Homeland is one of the stronger shows on TV at the moment. The second season takes a few episodes to finds its groove again and suffers throughout from instances of Carrie's hotheadedness and inability to follow orders. I really struggle to believe that such a liability would be employed by the CIA, but hey it's just TV.

The events of the first episode The Smile are just about as contrived as possible to bring Carrie, who finished the previous season having electroshock therapy, back into the fold at the Langley. Once Carrie is back, the momentum of the show shifts hugely, one of two shifts in this season, as evidence comes to light that Brody is a terrorist and more importantly that Carrie's theories were correct. Considering the events of the first season and also Carrie's flirtation with suicide in State of Independence, this is a pretty major change in direction for the show as Carrie is no longer alone and frustrated and receives the support (and apologies) of Saul and Estes. The second change in momentum is perhaps even greater and brings Brody into the CIA operation to target Abu Nazir. These shifts keep the show fresh and intriguing and both are delivered in true dramatic Homeland style. The episode Q&A features some great scenes between Carrie and Brody, delivered with great intensity by Claire Danes and Damien Lewis. Even following Brody's switch, the writers manage to retain a sense of distrust and ambiguity over Brody's actions to drive the show forward. He clearly gets away with one act of terrorism during the final episodes but is he responsible for another?

Carrie's health demons play less of a role this time around, instead her relationship with Brody picks up a few gears and there are certainly shades of Romeo and Juliet, as two star crossed lovers who can never truly be together. Mandy Patinkin's understated Saul is one of my most favourite characters on TV.

Steering into 24 territory (unsurprising considering the show's writers), the season ends with a big bang in the fantastic finale The Choice with major consequences for all the major characters.… Expand

Season One was great, but Season Two was just plain awful. Almost all good shows jump the shark at some point, but this one went bad in a hurry. So sorry to see this show get all sorts of "24" stupid (circa Seasons 5 thru 8) so quickly.

Homeland is one of the best shows on television right now. This and Breaking Bad are the only really great dramas on TV. The difference between the two is that Breaking Bad moves at a slow pace, wheres Homeland moves and develops are 100 miles an hour. Things are constantly being revealed, and just when you think the writers have cornered themselves, they easily write there way out of it. Claire Danes is the best actress on television and Damian Lewis is a fantastic actor. The entire cast can really act (besides the guy who plays Brody's friend Mike) and the writing is terrific. A great all around show.… Expand

At first I was pretty skeptical to watch this series, I thought it was still a series that dealt with terrorism again, the American house superhero who will save the world against the evil Arabs, but I was surprised by the quality of the acting in particular Claire Daines & Damian Lewis and especially the originality of the script

Season 2 definitely loses no time in getting back into the thick of things, and it is definitely at the same level of season 1. There are only two detractors to be mentioned, first there is a notable decrease in plot twists compared to the first season, which took a lot of the suspense out, and second, I always felt this trouble emotionally connecting with the main characters. Still, wonderful season.… Collapse

Just like last season, Homeland delivers those tense moments that have you on edge. I thought this season's plot was again well done and the actors did a great job. The finale left me with anticipation for next season with a major question unanswered.

I'm still not quite sure how they pulled something so awesome. This is a masterpiece on the level, that I haven't enjoyed in many years. Right now, on television, I can count things really worth seeing on just one hand and this show is finger number one.

Season 2 delivers at times to much obvious plot twists which ruins the experience slightly. The acting is still good. Some parts of the show needs to be developed more. It feel like it takes leaps at times that aren't congruent. The show is still that good though. Watch it.

Aside from maybe one so-so episode this season of Homeland is just as good as the first. I didn't think it was possible but Claire Danes & Damien Lewis topped what they both showed in the debut season. Season two allowed more of the main cast to showcase what they could do, most notably Morgan Saylor & Morena Baccarin who both have moments of brilliance this year. This is the kind of show that comes around maybe twice a decade at best. Believe what you've heard when it comes to the massive praise this show has attained. Best show of 2012!… Expand

It's sad to watch a bold show in a free decline like Homeland.
After a great debut season (that had its flaws when somebody comes back from death without explanation), the second it's a huge disaster, with comical plot turns that are so predictable and useless that you could watch just 5 episodes to have a full appreciation of the entire season.

