Hot Off The Press - Homeland season 3

Happy New Year!

So after a very busy December, I return with more blogs to write about and hope to sign up to Netflix sometime soon so that I can check out more films and shows. Before I do this though, I wrap up my thoughts on season three of Homeland.

Full spoilers ahead!

Having got to off to a mixed start, season three has certainly seen a lot of ups and downs. For every exciting/ interesting new story development, there was another extended scene involving Dana and the Brody family. Somewhere two thirds into the show, things started to pick up and Homeland took us back to the glory days of season one.

But was it too little too late? Well, the early missteps of this and the previous season had certainly left a bad taste in the mouth that was a little too hard to ignore. Getting right to it, Brody's death came too late in the show. Like not knowing when it's best to leave a party, Brody felt like the show should have killed him off sooner in the fashion they did. Instead, the amount of time spent with him, only to bump him off felt like the writers were hoping for him to be a smaller character than what happened onscreen. On the show, Brody and Carrie were joint headlining the way, which felt strange when he started falling off the screen this season. Regardless, the final few episodes were thoroughly exciting but the payoff could have been better.

While the conclusion to his character arc wasn't as smooth as it could have been, Damian Lewis continued with his brilliant performance of a man lost in his hope to finding redemption. Claire Danes remained solid throughout this season, but as the internet gifs have shown us, her emotional scenes are starting to get a little repetitive.

Having killed Brody almost halfway through the show, everything else that followed felt like closure to a show that was about to end. Instead with there being news of season four, I can't say I'm eager to see what happens next, despite having enjoyed the show. Carrie is to be posted in Istanbul while wondering what to do with her baby on the way, Saul looks to be making a move towards retirement as he heads to Washington, Javadi is now in control, Lockhart settles into his new job at the CIA, Quinn looks to be staying there also, while the Brody family remained absent which felt like an odd choice.

All in all, I'm not sure where the show will really go next. Do I want to see another Eastern villain or brainwashed soldier on the show? Not really. What ever happens next will almost be a completely new storyline, which feels like when a film has a sequel for the sake of having one to continue the franchise.

That said, Homeland season three has been enjoyable to watch, if not entirely perfect. Hopefully with their plans to continue the series, the next season will provide the writers with the opportunity for a fresh start.