Review: Homeland's New Season

I am a big fan of Homeland.  Wasn't sure if I was going to watch it after Damian Lewis's Brody character died last season.  Last Sunday, the new season kicked off with an hour and a half special.

Kerri begins a new post in Kabul, Afghanistan, as a station chief. She and her crew track down a bin Laden type of bad guy in a warehouse.  They bomb the place to smithereens.  What should be considered a victory for the U.S. is quickly spun as a massacre as rumors spread that several innocent bystanders died along with the bad guy.  One of the few survivors has a video that proves the rumors, showing a wedding taking pace inside.  He is reluctant to get involved, but his roommate posts the video on Youtube without his consent.  Once again, the U.S. is portrayed as the bad guy. Kerri's promotion is short-lived as she is quickly called back to Washington to explain the PR mess the bombing has caused.
Once back home, Kerri sees her sister and her baby (the one she was pregnant with last season with Brody being the father).  Her maternal instincts are no where to be found.  The idea of having her career destroyed and being stuck taking care of her baby is too much for her to deal with.  She desperately tries to find a way out.  Sure enough, in a Benghazi style cover-up, she learns some dirt on the Secretary of Defense and uses it to get her job back.  She then manipulates her sister into taking care of her baby.

My Review: Where do I start-blown away from the first second to the last.  Brilliant everything-writing, acting, directing, special effects, etc.  Kerri's heroic personality is compromised when it comes to motherhood.  
I was shocked when Kerri almost drowned her baby in the bathtub.  I loved how the moderate Muslim with the wedding video had plenty of secrets.  Quinn gave an outstanding performance as an emotional basketcase with PTSD.  One of my favorite scenes was when Kerri's co-worker gets his face plastered all over the Afghani news for blowing up the wedding and the Muslims beat him to death in the street.  Kerri and Quinn try to save him, but they are too late.  I felt like a witness to a crime rather than an audience of a TV show.  One of the best shows on TV ever-5/5 Stars.