HOMELAND: A Showtime Original Series

[jmt225]

I was not a fan of the last two episodes at all. I wasn't a fan of quite a few stuff after the first couple of episodes this season. I HATED the Dana nonsense, and I was just never with the idea of Carrie still loving Brody.

All that said, last night's finale was absolutely terrific and completely makes up for every complaint I had for the rest of the season. I thought the 1st season was awesome up until the finale, and this season it's pretty much the opposite (although I did also love the first 2 or 3 episodes of the season, plus the episode where Carrie brought Brody in and then the follow up to that with the interrogation).

First of all, the Quinn scene with Estes awesome. What a bad motherfucker that dude is. I hope he's still around next season.

And secondly, I was waiting for something to happen, but it was for a bullet to go through Brody's head, not a bomb to explode during the funeral. What a shock that was. Holy shit. And then for Brody's tape to be released to the press... another shocker. Unbelievably great stuff. And as much as I didn't enjoy last week's episode and the stuff leading up to it, it all makes sense now and I guess I'm forced to change my opinion on it. Like Brody said, this was Nazir's plan all along, and as awful as it was, you have to admit that it was brilliant as well.

Can't wait for next season.

Originally Posted by It's Damn Real!

I think the one thing that's killing me now is not knowing what the fuck Saul was muttering in Arabic standing in the room with the 200+ victims. That "smile" of his as Carrie walked back in was creepy as fuck…

I'm 99.9% sure he was speaking Hebrew, not Arabic. The guy is Jewish after all. I believe he was just saying a prayer for the victims, and for Carrie.

And I found the smile touching. It wasn't creepy at all... just relief and him trying to fight back the tears. Beautiful scene IMO and the perfect shot to end the season on.

[Coco]

Just watched the finale.

My understanding is we're meant to believe that Saul did it. Him being absent from the memorial service, him sending Nazir off, his failure to handle the lie detector in season one, him fighting to keep Brody alive long enough for his name to be attached to this massive attack... It all reeks of the writers pointing at Saul. And I'm sure as I read more of what's out there, I won't be the only one who thought so. Looks like next season, we play the "Is he or isn't he?" game with Saul. No problem there. Great character and actor. Should be fun.

I loved the finale. Some of the plot silliness of the last couple episodes and the Dana mess fades away when we get to spend quiet time with these characters followed by a twist that's actually compelling. Thumbs way up. Just when I was considering calling Homeland a one season wonder, they pulled me back in.

[jmt225]

If you rewatch the scene between Brody and Carrie in the office, there were also little things that hinted that Brody might be behind it. For example, that face he makes after Carrie tells him she chose him over the CIA, as if his mind was someplace else, such as that there was a fucking bomb about to go off. There also seemed to be something off with Brody during the goodbye scene as well.

I think it's entirely possible that he may have been behind the explosion. I mean, we never did see what really happened with him and Nazir when they took him on the helicopter during the middle of the season.

So yeah... I'm leaning towards that there's more suspicion working against Brody than Saul right now. To me, Saul being behind everything wouldn't make any sense whatsoever.

[SDS1582]

Just watched the finale. I thought it was amazing.

A few thoughts:

1) As someone else mentioned, Saul was saying a prayer for the victims, in Hebrew. Hebrew and Arabic are very similar languages when spoken so that's why it sounded like Arabic.

2) Brody didn't set off the bomb. If he did, why would he release the old video and not make a new one? Brody had no reason (that we know of) to attack the CIA. They made a deal with him that as far as he knew, they were honoring. Walden was dead, he got his revenge. There would be no reason for him to do it. He was only part of Nazir's cause to avenge Isa, which he did.

3) It wasn't Saul. Why would it be? They made him go to the burial of Nazir so his character didn't die. Otherwise, he'd have been at the CIA and would have been blown up. It has to be someone who was there, outside of the CIA building in order to move Brody's car. Also, why would he want to kill Carrie?

4) Knowing what I know about Howard Gordon, I'm betting that it's Quinn who was responsible for the bomb. They led us to believe that Quinn is a good guy and that he couldn't kill Brody because Brody's not bad but I think Quinn realized he could use Brody for a bigger agenda (remember Dar Adal was pulling Quinn's strings). Quinn knew about the tape Brody made and would have access to it. He also easily could have put the bomb in Brody's car and moved the car into position. Keep in mind, if it wasn't Brody, it would have to be someone that new about the CIA memorial service for Walden, knew Brody would be there, and would be able to time it perfectly. It had to be someone that was watching, which easily could have been Quinn as he had all the requisite clearances. I believe that the reason for the CIA attack will become clear in Season 3 but Quinn was instructed to do it and frame Brody for it. Think about it, it was so easy. He assumed both Brody and Carrie would die and he probably assumed Saul would be there too... Anyone that knew anything about him being hired to kill Brody or that the suicide tape was old, would be dead. As viewers, we're not supposed to suspect Quinn since we think he's a good guy and didn't kill Brody because Brody is not bad. It's perfect.

5) It's clear that Season 3 will be about clearing Brody's name and figuring out who did the bombing. Saul will believe Carrie because he knows that the tape is old. He will know that someone else released that tape. If what I said about Quinn in #4 does not come to fruition, then I believe part of season 3 will be about Quinn tracking down and trying to kill Brody since he'll think Brody did the bombing. Look for Dar Adal to have a bigger role and look for a government conspiracy of some sort. These are staples of Howard Gordon.

[jmt225]

Originally Posted by SDS1582

2) Brody didn't set off the bomb. If he did, why would he release the old video and not make a new one?

He wouldn't make a new one because he wanted to still be able to pronounce his innocence to Carrie and the CIA.

