Homeland - Season 5

Have you ever seen any actor play her role better than this lady? My goodness, she plays a role like I've never seen. Great series. If I ever see her on the street in real life, I'm crossing over to get out of her way. LOL She's so talented and scary at the same time.. The whole series is just amazing.

I just can't seem to get enough of lovely and talented Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison. This season former CIA agent Mathison is working for a private security firm in Berlin, Germany. Although she is happily living with her daughter and coworker boyfriend, she can't escape her past. Her peaceful life is soon shattered as terrorists plan an attack on Berlin.Season 5 is typical "HOMELAND" but with a couple of twists. Carrie no longer works for the CIA and the show is actually filmed on location in Berlin. It's nice to see Berlin and to see some good German actors in strong roles. Needless to say, nothing is ever as it seems and don't trust anyone. Carrie becomes a "marked" woman and must go undercover to save her life and the lives of thousands.Homeland is stylistic, well-acted and spell-binding if often contrived. It's hard to imagine an ex-CIA agent having access to CIA files and staff as Carrie does. Yet, we can dispend belief and go with the flow. Danes is fantastic as always and returns to new heights of acting when she goes off her "bipolar" medication. For some reason bipolar Carrie can think and rationalize better a terrorist plot than a medicated Carrie.As always, HOMELAND's force is the fantastic ensemble of actors. It's also the new players each season who are incredibly talented as the terrorists bent on destruction and the couple who always have a conscience and want to do the right thing. I'd like to see these actors again in starring roles. I was especially mesmerized by Ercan Durmaz as Faisal Marwan. The fear and terror in his eyes rocked me to the core. Again, there are some seriously great actors in guest roles on Homeland.Season 5 can seem a bit slow. The plot and subplots and list of characters and sorting out the good from the bad can be overwhelming but that is HOMELAND. Season 5 has been spiced up a bit. The location and pace has changed but again, we're dealing with Islamic terrorists along with the Russians and the usual CIA traitors. Carrie has to thwart another terrorist attack and hackers have unintentionally gained access to top secret CIA files that could harm the German government It seems routine at times but somehow it keeps working. Miranda Otto is delightfully deceitful and evil and the head of the CIA office in Berlin. It's the cast that makes this show so incredibly addicting.

Homeland Season 1-3 was amazing, Season 4 was acceptable, but Season 5 seems to have been created from stereotypes and seriously lacks new, interesting or compelling characters. Carrie's boyfriend is dull and boring, her coworkers are just as flat. The plot lines are not that believable and...also not that interesting and I'm not driven to care about anyone involved. In previous seasons Carrie's depiction of a person with psych problems and manic disorder was great and very relatable, but in this season the episode to go off her meds and her portrayed "behavior" was stereotypical and so juvenile I was embarrassed to watch it. Nothing seems natural and organic here, it's forced and kitschy. Hope season 6 is not as bad.

If you take a moment and think about it the evolution of “Homeland” is quite remarkable. Once the founding story line following former POW Nicholas Brody wrapped up in Season 3 it seemed doubtful “Homeland” could sustain the same level of suspense and intrigue going forward. Season 4 and now Season 5 have proven that the series can and does deliver the same level of compelling drama. 4.5 stars for this season. We find Carrie Mathison no longer in the employ of the CIA working as head of security for an NGO type of outfit called the During Foundation and living in Berlin. She’s on her meds (thankfully as she’s bipolar and when she’s off them the show suffers for it) has a hunky boyfriend (who looks a lot like Brody) and her young daughter Frannie all living happily together. Carrie’s boss wants to travel to the Mideast as part of his foundations charitable efforts in the region; however the area’s unstable and Carrie has to scramble to try and ensure his safety. Things quickly go south and Carrie’s quick thinking avoids an IED attack and starts her down a path bringing her back in contact with the Agency and old colleagues Saul Berenson and Peter Quinn. The situation swiftly develops involving a classified document data breach, a Russian mole in the CIA Berlin Station, a terrorist plot employing a WMD weapon in Berlin, and Carrie betrayed and being targeted for assassination by parties unknown. Without giving away any details each episode builds the suspense to a thrilling climax where catastrophe is only narrowly averted. Sure, there are a few details that will tax your belief. At one point Carrie’s on the run and trying to lay low so she needs a disguise. Taking a cue from “The Americans” she dons a brunette wig (a German colleague tells her it’s “retro” and makes her look like she was in the Bader-Meinhoff gang which is semi-amusing if you were stationed in Germany in the 70’s) and that’s it, no glasses, hat or change of clothes. You’d think a former agent with her experience could come up with something more effective than a bad wig. In a later episode a critical suspect is left by Saul in a German intelligence office that’s windows apparently don’t lock and he jumps to his death…really? Also Carrie’s no-longer a federal agent without any official status but she’s running around with a semi-automatic handgun which seems very unlikely. All said and done “Homeland” Season 5 is a thrill-packed story that keeps you entertained from start to finish. I’m looking forward to the Season 6 DVD release and where Carrie & Company goes next.

