Homeland keeps us on edge right through Season 3

We're a year behind the times, as season 4 is soon to debut, but in the midst of season 3 of Homeland finding the series as great as before; the 2nd "disc," encompassing episodes 5 through 8, is full of twits and surprises - and unlike so many complex shows in Homeland the twists all seem to make sense. Sure, the ease with which the CIA folks pry out arcane info about global finances and with which they track the clandestine movements of dozens of suspects, is a bit beyond the pale - but the plot holds together very elegantly, keeping us on edge constantly and introducing just enough twists to keep us thinking without making us throw up our hands in disbelief - compare with the largely successful series Damages, in which one had the feeling that clever screenwriters were making it up episode by episode without any clear idea of the destination or overall design. Claire Danes's Carrie Mathisson remains a great lead character - though as this season progresses she becomes a more conventional CIA agent and less a troubled, sometimes desperate woman. Mandy Patinkin's Saul Berenson, though highly mannered, is great in the role - and his opposition to the pending new CIA chief, a right wing, self-important senator obviously modeled on Cheney, is a good plot development. I was surprised that they let one plot line go away so easily, as the Bethesda police just dropped the pursuit of murder charges against Quinn, one of CIA agents involved in the pursuit of the Iranian security chief. In final episodes of the season, a lot will depend on how much we can buy into Carries's love for the largely absent Brodie: she is seemingly motivated by her desire to prove him innocent of the CIA hq bombing - and thereby to protect herself, as she has lied about her role in helping him escape - but the stakes on that have been pretty low, as neither Saul nor anyone else truly suspects her of enabling a suspect to leave the country. I would expect this plot element will develop further and put her into greater jeopardy and conflict with her agency. The spying on Saul himself is just starting to emerge as a plot element - though I have to say I found it ludicrous that an intruder could slip into the DC home of the head of the CIA; one would think there would be pretty tight security, esp. if he works from a laptop that he often leaves at home unattended?