season was good...but those last 2 episodes including the finale..boring. i fast forwarded through most of the finale. especially all that crap with carrie. it seemed like majority of the ep was about carrie's dad or mom.
and Saul needs to get his crap together. every season..it's the same deal. pissed off wife..supportive wife..pissed off wife.
They're just setting it up for the next season: Saul back in charge, Dar Adal, Quinn in ISIS-land, the a-hole Pakis, Carrie making stupid faces...they have a lot of directions and plotlines to cover.
First ten episodes were great. Last two were setting up next season, which will probably be their last. This season was the second best of the series.
Topic on reddit. NSFW. Much language, such bad! By lingben. The guy couldn't be further from the truth. "So apparently Dar Adal was in the car because he made a deal with Haqqani? hoooooookay So the deal was that Haqqani would be taken off the kill list and in return he would be kinda nice to the US? WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ???!? How the **** does that make any sense whatsoever? First of all, since when has a dyed in the wool religious zealot and fundamentalist like Haqqani ever cared about his own life? He is a believer and is willing to risk his life for the cause. He has done it again and again. He lead the ****ing assault on the embassy for ****'s sake! So now he's all of a sudden a pansy, running scared? even though he has lasted this long while being on the kill list for years and years? What the ****. That makes no sense. Haqqani is even more powerful now, more than ever. He has the FULL SUPPORT of the ISI and they have kicked the US out. He is even more protected and insulated than ever before. And remember, even when the US was stronger they still couldn't take him out. Also, Haqqani's group stole the names and locations of ALL of the US's network of local spies, informants and fixers. So they're all dead or will be soon. I bet you forgot about that, didn't you? I mean no one ever mentioned it or made any big deal out of this but this is HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE. For an intelligence agency this is like wiping the slate clean. Removing their eyes and ears with one fell swoop. The CIA is basically ****ed. At best they can maybe get a crumb here or there from friendly agencies operating in the region (UK, Canada, Germany, France, etc.) Haqqani got EVERYTHING he wanted. And he ****ed the US over real good. So tell me again, why would he now need to give concessions? In any case, guys like Haqqani never ever would concede anything or negotiate, even if they had a weak hand, because that's just who they are. They are not a fortune 500 CEO or a car dealer who 'wheels and deals'. They are ****ing zealots who see the world in black and white. Either they kill you or you kill them. Period. So in this totally weakened state, with the US limping away, bleeding... Haqqani all of a sudden goes soft and makes a deal with Dar Adal? HUH? **** that. It makes no sense. And what the **** is the motivation of Dar in offering Haqqani his life? To put his friend at the helm of the CIA? What the ****? Since when has Dar ever needed a "friend" at the top? He obviously does whatever the **** he wants. He's the shadow CIA within the CIA. For ****S SAKE he supposedly made the deal with Haqqani without anyone else at the CIA ever finding out. He ran circles around them to get what he wanted. So tell me again, why the **** does he need Saul at the top? So his friend can greenlight Dar's projects? Yeah, he really needs permission. **** THAT. This makes as much sense as a ****ing unicorn riding a pop-sickle in a 4th of july parade. This episode was the most ****ed up way of trying to tie up loose ends and bring this amazing season to a close. WHAT THE ****ING FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK?!?!!!!1111 Did the whole writing team die in a horrible white water rafting accident while away on a "team building" exercise? and did they just ask the janitor to write the finale script? 'cause that's sure what it reads like."
"That's only one side of the absurdity here. The other is that no way one of the world's most wanted terrorists just gets removed from the kill list. Even if it were possible, they wouldn't do it just to suppress an embarrassing Youtube video from an ex-CIA director under duress. It would have been like Obama pardoning Osama bin Laden to avoid the release of a George Tenet sex tape. It's like they put that twist with Dar in the car at the end of the previous episode without giving any thought to where they would go next. And then they were too afraid to take it in any of the awesome directions they could have, so they came up with the lamest possible excuse to brush it aside and get to the important stuff, like Carrie's mommy issues. Because, you know, the audience had been waiting all season for the big standoff between Carrie and her mom"
Finale was bad. I just watched it last night, and was all excited it was going to be great because I kept seeing this thread at the top. Just an awful close out to an otherwise stellar season.
Too bad the GOP can't hack Showtime. I would like to see the emails between Showtime execs and folks with the show discussing how fans are going to hate the finale. I bet some sh_t flew back and forth. Given I'm about to cancel Showtime, I wonder if they considered the impact in a the potential loss of subscribers. Bunch of f_ckheads giving us that lame ass ending.
