I’m pretty sure mostly everyone knows Homeland. Or the adventures of Sergeant Brody through wonderland as I call it.
Now I have
to admit I’m not that much in to spy drama stuff so I could potentially be a
cruel judge. Anyway let’s begin with a disclaimer. This review is spoiler free
in general so you may just go ahead and read.
What I am
going to do is review the series in general and then review 3 characters in
specific. Nicholas Brody, Carrie Mathison and Saul Berenson.
That being said you may now proceed to the review.
A friend of
mine studying abroad in England first told me about Homeland. He specifically said
that Homeland is the best series ever. Now I don’t take any pride in this but I’ve
seen so much TV shows and movies that I can hardly be surprised nowadays. So I
went on ahead and saw the first episode. Now the basic storyline goes like
this.
A sergeant
in Afghanistan (Nicholas Brody) is found in captivity after seven years that
was considered dead. The CIA has reason to believe that Brody has turned in to
a terrorist by an Osama Bin Laden kind of guy called Abu Nazir. Brody returns
to the United States, where all of us try to figure out if he really is a
traitor or not.
That is
pretty much the general story behind the series. Two things kept me to see the
whole first episode. First one is a ridiculously beautiful woman called Morena
Baccarin, playing Brody’s wife, Jessica Brody.
But let us
be serious. There was also another reason. Nicholas Brody himself. Or actually the
actor. Damian Lewis. I’ve known him since Band of Brothers and he truly is
amazing.
So what do
I like about this series? It’s all a big scheme and an overture to espionage as
we hoped it could or would be. You see the brain being the most effective
weapon to protect your country. Now let’s be honest.
The show is very American
oriented in terms of what is a terrorist. There is some critique of course
about watching the other side of the coin and the fact that the Americans are
also the invaders and stuff but it’s mostly a villain’s talk. Which can be
disturbing from times to times but other than that the series manages to keep
suspense in to high levels without mechanized crafted cliffhangers. They are
pretty honest with that. They build a story and keep you with the story.
Now there
are many plot twists that make the show great and virtually none of them seems
bullshit. That’s pretty honest if you ask me.
Now let us have a little look in the characters.
Nicholas Brody/Damian Lewis
What can I say about Nicholas Brody technically the whole show revolves around him. An amazing grey character. You never know if he is the asshole or not. He plays his part keeping you wondering what’s wrong. A marine trained to kill, with a heart full of shit after seven years of captivity. The choices he makes can be evaluated in so many levels giving him many chances to get away. One moment he is a coward and an asshole and then he turns out to be the best guy in the world.
Carrie Mathison/Claire Danes
I am really
tempted in to describing her as the bitch. But I won’t. The mastermind of
intelligence in CIA is Carrie. She’s also young and very hard to find allies in
believing her conspiracy theories. She is the one believing that Brody is a
terrorist.
Using
unorthodox methods but also having a brilliant mind gives her the advantage to
prove here points and trying to make the change in protecting her country and
the CIA.
Saul Berenson/Mandy Patinkin
What can one say about Mandy Patinkin? Let us not forget he is Inigo Montoya. From princess bride. Yep that’s right.
The most exquisite poker face you can ever imagine. I Homeland he is very high in the CIA hierarchy and his “child” is Carrie Mathison. He is the one getting her out of trouble and finding solutions for her. Saul is the only skeptic in the show about the “techniques” used by the CIA while on the other hand can be more invasive than any.
So Homeland fans, put on your seat belts and get ready for 4 seasons of great story and suspense (Homeland season 5 release date is around September 2015) that will rock your mind. Espionage at it’s best.
