The teaser trailer for Homeland Season 4 was dropped a few days ago and promises a new direction for the show. The death of Brody last season has paved the way for the exploration of new territory by leaving the Brody storyline in the past. I am hoping that Brody is just a memory for Carrie, as the father to her child.
The teaser trailer opens on a full moon, being obscured by clouds. Carrie (Claire Danes) is riding in a dark SUV and then Saul (Mandy Patinkin) is talking about how this has not been a fourteen year war, rather a “one year war, waged fourteen times.” His words are followed by images of a protest. This is a pretty sinister start to the teaser.
Carrie is entrusting her sister with the care of her baby by Brody. She claims that she does not have any control over being sent overseas, but her sister replies, “I don’t believe you.” Carrie’s sister does not know if she can trust her and this could be an indication of Carrie’s mental state. She is Bipolar so perhaps her sister knows that she is not managing her mental illness. This little snippet ties into the overall theme on Homeland of not knowing who you can trust.
There are images of what appears to be a wedding that cuts to Peter Quinn (Rupert Friend) sitting in a living room with empty bottles and takeout containers saying, “I just want out. I’m done.” Maybe his life as a CIA operative is starting to become too much and the sacrifice of leaving his family is affecting him. Next is a new member to the cast, Corey Stoll as Sandy Bachman, a CIA chief of station in Pakistan. He has his arms raised, palms out, warning two groups of men approaching him from either side on a street. This shot is ominous when combined with the images of protest from earlier in the teaser.
There is a juxtaposition between the image of Carrie looking down at her daughter’s crib that transitions into a young man walking by a series of covered bodies, laid out on cots. To continue the ominous tone, Carrie and Quinn are in a SUV that is getting attacked by a group of people who start smashing out the windows. Someone asks Carrie, “Checking off names on a kill list for a living. It doesn’t bother you?” She replies, “It’s a job.” This is followed by an explosion at the wedding party which is followed by drone footage of the young man looking at the bodies.
Carrie’s attitude about the job indicates that she is not concerned about the people who are being killed. The trailer suggests that drone kills and surveillance are going to play a big part in the new season. If Carrie’s playing a role in authorizing these strikes, it would explain the protests by locals and it could explain Quinn’s unwillingness to participate if the CIA is participating in the murder of families.
Thankfully, there will be no detours into Brody’s family this season. I am looking forward to seeing how the writers use Brody’s death to change the direction of the show. The first three seasons were dedicated to him and if he had not died last season, I do not see how Carrie would have been able to get over him. I do feel like the show would have been better off if they had killed him sooner, but once it was revealed that he had been turned, it was like the conflict of his loyalty to his family and to Abu Nazir was drawn out. There were still some exciting, dramatic moments, but none were as dramatic as the first season and the cat and mouse game between Carrie and Brody. If the writers can capture that feeling again in this season, I know I will be hooked again.
Photo Credit: Screenrant