Homeland

[Thorpesaurous]

I was not as happy with this as most people I guess. Although it was very good.

My opinion was that the show had to go in one of two directions.

Brody could've been killed. It would have crushed Carrie. It would have put Saul into the fatherly role. And the show could shift focus on Saul and Carrie trying to figure out a way to expose Estes and Quinn and presumably Dara Dal. It would've completely changed the dynamic of the show.

The other option was for Brody to be exposed as continuing to be a terrorist. Continuing to be under the control of Abu Nazir. To show him as now being in a position of manipulating Carrie, and feeding info from the CIA to the Sleeper Cells, instead of the other way around.

They instead took the middle ground, implying that Brody is innocent, in spite of what it looks like. Now ... it's possible that Brody spent that whole episode continuing to manipulate Carrie. That he is in fact in league with Nazir's network. That he did set off that bomb. So it could still work.

However if the whole of next season is Brody and Carrie being denied their great love because people just don't understand ... that's gonna be a bummer.

The Quinn sequence was just bizarre. Having a guy like that become this fledgling romantic is just weird. The killing of Estes was surprising enough to give the episode some umph. The continued omitance of Dara Dal is strange, that character has to be pushed further. And I'm guessing they set up that guy who took responsibility for the bombing as the new Nazir, the new focul point of the CIA's investigation.

Right now my guess is that Saul did leak the tape. Who else could it have been. And his motive isn't all that nefarious. He knows it was Brody's car that exploded. That's his main target, and leaking the tape makes it near impossible for the guy to lay low. And in addition I'm sure he assumes Carrie is with him, and in addition to making things tough for his target, he also gets to play the concerned dad reading last weekend's police blotter to his daughter about her new boyfriend getting arrested for pot, which is essentially the dynamic they've set up between the three of them.

I don't know who set up the car bomb. I'd like to think it was in fact Brody, because it plays out my feelings about the show being able to work if he is in fact still a terrorist. But I'm afraid it will have been someone else, with the continued notion of Carrie telling her Dad Saul that he just doesn't know her boyfriend like she does. It's not him, it's his friends that are the problem.

There aren't that many more characters to choose from.

[guy]

Is that basically the way they write Brody off the show? Cause it would be completely ridiculous if he is somehow able to get back into the US, so the only other option would be for him to become an overseas terrorist, which at this point doesn't seem to make much sense and wouldn't even really be that appealing since he can't interact with all the characters in the US.

One other thing I have to ask. So an explosion occurs that Carrie and Brody are present for that kills 200 people. Brody is the main suspect. For a few days after the attack, Carrie and Brody's bodies cannot be found. And then Carrie decides its okay to show up again a few days later in relatively good shape with Brody still missing. How does she not think that won't arouse suspicion? I guess you can say they can address it next season, but with the way this show is, I think its much more likely that they just completely sweep it under the rug. I don't know what's worse, this or the CIA not being suspicious at all with Brody being the only person with the VP when he dies.

Still a very entertaining show and finale, but man does this show have some plotholes.

[guy]

Right now my guess is that Saul did leak the tape. Who else could it have been. And his motive isn't all that nefarious. He knows it was Brody's car that exploded. That's his main target, and leaking the tape makes it near impossible for the guy to lay low. And in addition I'm sure he assumes Carrie is with him, and in addition to making things tough for his target, he also gets to play the concerned dad reading last weekend's police blotter to his daughter about her new boyfriend getting arrested for pot, which is essentially the dynamic they've set up between the three of them.

I got the feeling that it was just a copy sent to Al Qaeda when Brody first made the tape. I believe the terrorist in the video did say that Brody was responsible for the attack.

[bisk]

I wouldn't jump to any conclusions regarding the video. The SD Card was retrieved in a backpack in an office in Beirut. Copies were probably made.

[guy]

Another thing, the scene with Brody's family watching his confession video was just amazing television.

[brandonislegend]

Another thing, the scene with Brody's family watching his confession video was just amazing television.

Yup I thought the same thing when I saw it.

[Bano114]

You know what man I was thinking about it...

Could Brody really have been in on the plan to have a car bomb go off at VP Waldens memorial?

It wouldn't make sense. Brody was reunited with Nazir before Walden was killed.

Brody didn't even know how Walden would be killed. He didn't plan on it happening. Nazir forced him to help by taking Carrie.

So do I really think he was playing Carrie to get away after formulating a plan to take out Waldens memorial with Nazir? No...it wouldn't make sense because the last time Brody and Nazir were together Walden was still alive and Bordy didn't commit to killing him.

Unless....Nazir and Brody staged the whole Carrie being kidnapped thing to completely convince Carrie that Brody is a good person? Seems highly unlikely.

[longhornfan1234]

I hope Brody's daughter has a bigger role next season. She's one of the best actors on the show. She's overlooked.

[KevinNYC]

They instead took the middle ground, implying that Brody is innocent, in spite of what it looks like. Now ... it's possible that Brody spent that whole episode continuing to manipulate Carrie. That he is in fact in league with Nazir's network. That he did set off that bomb. So it could still work.

