Hot Off The Press - Homeland episode 3

*Minor Spoilers*

After a two episode hiatus, Nicholas Brody is back on the screen and he is looking worse for wear as he is passed unconsciously from a smuggler to armed men somewhere in South America. And with two gunshot wounds, it is clear his crossing - as arranged by Carrie in the previous season - didn't all go to plan exactly but he seems to have found a place out of reach from the government as he goes under the radar.

However, it seems that Brody hasn't found a checkpoint so much as his final destination. Brought back to health by one of the few English speaking men, it seems that he is to stay within a run-down apartment complex for reasons unknown. And it's this troublesome situation that forms the basis of this episode. That said, the episode later cuts back to Carrie sometime after being put back on her medication which seems to have taken some affect and she appears to be more dependent on it, for better or worse.

Generally this was a pretty engaging episode with Brody taking up the majority of the screen time. Carrie's scenes were interesting but felt somewhat restricted due to her limited screen time. While Brody's scenario was also interesting, the lack of information about why he was being held there did start to wear a little thin but picked up towards the end when he tries to take matters into his own hands. The characters he's also surrounded by are interesting, if a little cliched, but the doctor character stands out from the crowd who wants to ensure Brody heals while also wanting him to stay put. Hopefully episode four will expand and answer some questions.

Thankfully this episode took Carrie beyond the quivering wreck which was starting to get a little old and one note. Whether she will fall back remains to be seen but hopefully we start to see a new side of her soon as she has been that way for the last two episodes.

Overall this was a solid outing, and again, felt based more in reality than that of season two but maybe a step too far as this didn't really pack the entertainment of the first episode to this season. While it's pacing was a little slow as Brody healed, Damian Lewis was great as he returns to the series, and, as ever, I look forward to seeing what happens next, providing they pick up the pace.