Mandy Patinkin

“I’m a spy. I know shit.”

That line, spoken by John Redmond, is funny in the moment, but begins to feel ironic by the end of the episode. Practically everyone is off their game this week, with an abundance of questionable decisions leading to Saul getting kidnapped. By this point, we’ve spent plenty of time with Carrie, Saul, Quinn, even Fara. We know what they can do, we know how good they are at their jobs…except when the writers need them to be stupid. It all feels overly telegraphed, to the point where these uncharacteristic decisions not only frustrate on a plot level, but a character one too. It’s reminiscent of how a show like Family Guy treats its characters and its continuity, which is an unfortunate comparison to make with a high profile prestige drama.

There are several reminders in this episode about how good Carrie is at her job, as if the writers are making sure we have the right perspective on her character heading into the episode’s final scene. Fara tells Quinn when he arrives, “I don’t know how she finds time to sleep.” Later, the guy John Redmond had tailing Carrie last episode (and failing) tells John, simply, “She’s good.” Considering the fact that we’ve seen Carrie often at her worst, it is valuable to remember what a good agent she is. Which brings us to that final scene.

Homeland, Season 3: Episode 7 – “Gerontion” Written by Chip Johannessen Directed be Carl Franklin Airs Sunday nights at 9 on Showtime Having passed over the halfway point of the season and looking at the state of Homeland last week, “Gerontion” is a great look at what an individual episode of this series can do when it …

Homeland, Season 3: Episode 6 – “Still Positive” Written by Alexander Cary Directed by Lesli Linka Glatter Airs Sunday nights at 9 on Showtime Now that Homeland is officially halfway through its third season and is more than an episode removed from its major early twist, it is worth looking at “Still Positive” as not just …

After a mostly averse critical reaction to last week’s “Game On,” Homeland returns this week with a more recognizable entry in the series that looks and feels like it could have come from the earlier version of this series that viewers enjoyed for the first season and a half. There is the traditional espionage sequence – the Yoga Play that gives the episode its title – accompanying some smoke and mirrors fare surrounding our big bad (Javadi). Even though those familiar Homeland trappings are there, though, they mostly fall short because of how well the series has done this kind of stuff in the past.

Homeland, Season 3: Episode 4 – “Game On” Written by James Yoshimura and Alex Gansa Directed by David Nutter Airs Sunday nights at 9 ET on Showtime For all the grief that Homeland has been getting, “Game On” serves as an excellent turning point for the season and both retroactively elevates the material from the first …

All’s well in the world of Homeland: Dana and Jessica are spending quality mother-daughter time with each other, Carrie and Saul share drinks and stories about the good ol’ days as they effortlessly run the short-handed CIA and Peter Quinn skips around Langley with a smile on his face singing Christmas tunes year-round. This is the feel-good season to balance out all the horrific things going on elsewhere in the land of television. Wait, what?

Homeland, Season 3: Episode 1 – “Tin Man is Down” Written by Alex Gansa & Barbara Hall Directed by Lesli Linka Glatter Airs Sunday nights at 9pm ET on Showtime On a night when Breaking Bad – one of the most viscerally engaging series in television history – completes its run, it’s hard not to notice …

Homeland is principally discussed and appreciated as a politically-inclined thriller, an action-oriented series that manages to feel vguely relevant despite its obviously heightened nature. The show also often draws praise for its unflinching depiction of mental illness, in the many scenes we’ve gotten with Carrie struggling to keep her head in the game for the sake of national security. As Season 2 rolls along towards its endgame, however, there’s something a little different at work.

Homeland, Season 2, Episode 3: “State of Independence” Written by Alexander Cary Directed by Lodge Kerrigan Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on Showtme After reminding us of its trademark breakneck pacing last week, Homeland throws us yet another curveball, by giving us the show’s version of a transitional episode. Were it as purposefully single-minded about …

Homeland, Season 2, Episode 2: “Beirut is Back” Written by Chip Johannessen Directed by Michael Cuesta Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on Showtime Well, it would appear that the greatest issue with Season Two’s credibility is about to be eliminated. In the “holy shit”-worthy final moments of “Beirut is Back,” Saul Berenson witnesses the videotaped …

Homeland, Season 2, Episode 1: “The Smile” Written by Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon Directed by Michael Cuesta Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on Showtime It’s US election season. Fears of terrorism, domestic and foreign, are being stoked by candidates from both parties. The release of anti-Islamic videos uploaded to YouTube from the States have …

Homeland, Season 1, Episode 12: “Marine One” Written by Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon and Chip Johannessen Directed by Michael Cuesta Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on Showtime There are only two questions left over after the first season finale of Homeland. “Who is the mole?” and, “How can they hope to deliver a second season …

Homeland, Season 1, Episode 11: “The Vest” Written by Meredith Stiehm & Chip Johannessen Directed by Clark Johnson Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on Showtime One thing about Homeland that should have been clear by now is that you have to expect the unexpected. This was supposed to be an explosive episode leading into an …

Homeland, Season 1, Episode 10: “Representative Body” Written by Henry Bromell Directed by Guy Ferland Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on Showtime That point in the first season of Homeland has come in which not much is actually advancing, but all the pieces are being put into place for something big to go down. That’s …

Homeland, Season 1, Episode 9: “Crossfire” Written by Alexander Cary Directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on Showtime This was a week where Homeland saw fit to move the pieces of the plot forward in a big way, but much like another great TV show, Lost, the writers decided to push things …

Homeland, Season 1, Episode 8: “Achilles Heel” Written by Chip Johannessen Directed by Tucker Gates Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on Showtime Homeland has dabbled in thematically structured episodes already, but “Achilles Heel” took that to another level and by doing so brought to mind a lot of what made the best episodes of the …

Homeland, Season 1, Episode 7: “The Weekend” Written by Meredith Stiehm Directed by Michael Cuesta Airs Sundays at 10pm ET on Showtime Most good drama involves characters keeping secrets and telling lies. It’s practically necessary for good storytelling. If every character were open and honest with every other character there would hardly be any meaningful …

Homeland Review, Season 1, Episode 1: “Pilot” Written by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa and Gideon Raff Directed by Michael Cuesta Airs Sundays at 10pm (ET) on Showtime The pilot of any new serialized drama is a tricky proposition. In only one hour you need to set up the characters, the premise and if, possible, …