When we last left Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) and Sal (Mandy Patinkin) at the end of Homeland Season 4, the most involving and provacative season of the series since Season 1, they were more divided than ever, with Sal taking the side of the duplicitous Dar Adal (F. Murray Abraham). And from the footage revealed in the trailer for Homeland Season 5, things have not gotten any better in the interim, as Carrie is now working private security for a German businessman, Otto Düring, played by Sebastian Koch of Paul Verhoeven's exquisite Black Book and Steven Spielberg's upcoming Bridge of Spies. Sal and Dar are still at the CIA, which is bad news for them when it becomes clear that a cyber attack has sent a variety of documents detailing a secret surveillance program spearheaded by Germany and the U.S. into the wrong hands.
The trailer also teases some business about a dangerous trip to Lebanon at Düring's request, as well as a clear look at Rupert Friend's Peter Quinn back to business, wiring explosives and assassinating random denizens of the world. As per usual with Homeland, clarity is only really achieved in the details of the narrative and the global politics that form the backbone of the series. It's telling that at one point, Koch's character makes a point of explaining that American foreign policy has become the number one reason that the world is a more dangerous place than even a decade ago. But, as much as I may have dozens of ideas about why Carrie is running around with a sniper rifle, or who is kidnapping her and throwing in a van this time, these questions will likely not be clear until the flagship Showtime series returns on Sunday, October 4th at 9 p.m. EST.
Check out the first trailer for Homeland Season 5 below:
