In defense of Homeland Season 4

I don't get what the Homeland nay-sayers want out of a series. I understand that maybe nothing can rise to the level of Season 1 when we were constantly in doubt about whether Brodie was a terrorist agent or a traumatized soldier, and we first understood and recognized the complexity of Carry's character - and how her illness was a tremendous burden, making it all too easy to dismiss her unconventional ideas as delusions or worse. But Season 4 - 8 episodes in now - is as exciting a spy thriller as you'll find in any movie, w/ episodes 7 and 8 being two of the strongest and strangest - esp the terrific cinematic presentation of Carry's drug-induced breakdown and in episode 8 Saul's escape from captivity and the incredibly tense struggle to bring him to safety and the toll that takes on everyone at the CIA/Embassy. The characters may not be as multi-layered in this season as in some of the earlier, especially the bad guys and the heavies - is "Duck" now typecast for life? - and we do miss Brodie (who makes a cameo in 7), but the plotting is tight as a drum, the pacing is fast, and all the technical details - the art direction, the score, even the credits - meet the really high standards that used to belong to HBO alone but now SHO giving them a run. If this season doesn't hold her interest and at times keep you on the proverbial edge of your seat, what will?