Showtime
Season three of Homeland felt disjointed. The pacing was slow, keeping Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) away from all the CIA action until the middle of the season. Carrie (Claire Danes) has acted even more irresponsible, ignoring her pregnancy as if it’s just a bothersome stomachache. And the CIA leadership has been erratic with Saul (Mandy Patinkin) hatching dangerous plans and pissing off everybody, including the President of the United States.
But there were some storylines dangled in front of us that either never developed or got chucked aside.
Family played an important part, especially the Brody household. Jessica Brody (Morena Baccarin), wife of the most wanted man in the world, was a strong woman as she never suffered a lot of mental anguish. That anguish passed on to daughter Dana, who attempted suicide. Dana’s pain got plenty of screen time, but where was Jessica’s? Baccarin’s real-life pregnancy has limited her time this season. Still, how did we not see more of how she coped with the burden of the Brody name? And what of Chris Brody, who we get to see basically nothing about his reaction?
The oversaturation of the media has been missing this season. TV followed the notorious Brody through interviews, news conferences and live coverage. The media was all over the hearing in which Saul threw Carrie under the bus regarding her mental status. Brody was in hiding most of the time, but it would have been nice to get more of his family’s reaction once the world realized he had surfaced.
Finally, where was the sex? Showtime is one of the channels that can really entertain when it comes to grind sessions. Homeland didn’t bring its A game. Usually there are some episodes when after one of those eye-opening scenes we just have to say wow. Not so in season three. Get busy, Homeland characters.
