49 replies to this topic

[TWoP Lockley]

Specific comments and discussions about episodes and events from season one should go here.

[rogaine2233]

Just finished a marathon watch of all 12 episodes of season one. I can see why Clare Danes won that Emmy! Not so sure about Damien Lewis though he did a great job. He just had some tough competition.

I was hooked from the first five minutes of the show. Although I know they need to spend time on personal lives to advance plot, I got a bit tired of the Saul home saga. I really like him best as Carrie's mentor.

I would love to see more exploration of Carrie's bi-polar condition. She made one mention of it being in college when she was first evaluated. But she must have displayed symptoms before that, And what drove her to be a CIA agent? Other than the opening credits, we don't get much.

Lots of great acting in lots of complex roles. I found it hard to sympathize with Brody at first...beyond the horror of his being a POW, but nicely written and played by Lewis, and I had a better understanding of him by the end of the season.

Anxiously awaiting S2 premiere tonight!

[CaseStudy]

Damian Lewis won for his submission, which was the finale. It was a perfect Emmy episode for him. He couldn't have won with any other installment. I thought the fourth season of Breaking Bad was Cranston's best, but Lewis was a close second favorite, and Cranston already has three Emmys for the show. So, Lewis' win didn't bother me. And considering what happened in season one who knows how many opportunities Lewis will have.

[SiobhanJW]

Just finished a Marathon of the first season I loved it! I had watched the first 2 episodes months ago but didn't continue watching until the other day. Glad I finally caught up and can't wait to see the new season tonight!

[bestever]

Any chance TWoP writers will go back and write recaps of season 1? For that matter, I would love to see recaps of Breaking Bad seasons 1 and 2. It's a bummer when a show doesn't get added to the roster until it's been on for awhile. I just love reading the recaps on here!

[MasalaCurry]

I just started watching this show after it won so many Emmys and people talking about how well-deserved it was. I saw the first 3 episodes and am hooked! Claire Danes, at first glance, seems to harsh and unlikable, but you slowly start to understand her dedication to her work. Her acting is superb!! Just a glance, a smile, or expression tells you exactly what she is thinking. Brody is scary, its hard to figure out what is going on in his mind, clearly he has developed cruelty, but its hard not to sympathize with him. Holed 8 for 8 years, I cannot even imagine what he went through. I am excited to go home after work and continue the fabulous marathon. The show is riveting!

[rogaine2233]

Can some veterans of Homeland (I'm a "newbie") explain something to me? When Brody went back to get his tape, it was gone and there was another chalk line on the stone. I assumed he made the chalk line so someone would know to get the tape after he blew himself up. So shouldn't he know who made that second chalk line?

Edited by rogaine2233, Oct 2, 2012 @ 2:57 PM.

[Quandary]

We don't know. His instructions may or may not have filled him in on who would be making the pickup. It could have been Walker but his job was probably to deliver it/send it to someone else anyway. This probably gets explored sometime in Season 2.

[Purejinks]

Okay I've tried to ignore this. But Brody was found filthy with lots of unshaven hair. We know from flash backs that he was clean and shaven during his time with Isa, surely he wouldnt have had a on a wig. How long after the drone attacks was he found I thought it was two years?

[Inquisitionist]

Brody was found filthy with lots of unshaven hair. We know from flash backs that he was clean and shaven during his time with Isa, surely he wouldnt have had a on a wig. How long after the drone attacks was he found I thought it was two years?

Two years sounds about right. Hair grows about 6 inches in a year, so that would be plenty of time for Brody to go from clean-shaven to the condition in which he was found, if his hair/beard were not cut in the mean time. I don't think he was in the bunker where he was found for those 2 years. It seems that Abu Nazir (who plays the "long game") set up the circumstances for the "rescue" at a time that suited him.

