‘Homeland’ season 4 finale review: Carrie and Quinn’s status; Saul, Dar Adal, and talking traitors

While there were some major bumps in the road early on “Homeland” season 4, we would describe most of the story this year as a recovery. With the exception of a minor cameo, the Brody family was gone. That in itself should be enough to consider this in some ways a success story.

With all of this said, we still feel like the show is more interesting for the most part when the characters are stateside, and that is why we feel like Sunday’s finale was one of the best ones of the entire season. It was at times subtle, at times powerful, but mostly, focused on characters. This is what makes this show stand out than any other with a focus on law, order, or politics.

The biggest surprise of the episode was saved for its closing moments, when it appeared that Dar Adal may have been able to broker a deal with Saul, one involving power for his own silence over some of his actions with Haqqani. Dar Adal is putting trust in a known killer and threat to homeland security, and Saul, desperate to get back in the game, may be compromising himself in return for getting his old job back. This does not feel like the old, magic-trick “Homeland” that we saw in the past during season 3. This looks more like real, genuine discord.

Carrie’s life tonight was further complicated by figuring out just how into her Quinn really was. He wanted her to tell him the truth about her own feelings, and after they kissed, she waited too long. He was sent on a dark mission, and it is up to his team now to determine their own fate.

When you look at all of this, plus now the revelation that Carrie has a brother and her mother is somewhat back in the picture, this was a messy end to the season. It was also just what the show needed. Now, Carrie enters season 5 in an ambiguous place, not knowing if she can trust her own agency. The one man she could count on completely is gone, and her father is now deceased.

Maybe some will dislike the episode for its slower pace; for us, it was the character study needed to really close the book on an excellent season of television. Grade: A.

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