Homeland (TV Series) The Star (2013) User Reviews

Season 3 Finale gives us the shocker that we were expecting for... But at what cost?

[jigsaw-91 · 8/10 · 16 December 2013]

One thing is to made a moving ending and another one is to made a depressive ending. And "The Star" is depressing. An episode to love or hate it.

After an entire season with its several downs and powerful ups what it did became clear was that the story belonged to Carrie and Brody. They stole the plot making them and keeping us in suspense. And this one installment (the last of this Season) is a truly great episode. It may be the best of the season in creative courage and plot terms. But killing Brody is a risky move.

They have booked a painful and violent death for him. Hanging. Carrie watches him screaming his name. He will never return home again. He will never return to his family, nor Carrie. He will never will make us doubt again. Homeland will never be what it was. Although this season had made ​​it clear to me for the spin was taking, this latest episode confirms all.

And it leaves us in a difficult situation, since the series has been orphaned by much. It smells more like a Series Finale rather than a Season finale. Now just have to wait and see where the writers go although I suspect that Season 4 will be the last season of the show. There's no much more to say.

"The Star" has tension, has quality writing despite its noticeable flaws (the final minutes where we learn Carrie's next destiny so about the rest of the roles are a little contradictory and unsatisfying specially for the female character after all she did for her lover and now she continues working for the people who killed him... Will be the prologue for a surprising revenge plot next season? Or just Carrie decided not to be a maniac fighter anymore?), shocking moments and the most important of all: BALLS. But despite it, I can't say that I love this episode or I can't rate it 10/10. It's personal, I admit it.

In fact, this could be the right ending for Brody. Before everyone could hate me, Brody is my real favorite character of the show. He is Homeland because he was the pivotal start of this series. But everything he had to do: all the murders, all the betrayals, all the right and wrong moves... A happy ending with Carrie could be fine in our imagination, but we all know that in a series like this that won't happen. Brody himself wants to end with all. He's not a marine anymore. He doesn't want to hurt anyone else. So that death is truly painful and even tearful. If I were the writer I had been more softly with his death. But that was the ending that always could be possible in the show. And finally happened. It leaves us sad, without confidence. This is the way it should hurts, because he was a truly golden character. Damian Lewis is a lucky actor for performed it so well.

A superb episode, but very hard and very difficult to watch, judge and love as a fan of the show and Brody character arc.

Sorry for my writing if there are mistakes. I'll try to improve next time!

A decent season conclusion but the epilogue was unnecessary

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 23 December 2013]

Having killed the head of Iranian Intelligence Brody manages to leave the building with surprising ease; he isn't safe though he still has to get out of Iran. He meets up with Carrie and they drive to a safe house near the Afghan border to wait for extraction. As expected Majid Javadi is made acting head of intelligence and his first task is to find Brody. To this end he contacts Saul and asks for his location; stating that if he is to be confirmed in his new post he must catch Brody… something not everybody at the CIA disagrees with. This leads to some shocking events. The action then jumps forward four months and we see Carrie back in the US being offered the position of Head of Station in Istanbul.

This, the final episode of the third series, has its highs and lows; Brody's departure from the Iranian intelligence offices was suitably tense and that tension remained high as he and Carrie headed to the safe house; especially when it became apparent that Javadi wanted Brody sacrificed. Over the course of the series there have been a fair few twists to enable key characters to escape so it came as a surprise when there was no twist after Brody was captured and sentenced to death. If the episode had ended there it would have been better but rather than ending at that shocking moment we get an extended and unneeded epilogue that seems there to set the scene for the next season. Given the amount of time given to showing how Brody's family was coping in the early part of the season I was amazed that there was no sign of them here. As always the acting was top notch; it will be a shame not to see Damien Lewis's Brody again but the end for his character was right for the story; how long the series survives without him remains to be seen.

Good, bad, ugly.

[davorin-prislin · 8/10 · 31 January 2017]

Homeland is one of greatest shows I ever watched - phenomenal plot, superb acting and nice production kept me watching first three seasons almost in a breath, but after watching this episode I feel sick and sad for wasting my time. Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) came as a protagonist of the whole series and was definitely the most interesting character, and had the most interesting story. His family members also had great plots and their interconnecting was real thrill and pleasure for eyes. Stories of Carrie, Saul, Quinn etc. weren't bad but not so much thrill as watching Brody - so after taking him out of this series there is no point in watching Carrie being in psychosis all the time. Boring.