Solid season.First half was excellent with incredibly orchestrated tension and uncertainty.The second half fell flat on the other hand with illogical,unrealisitic plot points and ridiculous situations.Still a very good show and an enjoyable season with good acting,directing,and solid writing.Season 1 was superior but season 2 is still worth checking out. I give it a 7.7/10 overall.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The wait for Season 2 was at an all time high. Waiting for September 30th, 2012 was nearly impossible. Finally Season 2 started and we were excited..... that was until they realized that Carrie was telling the truth. Discovering the hidden tape that showed Brody's confession to bombing the Vice President and other political figures just minutes after Tom Walker killed congresswoman in Season 1. Obviously that suicide bombing failed, and the tape was discovered by Saul and brought to the attention of CIA head David Estes. Nick Brody was suddenly a confessed enemy of the state and after 4 maybe 5 episodes suddenly the premise of the show..... no longer existed. Brody was in love with Carrie, he was also part time CIA member as well as a Congressman and being nominated for Vice President, and still also a part-time terrorist working with Abu Nazir, who later came to the US..... only to be murdered. From episode 5 till episode 11 and 30 minutes into episode 12 it felt as if the show was ending for good even though the show was quickly renewed for Season 3. The weird and somewhat forbidden love that was Carrie and Brody was incredibly dull and made no story progression until the season finale. It was just sort of there with more sneaking off and sex. Only this time it was under surveillance of the CIA. The show saw the debut of a new character, Quinn, who was responsible for stabbing Brody in the hand when he wouldn't answer Quinn's interrogation questions honestly. You wondered where the show would travel after the death of Abu Nazir. Would Brody take over as the new worlds biggest terrorist? Would Brody die, and a new terrorist would come to light? And then, at a memorial for the Vice President, a terrorist attack took place killing David Estes and many others. And suddenly, the reasoning for the lackluster season and the shows premise being destroyed suddenly made sense. Carrie and Brody, both attending the Vice President's memorial, left the room, mid-memorial to go have an afternoon sex session mainly so Carrie could tell Brody that she would choose him over a potential CIA job promotion, actively taking Saul's old spot once Este's got rid of Saul for reasons that didn't make sense. Brody suddenly realized his car in front of the building where the memorial was being held and thus the shocking moment that made the crap season suck. The terrorist attack, the the attack that Congressman Brody will now be blamed for. Did he do it? If he didn't do it, then who did? Regardless, Carrie helped Brody create a new identity and helped him leave the country. The season ends with Brody headed to Canada, essentially a domestic enemy on the run, and Carrie returning to DC, to the shock of Saul, show that she survived the explosion. The Season 2 finale quite possibly saved the season and maybe the show as a whole. I can't wait for Season 3 now, despite the premise of the show kind of being destroyed. How long can Brody's run from the law last? Super excited. It'll sort of be a whole new show kind of when Season 3 debuts.… Expand

I don't understand how this show can keep receiving positive reviews and have it placed on the top with shows like breaking bad! what moron-ology review method was used??....it is all wrong and fails on key real world drama aspects, if you are or know someone who is a CIA / FBI agent or if you are or know someone who is an arab/ muslim can feel completely alienated and frustrated as the show got the high majority of the facts wrong..what does hezbollah (shia) and a bin-laden-like terrorist cell have in common...NOTHING! they are completely opposite and would wage wars against each other.

The show is unreal, How can a helicopter carrying armed group fly undetected?a swat-like terrorist group can shoot and kill do as it please with no police or security to track them?Bin-laden (AN) could have entered the US by simply shaving his beard? mobile tracking seems to work on an episde basis?a person can run around the VP house with no cameras or security personnel to question him?a high ranking arabic political jouranlist goes unoticed? a homeland security personnel is sick (when the director wants) and that's Okay... why would homeland security use a private company to do their spy stuff? and why in the world such a dedicated jihadist Brody drink, masturb..., commit adultary? and why in the world are arabs countries and towns looks medieval, I flew from Dubai to Beirut to watch… Expand

I like this first episode of the new season a lot. We know the characters well now so the pacing has picked up. Not only that but the premise looks like it will be just as intense and interesting as last season's (if not more so). Co-developer, writer Howard Gordon (24) knows what he's doing.

This is a shockingly overrated series. The plot is utterly, ridiculously beyond any shadow of credibility, with the shifts in character loyalties and incessant hints at hidden agendas a never-ending bore, and an absolutely hilarious, shockingly shallow take on the secret-service and analyst work (and I am saying this as one who, apparently, happens to know a lot more about it than the screenwriters). I should conclude that not in this world, nor in any alternative universe, would a whack-job such as the Claire Danes character pass the tests and clearances to land a secret service field job (this has nothing to do with the actress being horribly miscast, rather with how the part is written), and that on any sane planet, this show would be dropped by the audiences after Season 1 at the latest. I was hoping it would improve with time, or that the critics were right this time, but had to drop it after four episodes as a complete waste of time.… Expand

Convoluted, far fetched and frankly boring. Pleased to see the user score is lower than that for Walking Dead, but the critics' rating is ludicrously generous.