If Brody is innocent then that staging was completely unrealistic (which doesn't mean anything with this show, I know.) Why would he pretend not to know about the bomb? In the hope that Carrie would do what she did?

Also, he was physically in danger (and they both recovered amazingly quickly and seemed to suffer no hearing loss, headaches or cuts considering they standing in front of an exploding glass window. So I think Brody did not know about the bomb and was, in fact manipulated by Nazir. I think this because it appears the drama for season three will be Brody as a fugitive.

The Quinn sequence was just bizarre. Having a guy like that become this fledgling romantic is just weird. The killing of Estes was surprising enough to give the episode some umph. The continued omitance of Dara Dal is strange, that character has to be pushed further. And I'm guessing they set up that guy who took responsibility for the bombing as the new Nazir, the new focul point of the CIA's investigation.

Yeah, it seems to be the guy behind Abu Nazir. Also they buried Abu Nazir at sea? He's at the level of Osama Bin Laden?

The one thing I find odd about Dar Adul. The head of the CIA's black ops is named Dar Adul? Sometimes the middle-eastern roots of this show are too evident. It also seems that they are setting up a debate about the nature of the CIA as a theme for season three, since Saul now seems to be Dar Adul's boss.

Right now my guess is that Saul did leak the tape. Who else could it have been.

That's assuming that the disk that Carrie found was the only copy of that video. The new terrorist big shot could have released the tape. Especially given the 3-dimensional chess these terrorists seem to be able to play.

If Brody is innocent and we can believe what he said before the explosion, then who moved the car? That implies someone on the inside. Also where would the explosives have been in Brody's car that he wouldn't have noticed...as noted above it would be a lot of explosive.

Also Saul has to have Carrie arrested right? There's no way to explain her absence. Saul can't control the investigation to that degree, the FBI would be all over this.

[KevinNYC]

How the **** did anyone put that much explosive power in the car that took out a giant building and 200 people. Where did they even get the explosives? CIA took their C4 from the reporters. Must have been an inside job, took the car, stuffed it with C4, parked it outside then leaked the video after the blast. I swear it can only be Saul, he wanted Carrie to come with him, he was the only one with rank who knew about the video.

Saul moved the car?

As for the c4 we were led to believe that the takedown of the TV crew plot and death of Nazir was part of a larger plot to get a bomb at the CIA headquarters. So they could simply have had more c4. But yeah, how much would need to create that explosion? And wouldn't the driver of that car notice it?

[johndeeregreen]

The Quinn sequence was just bizarre. Having a guy like that become this fledgling romantic is just weird. The killing of Estes was surprising enough to give the episode some umph. The continued omitance of Dara Dal is strange, that character has to be pushed further. And I'm guessing they set up that guy who took responsibility for the bombing as the new Nazir, the new focul point of the CIA's investigation.

This was my only major beef with the episode. That was just...strange.

[guy]

I highly doubt Brody is still a terrorist. First of all, he was about to tell his wife what he almost did and he DID tell his daughter what he did. That doesn't sound like someone that has future plans to do something. That sounds like someone trying to be honest and make things right with his life. Second of all, they've made it a point for it to be Carrie being the only one thinking he's innocent just like she was the only one thinking he's guilty last season. They've also made it a point to show that Carrie is usually correct in her professional life but just an idiot in her personal life. I don't think they're going to make her the one idiot in the world that was wrong about Brody.

[brantonli]

I hope Brody's daughter has a bigger role next season. She's one of the best actors on the show. She's overlooked.

I'm fine with you trolling on political issues, but this....this is over the line.

[Thorpesaurous]

This was my only major beef with the episode. That was just...strange.

I heard yesterday that they edited out a scene that shows Quinn at the lake having an impromptu conversation with his ex girlfriend the cop after watching Carrie and Brody, which would at least give you some ramp up to his change of heart.

[Thorpesaurous]

I highly doubt Brody is still a terrorist. First of all, he was about to tell his wife what he almost did and he DID tell his daughter what he did. That doesn't sound like someone that has future plans to do something. That sounds like someone trying to be honest and make things right with his life. Second of all, they've made it a point for it to be Carrie being the only one thinking he's innocent just like she was the only one thinking he's guilty last season. They've also made it a point to show that Carrie is usually correct in her professional life but just an idiot in her personal life. I don't think they're going to make her the one idiot in the world that was wrong about Brody.

I don't know. They kind of layed his behavior out in a way that it could be viewed from either perspective. It was like he coming clean with his family as a means of saying goodbye. But was it a goodbye because he's now become a full time terrorist, or he's expecting to die in an explosion, or is it a goodbye because he intends to move on with Carrie who just understands him more than they will ever be able too. To me it could've been read either way, and I'm positive that was done intentionally.

It would've looked more clear had Brody been the one to call Carrie away, and not the other way around. His "that's weird, someone moved my car." line, was intentionally misleading. Would it have changed things had we not known that info. If the explosion just happened, and then after the fact we learned with Saul that it appeared to come from Brody's car. It was as if that line were placed there to explicitly tell the audience that either there's someone else participating, or that he's trying to convince Carrie that there's someone else participating. Otherwise what's the point.