Well you can argue that season 1,2 and 4 were better than Homeland. It won't be long till Showtime micromanages Homeland till it drags down to Dexter late seasons level.

Season 4 is the only one I'd consider up to "Homeland" quality.

Showtime didn't ruin Dexter, Scott Buck did.

The first season of HOMELAND is way better than the first season of DEXTER.

You have a romanticized view of DEXTER S1. It ain't great.

Sure it is, Magnus. Sure it is.

Yes, this is true.

Carrie was heartbreaking tonight in all of the mental institution scenes. Claire Danes is just so good.

I thought the Dana plot was well-handled tonight as well.

Brody next week!

Claire Danes might just as well pick up her third Emmy.

It was a pretty fantastic episode. A huge step up in quality from the premiere. I still had a few problems though.

This whole thing with Saul is completely random and it seems so out of character for him. I hope there is a method to him madness, because it doesn't feel right.

I hope Brody coming back mellows Carrie the fuck out. Claire Danes is great in the role (duh) but she is getting a bit too psychotic.

Dana should have tried to kill herself again. It's not that I hate her character or anything, it is just so out of place with the rest of the show. Why do I care that she is in love with some hot guy in a loony bin? I don't.

I think the Dana/Jessica storylines are interesting actually. I like that they're examining the effects that Brody's actions and the things he was accused of are having on his family. It seems natural, IMO, and I wouldn't have liked it if the show had just shied away from it completely. I thought the final moment between the two of them was great last night where Dana said everything was all Brody's fault. It's going to be even more interesting when he inevitably comes back.

I'm curious to see the interaction between Jessica and Carrie too that was hinted in the full season promo.

Also, for anyone complaining about Dana she is acting how pretty much any teenage girl would act in that situation.

Yeah, she is acting just like a teenage girl might. So why the hell does that require so much screen time? We're getting ridiculously more Dana than Jessica or Chris, and Dana's reactions are by far the least interesting as--again, like you said--she's just responding like any emotional teenage girl would.

I was 100% one of those Dana apologists from last season, but now I have to watch her and Zach Hamilton make lovey-eyes and whisper soft sentiments to each other? Huh?

The farther away we get from Carrie/Saul/CIA goings on the less interesting things become. This is reminding me of Dexter in the way that show felt the need to give time-filler storylines to everyone just because they couldn't focus on what was actually interesting without burning through plot.

But I guess Showtime needs eight seasons of this, too, so bring on the padding

To be fair Chris has never really had a hugely prominent role in this show Is the actor even a series regular?

That's kind of where part of the frustration comes from. I mean, why is Dana the most important member of the Brody family right now? It seems like people would be less forgiving of the wife of a 9/11-esque terrorist's attack on the US than of the teenage children who barely ever knew their father, so why does Jessica's life still seem rather regular?

This season is already not inspiring confidence.

I liked episode 2 more than the premiere actually. Although I sort of echo what Malcolm is saying: I've always been a Dana apologist and a fan of Morgan Saylor, but I see no need to emphasize Dana this season over the rest of the family. Morena Baccarin can more than hold her own.

Saul's actions this season have been very strange, between throwing Carrie under the bus and then rudely reprimanding the new Muslim character in that one scene. I hope there's a method to this madness.

But it's all worth it for Claire Danes as usual. Another phenomenal performance by her in this episode. Her commitment is just above and beyond.

I'm baffled by the episode's title. "Uh...Ooo...Aw..." Why? lol

Edit: Ohhhhhhhhhhhh the title is because that's how Carrie sounded saying "fuck you Saul" with a mouth full of cotton, I get it.

Could not be more over Claire Danes in this role.

And doubling down on crappy Dana scenes--LOL well played producers, well played

This episode is gonna end up making me hate-watch the rest of the series.

It is not the masterpiece/amazing return for Brody it think it is.

Brody's doing heroin?.... that's it.

so you're making your male lead a heroin addict?.

I actually thought it was a great episode.

It was slow but I really loved it last night. I do think Showtime should have subtitles for the Venezuala scenes though - that kind of irked me.

Carrie in the psych ward is just heartbreaking. I felt so bad for her last night.

Egeryhing in spanish was complete filler. Just like the rest of the episode

I really liked "Tower of David." Was it slow? Yes. But that was the point, I felt. Whereas the latter half of season 2 had urgent, breakneck tones ala 24, this episode slowed things way down. Carrie and Brody are both prisoners now, and it'll be interesting to see where the season goes from here.

You two are crazy. the whole episode was about getting Brody addicted to heroin.

how many more episodes before i drop this show completely?

Just watched episode 1. It's riveting and I'm right back into it. I have episode 2 and 3 ready to watch tonight. I like the fact that they didn't show Brody in the first episode, and I especially like the fact that they didn't show him in the last few seconds. I loathe it when shows do that; show you a cliffhanger to keep you watching next week. Homeland doesn't insult its audiences' intelligence by doing that because it doesn't need to.

I'm up to speed now after watching the third episode just now. I still think it's great. The slower pace is absolutely justified. When the pace picks up in episodes 8 onwards, you'll be thankful for the slower pace early on.

I'm just so interested in these characters. All of them. Carrie, Brody, Saul, Peter and Dana (to a lesser degree - actually I wish she'd died). I think Brody's wifes' lover (is it Andy?) should be in Season 3, though, or did he die in the explosion? Season 2 was a year ago and I've forgotten specific parts.