I didn't see the explosion coming either so good points for that, Homeland.
But like you I was never sold on the Carrie/Brodie love either, especially on his part. The relationship was well done in season 1 but the whole doomed romantic relationship looked very forced on us this season.
I agree that Brody being killed would have been very predictable and I hope this finale meant that the character was being written off for good but I'm afraid that the writers won't resist having Emmy-winner Lewis back as soon as possible.
My favourite parts were about Saul (his calling Carrie, his attending Abu Nazir's funeral, his reciting the Kaddish, his telling his wife "yes, please", his smile to Carrie), and I find the Saul/Carrie relationship much more touching that the star-crossed lovers cliché they have written Carrie/Brody into.
I'm currently working on a theory that every time a show (or film, but I'm mostly thinking tv right now) lets a third party spell out how two people romantically/sexually involved feel about each other, the relationship fails at least in the sense that's intended. My previous two examples are Angel and Cordelia, whose friendship in s1 of AtS and in much of s2 was absolutely delightful and one of my favourite things about the show. But one of many reasons why s3 nearly made me quit watching before s4 brought me back with a vengeance was that as soon as the show decided to make the relationship romantic, not only did this affect Cordelia's characterisation but we got very clunky lines about their love - the s3 finally went completely overboard of them, with everybody and their dog telling Angel and Cordy how much they love and understand each other and how perfect they are for each other. In Alias, I was always more interested in the first generation spies and their relationships with each other and Sydney than the Syd/Vaughn romance,
( ... )
I know! My take on it is that, like with every thing else on tv (or film indeed), the "show not tell" golden rule should be observed, with a pinch of subtletly thrown in...
Agreed about the dramatic irony of Brody being framed for the bombing he didn't commit through the evidence of the bombing he was going to commit, and about it feeling right. Less even than the difficulty of accepting Carrie and Brody as a happy couple (to me, the hurdle is the fact that he made her doubt her sanity to the point of committing suicide; it's not that I don't believe Carrie could get over that because, as Brody says, she is just that crazy, but I needed to be walked from point A to B), I had trouble accepting that he would just get away with his crimes. Dana finally working up the courage to ask about next year and getting the truth (and recoiling from it) went some way towards his comeuppance, but being blamed for the bombing feels just right
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Dana finally working up the courage to ask about next year and getting the truth (and recoiling from it) went some way towards his comeuppance
Oh, I'd meant to mention that and forgot! Yes. I'm really glad her reaction was written this way, showing shock and recoiling. Because of the lack of Homeland reviews on lj, I took a look at tumblr now and then and always stopped early on because of all the Dana hate. (It seemed that what Skyler hate was to BB tumblrs, Dana hate was to H tumblrs. Ugh.) But she's one of the most emotionally real characters of the show to me.
It also occurred to me that Quinn might blame himself in the wake of the bombing (I'm assuming he wasn't among the dead or we would have seen him at the wake before the explosion), but on the other hand he is one of a few people (including Carrie and Saul) who know that the suicide tape refers to the earlier, botched attempt on Walden's life, which, along with his newfound respect for Carrie's abilities, might make him more amenable to the idea that Brody was framed.Good
( ... )
Two minor points which took me out of the show for a minute: Judaism and Islam are two religions that have many set behaviours and rules, some of which get broken by some people, but others just are not naturally/commonly broken, because traditional stress points are in other areas. So Brody drinking is one thing, to me that indicates that he's not 100% on board and/or that he's compartmentalising his identities quite strongly. But Brody, after having had sex, praying without washing even though he was RIGHT BESIDE a highly attractive ocean, was one of those "Wtf people don't do that" moments. Similarly, someone who could recide qadish fluently and from memory like Saul, even if they were largely secular at this point in their lives, would not likely think to say it in that context. A lot of people watching it with me facepalmed at that moment
( ... )
I don't know; I'm a fairly observant Jew who could get through Kaddish from memory as well as Saul did (he fumbled a bit on the end), and I could see saying it in that context.At services last week,a few people who, as far as I know, are not in mourning said mourner's kaddish. I assume they were doing it (as I was) for the Sandy Hook victims, even thought technically only people who have lost an immediate family member are supposed to say it. Granted, Saul isn't at a prayer service, but it still rang true to me.
re: Saul & Kaddish, please explain to the ignorant?
As I said in the review, I do expect that was it for Brody, baring flashbacks and possibly one episode guest starring, so if he had been responsible for the explosion, I think we wouldn't have gotten what felt like an official goodbye scene.
The gist is that to traditional Jews the value is not in the actual words of qadish being said but in the response they require of the congregation (which interjects at various points), like, it's only a prayer "for the dead" in that in the person's memory it causes a community to say nice things (and in traditional services it's actually mostly said in non-death related contexts anyway). If there isn't a minimum amount of people in the community, it doesn't get said, for that reason that the focus is not on the speaker but on those responses. From Saul's fluency and from his accent - anonymous, would you say it in Ashkenazis though? - it sounds to me like he probably had a traditional background or education. But you can see below disagreement from Reform people.
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I didn't see the explosion coming either so good points for that, Homeland.
But like you I was never sold on the Carrie/Brodie love either, especially on his part. The relationship was well done in season 1 but the whole doomed romantic relationship looked very forced on us this season.
I agree that Brody being killed would have been very predictable and I hope this finale meant that the character was being written off for good but I'm afraid that the writers won't resist having Emmy-winner Lewis back as soon as possible.
My favourite parts were about Saul (his calling Carrie, his attending Abu Nazir's funeral, his reciting the Kaddish, his telling his wife "yes, please", his smile to Carrie), and I find the Saul/Carrie relationship much more touching that the star-crossed lovers cliché they have written Carrie/Brody into.
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Oh, I'd meant to mention that and forgot! Yes. I'm really glad her reaction was written this way, showing shock and recoiling. Because of the lack of Homeland reviews on lj, I took a look at tumblr now and then and always stopped early on because of all the Dana hate. (It seemed that what Skyler hate was to BB tumblrs, Dana hate was to H tumblrs. Ugh.) But she's one of the most emotionally real characters of the show to me.
It also occurred to me that Quinn might blame himself in the wake of the bombing (I'm assuming he wasn't among the dead or we would have seen him at the wake before the explosion), but on the other hand he is one of a few people (including Carrie and Saul) who know that the suicide tape refers to the earlier, botched attempt on Walden's life, which, along with his newfound respect for Carrie's abilities, might make him more amenable to the idea that Brody was framed.Good ( ... )
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As I said in the review, I do expect that was it for Brody, baring flashbacks and possibly one episode guest starring, so if he had been responsible for the explosion, I think we wouldn't have gotten what felt like an official goodbye scene.
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