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TV show review: CONTINUUM season 4
PHOTOGRAPHY

HOMELAND The Complete Second Season

Blu-ray review by David Blackwell

 

DETAILS:  628 minutes, four deleted scenes, two featurettes, Super 8 film diary, season three prologue

VIDEO: 1.78:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen) 1080p High Definition

AUDIO: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio

Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish

 

STUDIO: 20th Century Fox

RELEASE DATE:  9-10-2013

 

DISC 1- THE SMILE/ BEIRUT IS BACK/ STATE OF INDEPENDENCE/NEW CAR SMELL/ RETURN TO THE HOMELAND featurette

DISC 2- Q&A/ A GETTYSBURG ADDRESS/ THE CLEARING/ I’LL FLY AWAY

DISC 3- TWO HATS/ BROKEN HEARTS/ IN MEMORIAM/ THE CHOICE/ season 3 prologue/ Super 8 film diary/ season finale making-of featurette

HOMELAND picks up months later from the events at the end of season one where Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) is now a U.S. Congressman while Carrie (Claire Danes) attempts to adjust to civilian life.  It all changes for Carrie as she is recruited to go to Lebanon to make contact with an old contact who only trusts Carrie and soon Saul finds evidence that Carrie was right all along about Brody being turned by terrorist leader Abu Nazir.   The paths of Carrie and Brody become intertwined again as the CIA tries to figure out Abu Nazir’s next move as a new terrorist bombing is in the works as two new players in his organization come into play (a reporter who is Brody’s new handler and a dangerous weapons guy who will kill anyone to make sure the plan moves along).

 

Season 2 is a solid pulse pounding thriller like season one is with a few stumbling points like the whole subplot with Brody’s teenage daughter who is in the car with her boyfriend when he hits a woman with his car (and feels the scene).   I didn’t want to just watch one episode.  I usually ended up watching two to three episodes in one sitting and the season finale puts a wrench in the works as you learn no one is really safe from the plans of Abu Nazir.I like the longer episode format as sometimes the writers have to let the story breath and other times ram the story straight ahead.  I can’t wait to see what happens in season 3 as I wonder when Carrie will learn she is better off than trying to find a way to be with Brody.

 

 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

RETURN TO THE HOMELAND: FILMING IN ISRAEL (DISC 1)- behind-the-scenes with cast and crew as they shoot parts of the first two episodes of the second season in Israel with help from the crew of the series which HOMELAND is a remake of.

 

Four deleted scenes are included on the set and they are taken from three of the episodes.

 

THE BORDER claims to be a prologue to season 3, but it plays out like a deleted scene instead of a proper prologue to season 3.

 

Damian Lewis shot a film diary on SUPER 8 film along with narrating it to give a funny and entertaining behind-the-scenes diary from his point-of-view.

 

THE CHOICE: THE MAKING OF THE SEASON FINALE (DISC 3)- cast and crew reflect on the final episode as this featurette also takes you into the making of second season finale along with its gut wrenching twist as they reveal they decided to kill off one major character in exchange for another character they originally planned to kill at the end of season two.

 

FINAL ANALYSIS:  HOMELAND ‘s second season is just as good as the first season leaving the viewer with a more shocking ending than season one as the writers find a way to raise the stakes instead of going down the same road with the Brody and Carrie love affair.   I do wish the set had more extras and I hope they shoot a longer prologue next time if HOMELAND is renewed for a fourth season.

 

This Blu-ray review is (c)9-21-2013 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

 

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