‘Homeland’ Premiere Recap: Carrie Is Off Her Meds; Saul Exposes Carrie’s Relationship With Brody

Homeland’s third-season kicked off on Sunday with a premiere that picked up 58 days following the terror attack on Langley, which took the lives of 219 people congregated for the late Vice President Walden’s (Jamey Sheridan) memorial service.

Chairman Lockhart (Tracy Letts) grills Carrie Masterson (Claire Danes) about the CIA and how they had proven themselves incapable of discovering a plot that had their home base as a target. Lockhart even goes so far as to ask, “How can they protect the country if not themselves?” On the defensive, Carrie admits that she was outsmarted by big bad Abu Nazir, and that her inability to foresee his plot is not something she will soon forgive herself for. Where Carrie runs into trouble is when she’s questioned about Brody (Damien Lewis). Unwilling to nod along to the accusations against her former lover, Carrie questions whether or not he was responsible for the bombing.

Erin Kimball, Carrie’s counsel, tries to minimize the damage her client may have just done to her case. Lockhart, however, is already suggesting that there’s something behind Carrie’s support for Brody’s innocence. Kimball, during a recess, tries to get Carrie to understand that defending Brody during the investigation is out of the question. Going over her documents, Kimball lets it sink in that having the unstable Carrie as a client won’t be a walk in the park.

Dana Brody (Morgan Saylor), in the aftermath of her father’s very public apparent betrayal and her boyfriend's death, had tried to kill herself. She’s now in group therapy, where she met a boy with whom she exchanges sexts and nude pics. Though she likely needs ongoing therapy, Brody’s alleged actions and subsequent disappearance have left the family broke and without insurance. Jessica’s (Morena Baccarin) mother has moved in to try to help out her daughter and grandkids.

With the bombing wiping out many of the CIA’s high-ranking officials, Saul (Mandy Patinkin) is now CIA director. On his desk is a multi-pronged operation to take out half a dozen “enemy combatants,” which is meant to show the disgraced agency getting a win – albeit a relatively easy one. In the end, with the encouragement of Dar Adal (F. Murray Abraham), he gives the op the go-ahead.

Before returning to sit before the subcommittee, Carrie is urged by her father to get back on her medication. She refuses, citing the lithium as a reason she didn’t see the Langley attack coming. Appearing to be of a clearer head, despite ignoring her father’s pleas, Carrie retracts her positive statements regarding Brody and offers an explanation about the 14 hours she went missing after the blast – she was knocked out in the bathroom. Lockhart informs her that people saw her leaving with Brody, so Carrie decides to plead the Fifth.

Quinn (Rupert Friend), who’d been building a bomb in the premiere’s opening minutes, is in Caracas on the CIA mission. When he sees that his target is traveling with a young son, he abandons the bomb plan and pulls out his gun. In the target’s home, he shoots and kills a number of guards before shooting the “enemy combatant.” Leaving the premises, Quinn meets a flashlight and shoots. The flashlight had been held by the son, who is now dead by Quinn’s hand.

Carrie realizes that her affair with Brody may have made it into a file, and crashes Saul’s meeting with Dar Adal and Scot Ryan (Tim Guinnee), telling him that the Brody operation was all him. When it’s Saul’s turn to testify in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he defends his mission to take out the six targets. At first, when allusions to Carrie and Brody’s relationship are made, Saul waves them off. But when they persist, he not only reveals that Carrie hid being bipolar, but that she also hid a sexual relationship with Brody. Carrie sees her mentor, friend and ally exposing her through the TV screen, which seems to signifty the beginning of the end of the duo’s steadfast relationship.

– Chelsea Regan

Get Uinterview's FREE iPhone App For Daily News Updates here.

Get the FREE Uinterview iPad app here and watch our videos anywhere.