Damian Lewis as Nicholas “Nick” Brody and Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison in Homeland (Season 2, Episode 12).
Tierney: I think the lack of "crazy Carrie" moments this season was less the result of a deliberate narrative that Carrie was taking control of her disease and more a shortcoming of the show being overwhelmed by the other plot lines. I would have gladly traded in the entire hit-and-run twist to see Carrie attend some therapy sessions or get a legitimate prescription (as opposed to pilfering pills off her sister as we saw in season 1). But I don't think Homeland gave us any actual indications that Carrie indeed was better, even at the cost of some of her intuitive abilities. I think it got a little lazy.
I couldn't agree more about the plausibility factor. There are so many interesting "choices" (to borrow the finale's title) our characters have had and will have to make that really make this show compelling, some of which you outlined above. All the absurd plot twists might work for a less "serious" show like Scandal or Revenge or even 24. But Homeland aspires to be much more than that, and it needs to start acting its Emmy count.
Tierney Sneed is associate editor of U.S. News Opinion. You can follow her on Twitter or reach her at tsneed@usnews.com.
Greg Otto is a news editor at U.S. News & World Report. You can follow him on Twitter or reach him at gotto@usnews.com.
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