‘Homeland’ season 3, episode 1 review: Saul’s big move; Dana’s desperation
So this is the weight that the American government has on a man who was once a rock.
For most of the first two seasons of “Homeland,” we saw Saul almost as a father figure to Carrie. He protected her through some hard times, and that must not have been an easy thing for him to do when you consider some of the situations that she continually chose to put him in. So to see him turn his back on her now is somewhat jarring, especially since you know that the worst is not over with yet. What makes this whole situation worse is that he knows what he is saying is far from the truth.
The shocker of the night, as you could call it, is that we saw Mandy Patinkin’s character choose to shockingly sell out Carrie to Congress during a Senate hearing, one attempting to get to the bottom of what really happened during the attack on Langley last year. He said just enough for everyone involved to know who he is talking about, and this betrayal could have huge ramifications. The fact that Carrie sort-of-defended Brody in front of Congress only makes it worse.
Meet the new Brodys – Jess Brody now has the help of her mother at home, but there are far more problems happening right now than she knows how to solve. For one, the family is out of money, and no one really wants to hire someone tied to a “traitor” to the American government. Also, you have Dana acting out by sending lewd photos of herself to a guy she met at treatment. She doesn’t seem to be connecting with anyone anymore, while her brother is surprisingly cool with everything.
The only other major story to highlight right now is the shocking case that Quinn was looking to oversee, which led to the death of an innocent child. Why show us this? At the moment, this storyline is the mysterious one.
While we are hesitant to scream “Homeland is back” from a rooftop after the confusing end to season 2, this was a major step in the right direction. The performances were outstanding, the writing strong, and we had a few lovely reminders (even without Brody) as to why we love this show.
What do you think about the premiere: Was it significantly better than the end of season 2, or is the series still trending downward to you? Of course, we want to hear your thoughts below!Be sure to Click here to see the promo for next week.
Photo: Showtime