Homeland season 3 finale

[selina]

Did anybody watch the finale of season 3 last Sunday? If so, what did you think? If you haven’t watched it yet, be aware that this thread is full of major spoilers.




Consider yourself warned.

I’ve read in other forums and in online articles that a lot of people were not so happy with season 3. Since I don’t need action scenes in every episode, it was okay for me to see the plot developing slower. And I was confident that in the course of the season, the suspense would increase. And boy, it did. We pick up where we left: Brody hides the dead body of Akbari and then really makes it out of the building. In an insane attempt to escape he meets with Carrie and they contact Saul at the CIA for help. And from an audience point of view, you really don’t have a good feeling because somehow you *know* that things will go terribly wrong but yet you hope for the best. In the end Lockart takes his position as CIA chief a bit too early and gives Brody up.

What I liked very much was the dialogue between her and Javadi. It gave a conclusion for Carries behavior and why she went through with being locked up in an asylum. Apparently Javadi was the only one who got her motifs right. So that scene tight up nicely a storyline from the beginning. Furthermore, Sauls plan worked after all, so there was a conclusion as well. But I hated it guts that Brody had to die in order to execute it. I mean, in shows such as “Game of Thrones” or “The Walking Dead” characters drop like flies and I don’t mind so much. But Brody’s death really made me furious. Maybe because Lockart, the new CIA chief, is a cowardly dumbass politician who could have handled the situation differently. And what angered me the most was that Carrie went back to the CIA. I dunno, but I had expected that she would turn her back on Lockart instead of accepting a promotion (even though it seems to be a good job offer). If I were Carrie, I would recapture everything that has happened and leave the CIA. I don’t think that the she and the CIA are cut out for each other.

I wondered how the rest of the world would react to the news that Brody was going to hang. I mean how would the American news comment on that? Is he back to “hero” status or still a terrorist?

What did the rest of you think?

 

[E-DUB]

Oh my God. They killed Brody. You B@$T@RD$!!!!

 

[selina]

Oh my God. They killed Brody. You B@$T@RD$!!!!

Indeed.

Though I had hoped for a more sophisticated reply .

 

[The Nth Doctor]

As much as I love Damien Lewis and the character of Nicholas Brody as well as my hope for Brody to redeem himself in the eyes of his family, I think it was necessary thematically for the show to kill Brody. However, what I didn't like was the coda. I would've ended the episode with his hanging. Dark and brutal, yes, but I think it carried greater resonance than the extra minutes that could've just as easily worked as part of the beginning of season 4.

As for the rest of the season, I've been closely following the reviews at A.V. Club and it seems based on the reviews there (and Todd's and Sonia's comments about other viewers' opinions) that I'm in the minority in regards to this season, particularly in the case of Dana Brody. I've always loved the character and felt that her relationship with her father was one of the most important aspects of the show. Hell, I've been more interested in Dana than Carrie throughout the series. That being said, the road trip was a bit weird, but so was Carrie's trip to the mental institute as an oddball way to lure Javati. Either way, I still hope that sometime down the road, Carrie is able to clear Brody's name and redeem his reputation in the eyes of his family, especially Dana.

 

[Garak]

Brody had to die, I think that's been pretty evident for some time.

I wasn't surprised about Carrie taking the new job - the CIA is all she knows, after all. What else is she going to do?

What I can't believe is that they offered the job to her.

What I wonder about is the direction the show takes now - Carrie in Istanbul, Saul (who makes the show so watchable) in the private sector. It's going to a very different program moving forward.

 

[Mr Pointy Ears]

I couldn't believe they killed brody,but hey it tv and when characters get killed off in tv,they normally come back.

 

[selina]

As much as I love Damien Lewis and the character of Nicholas Brody as well as my hope for Brody to redeem himself in the eyes of his family, I think it was necessary thematically for the show to kill Brody.

Well, while I agree that it was thematically a good way to end Brody's storyline, I simultaneously believe that there would have been completely new stories to explore, with him still being alive.

However, what I didn't like was the coda. I would've ended the episode with his hanging. Dark and brutal, yes, but I think it carried greater resonance than the extra minutes that could've just as easily worked as part of the beginning of season 4.

Agreed. Although I liked the part where Carrie drew the star on the wall.

As for the rest of the season, I've been closely following the reviews at A.V. Club and it seems based on the reviews there (and Todd's and Sonia's comments about other viewers' opinions) that I'm in the minority in regards to this season, particularly in the case of Dana Brody. I've always loved the character and felt that her relationship with her father was one of the most important aspects of the show.

I was never a huge Dana fan myself but I can see why the relationship with her father was an important driving force of Brody's motifs. Yes, it would be nice if Dana, her mother and brother all could believe one day that Brody wasn't a mass murderer.

Brody had to die, I think that's been pretty evident for some time.

As stated above, I believe there would have been ways to continue a storyline with him. One could have been that Brody and Carrie join Saul in the private sector. Of course, you would have to rename the show .

What I can't believe is that they offered the job to her.

For me it felt like some sort of "hush-money". As if Lockart said: "Look, you were right and got the job done. What do I do with you now? Uh ... I promote you, so shut up, get the hell out of here and let's never talk about it again".

What I wonder about is the direction the show takes now - Carrie in Istanbul, Saul (who makes the show so watchable) in the private sector. It's going to a very different program moving forward.

I wonder if Saul will still be there as a regular next year. Anyway, it will certainly be very different. Which could be a good thing. Or maybe it goes all downhill from there.

So, will we see (and hear) Claire Daines speaking turkish?

 

[bigdaddy]

I haven't seen it but I have read about it. I saw the first 6-7 episodes and two of them almost put me to sleep, they were horrible.

Then I read an interview that said Showtime really didn't want Brody dead, because the writers were thinking about killing him off in the first, and then much more in the second season. I think he should have died in either 1-2 and it would have fit.

Season 3 was a boring mess. I don't need action I need plot and there was neither.

 

[Shurik]

I liked this season, not including Kim Brody's adventures. I actually salute the showrunners for having the guts to kill off Brody, even though IMO he lasted about one season too long. I wouldn't want them to drag his character through another bullshit story about redemption->betrayal->redemption and so on.

 

[selina]

Strangely, I wouldn't have such a problem with Brody's death if they had killed him off at the end of season 2. He could have died along with the others at the bombing and Carrie would have tried to clear his name in the following season. Well, she tried to do that anyway, but now there is a bitter taste left that it was all pointless. At least for her.