Kent Smith/Showtime Mandy Patinkin, Claire Danes, David Harewood and Damian Lewis in an episode from Season 2 of “Homeland.â€The second season of the Showtime thriller “Homeland†has been as suspenseful as its acclaimed first run but somewhat more polarizing. With the finale coming up on Sunday, the creators of “Homeland†- Alex Gansa, the show runner and executive producer, and Howard Gordon, an executive producer - agreed to answer questions from Times readers about the show.
There were no shortage of interrogators - many focused on specific recent plot points that puzzled or, in some cases, enraged them. The producers also expounded more broadly on the vision and themes of the series.
“Our motto is, give up the secret before the audience expects it,†Mr. Gansa wrote. “Because you guys know it's coming. The only way we can surprise you is to deliver it ahead of schedule.â€
Richard Perry/The New York Times Howard Gordon, left, and Alex Gansa.Below, they also address concerns about the show's depiction of Musl ims, ponder the fate of those missing codes and offer perhaps a bit of satisfaction to narrative nitpickers by acknowledging a slip-up in a recent episode.
I love the way the show builds suspense through secrets - the power of secrets to hurt characters and the nail biting about whether another character will reveal the secret. In the most recent episode, by killing one of the central characters who held an important secret, the anxiety about that secret is punctured and dissipated. How do you make the decision to balance keeping the secret alive vs. the need to eliminate that character? - G, Los Angeles
MR. GANSA: We wanted to write a show as suspenseful and sophisticated as a John le Carré novel and the great '70s thrillers like “Three Days of the Condor,†“The Parallax View†and “The Conversation.†Those stories are tightrope acts, balancing character and plot twists very ver y precariously. Sometimes we fall off the tightrope. No question. But you hope the next week when you have a chance to do it again, you get it right. Or less wrong. Our motto is, give up the secret before the audience expects it. Because you guys know it's coming. The only way we can surprise you is to deliver it ahead of schedule. And sometimes letting a secret die with a character is the better twist.
Some of the plot twists and reveals seem so complicated that they must be well planned. Do you start writing for the season knowing where your characters and the plot are going to end up at the end of the season? - Deborah, San Francisco
Would you say Season 2 was more about Brody's breakdown the way Season 1 was about Carrie's unraveling? Once Brody turned double agent, did you see all the beats for the rest of the season leading up to the finale, or were you finding it as you went along? - Laura, Texas
MR. GANSA: I think you're absolutely right, Season 2 did focus more on Brody's breakdown. Carrie was more in command of her illness and her feelings for Brody this year. We try not to revisit emotional territory we've covered before - there's a lot about Carrie we haven't seen yet and still want explore. This season we didn't know the specific beats of the finale until several weeks before we wrote the script. While that uncertainty is hell, you do kind of surf on the terror of finding the right ending. That anxiety is propulsive. And probably intentional on a certain level. What we do settle on fairly early is the emotional journey the main characters will take over the season. That's the great pleasure of serialized TV. You can treat characters like they're in a novel. They get to change over time, which to me is extremely satisfying.
This season pushed the bounds of credibility - never more so than when a cellphone was involved. How was Brody allowed to bring a cellphone into a top secret security briefing? Why did his wife accept his explanation for his tortured cellphone conversation with her as he murdered the tailor? And most appallingly, why was the C.I.A. not monitoring Brody's cellphone as he took instructions from Abu Nazir after Carrie's capture? - Y Skeptik, New York
MR. GORDON: Good question. I could argue the first two points. But in the case of Brody taking instructions from Nazir, we had originally pitched that Greg Merriles, Brody's chief of staff, was the one who received a call from Nazir, posing as someone else. Greg hands the phone to Brody, and the scene proceeds as written. Every once in a while, despite our most rigorous efforts, we slip.
Kent Smith/Showtime Ms. Danes in a recent episode.At this point it seems like Carrie is a one-woman intelligence operation. Is she the only competent government operative? - Chessy, Bx, N.Y.
MR. GORDON: Well, Carrie and Jack Bauer.
Once “Homeland†was renewed for Sseason 3, how did that change the course of Season 2? - AmyR, NJ
Is there really a Season 3, or is that a colossal fake-out? It seems like next week could be a series finale, perhaps even including a murder/suicide. - Steve, Arlington, Va.
MR. GANSA: There's a certain relief when you're officially renewed, but in the middle of the season, all you care about is making each episode the best it can be . We're blessed with such a brainy cast, crew and audience, we really don't want to let anyone down.
The cast for “Homeland†is perfect - love every single one of them. Claire Danes and Damian Lewis are so believable, but so is Mandy Patinkin! He wows me every week. Questions: How did you choose these actors for these roles? Did you know from the start who you wanted? - MUF, West Hartford, Conn.
MR. GANSA: We had no idea Claire and Damian would be so terrific onscreen together - we just knew both of them could make a meal out of these two people who'd been terribly damaged by America's collision with the Middle East. We'd seen Claire in “Temple Grandin†and thought she was extraordinary. Of course we knew Damian from “Band of Brothers†and “Forsythe Saga,†but it was a little movie called “Keane†that nailed it for us. There's a moment in that film when Damian's character walks into a bar, puts money in the jukebox and starts singing. He's so raw. You can see straight into his soul. If that three minutes doesn't break your heart, I don't know what will. Lodge Kerrigan, who directed “Keane,†shot “State of Independence,†the episode this season where Brody tries to move the bomb maker to a safe house. As for Mandy, he's just in a class by himself and brings an authority and humanity to every scene you can't believe. We're so lucky to have him, and I'm thrilled he was just nominated for a Golden Globe.
