homeland-xmas
While an abundance of dark, frequently harrowing shows like Homeland and The Walking Dead isn't necessarily a bad thing for television, there's one thing missing from the majority of today's hard-hitting dramas: holiday episodes. Say what you want about shows on AMC and their breathless fidelity to telling difficult truths, but there's no denying* that they'd be improved by an annual episode where the regular characters learn a little bit more about the true meaning of the holiday season -- and themselves as well. With that in mind, we suggest some potential storylines that would help make the season bright for the shows that tend to shy away from such festivity. Consider it our gift to you, dear overworked showrunners.
* Note: This may not be true.
Homeland
With all the international and political intrigue available on every episode of the Showtime series -- not to mention the soap operatics and otherwise over-the-top drama that get squeezed in each week -- it's hardly surprising that Homeland has managed to successfully avoid the most wonderful time of the year in its three seasons to date. And yet, this year especially, there's even more reason for the holiday season to visit.
Okay, Hear Us Out: As Brody struggles with his status as political pariah turned triple agent in Iran, his wife Jessica and children Chris and Dana try to enjoy the holidays as best as they can without him. What they don't know is that Saul and Carrie have taken it upon themselves to help the family, albeit without telling anyone other than Brody what they are doing. While Saul tries to discover what each of the Brody child wants for Christmas by going undercover as a Mall Santa, Carrie gets obsessed with the idea that NORAD's Santa Tracker is a smokescreen for a bigger international intrigue. As Brody almost causes at least three international incidents in an attempt to find a suitable Wi-Fi connection to Skype home on December 25, Saul has Quinn infiltrate the Brody home to secretly deliver the presents -- but no one is able to explain who ate the milk and cookies Jessica left by the fireplace on Christmas Eve.
The Christmas Song: At one point, Brody flashes back to his heroin-crazed days in Caracas when he performed a tearful version of "I'll Be Home for Christmas," intercut with scenes of Carrie staring at a computer screen and Jessica staring out of a window.