Claiming that this is top tier TV is just wrong. The acting is very good, particularly Danes, Patinkin and Lewis, but this season is a classic example of the "how do we flog this for another hit" when the first one so obviously wrote itself into a corner. I would give Breaking Bad, The Wire, Deadwood all 10s, but everyone seems to be putting this in the same sphere, which is farcical. The plot is just stupid and patronising (why would Abu Nazir be an ally to Hezbollah?!!). Even under extreme pressure, we have to believe that a US soldier would convert to islam because he witnessed an event every soldier knows his government is complicit in - having then returned and had an epiphany about his family, he decides to remain allied to the same set of arguably worse innocent civilian killers. I don't mind 24, silly stuff like that, but this presents itself as serious political drama. It's getting boring as well....… Expand

More interesting, a best screenplay and much more adrenaline turns Homeland return in the most expected show of 2012. Claire Danes gives us a lesson of acting. This show is growing constantly.

I was a bit skeptical about Season 2 of Homeland. Frankly, my skepticism grew even bigger after watching central episodes (5,6,7), but the series regained momentum in the last four shows. Its biggest positive aspects are the bond that the viewer creates with every character, the constant suspense as to what their true intentions are, the unexpected plot turnrounds, and overall spy-movie atmosphere. Its biggest flaw? Sometimes it seems worthless to watch the whole episode, as the real plot-twisters come always at the end of each episode.… Expand

This is a show that knows what it's doing. The writing is crisp, as is the directing. The acting is amazing, especially Danes, Lewis, and Patinkin.

Homeland season 2 is just as jingoistic and far fetched as season 1. The female lead (Carrie)'s increasingly unbalanced shrieking about a cartoon villain named "abu nazir" (yes, he's got brown skin and a beard must be a terr'ist) might seem normal to those fed on a daily diet of American government fearmongering and propaganda but to anybody else it's obviously hysterical and absurd. Virtually nothing comes as a surprise when you realise that Carrie is never wrong about anything it's just a matter of time before anyone who doubts her is proved a fool, and the point is driven home hard that we should spend a lot more time and money on blowing people up and sacrificing liberty in the name of security. Like so many other series these days, the lazy writers can't be bothered to think of a way to engineer any believable moments of tension so they rely almost entirely on people behaving like complete idiots to move the plot forward. In this respect it's about one step up from the Walking Dead. Having said all that, the painfully awkward and unrealistic romance sections are at least vaguely watchable on a human level, and the part of Brody, the male lead, is generally well acted, at least in comparison with the rest of these 1-dimensional caricatures.… Expand

I love me some Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, Dexter, and Game of Thrones. But none of those show leave me with such anticipation for the next episode as Homeland does. Homeland is a true masterpiece in terms of writing, narrative, and plot. Can't wait for Season 3.

Still a good show but its all getting a bit silly ...and Claire Danes character is waay to over - emotional and weepy...especially for a so-called CIA agent. The romance that is on and off again between the 2 main protagonists makes little sense also.

This show gets better and better with each episode. I was a bit skeptical at first on how far they could take a story line about an American Hero turned traitor, but they continue to amaze me on the direction they are taking. Great acting, great story, great suspense, great characters.

This show is really above and beyond everything on television, breaking bad and homeland probably have the best writing and acting out of any show ever created.

This weeks show used a silly daughter to just fill time. Clair Danes always seems to be running around for no real purpose. Is she an agent or not. The entire hit and run made no sense except, that the poor girl got to throw Brody's daughter out of her house!!!

Excellent First half of the season, the second part is strong, but adapts cliche's, weak plot points with a conclusion that's filled with unsatisfactory results .

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This show has become completely unrealistic and absurd. You can't be a CIA agent and have bi-polar disorder, but if you do have it evidently you can go to the Middle East on the CIA's behalf to get intelligence for them from one of your former contacts. Revealing Carrie's disorder to her bosses killed the show after just one season. Also, what about the classified documents she had in her personal possession? She should be in prison for season 2. What a waste this show turned out to be. I watched the 1st season right after hearing about the Emmy wins. I thought if it can beat Breaking Bad, Mad Men, AND Boardwalk Empire it must be good, but I thought wrong. It WAS a very good show (not close to the 3 I just mentioned) but they turned it into the same unrealistic story 24 was. The writers & creators just play the audience for idiots while they count their money. How anyone could give this show a positive score is beyond me. I would give this show a negative score if I could. Do yourself a favor and don't waste your time even getting started with it.… Expand