Homeland: Danes takes Mathison on Last Mission

“Homeland” is a great TV show that has confronted the universal complexities associated with national security and terrorism.

However, with the final season underway, it seems the self-sacrificing superspy Carrie Mathison has taken things a bit personally.

This Season Draws More Attention to Carrie’s Relationship with Mentor

This season – i.e. Season 8 – typical of most of the previous seasons in the series hinges primarily on the relationship between Carrie Mathison (played by Claire Danes) and Saul Berenson (played by Mandy Patinkin), the National Security Adviser and a mentor.

But then, the Showtime thriller (Sunday, 9 EST/PST) also marks the recall of Nicholas Brody, a suspected turncoat and POW hero played by Damin Lewis. He was once Carrie’s lover when the series started.

Homeland Earns Eight Emmys

Homeland has enjoyed a tremendous and distinguished run, having earned 8 Emmys, i.e. for Best Drama in 2012 and two for Claire Danes. The TV show has also received lots of praise for mirroring and highlighting genuine security issues.

The show did this sometime in 2017 with a creative storyline that featured a president contending with Russian political misinformation and United States intelligence agencies. Moreover, “Homeland” earned accolades for its attention to detail, especially when an Iranian intelligence chief – from previous seasons – was modeled on Qasem Soleimani.

The Homeland Premieres

As the premiere opens, Carrie Mathison struggles to recover from months of incarceration in a Russian gulag, a prison camp for political prisoners. This was where she was imprisoned after a failed heroic effort at extracting a witness last season.

Her colleagues have started nursing the suspicion that Carrie has been “turned” by the Russians. And what reinforces that suspicion is that Carrie herself is not even sure about this, since she has bipolar disorder.

“Carrie appears to have morphed into Brody,” Claire Danes says. “She’s, without question, in the kind of situation that is very similar to where he was at the very beginning, and this has left viewers pondering whose side he was really on.”

However, her mentor, Saul, needs her personal connections and field expertise while he tries to pull off a peace settlement with the Taliban in order to put an end to the long-term war taking place in Afghanistan. This, of course, is another real-life parallel that impressed viewers.

So, the National Security Adviser accepts the risk by sending his dysfunctional and trusted operative into a hostile environment.

The Goal, according to the Executive Producer

According to Patinkin, “That has been a consistent battle for Saul throughout the entire journey. The young lady is a protégé and his only hope for keeping the nation and the world a safe place.

“But he has put her at risk through the 8 years and would not hesitate to do it again because of the possibility of how many millions she might be able to save against the life of one.”

There have been several bumps in the shows intersection with the real world, especially with the Muslim community.

Criticisms are bound to occur with such a realistic TV show. But the goal is to generate a conversation, according to Alex Gansa, the executive producer.