TV Show Review

TV Review: HOMELAND: Season 3, Episode 6: Still Positive [Showtime]

Nazanin Boniadi Mandy Patinkin Homeland Still Positive

Showtime‘s Homeland Still Positive TV Show Review. Homeland: Season 3, Episode 6: Still Positive probably had the best conclusion, next to Tower of David, that an episode has had this season. Its standout segments were those involving CIA Counterterrorism Center Director Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin) and to a lesser extent, Mira Berenson (Sarita Choudhury), and CIA intelligence officer Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes). Saul’s wife Mira mentioned something key about his personality – one of the reasons why their marriage had descended into the state it found itself – at the beginning of the episode. Through that lens, the viewer knew she was right. Saul has a professional calmness about him at all times, looking at situations logically, dispassionately (like a Vulcan), the complete opposite of his foil Carrie Matheson.

By the end of the episode, the viewer saw that there was a very real and passionate human being behind that steady veneer.

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The precipitating event for this realization was the best scene in Still Positive (a scene alluded to in The Yoga Play), led up to perfectly by a backstory between Saul and CIA financial analyst Fara Sherazi (Nazanin Boniadi). I do not know if it was the culmination of all the events in his life that led to that physical outburst or if it was just the situation itself. Either way, analyst Saul took a backseat to human Saul for one brief, scintillating moment.

For the next episode (Gerontion), my money if on human Saul being back in his container but it was nice that he stuck his head out for once and said “hello.” Mira wanted that side of him in their marriage, even inciting him to an emotional eruption by telling him “he did have a claim on her.” All he had to do was reach out and /or react. Saul chose the road most traveled in that instance and will probably live to regret it. Not so with Majid Javadi.

The weakest and most irritating storyline of this season, one worse than the Kim Bauer’s tangents in 24, was ended (hopefully) in this episode. Dana Brody (Morgan Saylor), whose past suicide attempt made no sense, bowed out Deadwood still in Still Positive. Dana’s exit, at least, made sense but its method was dubious. Would a mother just let her teen daughter leave like that? What about high school? What about college? A myriad of questions popped up and no answers were broached. With Dana “off the grid” of the show now, Homeland can now focus on its stronger storylines, expanding and bolstering them if possible.

For more Homeland reviews, photos, videos, and information, visit our Homeland Page, subscribe to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, or “like” us on Facebook.

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Rollo Tomasi

Rollo Tomasi is a Connecticut-based film critic, TV show critic, news, and editorial writer. He will have a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in 2025. Rollo has written over 700 film, TV show, short film, Blu-ray, and 4K-Ultra reviews. His reviews are published in IMDb's External Reviews and in Google News. Previously you could find his work at Empire Movies, Blogcritics, and AltFilmGuide. Now you can find his work at FilmBook.
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