S3: An uncertain mix of good and bad - a bit meandering in the first half but then perhaps overstretches in the second (SPOILERS)

[bob the moo · 5 October 2014]

The second season ended with a massive bomb attack which not only wiped out a lot of supporting characters but also threw Brody back into the "did he, didn't he" world of doubt that the first season drew on particularly well. At the time it gave me hope that this element would be a key driver in the third season so it is a little disappointing to see that it wasn't. Instead what we get is a two part season which starts out feeling weak and a little dull, but ends up almost reaching too far in search of a plot that involves Carrie, Brody and the CIA. The result is a season that is very much up and down – not unlike Carrie herself.

It is nearly impossible to talk about the season as a whole rather than two halves, even though in retrospect it is all one flow. The first half seems to be playing for time; it throws Carrie back into her off-her-meds loop, albeit with Saul appearing to throw her to the wolves at the same time, meanwhile Brody is washed up in some godforsaken slum and, after a little bit of plot, is basically put on ice until we need him again. This leaves a hole in the second thread so, while we have the CIA/Carrie plot, we also get a lot of melodrama – in particularly involving the Brody family. Not only does this aspect feel distracting but it is also very poorly done – I liked where it ended up (the scene between Dana and her father is great) but it is a very long walk to get there and it is hard to imagine that there are many people who watch this show to follow Dana's story. There is other melodrama and distractions along the way and none of them are particularly good (outside of the main thread) but the Dana one is probably the hardest to stick with.

By contrast the second half of the season steps up so much that it is often hard to believe that any of it could be happening. The twist of Saul's plan, the scale of his plan and the sheer unlikely nature of it all really stretches the viewer's willingness to accept the plot. At least it brings Brody back into it and gives the show the chance to close out his story in a memorable fashion – I still think the show would have been best as an one-season deal with a shock finale, but perhaps this dignified and sacrificial exit is just as good. The delivery of this is done with a certain amount of dramatic force although looking back it is clear that so much of it really doesn't go anywhere and again seems to be filler. While the side characters are given these distractions to deliver, the main characters are thrown into a plot so audacious that it never feels like it belongs in Homeland but rather in a season of 24 (and a later season at that). It does engage as it plays and it does produce some good moments, but it doesn't have the focus and tightness that it needed to make it grip the viewer.

The performances remain good but it is undeniable that they have less to work with than in other seasons. Danes is convincing in her suffering although the season asks her to do that wobbly chin horror thing too many times in just one season. Patinkin is strong and it is his presence that keeps a lot of the CIA politics stuff interesting (and his relationship sub-plot). Lewis spends too long out of the picture but when asked to, he does good work and is rewarded by getting out of the show in a memorable way. For all my dislike of many of her scenes, Saylor is actually very good throughout her half of the season – okay her material is contrived and uninvolving, but her delivery of the character is not. Supporting characters are fine but they do all feel like part of the time-filling.

The third season doesn't really deliver as it should. It has its highs but it also has its lows, and it has too many of the latter and not enough of the former. It has a reasonable clean slate to move forward from here and it will be interesting to see what it does, because for sure it will need to shake off this season and move to reclaim those viewers who see the end of Brody and the final points for Saul/Carrie as being a good place to bring it to an end – it will need to prove that view wrong but also do it with a lot more certainty and sense of purpose than this season did.

The End Of Homeland

[marc-vicary-692-117196 · 8/10 · 22 December 2013]

SPOILERS - I would have rated 9/10 if it had finished with the fade to black of Brody. This final episode of season 3 should be the final episode of Homeland. No 'Nicholas Brody' you no longer have a reason for Homeland. The story is finished. From the beginning when Brody was a broken shell of a man who had undergone who knows what horrors at the hands of an enemy to the gradual reconnection to his family his friends his country to the sad but inevitable ending as Brody slowly, agonisingly, ultimate price as he suffocates at the end of a rope in a square surrounded by hatred with one final brief view of love as Carrie climbs the fence shouting his name so he knows he's not exactly alone as he takes his final breath. Cue fade to black. And that is were Homeland needed to finish; to die in effect, with the death of Nicholas Brody. The two main protagonists for there two, not just one (although one could argue Homeland is about Brody) I would argue have come to an end. But no, ad break then it's 4 months later somewhere warm irrelevant with two minor characters saying the world is crap cos "they're out of baguettes so I had to get croissants". Why? Apart from inserting a pet hate of mine the mispronunciation of the French word croissant(s). The "T" is always silent. Always! Please don't ruin two outstanding seasons and a third average, save for the last 3 episodes don't make a fourth season. The only way I believe that could work. Is if it comes back as something different keep a small number of the original cast but make the 'point of view' (POV) that of Carrie as she settles in as Station Chief in Istanbul and the "handling" of Jivardi and beyond. But it can't be Homeland that's finished along with Brody's character.

