HOMELAND: The Complete Third Season Arrives On Bluray!

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has released HOMELAND: The Complete Third Season on Bluray this week.

HOMELAND: The Complete Third Season

Jeri Jacquin

As we draw closer to the beginning of the fourth season of the highly successful Showtime series HOMELAND, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has released HOMELAND: The Complete Third Season on Bluray this week.

To catch everyone up, the second season ended with the insane bombing at the CIA headquarters. Carrie (Claire Danes) knew the agency would blame Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) and so the game of chase begins!

Carrie begins a downward spiral that takes her into a very dark place. As Saul (Mandy Patinkin) and Dar Adal (F. Murray Abraham) go before a committee headed by Senator Lockhart (Tracy Letts), they keep Carrie held down with accusations.

The CIA is never without a plan, even as Saul learns his days are numbered as their goal is to get their hands on Iranian intelligence officer Majid Javadi and turn him. Playing it close to the vest, Peter Quinn (Rupert Friend) isn’t happy about what he has to do and questions whether he can continue.

Brody is found in Caracus where he is once again held by an unfriendly group. At home wife Jessica (Morena Baccarin) is dealing with their daughter Dana (Morgan Saylor) who struggles with what her father is accused of doing. Knowing he can not return home, Brody finds his way to Iran asking for asylum as the “Langley Bomber” and meets Javadi once again.

As the new plan comes into play, Saul, Carrie, Dar and Peter must once again trust two people they have no reason to trust in what will come down to a shocking season finale!

FINAL WORD: Danes as Carrie has the beginning of the season all to herself. Watching this character go to this place of helplessness will have the viewer pretty angry at those in charge. Danes gives the beginning of the season such depth that when she breaks free it is a relief to the viewer. Following a plan proves to be difficult for Carrie as she is ruled more by her emotions and less by the danger she is in. Danes gives all and leaves us emotionally wrung out by the finale.

Lewis as Brody is such a complex character and as this season brings everything into question as he also finds the bottom of life’s barrel. In Caracas it becomes clear that not only is he once again a prisoner, but the fight is taken out of him through the junk end of a needle. Lewis also plays his character every which way leaving us wondering if it is possible for him to once again find his way back. There isn’t a moment when Lewis is on screen that I don’t see a stellar portrayal of a character full of human frailties at the hands of lesser men.

Patinkin as Saul is such an intriguing role. Dealing with the upheaval of his marriage and the inability to express his feelings (especially in a job where that inability is crucial to protect those he loves); it all leads to the discovery that his position with the CIA has a clock that is running out. Keeping it all together is what Saul does best and Patinkin has the best poker face in this series doing whatever is necessary to get the job done – sometimes at the expense of trust.

Friend as Peter begins to waver this season. Doing what is asked of him starts to show a strain as he sees Carrie go through her struggles, when an op is technically successful but emotionally a failure and lying is more difficult by the minute. Friend gives moments of emotion that are reeled up fast and tucked away until the job is done.

F. Murray Abraham as Dar Adal is another character that I haven’t quite figured out yet and I am going to have fun doing just that! Baccarin as Jessica plays a woman who is trying to get out from under the shadow of husband Brody. Saylor as Dana is a young woman who must do what her mother can not – reclaim her life and walk away from home.

TUBS OF POPCORN: I give HOMELAND four tubs of popcorn out of five. The series is developed by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa based on the Israeli series HATUFIM (PRISONERS OF WAR). It isn’t any one performance that puts this series on my radar but a cast that plays off one another remarkably well.

There are moments in the storyline that stand out so strongly and there are moments that don’t quite jib well for me. That being said it is a compelling series to watch filled with jaw dropping moments. For me, that’s what keeps me coming back to see where the story will go. I have to admit that the finale of season three left me speechless!

HOMELAND won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series in 2012 and two Golden Globes for Best Series – Drama in 2011 and 2012 along with Lewis and Danes winning their own Golden Globes.

The Bluray includes – HOMELAND Season Three: Re-creating the Tower of David and Filming in Puerto Rico, The Last Days: Filming the Season Finale in Morocco, Deleted Scenes and Audio Commentary on the Season Finale with Damian Lewis, Alex Gansa and Joe Hobeck.

HOMELAND returns to Showtime this October so pick up your Bluray and either relive every moment or catch up before the seasons premier!

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