Homeland season 8

At the risk of repeating myself, Homeland has been one of those shows that has jumped between greatness and disaster. The network producer, Showtime, have been behind a lot of great shows in the past but they have also ran good ideas into the ground. Its mistreatment of the now cancelled series, Ray Donovan, is a classic example from what I've read where they dried the well and left some fans dismayed at what was left. Homeland itself saw some problems after its first season where execs were pushing to keep Damian Lewis' character in the show for longer than intended and this resulted in unnecessary subplots that weakened the main story. Thankfully, things changed for the best in season four and from here Homeland was reborn.

The last season of Homeland, now feeling like a distant memory it was so long ago, saw Carrie and Saul predominately in the States while working around President Keane's administration. With Keane having stepped down and out of the picture, Beau Bridges in now in control and America is trying to arrange peace negotiations with the Taliban while Carrie recovers from her confinement in a Russian prison. After seven seasons about fighting, war and espionage, there's something almost cathartic about the eighth season trying to achieve peace as it nears its conclusion where we see Saul opening talks with season four's Taliban leader, Haissam Haqqani, but can the past be forgiven on all sides.

The act of delivering a satisfying final season is not easy. I've chartered a few shows since starting this blog and it's interesting to see where some shows like Hannibal and Justified have succeeded where others like Game of Thrones disappointed. While Homeland hasn't always given fans what they wanted (killing off certain memorable characters and writing others out of the story), this season was very entertaining to watch because of the care put in by the team behind this who clearly had a vision for how the numerous plot lines would tie up. The story was always engaging even if it pushed believability a bit at times but everything came together this season that made me glad I stuck with it. The fantastic cast (Claire and Mandy never disappoint once), visuals and story were top-notch and I will miss having this show around but it needed to end, and this felt like the right place to do it.

As the final the scene gradually unfolds, it hit all the right beats and will certainly satisfy fans. That moment right there, without spoiling, is where shows have lived and died, and thankfully it comes together perfectly. Farewell, Homeland. I hope Showtime have learned from you and that it won't be long until other show of this calibre comes along.