User Reviews

I like to watch Homeland, I really do. It has intrigue, suspense, unpredictability, and action. This episode will not disappoint and is one of the better episodes of the series and is full of octane. I won't go into a lot of detail about this episode, but what I do want to mention is my disappointment with the writing in the series that is such bad fiction, that it is not believable. It is so bad, that whenever I watch an episode, I think...that would not happen over and over. To enjoy fiction, you have to believe that something is possible, even if it is merely fiction.

So basically what has gone on during the past few episodes is what appears to be lack of common sense mixed with contradictions. Let me list a few to illustrate, but each episode is replete with such things and this is just a sampling for you to consider:

1. The ex-director of the CIA travels to a hostel area of the world as a private business man without any escort? Are we to assume that he had no intelligence value and was not at risk of capture? Are we to assume that he would never have any value as a trade in hostage negotiations? I am watching Homeland and I ask "what is Saul doing there"?

2. When Saul is captured and is seen next to Haissam Haqqani, Carrie calls upon a drone to blast Haqqani knowing that her friend and former boss, Saul, would also be killed. Quinn steps in and refuses to allow this to happen. Later, when Saul is trying to evade capture and attempts suicide, Carrie leads him directly into Haqqani's men so that he would be captured instead of him taking his own life.

Is leading the ex CIA chief to the hands of terrorists something that would happen in real life? Yes, Saul was Carrie's mentor, boss, and friend....but is this really how the US intelligence system works? If this were an unusual circumstance, would the person be allowed to remain at their post afterwords? Haqqani allegedly was like Bin Laden and so he would have been an extremely high value target.

3. When it is believed that the embassy is at risk and that Haqqani may be entering the embassy via a tunnel, it is visiting Lockhart who calls out the security protocol to the staff. This would not be in keeping with standard procedure and with normal chain of command. Lockhart didn't even know what documents to secure or even that there was a "safe" to take the "list of assets" to. But what fun to watch the writers make such things up as this!

4. When the transport is hit a few blocks from the Embassy, all but 2 marines are sent to assist. Can you imagine this happening for real unless the Americans are assured of safety of the embassy staff and diplomatic (classified) documents. In trade-craft, one of the early lessons that one learns is the value of diversion.

The marine left behind that is with Quinn only has a sidearm. When he and Quinn surprise and kill 4 of Haqqani's men, they run right past the dead bodies snatching only a radio, do not even take any of the AK- 47's or ammo, and proceed to search for Haqqani with only their handguns and half empty magazines.

5. The marines scurry to the ambush site using what appear to be family automobiles instead of military vehicles or some sort of secure diplomatic vehicle. Upon arrival, and knowing that the convoy vehicles were blown up using RPG's in an ambush, they do not even look around to secure the site resulting in them taking hits from snipers. The writers would have us believe that the US military is this poorly trained to enter a site where multiple RPG's have been used and then never look to the buildings nearby?

5. When Fara is being questioned by Haqqani about her being a Muslim and working with the Americans to "kill Muslims", he asked her if her family knew about this (betrayal). She confirmed that they did....but this is contrary to what anyone would do knowing that the terrorist Haqqani would then go after her family. In earlier episodes Fara was very protective of her family so this was another contradiction.

6. Lockhart opens the safe to save a few hostages believing that Haqqani would accept this "family jewels" containing a list of all US assets in Pakistan and then not hurt anyone else. The logic of saving a dozen lives while giving your enemy a hit list for him to execute the dozens of assets and putting everyone standing in the safe at risk of death or capture....this just escapes me. If anyone is that naive, please do not let them enter into the field of "intelligence" for this looked like a bunch of children playing checkers against Haqqani's master chess game. Would people in top posts actually be this naive? The writers would have us believe this is so.

Anyway, I like to watch spy thrillers and Homeland is fun to watch. I just wish that the writing could allow less plot holes, contradictions, and irrational thinking of the serious players. If you like to watch this genre of shows or films, it is hard to turn off your brain when such shortcomings in the writing continues to turn up. If you like to be entertained and do not use your mind, you will really like this series and this episode. I give it an 8, but wish the writing could reflect something closer to reality as good fiction truly can be executed to be believable with some effort.

