Homeland S03E01 – Tin Man is Down (Television Review )

Carrie and co. returned to our screens last night for the third season of HBO’s hit series Homeland. In ‘Tin Man is Down’ it has been two months since the bombing of the CIA that took place in season two’s final episode, and Brody is still assumed to be the perpetrator. While giving a testimony before a subcommittee, Carrie reveals that she thinks otherwise. We later learn that she has stopped taking her meds, stating that while on them she feels like she’s not all there. Although on the surface Carrie seems to be making efforts to rebuild her life, it becomes clear that she is drinking heavily. Following a leak to the press about a CIA agent’s sexual affair with Brody, Saul states on a live televised Congressional hearing that the agent in question hid both the affair, and the deterioration of her mental health from him. Carrie – watching from home – breaks down in tears. Elsewhere in the episode: Quinn conducts an operation to take out some of the men behind the previous attack on the CIA, while Dana returns home to her family following an attempted suicide.

For die-hard fans of the show, last night’s season opener was probably a bit of a let-down. Without an antagonist to chase, the episode was rendered rather dull in comparison to its usual standards. The absence of Damien Lewis’s Brody was particularly noticeable, with the actor not appearing in any new scenes, just the season two flashback. Dana’s subplot was a nice diversion from Carrie’s constant misery, and the drudgery of the CIA hearing; it would be great to see a lot more from Brody’s estranged family in the next few episodes, though with the man himself not around right now, I’m unsure of how large a role they can play. Not the strongest of starts, but here’s hoping Brody’s return is on the cards and the show will start to pick up the pace.