Homeland (TV Series) All About Allison (2015) User Reviews

All about Allison indeed

[Abdulxoxo · 8/10 · 18 October 2020]

All about Allison is a nice episode, we get to see some backstory about Allison, and how and why she started working for the Russians. Meanwhile, Carrie finally connect the dots on Allison with a little help from Numan. Peter was outsmarted by terrorists.

Great performances all around, the score was fitting the cinematography was excellent.

How Allison became a traitor

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 30 November 2015]

Still convinced that the Russians want her dead Carrie contacts Berlin Station Chief Allison Carr, not knowing that she is working for the Russians. She insists the meeting takes place under 'Baghdad Rules'. Allison doesn't want Carrie killed but as the meeting takes place a sniper waits for a signal that will indicate that Carrie has learnt too much… luckily for her she hasn't. Meanwhile the CIA are looking for Saul and it looks as if Mossad isn't as keen to help him as he'd hoped. Elsewhere Quinn is still with the terrorists and warns them against collecting weapons on the way to Syria as they are certain to be stopped long before their destination if they do so… he doesn't realise they have no intention of heading to Syria; instead they intend to return to Berlin with their newly acquired weapons.

These scenes are intercut with scenes showing Carrie and Allison's first meeting in Baghdad where she meets Allison's informant Ahmed Nazari; a man who supposedly died shortly afterwards but she saw in Amsterdam. We also see that Nazari has stolen millions of dollars and suggests to Allison that they run off to somewhere safe… her response is what leads to her being recruited by the Russians.

This was another solid mid-season episode; there were plenty of tense moments although little in the way of real action. The closest to real action was seeing Quinn being knocked out and even here there wasn't a fight. The plot moved along nicely as we learn that the terrorists are planning to strike in Berlin not Syria and in a final scene that shows Carrie learning that Allison was involved in Nazari's disappearance from Iraq. This last scene does require a little suspension of disbelief as it relies on Carrie finding a picture of Nazari at a Caribbean beach bar and linking it to a conversation she had with Allison many years before; this isn't enough to spoil the drama though. As usual the acting was of a high standard; Miranda Otto was particularly good as she depicts Allison both before and after she is recruited by the Russians.

Homeland's mid-season stutter continues

[foleyjd · 6/10 · 30 November 2015]

Homeland's mid season lull has been a little bit perplexing and it continues to be through the entirety of All About Alison. It is not as if the plot hasn't been moving along it is just that there have been no scenes of any note and even if the plot hasn't stopped moving the pacing has been lackluster.

The final few minutes of All About Alison certainly push forward the plot but issues still surround them. Firstly Carrie working out that Alison is in cahoots with the Russians is a tad underwhelming, because it was something that was totally and utterly inevitable and although I think this was a decent time to do it, she could have worked it out episodes ago and we might be watching a more exciting show at this point.

The biggest problem though is the cost of this reveal. Namely, that we had to sit through some extended flashbacks to get there. Now I love a bit of chronology messing, but the thing with flashbacks is that they only work when they inform or answer questions about the characters we care about in the present.

The flashbacks here don't. Really there only function is that they work as part of a pretty small puzzle that tells Carrie that Alison is the mole. Now you could argue that this is a quite silly way for Carrie to work out, but Homeland needed to get from point A to point B and this did the trick. The main issue is that we have to spend ages of time with Allison that really do nothing for the character.

The reasons for why she works for the Russians are so dull and predictable that in the most part I could have worked them out myself or at least I didn't need to know why. They fail when it comes to informing Alison's actions (not that they needed much informing) and in this sense weren't worth the admission fee.

Otherwise the episode was perfectly fine. The stuff with Saul at the end seems a bit suspicious and the adventures of Quinn remain dull but at least look like they are hotting up a little.

I guess this is where Homeland is at now, to think that the last time they did a flashback episode it was when we discovered what had happened to Brody (who there was a nod to this week in the form of a picture) when he was being held as a POW, midway through the first season. Different times.

(for more reviews go to donheisenberg.tumblr.com)

Laughable

[LNeilsonLaw · 1/10 · 10 June 2023]

Not worthy of extended comment, but it is required. Counted at least five or six subplots in this episode going on at the same, not including flashbacks. Can't tell the characters or situations without a scorecard.

Usually enjoy a stirring, suspenseful spy story, but overdone can be a disaster. Homeland had a promising beginning, but many episodes dissolve into a collage of confusion, filler and gratuitous extraneous situations. Who is sleeping with whom is always in the background. Midway through "All About Allison" I found myself scoffing at some of the ridiculous goings on loaded with flashbacks and filler until actually laughing at the end. The cast deserved much better writing.