Showtime boss explains quiet 'Homeland' finale http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/12/22/showtime-homeland-finale/ Homeland concluded its critically acclaimed—and narratively refreshed —fourth season Sunday night with an episode that took an uncharacteristically quiet approach. Last night’s hour focused on Carrie (Claire Danes), Saul (Mandy Patinkin), and Peter’s (Rupert Friend) reentry into Washington D.C. after a traumatic tour in Pakistan that resulted in the loss of a regular character (Fara Sherazi). Peter attempted to develop a romantic connection with Carrie, while Dar Adal (F. Murray Abraham) revealed the CIA’s Faustian bargain with a terrorist leader. Below, Showtime president David Nevins shares some of his thoughts on the unconventional closing episode. Homeland season finale recap: 'Long Time Coming' 'Birdman' leads Golden Globes with 7 nominations 'Homeland' actor talks shocking twist EW: Reaction to the Homeland finale seems split. Some feel disappointed the episode was “slow,” while others found the change of pace a refreshing and unusual approach. David Nevins: We went out of season three with this massive ending, with the death of Brody. And I think a show with this amount of political and narrative complexity can do a last episode that has a change of pace. I thought they needed to do an episode back in Washington, and needed to deal with Carrie’s family situation and her issues with motherhood. And there needed to be a political conclusion, too, not just an action conclusion. The season had some great action, but at its core it was really a political thriller about America’s place in the world, and how difficult that position is in the 21st century. This season is very much about how America deals with the Muslim world, and what it means that Dar Adal was sitting in the back seat as Haqqani was taking his victory lap in Islamabad. When I first saw it, I told [showrunner Alex Gansa] it was one of the show’s most beautiful episodes. Yes, I thought there was something clever and almost subversive about it, compared to what we’ve come to expect from serialized, action-y shows. Also, one of the criticisms of past seasons was that the show was too unrealistic in piling on the narrative twists. This felt more grounded and earned than if Carrie, for instance, had stayed overseas and got the bad guy. Right. It had its action climax already. And that’s what’s so great about the show—it can have different movements. It can be contemplative, it can be angry, it can have all sorts of different directions. Ultimately it’s a show called Homeland, and I thought it was important to bring it back to Carrie’s homeland. If you go back and look at [the season] as an entire movement, it’s an incredibly appropriate episode. You mentioned that it was important to get Homeland back home. Does that go for season 5 as well? I don’t think they’ve settled on anything. [Showrunner] Alex [Gansa] is is always very adamant he wants to focus on nothing but the season in front of him. But certainly going somewhere else overseas—they’re not going back to Pakistan—is one possibility. It’s a classic TV writer dilemma whether to put potential romantic partners together or to try to keep them apart as much as possible. Carrie and Quinn were briefly together last night, then pulled apart. I realize this is more of a question for the writers, but do you have a preference on that? It’s unclear to me yet whether Carrie’s feelings for Quinn were momentary or deeper. And I don’t think the show is clear on that yet. Clearly, Quinn has had feelings for Carrie for a long time. I don’t want to speculate too much … my preference is that I’m not into the artificially elongated “will they or won’t they.” If you want to do it, go for it. Don’t be cute. My only preference is to try and remain unpredictable and avoid TV cliches.
It was slow and boring for sure. But, I'm more with the reddit post. It just felt like nonsense they came up with there that they are asking us to believe happened. I don't really care to see what happens next with any sense of urgency. The CIA guy driving around in the car with the terrorist is just such bs on any level given what happened just days earlier.
There was no need for that CIA guy to be in bed with Haqqani. And why would Haqqani believe him anyway?
The only thing I can counter or at least make sense of, as to why they spent so much time on carries life issues in this finale....would be to further push Quinn from her, so that he would feel neglected and go back in so they can do another season...sigh
Just binged all 12 episodes over the past 7 days. The finale was a huge letdown (perhaps because I kept alternating between it and OKC/Spurs), but season 4 was so awesome it's OK. The show seriously regained it's footing. Didn't think there would be much left in the tank after Brodie was killed off but major props to the writers. With the elevation of Quinn, I didn't miss Brodie one bit. Claire Danes held her own, but I credit the scripts and plot for the massive leap in season 4. I'll probably wait again and watch season 5 during Christmas vacation next year.
I keep hearing how this season was great, with the exception of the final episode. I watched all 12 in a matter of 4 days, and that said, I found it mediocre. The best part of the whole season was ... no Brodys! I am not sure what the point is of the idiotic drama. Ie: Dana's personal life. Are they trying to capture a certain audience with this nonsense or is it just pointless filler? The show doesn't need the baby. Or the sister. Or the mother. I guess that father had enough that he decided not to be casted this season. Please, take the other three and drive them off the cliff. And shorten the season to 10 episodes if the writers can't get better filler. The most frustrating plotline is the Ambassadors husband giving up the hidden back door. Is he really that easily manipulated to give up something that important? How does the ISI not know about it already? Why is there only one guy guarding the door? So much idiocracy in one plot line that at times, i felt like I was watching 24. The frustrating part is this could be a really good show, however sometimes it feels like they tap out talent from the CW.
I feel like this season was a step down from season 3. Damian lewis brought a dynamic intensity to the show thats now missing. The Carrie Brody relationship was definitely an integral part of the show for me. This season just feels "less". If they wanted to reinvent the show, I'd rather they have focused on the Dar-Saul relationship. Carrie's Manic CIA Adventures isn't doing it for me. Quinn being the cool assassin guy keeps me watching though.
