc.  I'm super unclear about Dar and I'm hoping someone can explain.  He's done a bunch of horrible things, but for what purpose?  

What is his ultimate objective?

[Pallas]

13 hours ago, Jextella said:

I just binged watched S1-S6 while working on a huge project.  I lost track of the details behind a lot of the assignments, etc.  I'm super unclear about Dar and I'm hoping someone can explain.  He's done a bunch of horrible things, but for what purpose?  

What is his ultimate objective?

To win. Adal is a black ops developing-world-beater who cares only that his side, which began on top, stays on top. He may call it something else. But he could be equally at home in the Stasi.

[Davidian]

Carrie is unemployed, right? So where's the money coming from to fund the hotels, the vehicles and all the rest of it? 

[SuprSuprElevated]

1 hour ago, Davidian said:

Carrie is unemployed, right? So where's the money coming from to fund the hotels, the vehicles and all the rest of it? 

I don't recall if there was ever discussion about her finances, but she has been employed for many years, and at a pretty high income level I would think, and lives with her sister, so no rent or mortgage or property tax bill.  Savings account?

I know, that makes too much sense, so that can't be it, lol.  Some cloak and dagger explanation I'm sure.

[Pike Ludwell]

4 hours ago, Davidian said:

Carrie is unemployed, right? So where's the money coming from to fund the hotels, the vehicles and all the rest of it? 

Credit cards for one thing. Her sister said she has, I believe, CC debt of around 55k.

[manlock]

8 hours ago, Davidian said:

Carrie is unemployed, right? So where's the money coming from to fund the hotels, the vehicles and all the rest of it? 

I have the same question :).

[Pallas]

Carrie owned a brownstone in Brooklyn, which she presumably sold. Even so, it seems, she has run up huge credit card bills -- for sure, the amount that Maggie knows about; and probably more like the $100K that Carrie cited in her cover story to the cashier in West Virginia.

[healthnut]

@Alistaire
Rupert Friend interview

Edited February 14, 2020 by healthnut

[Original Bambi]

Has anyone else noticed Carrie's wildly over-dramatic bottom lip?

From the moment sh1t hits the fan in season 1 right the way through season 2 she slightly over uses the 4 year old crying face imo.

But after all of that I just found it funny that in season 2 episode 10 even duct tape couldn't tame it 😅 they taped her mouth in the most unflattering way to still give her what is apparently the main body part she uses to act out emotions... her bottom lip 🙈