Homeland RIP. It was great while it lasted. Thank you.

Weak Season, Disappointing Ending

[pedram-oskouie · 8/10 · 16 December 2013]

From what we always experienced with watching Homeland, we all expected Season 3 to have surprising events and to have an unpredictable thrilling plot. However, Season 3 let us all down by having a very casual plot without any surprises. I guess this time, the writers decided to shock the viewers by killing Brody instead of thinking outside the box and coming up with a brilliant and innovative plot similar to previous seasons. Regarding the last two episodes that took place in Tehran, the least expectation from the creators was to consider that Iran is not an Arabic country and the urban architecture is not similar to Arabic middle-east countries. The hotel that Carrie accommodates in has an Arabic architecture not a Persian one. The streets are not even close to real streets in Tehran. Palm trees do not exist in Tehran because of the dry climate. More importantly, the people's accent is Afghan not Iranian. Last but not least, where on earth does a country execute a spy so immediately without any interrogation?! They would at least wait to find out what the spy's mission objectives have been! I was expecting an extraordinary incident to happen so that the viewers look forward to a new season.

Closing Time

[pveynde · 9/10 · 17 December 2013]

I was starting to worry about this episode and the entire series during the first 20 minutes. Would this season, just like the second one, end with some miracle escape? I really respect the writers for the capture and execution of Brody. It was the only correct way to go. Making the escape a success would be quite unrealistic and way too much of a happy ending. I do believe that this should have been the final episode of the show. Too often American shows last longer than their due date (Prison Break, Lost,...). Three seasons might not be that long but why drag it out any further? The story is complete. Breaking Bad realised this and ended perfectly. This episode and season also ended very well, but I don't really have a need for a season 4. There is nothing left to tell and starting a new storyline doesn't feel right.

Beg to Differ

[anonymoususer234 · 10/10 · 16 December 2013]

With a lot of negative feedback for this episode here I want to explain why this episode is actually quite good.

With Brody dead, his story comes to a rational end. He dies by the hands of the people for whom he betrayed his country and family initially. Let's face it: there was no way for him to survive. A life back home would not have fit with the show and would have been so unlikely. In the end, Brody had no friends left because he had betrayed everyone except Carrie. He wanted to die as well because he attracted trouble (as he said) and had broken ties with his family.

With Carrie accepting the job I think the show criticizes the structural obedience of the CIA (or military organization in general). After all that happened she had put her personal grief aside and still accepted that she was powerless against the people that willingly put her in danger and killed the only person she loved. Carrie is a great agent but she is also a sheep. It shows you that climbing up the hierarchy comes at a price. Although some have said that this show paints a rosy picture of the CIA I think it is actually quite critical of it as well as politicians (such as the former Congressman).

I think I was a little disappointed that there was no cliffhanger in this season. I have no clue how they are going to continue the show although it might have been the right thing to do - in a way to honor Brody perhaps.

While the first season was "so/so" I think the second and third really improved the suspense and connection with the characters. I am looking forward to season 4 but I will miss Brody.

Took a risk

[Abdulxoxo · 8/10 · 19 September 2020]

Wow I still can't believe they killed off Brody, but it's about time anyway. it's just I don't know how the show's gonna be without Damian Lewis' wonderful performance.

it's good finale but after the first half it just felt like something else. like they were trying to set up the plot for the next season which took a lot of time. it felt like both a finale and a pilot for the next season.

I guess Carrie is all forgive and forget, I thought there would be some kinda rivalry between her and the new director 'cause he was responsible for Brody's death, but she doesn't care maybe or it's been four months so alot might have happened that we weren't aware of.

A great finale to season 3

[loweskathleen · 8/10 · 24 December 2013]

Brody is clearly not dead. When you hang a person they're supposed to drop, because its the fall that breaks their necks and kills them not the actual hanging itself. Many people have survived the type of hanging that Brody underwent ! Why not give Brody a definitive death like AB Nasser, when they dropped his body in the ocean you knew he was gone - so why not behead Brody instead ? Because obviously he's coming back next season ! If Brody really thought he was going to die why didn't he tell Carrie he loved her or to take care of their baby ? Why didn't he make his peace with Allah first - even Saddam Hussein did that ! You wait and see - season 4 and Brody will turn up at some point alive and well.

And now what? and a question

[a681958 · 6/10 · 31 March 2014]

Well, this is a big surprise. never saw it coming. Brody down? Executed? I really wonder why the writers decided this. Brody was main reason for watching the show. His psychological transitions and not knowing what comes next, was a big + for the show. Now what? Unless the writers have in mind something g extraordinary, something really big, i don't know how they will keep the viewers from continuing watch the show. I have a question: what about his family? he had an ex wife, a daughter, a son. In last episode, he is executed. And none of them appears in the episode. How they react in the new of execution? especially daughter, who seemed to have close and complicated relation with father. Writers forgot about this?

Brilliant episode, but bad for the rest of the series

[Kitta333 · 8/10 · 22 February 2014]

One of the most shocking season finales I've ever seen. The moment of the hanging was brilliant, it had all the suspense and drama I could have hoped for. I was hoping until the last minute that something would happen. That he wasn't actually dying. Because I never thought the producers could possibly think of making a 4th season without Brody. He was the heart of the series, he was the reason I liked this show so much. This episode would have made a perfect series finale. But since they insist on making a 4th season, I must say the only way I think this season could possibly be half decent without the main character (yes, in my opinion, he was the main character, not Carrie) would be if Carrie turned against the CIA and got revenge for Brody's death. I doubt this will happen, but I do hope they come up with something great, since Brody will be very hard to replace.

Wrap it up and call it a day.

[t-grammatikopoulos · 6/10 · 15 December 2013]

I liked the fist 40 minutes of this episode. Intense, thrilling and heartbreaking. The next 20 minutes were a joke. In what universe will betrayed Carrie be smiling and accepting a job from the man who betrayed her and ordered the death of the man she loved and risked everything to be with? I think the writers wanted to mop things up so we can move to a 4th season. But they made a mistake. I said I liked the first 40 minutes and I should add "if this was the final episode of Homeland". No Brody, no Homeland. This should have been clear by now. Do yourselves a favor and don't come up with a 4th season. Let this be the end. Claire is very talented but this show is Damian Lewis. You should not have killed him if you wanted another season. Nobody cares about a CIA agent juggling maternity and espionage... You will see...

What the hell??

[thanasis-lysandropoulos · 3/10 · 16 December 2013]

This season wasn't that good since the beginning. It was boring until the things became interesting again just 3 episodes before the finale. And now... oh god now they ruined everything..the last 20 minutes of this episode were a huge disaster!! If they wanted to kill Brody, thats fine by me.. but the right order is kill Brody the way they did, and then 4 months later.. Carrie is giving birth to his child (and is not a CIA agent any more), Saul is living in France (at first i thought it might be Greece hehe)reading with his wife the newspaper, and also we have some little feedback about the other characters of the show..like Brody's family for example who were not playing at all in this season (except wasting our time with Dayna's romance). And in the end of the episode write down SERIES FINALE!! What happened is stupid.. Carrie is still in CIA like nothing has happened just 20 minutes ago. No cliffhanger in this season finale and this makes really clear that they have no idea of how to continue with the plot of the show.. If you are trying to make this show worse than Dexter then you are totally doing it right people!!

p.s. i'm sorry for my English

Disaster in last two episodes

[moji-reborn · 15 December 2013]

As a big fan of this series, I should say writers, producer or whoever was responsible, they just ruined the series with last two episodes. As an Iranian I was wonder about this episodes and was waiting to see how they want to picture Iran and I should say I'm disappointed. As I see no one in the cast of this series has no Idea about Iran. The names, streets, people, everything was awful. I don't know there was an Iranian adviser for writers or not but they didn't their job as well as enough.

I just can say every scene in Iran was awful. the most bad act was about language. in which universe Iranian speak as Afghanistan's people? Dresses, accent, face, hair, hair-face,... was too fake.

