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Homeland Season Five Episode 1 Review
Can You Go Home Again?: Homeland Season Five Episode 1
Director: Lesli Linka Glatter;
Stars: Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin, Rupert Friend, Sebastian Koch
When Homeland began back in 2011, it was the Carrie and Brody show, about the relationship between bipolar CIA agent Carrie and former US solder Brody (Damien Lewis). Season Five is the second series with a shifted focus. Brody is history and Carrie has left the CIA, now working for a charitable organisation in Germany. Her former mentor Saul (Mandy Patinkin) is still in the agency and resents the fact that she has left. Quinn (Rupert Friend) continues to be part of the CIA and still an assassin for hire. The new series has shaken up the status quo yet again. With Carrie no longer in the CIA, she doesn’t have access to the intelligence she used to have and when she wants to arrange a visit to Syria on business for her boss Otto During (Koch), she is given short shrift by the Berlin bureau boss Allison Carr (Miranda Otto).
The beginning of every new series of Homeland throws the viewer a little into the deep end but there is enough happening in this first episode to pique the interest. Danes continues to be a great actor and her character is still interesting enough to make viewers want to keep watching. Friend is always a great psychopath and Patinkin is always very watchable as Saul. The dynamics have changed but Homeland is still an intelligent espionage series with a solid cast and this debut episode for the new season shows a great deal of promise.
JOEL MEADOWS
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