20 Most Hated Characters In TV History

In the very beginning, Dana was one of the better things about Homeland. Her halting, fumbling reconnection with her recently returned father, war hero Nicholas Brody, was a slow-burning masterclass in television drama, and one of the most interesting relationships on the show.

This genuinely fascinating dynamic went pear-shaped so quickly, however, that it took Homeland’s writers and producers completely by surprise. As soon as Dana was placed in any situation that didn’t involve Brody, her incessant hand-wringing, sulky expressions and sullen teenage stroppiness stopped becoming compelling, and started becoming intensely irritating.

Paired with a succession of loser boyfriends and ‘acting out’ subplots, Dana began to drag on the show’s narrative, to the extent that even her moments with Brody became tainted by the audience’s sudden dislike of the character.

Dana’s pouty, mumbling petulance grew more and more pronounced as Brody’s situation became less and less tenable. When he was finally exposed to the world as a traitor to his country and vanished from the story for huge portions of season three, Dana inexplicably remained a large part of the storyline, her lurching teenage angst pulled to the fore by her father’s absence.

It was a significant error in judgment on the part of Homeland’s showrunners. By season three, Dana was so loathed by fans that the undue emphasis on her character nearly derailed the show itself. Despite Brody’s death at the end of season three, cynical jokes spread around online that Dana would continue to have a large presence in season four as well, because that made as much sense as any of the rest of the show.