The end.

[the-hero-10 · 8/10 · 4 January 2014]

-This is the end of Homeland, even it's just the end of the third season it's looks like a series finale. *Spoilers* The story of Homeland has ended with Brody dead so I figure writers will star over again with a new story. I like Brody's death but I think they could led him alive a few seasons more, or killed him in the second season like they were thinking of. Showtime make many twists in two series that are one of my best: Homeland and Dexter. *Spoilers* In Dexter, they don't led Dexter die. In the second season of Homeland they did the same with Brody. But now they killed him off. Anyways, this season was weak in the beginning but then started to recover the tension that the first two seasons led. From the episode 8 till the end was like the first two seasons. Claire Danes deserves another Emmy like always. Still shocked for her snub at the Globes. Also Damian Lewis even he didn't appeared in too many episodes, and Mandy Patinkin as well. Let's see what writers do know till September.

Gutted

[henrycoles9 · 6/10 · 6 June 2020]

It was such a wrench to watch Brody killed like that. He and Carrie should have had a good ending together. The chemistry between them, and the unbelievably complicated relationship they had, were like nothing else in the history of TV. I'll be sure to follow Damian Lewis elsewhere.

Brutal

[dierregi · 7/10 · 8 April 2021]

Even if I wasn't a big fan of the Brody character, his end was way too brutal for my taste. Also, Carrie moved on with her career in such a callous way as to be totally inconsistent with her previous behavior.

However, I am glad the decide to end the traitor/spy/unwilling hero plot line, because there was nowhere left to go with that. At least now it will be sort of fresh start.

PS and for those who claim "both sides are the same", last time a checked we don't have death penalty by public hanging on cranes in Europe. In fact, we don't even have death penalty over here. Seems kind of major difference to me....

*^% I hate the finale

[kittyctc · 4/10 · 8 September 2017]

I can't take Homeland anymore. I hate the cheap sensationalism of Brody's last scene, I wanted to stab my ears so I didn't have to listen to the cheesy winding soundtracks. And disgusted at Carrie's readiness on being back at CIA like she'd forgotten they had just tried to kill her, like a day earlier? The only good thing from the entire season 3 was Quinn.

Jumping the shark.

[brian-burchell · 20 January 2014]

First of all I love this program and I am disappointed to see Brody killed off. I am however of a different opinion than most. Brody didn't 'make' the show, neither did Carrie. What made the show is the plausibility and the political intricacies and plots. The show can move on and be just as interesting with new character development. On the other hand Brody could show up,,, can you say body-double, can you say staged execution complete with reinforced neck prosthesis so the US can give him a new identity and The new Iranian PM can retain credibility. There's lots of ways to 'bring him back from the dead'. The problem is bringing Brody back would do more harm than good. It would cause the credibility of the show to go down the toilet. Leave the dead where they lie and move on to new and exciting intrigue. Reincarnating Brody would be a classic case of jumping the shark. Just my two cents worth. Cheeers

Season Three

[zkonedog · 6/10 · 4 July 2019]

It is almost unfair to write reviews on seasons of "Homeland" after a first season that may be the single greatest season for a T.V show ever conceived. Even the second season, while not quite as airtight, was still a treatise on political drama. This third season, however, just lacked that "eye of the tiger" that often times is the only thing separating "good" from "great".

For a basic plot summary (and yes, some spoilers will be included here), Season Three begins with Carrie Matheson (Claire Danes) an absolute wreck after the CIA bombing at Langley. With Brody (Damien Lewis) a wanted man, only Carrie can clear her name. Of course, Saul Berensen (Mandy Patinkin) still makes all the big decisions...but for how long? And, when an opportunity comes along to change the entire landscape of US/Middle East politics, is anything sacred in the pursuit of such a goal?

(Another warning: the major spoilers will come in the next few paragraphs. If you haven't watched this season than I strongly suggest waiting to read this review until you have, as it is more "review" than "preview").

I realize that the producers of "Homeland" have always insisted that "the show is not about Brody", but the trouble is that they are wrong. For most intents/purposes, this show only is fantastic when, indeed, it DOES have Brody at the center of things. For example, the first season is so spectacular because (as a viewer) you just don't know what to make of Brody. The same theme goes for season two, though changed to "what will Brody do now?". In this third season, viewers don't even see Brody until the third episode, and then don't hear from him again until episode 9! That is too long for this show to stay "on top" without one of its shining stars.