I'm amazed at how positively 'Homeland' has evolved since those early seasons with Damien Lewis co-starring with Claire Danes as the main protagonists.In my view the secret ingredient is balance ; the show certainly revolves around Ms Danes playing her usual determined and covert operative going under the radar to flush out terrorists using whatever help from whichever source that's available. But there are always others that share the show's limelight giving this season some variety.Even the Muslim antagonists are shown to be compassionate and conscience driven at times and redeeming themselves on a couple of occasions to give that equality so missing in the other action/terrorist/political series '24'.But it is the regulars from the previous seasons that are interesting enough, to me, to keep watching the series. Saul, Dar and Peter Quinn have been given absorbing prominence by the writers and directors of each of the episodes and have blended in as characters that are compelling and this season there is the strongest possible co-conspirator in the CIA Berlin chief played by Miranda Otto who flits in and out of each episode as much as she does in and out of different beds.It's become a much more thought-driven series than before without the massive shootouts and explosions that I remember in previous seasons. There are some fights, violence and a little bit of sex which reminds me that the writers need to get real and not include the ridiculous sexual liaison between Saul and Allison --- it's just not believable. And his express-train walk is a hoot. And one other oddity : a shootout at the end where a car and its occupants were riddled with hundreds of bullets. I saw no point to that except to demonstrate blunt force, or was it a homage to Arthur Penn's great 'Bonnie and Clyde'?628 minutes, English subtitles for the hearing impaired. Bonus feature is 'The evolution of Carrie Mathison.'

Carrie Matheson is now living in Berlin, working as a private security consultant and out of the CIA and uncovers a terrorist plot. Another fresh start for the series now with an international flavour taking the series completely out of America with episodes in Germany, Lebanon and Holland. While Carrie no longer works for the CIA, they are still around with Saul, her old boss also stationed in Berlin as well as her old partner Quinn and with new characters and villains too, this time a terrorist group looking to spread fear and death across Europe. It's as tense and thrilling as ever with excellent performances from series regulars Claire Danes, Mandy Patinkin and Rupert Friend and the new cast including Miranda Otto as an American agent. Consistently one of the best shows on TV.

If you get as far as season 5 you are probably something of a Homeland addict by this point. While these discs contain 628 minutes of compulsive viewing I found the ending an anti-climax. In fact there are two stories which come to an end, a terrorist plot (which you just know is going to be foiled) and a more interesting tale of treachery in the CIA itself.The production values of what is a TV series are very high and Clare Danes has grown in to a powerful on screen force as the tormented Carrie. I did find the re-emergence of her health issues a little tiresome. Miranda Otto is excellent as Carries nemesis. As other reviewers have said the inability of Peter Quinn played by Rupert Friend to die, beggars belief I'm afraid.A concern I have with the whole series is how for some audiences it may reinforce an inseparable link between terrorism and Islam. True the franchise does contain a sprinkling of positive Muslim characters but in the main Homeland is about white catholics/jews holding the line against an evil Muslim hoard.These concerns not withstanding I'll definitely be viewing series 6.

While largely excellent and thrilling in the most relevant possible way (parts of it can seem lifted out of today's news and the Berlin setting is absolutely chill-inducing), this has some parts that look too contrived (the whole Quinn subplot is borderline ridiculous, esp the way he goes from near-death to infiltrating a terrorist cell, and then MILD SPOILER AHEAD into near death again). Mrs Danes is stil very strong but this time around the show is stolen by Mrs Miranda Otto, whom is quite mesmerizing and easily the best performance in Season 5. ultimately. though, the finale is an anticlimax following a very good buildup and, while never less than entertaining, you feel that this great series is maybe already past its prime.

I dont like leaving a bad review before having tried to contact the seller but it says the return window is shut! The DVD was a christmas prsesnt for my parents who have been watching the box sets- they have only just tried to watch it as they finished series 4 at the weekend, and it is unwatchable. Everytime somebody moves the picture pixelates. I would really like to swap it rather than have a refund.. please make contact seller person!!