THE PLOT THUS FAR
Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody returns home eight years, after going missing in Iraq. Carrie Mathison, a driven CIA officer, suspects he might be plotting an attack on America.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
When US Marine Sgt. Nicolas Brody is released after being held prisoner by Al-Qaeda for eight years he is treated like a hero; only one person doesn’t believe it. CIA operations officer Carrie Mathison has heard that Al-Qaeda had managed to turn an American prisoner and as Brody is the only one they had who survived she is convinced that far from being a hero Brody is in fact a traitor and a very real threat to the security of the United States. Because she is so convinced she sets up an unauthorised surveillance operation against him but that finds no concrete evidence against him.
As the series progresses, the evidence appears to suggest he is guilty one moment then innocent the next. When it is learned that there was another American former Al-Qaeda prisoner at large in the States even Carrie accepts that she was wrong about Brody. Homeland has a bit of a “tinfoil hat” premise, but the story and characters are so complex, you accept that in favor of just being entertained. Both Damien Lewis’s and Claire Danes’s respective characters are in danger of becoming cliché, but because they are so complex and so well acted, you find yourself drawn to these people. The all-important guessing of whether Brody is turned or not is not just a question of if, but also why or why not.
The Blu-Ray comes with deleted scenes, featurettes, Season 2 promo and a commentary on the pilot. The A/V Quality is pretty good, but I found the transfer encode to be pretty weak for a recent television series. I only saw minor digital noise, but it feels inexcusable for a release in this day and age. The DTS-HD 5.1 master audio is a revelation and it almost makes up for the iffy transfer. Still, it’s a greater sleeper series and one that deserves your attention. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase.
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW!