Granted, of course, that is not to say that other characters on this show are not superbly written. Saul and Carrie are also great, and even Quinn (Rupert Friend) can be very interesting at times. I know this next comment might completely turn my review off to some people, but I very much enjoyed the plotlines this season involving Dana Brody (Morgan Saylor). Again, though, that is because I feel the show NEEDS a healthy dose of "Brody" in order to be special (instead of just "good").

Thus, this season of "Homeland" was, to me, just average. It is still better than most fare on the tube these days (and, to be more specific, I can't recall a single political show post-24 to even come close to Homeland's stature in that category), but it wasn't nearly up to the quality of the previous two efforts.

Of course, now that the "big event" at the end of the season has transpired, it almost feels (at least to a certain extent) that the show has wrapped. Are there still loose ends to be tied up? For sure. But, going forward, Homeland will never quite be the same. It will keep the same name and (hopefully) continue to produce taut political/human drama, but a significant turning point has been reached. It will never be the "good old days" of Season One again, when every single episode was a tour de force. I sincerely hope that the show creators can surprise me (and it's not like I'm "bailing out" yet), but I've seen too many shows go down this path and never recover.

No emotional attachment

[JasonSterling29 · 7/10 · 12 February 2020]

Carrie's and Brody's "relationship" didn't do it for me and quite frankly his death didn't even pull on a tiny heartstring. I had no connection as a viewer. The guy was twisted and she didn't trust him and fell in love with him. He's responsible for the vice president's death and a couple of other things. Will the child be more twisted than the parents?

A big failure

[kondimo · 1/10 · 17 December 2013]

The series should have ended during the execution of Brody.

After that,the last minutes of this episode is the shame of the series.

1. Carrie does not want her baby because she has a lot of work to do in Constantinople ...

2. They overcome so easily the " burying " of Brody by deleting a star from the wall ...

3. They give the impression that Saul would like to return to CIA if Lockhart asked that...

4. There is no series/4th-season without Brody unless they resurrect him or change the title of series...

From great to a terrible last 20 minutes

[OblivionInAtlantis · 1/10 · 3 August 2015]

I love Homeland, and I don't agree with people saying it was a boring season. Brody dying was unexpected for me, and such painful things can happen in a series. That's fine, I like it when you're overwhelmed even by fatalities like that. Keeps is unpredictable. However, the ending of it after that, my god. Anyone can die, whatever, it's okay, just like in real life is how I like it, but Carrie is just being stabbed in the back so damn hard by her own people, again, and then she just betrays Brody like nothing happened: shakes the new director's hand, sure, it doesn't matter. He could have easily lived, when he would return home they would have had a love baby in a protected house somewhere (like witness protection), and he was gonna be a hero for most Americans once more. Sure, he says he wants to die... depressed people want to die too sometimes, and he's gone through so much, that I would almost say of course he wants to die at some point. But he's mentally so strong, he could have become relatively happy again, with Carrie. By the way, those CIA bosses (apparently even for their bravest soldiers careless and immoral) instructing to capture Brody, is bearable as well. Just the fact that Carrie, our other great hero, accepts it all, while Javadi was in a fine position, and still able to maybe make it to the top anyway, is not bearable at all. Even if Javadi wasn't perfectly fine without Brody's death, Carrie should have done anything but accept that they kill her lover, her baby's father, and a man who risked everything to be on their side again.

Homeland should have ended after season 2.

[Vaxi · 1/10 · 16 December 2013]

The whole season 3 was boring. They shouldn't have build the series on Damian Lewis's character so tightly for the 1 and 2:nd season if they didn't even wan't to make the third season about him, but were just waiting to wipe him of in some point. Maybe they should have killed him in the end of season 2 and quit while they were ahead. Season 3 was boring and writing was lame. I started to watch this series cause of Damian Lewis, so maybe my opinion is based too much on him and his absence on season 3. If i would have known that he is only in few episodes in the series on season 3, I would have stopped watching in the end of season 2.

Mandy Patinkin was great as always of course, but Claire Daines wasn't worthy of an Emmy for this season on my opinion. First 2 seasons I give 9 stars, for the 3rd season 1 star.