I thought season 4 of Homeland was mostly excellent - especially episodes 8, 9 and 10 were amazing. The attack on the embassy and the run-in to this massive showdown was brilliantly executed. I was therefore thoroughly excited to see how the season would end. Imagine my surprise when the last episode turned out to be 53 minutes of the most frustratingly pointless moments of television I've ever experienced. My Lord. What the hell happened? Well, nothing happened, basically. Absolutely nothing. There was no plot development in this final episode whatsoever.
For some reason, more than half the episode is devoted to Carrie's family - including her mom who has now suddenly become a new character on the show. Why introduce her in a season finale? There's absolutely no point to it. Watching what seemed to be endless scenes with Carrie and her child, sister or mother talking about her dead father was an exercise in futility at best - a complete waste of time at worst.
Nobody seems to care that Dar Adal was in a friggin' car with Haqqani in Islamabad, or that they are seemingly working together. Even Saul seems to be on board. Hey, he got an SD card with the video, so what the hell! Let's work with the terrorist who wiped out most of the CIA field office, among other things.
It was not really explained why the CIA and the US government have apparently more or less given up on chasing Haqqani. Who was the secret group that Quinn went away with? How come Carrie was suddenly all over him when displaying no romantic interest in him previously? Why would Saul suddenly sell out and basically work with a terrorist only to get his job back? What happened to Dennis Boyd and what were the consequences of him being partially responsible for the attack on the embassy? Why did nobody care that Tasneem was his source in ISI? Or that she is working with Haqqani so closely? What is Khan's role in all of this? What happened to all the Taliban prisoners who were released, and why did nobody try to recapture them? What about the briefcase with crucial intelligence that Haqqani got away with as part of the CIA/Embassy attack? Aside from the US severing diplomatic ties with Pakistan, what were the official consequences of the attack (which is basically an attack on US soil)? None of these questions are answered in the finale. Nothing close to it.
Instead, the season finale is about Carrie and her family - absolutely tedious, long and pointless scenes where she confronts her mother (who is apparently the worst person of all time) and she suddenly figures out that she likes Quinn in a romantic way.
I don't remember ever being so frustrated over a season finale. The show doesn't have to be action and tension all the time - even though it does it so incredibly well - but saving this snooze-fest for a season finale is absolutely ridiculous. Most of this season didn't focus on Carrie's family life or her personal demons. It focused on the situation on the ground in Islamabad, starting with the station chief who was killed in the streets, and what Haqqani was planning to do to get his revenge on the US. It was focused mostly on tension, espionage, thrills and action. On this point, the episode did not provide any closure at all, and we can only hope the trail will be picked up properly in season 5.
For some reason, more than half the episode is devoted to Carrie's family - including her mom who has now suddenly become a new character on the show. Why introduce her in a season finale? There's absolutely no point to it. Watching what seemed to be endless scenes with Carrie and her child, sister or mother talking about her dead father was an exercise in futility at best - a complete waste of time at worst.
Nobody seems to care that Dar Adal was in a friggin' car with Haqqani in Islamabad, or that they are seemingly working together. Even Saul seems to be on board. Hey, he got an SD card with the video, so what the hell! Let's work with the terrorist who wiped out most of the CIA field office, among other things.
It was not really explained why the CIA and the US government have apparently more or less given up on chasing Haqqani. Who was the secret group that Quinn went away with? How come Carrie was suddenly all over him when displaying no romantic interest in him previously? Why would Saul suddenly sell out and basically work with a terrorist only to get his job back? What happened to Dennis Boyd and what were the consequences of him being partially responsible for the attack on the embassy? Why did nobody care that Tasneem was his source in ISI? Or that she is working with Haqqani so closely? What is Khan's role in all of this? What happened to all the Taliban prisoners who were released, and why did nobody try to recapture them? What about the briefcase with crucial intelligence that Haqqani got away with as part of the CIA/Embassy attack? Aside from the US severing diplomatic ties with Pakistan, what were the official consequences of the attack (which is basically an attack on US soil)? None of these questions are answered in the finale. Nothing close to it.
Instead, the season finale is about Carrie and her family - absolutely tedious, long and pointless scenes where she confronts her mother (who is apparently the worst person of all time) and she suddenly figures out that she likes Quinn in a romantic way.
I don't remember ever being so frustrated over a season finale. The show doesn't have to be action and tension all the time - even though it does it so incredibly well - but saving this snooze-fest for a season finale is absolutely ridiculous. Most of this season didn't focus on Carrie's family life or her personal demons. It focused on the situation on the ground in Islamabad, starting with the station chief who was killed in the streets, and what Haqqani was planning to do to get his revenge on the US. It was focused mostly on tension, espionage, thrills and action. On this point, the episode did not provide any closure at all, and we can only hope the trail will be picked up properly in season 5.