With ‘Homeland’ putting forward its fifth season, Carrie Mathison finds herself surrounded once again by compromising circumstances but seems to have undergone numerous changes herself.
As shown in the ‘Homeland’ season five premiere titled ‘Separation Anxiety,’ the former CIA operative, played by Claire Danes, has become a religious private-sector security head, working for a German billionaire.
Following a two-year time jump in the storyline, co-creator Alex Gansa opened up about his central characters, choosing Berlin as the series' new location and the reason for more spy action this season.
As for religion, such concept seemingly plays a key role in Carrie’s life at the moment, further sparking speculations when the premiere episode opened with the former CIA agent in church.
“We were always wrestling with the idea that Carrie had rediscovered her faith. Her father was Catholic and she was essentially raised Catholic, confirmed and then lapsed,” Gansa explained.
As for the other aspects of Carrie’s life, Danes’ character can be seen settling in a new environment in which she enjoys a certain degree of stability, with the showrunner referring to her life as “a more happy one.” He also emphasized Carrie’s contentment in being out of the agency and making use of her skills as an intelligence officer to carry out other tasks.
Despite her newfound faith, however, Carrie’s past will somehow catch up to her, thereby becoming one of the main issues that she is expected to address in this season.
When asked about the reason behind choosing Berlin as the main location for ‘Homeland’ season five, Gansa admitted it helped set the tone and feel for the new installment.
“Stepping out in Berlin is a completely different animal. It's a quieter, more internal story as a result,” the producer shared. “It's a spy story this year. It's much more about how a station works in a foreign capital that about the pyrotechnics of what we did last season.”
Gansa also opened up about the challenges of putting the main characters together in a coherent storyline, especially with Carrie leaving the agency, Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin) remaining with the CIA and Peter Quinn (Rupert Friend) leaving them to deal with his own tasks and personal issues.
“How do we get these people in each other's faces and lives again? Is it fun? A little. Is it challenging? A lot. But it's definitely gratifying when it works,” Gansa added.