My husband is convinced that you cast a Brit to play Brody because no American actor would take on the role of a turncoat terrorist. Any truth to this? And now that Quinn and Estes are also revealing duplicitous intentions, the fact that these roles are played by British actors as well, is making us a little suspicious - or paranoid. Or both. - Demetroula, Cornwall, U.K.
MR. GORDON: You're not paranoid if everyone is really after you. We love all our actors, and it's mere serendipity that some of them are British.
Did Claire Danes's pregnancy have any impact on the narrative this year? - SNA, Westfield N.J.
MR. GANSA: We added a line in our visual effects budget to digitally erase Claire's baby bump in some shots. But she was an incredible trouper. We were throwing her down dank tunnels and making her chase down Mack trucks, and she never complained. Other than that, Claire's condition did not impact our story choices.
Kent Smith/Showtime Morgan Saylor as Dana Br ody.Was Dana always supposed to be such a huge presence in the show, or was that something that grew organically from Morgan Saylor's incredible performance, once you saw what she could do? - Adam L., Albany, N.Y.
MR. GANSA: We were knocked out by Morgan from the beginning but were definitely inspired to write more for her after we saw the chemistry she and Damian had. It felt right that Brody had a closer connection to his daughter than he did with his wife. Dana could witness Brody's struggle and ask certain questions without the same stakes a spouse would have. Also, most of us in the writers office have teenage kids. So maybe it's part wish fulfillment on our part. My son has seen “Homeland,†but his only response was to ask me if I could get ["Breaking Bad" creator] Vince Gilligan's autograph.
All season, I keep wondering, “Is this the s how when they use those codes Brody stole from Estes's office?†Well, is it? - ondelette, San Jose
MR. GORDON: Like Brody's martyr video, those codes may reappear when you've forgotten about them.
Besides underscoring her as a loose cannon and furthering empathy as a tragic figure, why was the choice made to make Carrie mentally ill? Was it merely expedient for the drama? - Tone, NY
How did you develop the “bipolar†aspects of Carrie's character? Did you consult with psychiatrists and/or individuals with BPD? - Chris, Los Angeles
MR. GANSA: We did talk with a number of psychiatrists, including several who are themselves bipolar or have suffered from a serious mental illness. Claire Danes watched YouTube videos of people having manic flights who wanted to express what was going on inside them. Meredith Stiehm, an executive produce r, drew on experiences within her own family. Brody's character is intrinsically unreliable, so it felt right that his match in this cat-and-mouse game would also not be entirely trustworthy. And while Carrie's instability definitely heightens the drama, it also mirrors the nature of her profession. Spying requires you to read people. To make meaning out of disparate things that may or may not be relevant. Sometimes you're going to get it wrong.
The office politics feel frustratingly real - does the writers' room tap into their own past work experiences to make the interaction between Carrie and her superiors feel so true to life? - Agnes, Seattle
MR. GORDON: Everyone who's ever worked in an office has at some time or other faced differences with colleagues. We like to pull those to the front of the story to heighten the relationships between the characters.
Why would Nick Brody's wife always call him by his last name? - mivogo, New York City
MR. GORDON: It's something that's been in their relationship from the very beginning and speaks to the love between them. We've heard from many military families, and it's not that uncommon a practice.
Is the character Danny Galvez a mole? - Anonymous, Chicagoland area
MR. GORDON: Well, he didn't help Abu Nazir escape. All I can tell you is keep watching.
I do like the show and watch it nearly religiously. However, I am bothered by the lack of a clear separation between Muslims and supporters of terrorism. In last night's episode for example, Carrie and Quinn take the fact that their fellow agent is a Muslim as reasonable evidence for his possible treachery. In truth, there are probably more Muslims (myself and my family for example) who find being Muslim is our strongest reason to NOT support extremists, who not only twist our faith for their personal or political gains, but also kill our fellow Muslims in far greater numbers than they kill non-Muslims. I think it is important that there be Muslim characters who are more representative of the majority of Muslims in the US: those who support and defend the US. - ashmeer, Brooklyn, NY
MR. GORDON: We've never wanted to suggest that all Muslims are extremists. Fatima, Carrie's as set whose tip led to Abu Nazir's assassination attempt, was Muslim. Carrie felt very guilty for her mistaken assumption about Galvez.
I will preface this by saying fantastic show, I love it. Thanks so much for making it! My question is about the explicit sex scenes. You seem to be thoughtful on this issue: You don't have as many as other hit premium cable shows (“Game of Thrones,†“Girlsâ€) but you have several. Can you talk about how and why you decide to include them? Do you feel pressure to have these scenes because you are on Showtime and people expect them? - EKH, San Francisco
MR. GORDON: We hope the sex scenes say something crucial and raw about character. Brody's inability to be intimate with his wife was a way to zero in on his isolation and her pain. And Saul and Quinn arguing over audio of Carrie and Brody in a hotel room is something that can only happen on “Homeland.â€
I get that Abu Nazir's first two plots failed. I also understand that he wanted vengeance on the vice president for the death of his son. Still, why does he opt to kill the vice president in such a way that no one would know he was responsible - or, in fact, that the V.P. was even murdered? Isn't the mission of a terrorist to produce mass casualties and take credit for them? - Leigh, Sudbury, Mass.
Are you going to kill off Brody? Please don't kill Brody. - Karrie, Washington, D.C.
MR. GANSA: I hope the finale will answer your questions. Thanks to everyone for writing in.