But the show does play a little fast-and-loose with some of these details, so who knows for sure? :-)

[Purejinks]

Ur absolutely correct... I'm sure that'll be a flash back. :)

[Quandary]

How would you rank the Season 1 episodes? This is my attempt, though it's so hard.. it's like choosing your favorite children

1) The Vest
2) The Weekend
3) Marine One
4) Representative Brody
5) Pilot
6) The Good Soldier
7) Blind Spot
8) Achilles Heel
9) Grace
10) Crossfire
11) Clean Skin
12) Semper I

[Hallelujah]

My top three in order would be The Weekend, The Vest, and Marine One.

Ranking 4-12 is difficult, though. I think they're all excellent, but here's my take:
4. Pilot
5. Representative Brody
6. The Good Soldier
7. Grace
8. Semper I
9. Blind Spot
10. Clean Skin
11. Crossfire
12. Achilles Heel

[CaseStudy]

1 The Weekend
2 Marine One
3 Pilot
4 The Vest
5 Blind Spot
6 Grace
7 Representative Brody
8 Semper I
9 The Good Soldier
10 Achillies Heel
11 Clean Skin
12 Crossfire

[mag32gie]

Does anybody remember in season 1 when they grabbed Brody leaving the grocery store? They brought him to a place where they showed the Issa story and he talked to Abu through video, what was the shot they gave him? I could never figure that part out.
Anybody know what it could have been?

[Hallelujah]

My guess was some sort of sedative or muscle relaxant because he was resisting before and then pretty much stopped and was knocked out.

[jjj]

Just watched all if Season One in three days. Intense. Was there a thread for this season somewhere else in TWoP?

Bugging me throughout: how did Walker have a son about six years old if he had been in captivity for eight years?

Will watch Season Two over Christmas!

[leapjoy]

JJ, I have been slowly watching S1 after buying the DVD a few week's ago. I watch an pisode a night when I have free time. I like to watch and think about the episode and then move onto the next. I just finished episode 9 last night.

I've also been watching S2 but need to go back and rewatch when I am finished with S1.

This is an excellent show with some excellent acting on all sides.

[neonlite]

Bugging me throughout: how did Walker have a son about six years old if he had been in captivity for eight years?

The actor, Jaden Harmon, was born in 2000, before Walker went away.

[jjj]

Wow, thanks, neonlite -- from the Walker memorial service onward, I never got the sense he was anywhere near age 10.

[Quandary]

Just watched all if Season One in three days. Intense. Was there a thread for this season somewhere else in TWoP?

Yep:

http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3206782&view=getnewpost

[jjj]

Wow, thanks so much -- I had looked and looked for this without success. Ready to dive in!

[SlovakPrincess]

Homeland Season One - otherwise known as my new addiction. I am forcing myself to buy each episode separately off of iTunes, because otherwise I will download the whole season and watch all the episodes in an obsessive, Carrie-like binge . . .

I am only four episodes in. Weirdly enough, the most shocking moment for me so far is still when Carrie came onto Saul in the pilot, in a desperate attempt to get herself out of trouble. Mandy Patinkin hissing "what the fuck are you doing?!" in that moment was so perfect.
With this show, I am expecting violence and plot twists and sex and betrayals. But I was not expecting that cringe-inducing moment. Maybe because it's the closest to normal, every day life situations - just imagine trying to face your boss and mentor the next day after doing that! Yikes! So awkward!

I am trying not to hate Dana, but she makes it difficult. I really feel for Jessica, who's a good person in a fucked up situation. I had already heard a little about the first season finale, but I'm trying to block all that out to appreciate the Brody character, and how impossible it is to expect the guy to be normal after what was done to him. The actor does a great job showing all the different aspects of Brody's personality.
Saul is pretty low key so far, but I always love Mandy Patinkin. Carrie is wacky as hell, but I love her in her more heartbreaking moments - like her anguish over Lynn Reed.

[mag32gie]

Can somebody please tell me why Brody killed the deer in season one?

[leapjoy]

Wasn't it because the deer was eating from the garden or flowers?

