Sam: In our prognostications after the season two finale about what we might expect in season three, I have to say: I was pretty wrong about Brody’s family disappearing from the story a bit. Not only are they back in the picture, but they also got way more screen time than Brody himself (you surprised at his no-show?).

I have to believe that the writers just wanted to find some way of getting moody (and as we have clearly come to see, depressed) Dana back into the picture. Poor Chris still gets one or two dopey lines.

As for the Saul-Carrie relationship, what you said at the end of season two about Saul’s dark horse potential for being something more than what we have seen, I couldn’t help eyeing him with suspicion throughout this episode, particularly with all the CIA leaks to the press.

What were your impressions?

Jay: We’re back! Man, after The Americans, I’d almost forgotten what a good spy thriller series looked like. On the other hand, between the end of Homeland‘s second season and the beginning of the third, I also finally finished The Wire, which somewhat pushes my estimation of Homeland a bit lower than it would be otherwise. (How could it not? It’s The Wire, after all: any comparison is inherently unfair.)

I can’t say I was surprised about Brody’s absence. The showrunners had definitely hinted about this happening after Season 2 concluded, and I didn’t expect him to play much of an early role. Like you, I was somewhat more surprised by the extensive screen time his family got — and a little worried as well, because I’ve never considered that angle to be one of the stronger parts of the show. Unsurprisingly, Dana seems headed for trouble. (Side note: this is the first mention of the attempted suicide, right? I skimmed through parts of Season 2’s finale and didn’t find any mention of it, nor did I remember any.) I’d give it — oh, I don’t know — eight or nine episodes before her topless shots are all over the Internet and cause another breakdown.

And speaking of breakdowns, I’m a little concerned about some of the ground the show seems to be retreading. The whole thing about Carrie being off her meds — again — and thinking she’s OK feels repetitive. It’s like watching Don Draper cheat on his wife again on Mad Men: we’ve all been there before, and it’s not that interesting each new time it happens. Her freak-outs are too similar to those from Season 1, especially the scene in the restaurant where she goes ballistic at Saul and Dar Adal.

Saul, as you said, had a very fascinating episode, especially the surprise at the end when he utterly throws Carrie under the bus. I couldn’t help but feel immediately, however, that this was somehow — not sure yet, but I think an explanation will come soon — designed with the long game in mind. Maybe this was designed to protect her in some way? If I had to guess, I’d venture that that may have simply been Saul’s way of getting out ahead of the leaker by laying it all out in the open as soon as possible and sending a message that leaking damaging information about the agency’s personnel will not catch the CIA off-guard. Yes, it damages Carrie now (maybe permanently), but it certainly takes the wind out of the sails of the incremental leaks, right? (First the immunity paperwork for Brody, then the revelation of Carrie’s relationship.)

And man, I love Quinn. That guy’s been such a great addition to the show. In general, I was OK with this episode. It moved too slowly at times, and the committee scenes with Carrie were a bit tedious on occasion, but it set up some obvious conflicts (Saul-Carrie-Dar Adal, for one; Dana versus everyone, per the usual; etc.) and created some new story momentum right from the start. I wonder if Mike will ever be back? I miss that guy a little bit.

What did you think of the storyline generally?

Sam: First of all, that is big news that you finally finished The Wire. Congrats! As you know, it’s my favorite show of all time, so I’m pleased I can now start throwing in references to Omar, Stringer Bell, or Clay Davis with you understanding exactly what I mean. Sheeeeeit.

I have to ask: do you think Saul was really trying to “get ahead” of the leaker or could he possibly have leaked the info in the first place and then used the committee hearing as an excuse to say he was trying to get ahead of the leaker? In the latter case, I realize he’d have been playing Dar Adal, too, but really, he’s the director of the CIA now. I wouldn’t put too much past him.

You are spot on with your thoughts on Carrie, too. I was a bit concerned when she said she was off her meds and going the “natural” route. That hasn’t worked out well before, and season three may begin looking a lot like season one. Did you notice her big map with pins and articles of where “Brody may have been seen?”

