And I guess they want to show us Brody's stagnant and claustrophobic life on the run but as compelling as I usually find him that is also boring. The attempted escape to the mosque was interesting but also really depressing.

I can see where that storyline might pay off down the line, but I agree, right now, it's dull and repetitive.

Dana/Jessica/son...bleargh. They're not important anymore, write them out.

Is anyone else watching Masters of Sex? I'm enjoying the performances, but the writing is cringeworthy at best. Probably 90% of all scenes could be summed up as:

MALE CHARACTER to OTHER MALE CHARACTER: Women, amirite??? Sex!

WRITERS OF SHOW to AUDIENCE: The 50's, amirite??? Sex!

And then porn.

I'm watching, but I haven't watched last night's episode yet. And I agree about the writing. They also have characters saying unintentional double-entendres way too often.

I can't stand Claire Danes. If we lost Damian Lewis I don't think Mandy could hold me on his own.

Here's the thing (re: Homeland). I think the writers lost character development opportunity by showing us the twist NOW. I wasn't all that surprised because I thought something was up given Saul's behavior, but wouldn't it have been enlightening for us to start the season with them hatching out this plan (or flashbacks to its origins) and then getting a sense of how much Carrier was willing to go (and Saul's decisions about pushing it a bit more than she might have been comfortable with?)

I feel like it was a missed opportunity for them to show how they both came to the decision to do this and how much agency (no pun intended) Carrie had along the way.

Imagine what a different season this would be if Brody (and his family) were reduced much much more and this was the focus?

The writers/directors are being too clever by half with their visua; and storyline parallels between characters (Carrie/Brody in prison last week); Carrie/Brody's daughter's BF with their double purpose in psychiatric facilities.

I agree that the timing is not optimal for the twist reveal. I can see wanting to make us think that Carrie might really turn but we needed shocking reveals before now. I'm sorry, that's what I want from this show, shocking reveals and not too much time between them.

Character development in between the shocking reveals? Sure, but don't take too long with that.

I just watched last night's Masters of Sex. I think it could have done without the whole thing of several different men spending hours talking about how Virginia is just the perfect woman and no one else could possibly compare to her.

I read an interview with Homeland showrunners where they said they don't really know where they heading. I'm sure they meant at the start of the season, and they figured it out enough to film the thing. But it's like something that, say, Matt Weiner and Vince Gilligan say at the beginning of their seasons, but with the Homeland guys, that "24" fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants thing could take over. Gilligan and Weiner, trustworthy. Not so sure about these guys. (They should have let Brody blow up the VP.)

Lizzy Kaplan is so fabulous in Masters of Sex. From Party Down to this; about time she got a really good role!

Java,

Brody was supposed to die in the first season (I read). I kind of wish they had done that in retrospect.

Game of Thrones mashup tumblr [link]