Homeland Preview: Season 2, Episode 10 - Broken Hearts

The critical tide is definitely turning when it comes to Homeland. Showtime's Emmy winning drama couldn't have received more praise during its debut season but now it seems like everyone's favorite dead horse. And to be fair, it's pretty hard to not join in on the kicking. The series had not only ventured off the taught terrorist thriller path but also began raising the emotional stakes into melodrama, eventually coming across as a thrilling soap opera.

With the second season winding down, "Two Hats" was definitely an improvement on the few installments leading up to it, mostly because it was able to concentrate on the plot and character dynamics that made it so engrossing in the first place. You know, matters of homeland security and Brody's adjustment back into the home. Carrie is also less interesting than she was last season with Claire Danes stuck on repeat doing the big lip quiver every week instead of showcases her range. Danes is great and I'd love to see Carrie regain some more of her composure so the bipolar outbursts carry more weight.

That doesn't seem to be the case in next week's "Broken Hearts," as the preview shows Carrie literally crashing and lost, going off the grid altogether. We also get a brief explanation, courtesy of guest star F. Murray Abraham, of who Quinn really is and why he might have pointed his pistol at Brody in the closing moments of "Two Hats." Brody, however, is still being torn between two sides and, with only three episodes left, has to go one way or the other. At least attention seems to be diverted away from Dana, the most high-horsed, eye-rolling accomplice to murder ever. Take a look...

Homeland airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on Showtime. It stars Claire Danes, Damian Lewis, Mandy Patinkin and Morena Baccarin. It was adapted for American television by Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon from the Israeli series Prisoners of War (or Hatufim) by Gideon Raff.