Homeland: A series review
After watching all seven seasons of Homeland, here are my thoughts...
I mentioned last week that I got all seven seasons of Homeland for Christmas. Well, I binge-watched the entire series and finally finished Season Seven last night.
A lot of people warned me that the later seasons descended into politically correct, anti-Deplorable garbage. And while I can see why folks would get that impression, I stuck with the show all the way through.
The series creators/producers are veterans of the show 24. And now having seen all seven seasons, I can tell you that they fell into the same trap with Homeland that they did with 24.
The plots become more outlandish. The conspiracies have so many moving parts, they're inevitably less and less credible.
The first three seasons deal with the initial storyline of the Iraq War POW Sgt. Brody. And for the most part, by the end of Season Two, my interest in Brody plummets significantly. I was almost sorry to see him return a few episodes into Season Three.
Of course, it didn’t help that the climactic end to his story arc was a bit over-the-top.
Tehran? Really. A crane? Really?
On the plus side, seeing how his storyline I was sure we were finally rid of the tiresome guy.
With Brody out of the picture, Season Four got to be a purely CIA action/drama. And as a result, it is the best season of Homeland.
That’s the one where Carrie gets herself appointed station chief in Islamabad, Pakistan after the former station chief is murdered in the street by an angry mob.
The Islamabad plot has some really good twists and turns as well as edge-of-your-seat action.
I also really enjoyed Season Five which takes place primarily in Berlin.
Then we get to Season Six – which is where most of you said the show takes a downturn.
And it kind of does.
But at the same time, I also found it rather intriguing.
As one commenter on Facebook put it, clearly the show’s creators were expecting Hillary to win, so they made the President-elect a woman (named Elizabeth Keane).
And maybe that’s true. Season Six premiered a week before Donald Trump’s inauguration which means that it was probably shot sometime during the spring or summer of 2016. So it's likely they expected Hillary to be President by the time the show aired.
The central plot in Season Six is people within the intelligence community -- who do not like President-Elect Keane -- work to undermine her before she’s inaugurated.
She’s weak on terrorism -- not to mention somewhat naïve.
But the truth is, if the writers wanted me to be sympathetic toward her or see her as falsely maligned as weak, they didn’t succeed.
I couldn’t stand her. And in a way, I could understand why those who protect the country from terrorists would be nervous about her becoming President.
Anyroad.
The goal of this cabal of intelligence people is to force the President-Elect to change her campaign positions of creating closer relations with Iran while loosening the anti-terrorism efforts here at home.
So they set up a young Nigerian/American man as a patsy in a staged vehicle bomb explosion in Manhattan. And simultaneously, they work with Israeli intelligence to convince the incoming President that Iran is cheating on the nuclear deal.
Carrie Matheson by this point has left the CIA and become an advocate for Muslims in New York. And her advocacy group is representing this young man. So naturally, when he is driving the van that explodes, Carrie decides to investigate it – uncovering the truth along the way.
Where the season goes off the rails is this cabal of intelligence people decide to assassinate the President-Elect.
And that’s where the plot becomes too outlandish to believe.
Really? A spec ops team in the middle of Manhattan opening fire on the President-Elect’s motorcade?
Sorry. No sale.
The other thing that is a tad ridiculous is the introduction of an Alex Jones-like internet TV host who spews conspiracy theories and makes ridiculous pronouncements.
(And, yes. At one point the President-Elect calls him "deplorable.")
The writers take that sub-plot to the breaking point as well by having this Alex Jones character in cahoots with the cabal of intelligence people.
Really? Come on.
By Season Six, Homeland has a new crop of writers. And I think that’s the central problem.
The writers have a political agenda. And though it is not as “in-your-face” as, say, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, it is still heavy-handed.
Finally, Season Seven picks up with now-President Elizabeth Keane unleashing vengeance on the intelligence community for trying to assassinate her. In addition to the actual conspirators, she has another two hundred people arrested and held without charges.
My reaction to this plotline was, “This is why a woman should never be President. We're just too damned vindictive.”
I doubt the writers intended for me to feel that way.
The Alex Jones character is now a fugitive who continues his internet show while on the run. Naturally, he gets harbored by a bunch of gun-toting, anti-government yahoos. Because that’s how Hollywood sees most every American who doesn't live on a coast.
The central plot revolves around Russian spies who use “fake news” and social media bots to influence an effort to oust the President.
By this point, Homeland isn’t even a show about the CIA anymore.
Instead, it’s about the dangers of Russian-influenced social media and “fake news,” and its ability to control our “democracy” and blah-blah-blah.
So, yeah. The writers are about as subtle as a sledgehammer to the face.
Peak Homeland for me was Season Four.
It is by far the best.
Finally, a couple thoughts on the central character Carrie Matheson (played by Claire Danes).
Carrie, the CIA operative turned paranoid private citizen, suffers from mental illness -- specifically, she’s bipolar. And throughout the series, Carrie finds reasons to go off her meds and go insane.
After the third time she does this, I found myself growing increasingly frustrated with her.
If you know anyone who suffers from mental illness, you know that being self-centered to the point of utter disregard for others is common.
And Danes plays that convincingly.
Carrie is a natural disaster. She gives no thought to the lives around her – even her own child. Consequences never occur to her. She acts without thinking -- not only putting her own life at risk but the lives of others as well. And as a result, Homeland is littered with the bodies and ruined lives of people Carrie put in harm’s way.
That isn’t a criticism of the show. Quite the opposite.
Carrie Matheson is a complex and flawed character. And I actually find that very compelling.
I don’t like shows where the central character is 100% noble and good. Because nobody is in real life.
Despite her illness, Carrie is good at what she does. But being good at what she does often comes with a devastating price.
And even in Seasons Six and Seven where the writers can’t resist dragging partisan politics into the storyline, Carrie’s character remains consistently frustrating, flawed, and compelling.
For me, the best scene from Season Seven is when Carrie’s sister Maggie takes her to court to win custody of Carrie’s daughter. Maggie’s testimony is heart-wrenching because she gives voice to the frustration, admiration, and fear the audience feels about Carrie’s recklessness and obsessive single-mindedness. It is a powerful moment.
Despite what many suggested, I’m glad I watched all seven seasons of Homeland. And I look forward to Season Eight.
Yes, the writers got lost in the political partisanship. But Homeland is still worth it as far as I’m concerned. And a lot of that has to do with Claire Danes.
Every series runs the risk of continuing past its sell date. And I do think Homeland is running out of steam. If the producers were smart, they’d wrap the show up in Season Eight – and wrap it up with a bang.