Carrie Mathison is sitting on the psyche, wounded by last season's stay in Russian prison where she may, perhaps not, reveal a lot of security-classified secrets.
Saul Berenson, in turn, works as a national security adviser and when he gets into trouble during the peace talks with the Taliban, he lets his favorite agent go, which is more labile than ever.
US President Warner goes to Afghanistan but dies when his helicopter is shot down, or crashes, in Taliban controlled territory, which threatens full-scale war. Carrie and Saul are once again allowed to move out in the service of peace.
Unfortunately, the last season is one of the weakest (good end though, will return to that). Still, I dutifully sat there in front of the screen every Monday night, locked in a relationship that relies on old common memories rather than acute attraction.
The screenwriters' attempts to squeeze tension through a classic time-lock grip (fight against the clock) feel a little desperate. Carrie has 48 hours to save the planet and during the last about 12 both she and others can flip back and forth between the US and the Middle East in pure teleporting speed. Yes, time extension belongs to the genre but here it just gets silly and stupid.
Worse, the screenwriters resort to the old worn-out concept of "The Noble Wild," when they talk about the former, but now mild, Taliban leader Haqqani.
His desire to put down weapons, Saul's role as a good-natured peacemaker, and Haqqani's son as the wild base who refuses to give up, is calculated directly from any old Hollywood western movie where the urinals are forced to receive the strong, self-sufficient peace.
The Homeland gang has many times been criticized for their portraiture of Muslims and obviously wanted to end with the stereotype flag at the top.
Nor does Carrie keep the style in the eight. She is depleted, acting unusually incompetent and untrustworthy. Now, most of all, just that crazy oversight and the ever-trembling chin remains. The character has become a caricature - but at least gets some correction in the final minutes of the series where her double play in Russia even gets the stunned Saul - and signed - to pull on the smiles.
A quiet suburban life with her daughter had not suited Carrie so there were really only two possible ends: death or continued activity. The series makers chose it later, in a not entirely unexpected but still nice turn.
Which is not unimportant. A series ending can define its aftermath.
Sopranos: Stylish!
Game of thrones: Njäää ...
This is also where the eight seasons and the nine-year cycle end. Like her first assignment and love - Nicholas Brody - Carrie Mathison was captured by foreign power, and after that, has to fight to purge her name. It is not a subtle development, but it is well thought out. Gives a sense of the ending as it is.
Or?
The last scene, where we understand that Carrie is still in Saul's service, feels suspiciously much like a classic "To be continued ...".