Oh, and yeah, where the heck was Mike in this episode? You would have thought that, with Dana’s suicide attempt, Mike would’ve moved in with the family and not Jess’s mom. And yes, I was scratching my head, too, wondering if I had somehow forgotten what happened at the end of season two or if I’d just missed something completely.

Overall, I think the storyline is moving along slowly toward the inevitable breakdown Carrie will have when she finally confesses to Saul that she helped Brody get away. Other than that, I’m honestly not sure what the next big thing is.

Quinn, by the way, strikes me as a somewhat odd character, even if I do really like him on the show. Hurting (or in this case, killing) a kid really gets to him, huh? He seems rather trigger-happy for someone who is so affected by this. Overall, he is pretty awesome, though.

Any predictions on what happens next week?

Jay: It’s definitely possible that Saul was the one who did the leaking. Again, though, it doesn’t really seem to add up: if he really wanted to undermine Carrie, why not implicitly encourage Dar Adal to go ahead with his own plan to throw her under the bus, so that he can bear the brunt of Carrie’s wrath instead of Saul? Instead, Saul openly, on live TV, denounced her. What’s the point in that? Again, it seems to me that he’s “performing” for someone: either for the press and public overall, so he can continue to use Carrie for some other, secretive purpose, or maybe he’s performing for the White House or even Dar Adal in order to make them think he’s washed his hands of her — because he doesn’t trust them. Something doesn’t add up.

Before watching this first episode, I skimmed through last season’s finale and was struck by something I hadn’t noticed before. When Saul tells Carrie he’s heading out to oversee Abu Nazir’s burial at sea, he asks her, “Wanna come?” I hadn’t noticed that before, but it certainly seems to lend at least some credence to the mainstream reading of events, which is that — even if he somehow did know about the bomb planted at CIA’s headquarters — he didn’t intend for Carrie to die in it.

I completely agree about the head-scratching nature of Quinn’s idiosyncrasies: he seems oddly affected by a kid’s death, whereas little else bothers him. I suppose I’m just not fit to be a CIA black-ops assassin.

It’s hard to say what will happen next week, but I’m guessing we’ll catch at least a glimpse of Brody. (Maybe, just maybe, they’ll string it out until Episode 3. In either case, I have a feeling he’ll be dead by season’s end. I recently read an interview in which one of the show-runners admitted that, after Season 1, every single writer wanted to kill off Brody, but they were overruled by the studio (Showtime? Fox?). Now that he’s really gone away, it makes sense to pull the plug on the character. On the other hand, this first episode made it clear that finding and capturing him was a top priority, even if — and it’s not clear whether or not this is the case — Saul has personal doubts about his guilt.

Last shot-in-the-dark conjecture: what if the leaks came from, say, David Estes before he died? I could see that happening: some sort of conditional leak that the reporter is only allowed to reveal once Estes is out of office or dead. It’s way out there, but not impossible. Man, it’s so nice to review a show that makes me come up with wacky ideas like this: The Americans was so dull in comparison.

What do you think is coming next?

Sam: Okay, you’re right about my thoughts on Saul, but something about him just seems off to me. I think this season will definitely pit Saul vs. Carrie in multiple ways, which we have already seen happen in this first episode.

Interesting thoughts on Brody. I actually read a review online (can’t remember which) that said Brody wouldn’t appear in either of the first two episodes. If that’s the case, fantastic. Honestly, I’m not sure there’s much of a storyline there with him right now. There may be soon, but not right now.

Interesting thought on the Estes angle. I’m not sure I could quite see it, but it is intriguing. As for what’s coming next, I think Carrie will lose her job (again) soon. Being off her meds does not bode well, but I think in the next episode or two, Quinn will make headway on the search for Brody.

I wonder if Saul’s wife might play a bigger role in things. I’m not sure. This is just a crazy thought, but was her presence in this episode mainly to highlight how much time Saul devotes to his work (to the degree that he neglects his home life, though we already knew that before)? Or does she perhaps have some deeper role here we don’t know of yet?

Who knows, but it is certainly way more interesting watching Homeland than The Americans.