'Homeland' Season 8 Premiere: Fans thrilled Carrie is back even as they prepare to bid adieu in final season
This article contains spoilers for 'Homeland' Season 8 Episode 1: 'Deception Indicated'
While the Oscars may have been the center of attention on Sunday, a ground-breaking series was quietly climbing up the trends chart on Twitter. The Showtime epic, 'Homeland' debuted with season 8 on Sunday and fans were thrilled to have Claire Danes' Carrie Mathison back in the fray. To add to the excitement was a Carrie emoji that was trending on Twitter. One user tweeted, "Homeland Season 8 premiere and #Oscars tonight. What is sleep? Is that even a thing these days"
One fan sat through the 50-odd episodes to make sure he had an enjoyable watch of 'Deception Indicated'. "Re-watched seasons 3-8 and re-watched all three seasons of Berlin Station waiting for the season premiere." And for this fan, it was about the return of a classic. "That episode of Homeland reminded me what has been missing from TV the last couple years. Can't wait for the rest of season," she tweeted.
There are still a good 11 episodes to go before its curtains down for 'Homeland'. "I am filled with mixed emotions. How do you say 'goodbye' to characters you've come to love? Thank you both for 8 seasons of tremendous work, passion, and love. Bravo to you both for your amazing work. Thank you for giving us, Saul and Carrie. #Homeland #MandyPatinkin," a fan tweeted. Here's one who probably skipped the Oscars altogether. "Oh, the #oscars were on tonight? Exciting comeback on #Homeland Season 8. Our fav hypomanic CIA operative Carrie - awesome Claire Danes."
'Homeland' had a riveting debut in 2011 and a large part of the critical acclaim came in at a time when the television industry was going through a major metamorphosis. To have a flawed, complex anti-hero was a relatively unknown concept and the audience craved and waited with bated breath to see the show that had elements of betrayal, deception, and corruption in a rather politically dense scenario.
The new installment sees Carrie (Danes) in an altogether familiar environment where she endures a torturous stint in a Russian gulag. The post-trauma is evident after the intense ordeal and in the middle of rebuilding herself, she's pushed into action by her longtime mentor and now the President's National Security Advisor, Saul (Mandy Patkin).
'Homeland' Season 8 premieres on February 9 at 9 pm ET/PT on Showtime.