Ever since the basic premise of Homeland was concluded in season 3 the interesting thing has always been “how do they move forward?” With the death of Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis), the series was still accumulating viewers on ShowTime and thus the decision to keep going was made. It’ll be season six this spring and now Homeland has transitioned from being a show about whether or not Brody was turned into an Islamic terrorist while being held as a prisoner of war and into the CIA adventures of Carrie (Claire Danes).
And the crazy thing that has happened in the time since the show moved on from being about Brody and being about Claire: it’s gotten significantly better.
The original premise was a two-season gimmick in Israel, where the show originated, and season 3 was easily the worst of the five seasons, and moving on has opened a world of creativity up for this interesting world of intelligence, black ops and the people who inhabit them. Season five focuses on Carrie as she works abroad in Berlin; it’s been two years since season 4 and she’s no longer with the CIA.
She’s in Berlin, working for a non-profit, but the world of espionage seemingly finds a way to pull her back in.
Freed from the shackles of having to continue with something that wasn’t a long term storyline, Homeland has found its groove as a terrific show about the black ops world without having the war hero turned terrorist storyline as the all-encompassing focal point. It’s a significantly better show with Brody in the rear view and focusing on Carrie, a more developed character over the years, has made it a good viewing.
There’s a pair of EPK pieces but
20th Century Fox presents Homeland (Season 5). Starring Claire Danes, Rupert Friend, Sebastian Koch, Miranda Otto. Run Time: 91 minutes. Not Rated. Released on: 1.10.17
