Homeland (TV Series) Threnody(s) (2020) User Reviews

Going it alone

[thinkMovies · 8/10 · 30 March 2020]

This eighth episode sets up the scene for the next, and last-ever four episodes. It's entertainment and it's well done. I enjoyed it and as today's TV (or streaming) goes, it's a solid 9, I think, as entertainment goes these days, and a solid 8 as Homeland goes...

But I have thoughts about the believability of the whole arc of this final season. No spoilers here because this has all been already revealed and established: The plot hinges on the assumptions that: 1) Two presidents would ride in the same helicopter, 2) Nobody in the United States government, armed forces and clandestine agencies thinks of or pursues the flight recorder of the president's downed helicopter, other than Carrie, 3) A president as good as Ralph Warner would have picked a VP as dumb, incompetent and easy to manipulate as Ben Hayes, 4) The new President could be manipulated to take extremely important decisions on foreign policy and war without meetings and input, even influence from a whole group of top administration officials not the least being the joint chiefs. This guy is doing it all by himself and it is catastrophic. Oh, and 5) A mentally ill former CIA agent who spent 7 months unmedicated in a Russian prison under interrogation is allowed back on the field.

In this episode the acting was top-tier, the production values excellent. Forty-six minutes well spent! I hope the next four episodes explain the plot points that raised my above ...thoughts.

Great continuation of a great season

[851222 · 9/10 · 1 April 2020]

Greetings from Lithuania.

With only 4 episodes left now in this season as well the entire show i can only say - i will miss this show very much. Because "Threnody(s)" superbly continued this great, great season. While you can make points about president being that naive in this story and changing his mind like in 10 min, i still don't see many flaws with this show - when it comes to 48 min of pure escapism based on real situation - look no further - "Homeland" truly delivers. Can'r wait for next episodes.

Episode 808

[bobcobb301 · 7/10 · 2 April 2020]

So, they did have Max die which I said in the past was necessary to get across the danger and importance of this mission, but overall still just a decent and not "great" offering from the show.

The story this season is just too unoriginal and uninspiring. We needed some subplots and a battle over who has the President's ear is mot enough.

Great setup for endgame

[jdank37 · 10/10 · 3 April 2020]

I thought this was a great episode. I love the way it ended and I'd love to see her just sail off into the sunset with him even though it will never happen. Still can't wait for the ending. Homeland lost its way for a bit but I have a feeling it will end strong

All too familiar

[Lorenz1060 · 10/10 · 30 March 2020]

A cabal of inexperienced, bellicose, idiotic bullies running the government and shrugging off the deaths of Americans on foreign soil. Sound familiar?

8x08

[formotog · 8/10 · 9 April 2020]

Honestly I'm struggling to come to a conclusion on whether that ending was badly written or not. It was an exciting cliffhanger, but I'm not quite sure if I believe Carrie's actions were in keeping with her character just yet. She pulls a gun at US troops and flees back to the Russians and spills? Yes she isn't exactly the most stable person ever and Yevgeny was the only one who tried to help with Max, but they're still the enemy and she surely knows he's trying to turn her, no? That whole ending was explosive, maybe a bit too much so. It has certainly set up the final four episodes to be very interesting. The first eight episodes have felt, for the most part, like set up, but I think we're finally coming into some unrelenting drama territory. That being said, there were some payoffs in this episode. Haqqani, a completely changed man, was ironically executed and his death was quite underwhelming to be perfectly honest, but it was needed. Max's death was very sudden (that silly zoom almost ruined it though), and was also a bit underwhelming but in a different way. I think Carrie summed it up well when she said she took him for granted. He was a character that did so much but was never really appreciated by anyone, not even the show itself. That scene of Carrie apologising was very powerfully acted. It's easy to forget Max was in the show from the start but he has been there every step of the way. Overall this was a very good episode, granted the closing minutes remain consistent with the rest of the season's storytelling

Low 8

True Blood meets Homeland meets Hannibal

[alanl06-662-77020 · 10/10 · 29 March 2020]

What a line up in tonights episode as Hugh Dancy ( Claire's real life husband for anyone who didnt know ) emerges as a totally believable right wing politicos . It bugged me who he was because I knew I kinda recognised him from somewhere ( I actually thought he might be one of Stellan Skarsgaads sons .....pardon my spelling Stellan ) but , unlike the President who it took me a while to recognise , before he turned into a dog and ran away , I did not recognise the crazy profiler from Hannibal ( do a Bobby in the shower or something and bring Mats and him back pleeaaseèe) but whatever you have to do dont let Claire Danes leave . The show is as riveting as ever , despite the naysayers who dont have to watch it if they dont want to ( but I suspect they too will be dying for another series ) . Consistently one of the best shows on our screens , along with the other 2 great series mentioned and a credit to the casting department for regularly introducing characters from other great shows , Law and Order being another one that springs to mind , in such a way that they fit in seamlessly . If this MUST be the last of Homeland , let's home we see Mr and Mrs Claire Danes working together in something approaching this standard in the future . Sorry Hugh but it is Claire's baby after all

Unbelievable.