[SlovakPrincess]

Just finished watching the episode "The Good Soldier", which really should have been called "Oh My God, Carrie, What the Fuck is Wrong With You, You Stupid Fucking Idiot?".

Seriously, what is wrong with her?! Good thing she took the polygraph before she gave Brody the classified information about the purpose of the polygraph! You know, and then slept with him because she is out of her mind. Or simply can't hold her bourbon (although I had her pegged for a heavy drinker with a high tolerance).

How has Saul lasted this long in the CIA if he always flops the polygraph? That was pathetic!

I really felt bad for Larry the Polygraph Guy. "Are you married?" was apparently the touchiest subject on the test, rather than "did you slip the terrorist suspect a razor blade?"

Can somebody please tell me why Brody killed the deer in season one?

Because the deer trampled Jessica's flowers. But really because he is full of pent-up rage over what happened to him and because he suspects that Mike and Jessica were having sex while he was missing. And also he is possibly a violent terrorist, so there's that, too . . .

Edited by SlovakPrincess, Nov 26, 2012 @ 8:54 PM.

[Hallelujah]

It's very interesting to read your comments as you watch the first season, SlovakPrincess. The next episode is "The Weekend," which is IMO one of the best (if not the best) episode of the series. But people seem to have different interpretations of what happens in the episode, which sounds incredibly vague (and it is), but I don't want to give anything away.

I will say this: if you think Carrie is out of her mind now, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

[SlovakPrincess]

Well, you will be glad to know that I have just watched The Weekend, Hallelujah! ;)
This show is like crack, I tell ya . . .

I think Carrie thought she was in control of the situation, and thought she was going to reveal the truth about Brody, and had developed genuine feelings for him. She is both invested in being right about him, and is falling for him. She was already showing a creepy fondness for him when she had her surveillance cameras. And yet, she really believed he was the turned soldier and a huge danger to the U.S.

I'm tempted to say that only in Carrie's crazy mind does this make sense . . . but I wonder if trying so intensely to get into a suspect's head leads to over-identifying and twisted affection. Saul had the same vibe going on with Aileen, to a much lesser extent. (I totally cracked up when Saul insisted he go to get Aileen - of course, Saul, you have experience with crazy, intense blondes!)

Still feel bad for Mike and Jessica. Still want to slap Dana silly. I really loved Carrie's cabin and want to go there right now! Such a good episode . . . will force myself to stop for the night now.

[Hallelujah]

I'm tempted to say that only in Carrie's crazy mind does this make sense . . . but I wonder if trying so intensely to get into a suspect's head leads to over-identifying and twisted affection.

I think you're right on about this, and the Carrie/Brody thread discusses the various hows and whys of their relationship in much more depth.

[SlovakPrincess]

Just watched Achilles Heel . . .

Poor Helen. She broke my heart a little. I understood her panicking and fucking the whole operation up...although she probably just (unintentionally) ensured that Tom will be killed instead of just interrogated by the government.

Continuing to lie to the CIA - when Carrie knows the truth - is a risky strategy for Brody. Even given the mess she'd bring on herself if she admitted her little projects on the side to the CIA, Brody should still suspect she might tell her bosses if she felt if was vital.

Brody and Jessica were adorable together this episode. It was poignant to see what this couple was probably like before everything happened.

Not only can't Saul pass a polygraph, he cannot use his computer. Watching him peck at it petulantly was hilarious. Love ya, Saul, but geez.

Wasn't that other agent supposed to be watching Carrie for David? How has he not stumbled on Carrie doing something ridiculous yet?

Saul was awfully sweet about Carrie's gigantic fuck-up (literally, ha ha!). But why does he think she's going to "get it" this time - she obviously didn't "get it" after her first creepy intrusion into Brody's life!
Seeing the two of them sad together (over their respective lonely lives) was sort of touching.

Holy shit, that ending... probably should've seen it coming, but the episode distracted me with so much else going on.

Edited by SlovakPrincess, Dec 3, 2012 @ 9:18 PM.