Why Is There So Much Dana on 'Homeland'?

Photo Credit: Showtime

Everyone thinks Dana from Homeland is annoying. I'm not breaking any news here. Everyone knows it. Buzzfeed did a post about it last year. Just last week, Dana herself, actress Morgan Saylor, spoke about it to The Daily Beast.

So what I don't get is, why is there so much Dana on the Showtime show this season? Did the writers not get the memo? Or maybe they got it and want to prove to us how awesome they think Dana really is? Maybe it's a way of torturing us so we can sympathize with Brody (Damian Lewis) more?


I understand that it makes sense to show how Brody's family is dealing with the aftermath of him being revealed as a terrorist. But isn't one or two scenes enough? I'd so much rather they spend that time doing what Homeland does best -- focusing on the cat and mouse game between the CIA and the terrorists (Carrie and Brody included). In episode 2, six characters -- with awesome Wizard of Oz code names -- were killed off... in a matter of minutes. Why wasn't more time spent on that? No one cares that Jessica (Morena Baccarin) retiled the bathroom or that Dana has a boyfriend or that Chris (Jackson Pace) isn't a mute (he's actually had some lines this season).

It seems there are two options here (neither of which are "More Dana!"):

1. Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind: Let's pretend Dana doesn't exist for a few episodes. And then we'll forget how mad we are at Homeland for giving her so many scenes.

2. Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder: Again, let's pretend Dana doesn't exist for a few episodes. And then maybe we'll miss her? Maybe next time she pulls out one of her, "Dad, where are you? Dad?" lines, we'll reply with "Dana, where have you been? Dana?"*

Which option are you choosing?

*Just kidding, Option 2 will never happen. Let's go with Option 1, please.