Brody had no reason (that we know of) to attack the CIA. They made a deal with him that as far as he knew, they were honoring. Walden was dead, he got his revenge. There would be no reason for him to do it. He was only part of Nazir's cause to avenge Isa, which he did.

Again, like I said earlier, we don't know what happened during that meeting with Brody and Nazir. They never showed it, and I have to believe there was a reason for that. All we saw from it is what Brody said to the CIA... nothing more. It is possible Nazir got through to him again and then carried out this plan, and then Brody adjusted it to where he would survive since he knew there would be no repercussion of it since Nazir is dead (or it's possible that it was planned for Brody to survive so maybe he can carry out another mission, or it was a "kind" gesture from Nazir since he probably knew Brody wouldn't go through with it if he had to die along with the bomb).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm POSITIVE it was Brody; I just think it's probable.

Your Quinn theory is also probable, no doubt about it. You don't hire an actor like F. Murray Abraham just for 3 minutes of screen time (he's the guy who met up with Quinn on the bus and Saul in the diner). He's definitely going to have a huge role next season, though it's hard for me to believe someone that high up in the CIA would want all those innocent Americans killed. I'm still sticking with Brody being behind it. I think he'll look innocent all next season and then in the final moments it'll be revealed just to the audience that he was the one behind it.

[SDS1582]

Originally Posted by jmt225

He wouldn't make a new one because he wanted to still be able to pronounce his innocence to Carrie and the CIA.



Again, like I said earlier, we don't know what happened during that meeting with Brody and Nazir. They never showed it, and I have to believe there was a reason for that. All we saw from it is what Brody said to the CIA... nothing more. It is possible Nazir got through to him again and then carried out this plan, and then Brody adjusted it to where he would survive since he knew there would be no repercussion of it since Nazir is dead (or it's possible that it was planned for Brody to survive so maybe he can carry out another mission, or it was a "kind" gesture from Nazir since he probably knew Brody wouldn't go through with it if he had to die along with the bomb).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm POSITIVE it was Brody; I just think it's probable.

Your Quinn theory is also probable, no doubt about it. You don't hire an actor like F. Murray Abraham just for 3 minutes of screen time (he's the guy who met up with Quinn on the bus and Saul in the diner). He's definitely going to have a huge role next season, though it's hard for me to believe someone that high up in the CIA would want all those innocent Americans killed. I'm still sticking with Brody being behind it. I think he'll look innocent all next season and then in the final moments it'll be revealed just to the audience that he was the one behind it.

You make some interesting points but to me, it seems too obvious to be Brody. The entire world other than Carrie and Saul are going to think it was Brody. So if it ends up being Brody, it wouldn't be that surprising. Plus, why would he have pointed out the fact that his car was allegedly moved, to Carrie. If he was a bomber, what was the difference? Why say "Someone moved my car." If he was the bomber, he was assuming both would die. I think it's possible that during the meeting with Nazir, Nazir told Brody there was another target or a main target, and possibly told him what it was and for whatever reason, Brody didn't share that with the CIA. I just don't think that Brody actually did the deed. I could be wrong but I think it's Quinn, who will be revealed to be caught up in some sort of CIA interagency conspiracy.

[jmt225]

Big shocker for ‘Homeland’ fans – Claire Danes is secretly planning to leave the show after next season to be a full-time mom! Even though series execs doubled her salary, Claire wants to stay home with her first child, Cyrus Michael Christopher Dancy, who was born Dec. 17, sources say.

“Claire has finally discovered the one thing she loves more than acting – being a mom!” an insider close to ‘Homeland’ told The Enquirer. “Before Cyrus was born, Claire would never have thought about giving up her role on ‘Homeland’ because she thought she’s be able to juggle her job with being a mom. But now she doesn’t want to leave her son.”

“Claire and Hugh have agreed that he’ll continue working on ‘Hannibal’ [Dancy’s new NBS show], as well as other acting jobs, if she decided to follow through with her plans to leave ‘Homeland’.”

After executives learned Claire might walk, they doubled her salary to $220,000 an episode as an inducement to stay for the upcoming season.

Despite the pay raise, “Claire is having regrets about signing on for another season… it’s very likely the execs will eventually offer Claire another huge pay raise if she’ll agree to stay for Season 4, but she’s still leaning towards leaving. Now that she’s a mom, she’s come to realize that the time with her son is invaluable. Besides that, she’s one of the hottest tickets in Hollywood these days. She knows that she can go back to acting any time she wants.”

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Hopefully this is just a silly rumor, but if she's really gone after the 3rd season, then the show needs to go along with her. It simply cannot survive without Claire Danes' character. Saul and Brody are great, but it's Carrie who makes this show as great as it is and without her it will be a disaster.

[SDS1582]

Originally Posted by jmt225

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Hopefully this is just a silly rumor, but if she's really gone after the 3rd season, then the show needs to go along with her. It simply cannot survive without Claire Danes' character. Saul and Brody are great, but it's Carrie who makes this show as great as it is and without her it will be a disaster.

I agree and I find this really, really hard to believe. When you have a hit show, an emmy nominated show and you're getting nominated for Emmys, you don't quit. These kind of shows are few and far between. For that kind of money, her agent had better be convincing her that leaving is a huge, huge mistake that could significantly hurt her career.

Here's the thing though: The show might survive if she left for a year and then came back. BUT if she's gone for good, then the show should be too.... Can't see it working without Carrie. Plus, the Carrie-Brody dynamic is what adds a great element to it. Kill that and this is nothing more than a worse clone of 24.

[Nate]

Give her a year, she'll be sick of being a mom. It's not really all it's cracked up to be.