After last week's gripping episode we were left wondering what had happened to Carrie and Saul when their convoy was attacked and realising that an attack on the embassy was imminent. Not surprisingly we soon learn that Carrie and Saul were okay if a little shaken but things weren't so good in the embassy. The building is quickly overrun by terrorists who immediately start searching for a list of US assets working in the Tribal Areas. Lockhart has taken the list to a secure room where he shelters with the ambassador and others but when Haqqani starts killing hostages Lockhart disobeys the ambassador's orders and opens the door. With most of the marines away at the site of the attack on the convoy it is left to Quinn and a couple of marines to lead the fight back against the terrorists.

It would be pretty difficult to top last week's episode but this one gives it a good try. The storming of the embassy and subsequent fight back were thrilling although one has to wonder why Quinn and the marine continued fighting with their side-arms rather than picking up the assault rifles carried by terrorists they had previously dispatched. One also has to ask why the ambassador's husband wasn't questioned after the attack and why he wasn't constantly monitored given the consequences of his crime… still one has to expect these sort of things in thrillers as the writers understandably want to keep things as tense as possible. The biggest shock of the episode came when a character who seemed to becoming more important was killed; even though it made sense within the context of the story. The ending wasn't as dramatic as last week's but I'm still keen to see what comes next.

Great Season and I binge watched it over a period of 2 days. However, there are lot of Unanswered questions and situations far from reality. Nimrat Kaur and Suraj Sharma being from India were the only actors who speaks perfect Urdu. Numan Acar's character speaks some times in Urdu and other times in Arabic. The character is from Afghanistan and he should be speaking in Pashtu. There are lot holes in the plot by not explaining or giving it a closure. Why was Sandy Bachman passing intelligence to ISI and how did he manage to convince the Ambassador's husband to be part of this ? There is no way a woman holding a higher post in ISI but Nimrat was excellent in portraying that. Carrie's physical relationship with Aayan was unnecessary. What was Dar Adal doing with Haqqani?

Shocking, emotional and Game changer !! First time I saw Saul so weak and miserable, he was always the shot caller but seeing him for the first time on the other side of the table being debriefed by Quinn is a whole new experience for the viewers. Most def this is one of the most powerful and well produced TV episodes of all time period.

I almost turned it off after Quinn and the marine didn't pickup the machine guns/assault rifles after they killed those 4 terrorists. Is this a bad 60's/70's TV show? That is ridiculous!!! Maybe they want us to yell at the screen while watching the show? Of course the politician Lockhart showed his true quality by opening the vault door and handing over the list. He could have at least had a gun behind the box and shot them, but that would have taken someone who had some CIA background. (I guess no one in the vault had a gun?) And OF COURSE they don't kill Haqqani. Give me a break. Almost as bad as the keystone cop crap on 24 where bad guys always slip right through.....

First, let's start with Carrie and Saul being the sole survivors of an RPG attack on their caravan that obliterated all three vehicles. No one could possibly have survived those direct hits, much less walk away virtually unscathed. Then there was the uber lame counterattack where the once might warrior/psychopath, Quinn, has no idea what to do as Carrie starts firing at a building like someone who's never held a gun in her life. The marines seemed aimless. There was no counter-insurgency plan, no superheroes in sight, anywhere. Just a lot of fumbling around and long, drawn out dramatic scenes that were completely incongruous with the action taking place around them. I have noted that almost every episode has a different writer and director, which may have something to do with the general lack of continuity. What I'd like to see is more decisive action, less amateur mistakes made by people who should know better and far more ACTION. If this were THE BRAVE that firefight would have turned into a bloodbath for the terrorists both in and out of the embassy, not what comes across as a bunch of actors in search of a director.

Another misfire by the Homeland team. The previous episode kept me on tenterhooks but this episode was a massive letdown.The firefight(which was imminent from the last episode's plot) is a disappointment! I was expecting a siege(Remember the siege at the Iranian embassy in London) followed by a brilliant operation by the Special Forces to break the siege but again...disappointment! No superhero Carrie, no ISI double dealing, no Saul's quick wit in crisis situations and Quinn the 'BlackOps' guy(who excited us with his stealth and bad ass moves,in the second season) turns full on Rambo! The firefight was awful!(Cannot say it enough!) You are better off watching firefight videos on YouTube! This was a completely bland episode.

This particular episode seemed like another 'bait' episode so that they could prolong the season! Episodes 7-9 are the best in this season.

Wish they bring a better plot for the next season so that it can still be called a thriller, rather than a drama. Overall, Homeland Season 1 > Homeland Season 2 >>>>>Homeland Season 3 and so on...

I would have said fantastic except I said that several years ago in an intense episode of 24 . This was copied from the exact same plot in the TV series 24.