[gmbugshank · 5/10 · 1 May 2020]

The way the showrunners treated Max was utterly contemptible. They treated him as if he were a prop character whose sole purpose was to die for the episode story's sake. What the hell! The quirky, goofy little tech spy was a fan favorite! He was the most relatably HUMAN character on the show that fans could relate to. I'm not saying he couldn't have been killed off but God's sake at least give him a show-worthy death. Instead they just chucked him in front of the camera, told Haqqani Jr to fire some blanks at him and cut, that's a wrap. Threw away eight years of character like dropping a half-eaten sandwich in the trash. Pathetic and sad.

Jumping the shark

[dierregi · 1/10 · 5 June 2021]

This is probably the worst Homeland episode (and there have been some pretty bad ones). The plot twist is caused by the infamous "never seen before character". Out of the blue, the audience is introduced to evil foreign policy advisor Zabel, who swiftly convinces President Hayes to follow his advice. I know that Hayes is supposed to be a spineless idiot, but this level of delegating responsibilities seems excessive, even for the most spineless president.

I also have doubts about Zabel's excessive cynicism, calling Max a nobody not worth saving. Given the intense American patriotism, I doubt even a stereotype evil character would have recommended the sacrifice of an American citizen, but the Homeland crew seems dead bent on making the US the big, bad culprit of everything. Consequently, as soon as Max is deemed irrelevant, Haqqani is executed and the images of the executions make it immediately online.

Coming full circle, Max who was the last standing of Carrie's long-term friends or lovers, is taken out mercilessly. Carrie is understandably upset and decides to wait for extraction with Max's body. At this stage, the felony is compounded by introducing yet another "never seen before character" a female friend of Zabel who mysteriously gets hold of some incriminating footage filmed during a Taliban meeting (fat chance).

The whole plot is convoluted to the utmost and needs not one, but two unknown characters to push the events into a crazily stupid direction. At best lazy writing, at worst... well, the worst episode.

Embarrassing and Getting Worse

[fasteddie517 · 4/10 · 30 March 2020]

Who's writing this, a 5 year old? This show went from one of the most innovative and realistic dramas to a laughable, cliched clown show. Our "top CIA" operative is ordered to leave the theater after numerous, unauthorized security breaches, but there she is, traipsing around the desert with her Russian spy. But wait, there's more.

When her boss comes to collect her, she pulls a gun, and armed US forces just let her run off with the Russians? LOL. 4 more hours of this crap? My God, there is no way to recover. This season is a joke. The writing is illogical, and we waited 2 years for this tripe? The courageous thing would have been to admit you lost it, and cancel the last season.

"Threnody(s)" Was Rushed and Very Disappointing

[hilaryjrp · 4/10 · 29 March 2020]

When a series as iconic as "Homeland" is winding down, the feeling is like what a high school senior feels about his/her last assignments. Grades might still matter to over-achievers, but the sense of gloom and pointlessness matters more. "Threnody(s)" had so many faults, but that's because Season 8 introduced new characters that, like graduating seniors, will never stick around. Of the eight episodes of this season so far, this was by far the most disappointing. A brand new character is introduced out of left field, tasked with not one, but *three* dig-up-the-dirt assignments... to be completed in under twenty-four hours. Kind of emblematic of Season 8 as a whole.

Without spoilers, the only thing to say is that certain significant characters are out of play when, possibly, they should never have appeared in Season 8 to begin with. Other characters, newer characters, who never should have appeared in a season with any pretensions to be meaningful, had no emotional impact, because we don't know them. Season 8 has been characterized by cardboard characters; this will almost certainly be regarded as "Homeland's" disappointing conclusion.

Even the most dramatic event in "Threnody(s)" is relegated to, "Well, we wrapped up *that.*" And this event, if it was necessary at all, deserved much more attention and care. It left me feeling like a high school senior who just got a principal's warning not to cut classes the week before graduation. Indifferent.

Off the rails

[jonjonzz-64716 · 4/10 · 2 April 2020]

This show started going off the rails during season 5, and has gone downhill since. Each episode makes it less credible that a bi-polar,governmental agent would still function w/in the CA or any other clandestine govt agency for that matter. No commercial company would hire this character.

One would need to suspend belief to such a degree it would no longer be entertaining, but akin to watching a Road Runner, Wiley Coyote cartoon.. The series started great, but has since lost my interest.