Homeland

Based on the Israeli version of "Prisoners of War." A U.S. soldier who was thought to have been killed in Iraq over 10 years ago who is now being questioned as to whether he is a member of a sleeper cell sent to cause a terrorist attack. Claire Danes stars in this Showtime pilot as a CIA agent with bipolar disorder who comes to suspect that an Afghanistan war hero who has returned home after years as a POW might be part of a terrorist plot. Expect a psychological thriller with a strong focus on character development.

Season 1, Episode 1: "Pilot"

After being missing and presumed dead for eight years, Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody is rescued in Iraq, and returns home to his family. But CIA agent Carrie Anderson suspects he might have been turned by his terrorist captors, and believes he could be part of a plan to attack America.

Season 1, Episode 2: "Grace"

An undercover agent with connections to a Saudi prince who may be funding terrorist activities provides Carrie with a revealing bit of electronic evidence. Meanwhile, Carrie studies surveillance footage of life in Brody's home, where he appears troubled by traumatic memories and resists Pentagon and media pressure to be hyped as an American war hero.

Season 1, Episode 3: "Clean Skin"

An exclusive television interview will thrust the Brody family into the national spotlight, unless Dana pulls off her plan to sidetrack the whole bogus process. Elsewhere, Carrie and the team sniff out an Al Qaeda attack on American soil; and Carrie's embedded operative in Prince Farid's camp gets trapped in a chilling situation.

Season 1, Episode 4: "Semper 1"

With the warrant running out of time, Carrie's team must pull all video surveillance from the Brody house, but Carrie can't seem to let go.

Season 1, Episode 5: "Blind Spot"

Afzal Hamid, the lone surviving terrorist from the compound in Afghanistan where they rescued Brody, has been captured. Estes wants Saul and Carrie to find out everything he knows about Abu Nazir's plans to attack the US. but there's a catch: Estes wants Brody to help with the interrogation, noting that he's in a unique position due to his ability to establish a baseline on Hamid. Carrie is fit to be tied upon hearing this news, telling Saul that they may as well hand their playbook straight to Nazir.

At the interrogation Brody is completely taken aback when he sees Hamid on the closed-circuit TV. Carrie explains that they hope Brody can provide information to unsettle him during the interrogation. Brody does his part, and it works perfectly; Hamid is ready to crack. In exchange Brody wants a face-to-face with Hamid to show him that the tables have turned; that he didn't break him. He takes his request to Estes, pleading that he needs closure. Meanwhile, an e-mail address provided by Hamid leads Carrie and Saul to a familiar doorstep.

Season 1, Episode 6 "The Good Soldier"

Reeling after losing key players in Nazir's plot against America, the CIA orders polygraphs on everyone who came in contact with them, including Brody, which Carrie sees as an opportunity to finally learn the truth.

Season 1, Episode 7 "The Weekend"

Having escaped the shooting (by her cohorts) at the motel where Faisel was killed, Aileen continues her escape by buying a bus ticket to Mexico. The CIA now knows she was the lead, and Faisel was simply her accomplice. They've tracked her down, and Saul wants to be the one to bring her in. He knows everything about her, and has a feeling he can break her.

Meanwhile, Brody has passed the polygraph, but Carrie knows he's lying because he said he's never been unfaithful to his wife. She and Brody had sex in the parking lot of a bar the night before, and his lie didn't register on the polygraph.

Carrie and Brody meet up again, and end up at her family's cabin. They spend the night, and have a surprising heart-to-heart talk about their lives. Brody admits that he can't talk to Jessica; she doesn't know who he is anymore. He feels free with Carrie, and she surprisingly thinks she may feel the same way, but a slip-up on her part may bring it all crashing down.

Season 1, Episode 8 "Achilles Heel"

The news that Walker is alive and working with al-Qaeda leaves Carrie and Saul scrambling to locate him. They must also deal with competing intelligence agencies' disagreements over the best way to chase him down. The FBI wants to enlist the public's help, but Carrie prefers a more personal approach, using the rogue sniper's love for his wife and son to draw him out of hiding.

Meanwhile, at a party hosted by Elizabeth Gaines, Brody and Jessica discover they're the de facto guests of honor; especially after a breaking news report reveals that Representative Richard Johnson has been caught in a "sexting" scandal, and his political future is in jeopardy. As Walker struggles to elude the CIA's grasp, Brody chases down a mystery man who reveals a shocking truth behind those eight long years in captivity.

Season 1, Episode 9 "Crossfire"

After his attempt to sever ties with Abu Nazir, Brody finds himself reliving his captivity, and recommits to his mission; and Carrie finds herself in the middle of a public-relations nightmare on the heels of the mosque shooting.

Season 1, Episode 10 "Representative Brody"

Carrie and Saul have identified Tom Walker's contact in D.C., only to discover that he has diplomatic immunity. They must tread lightly, or risk triggering an international incident. When a sure-fire technique for turning the diplomat proves ineffective, Carrie must improvise a solution to get him to cooperate.

Meanwhile, Brody has been approached to run for disgraced congressman Richard Johnson's seat in the House of Representatives. Jessica rails against the idea - the family has been through so much already.

Season 1, Episode 11 "The Vest"

Carrie has been hospitalized in the wake of the explosion that killed Al Zahrani in the heart of D.C. When Saul comes to retrieve her, he discovers her on a manic flight, postulating a mile a minute about Abu Nazir. Saul finds himself charged with looking after his damaged friend, and, by applying his sense of order to Carrie's chaotic theories, unearths what appears to be the heart of the terrorist mastermind's plot.

Meanwhile, Brody has taken his family to Gettysburg, to spend one last weekend with them before his congressional campaign begins, and before his fatal mission is to take place. He retrieves his weapon in this unlikeliest part of small town America, but discovers something even more painfully ironic... that on the eve of his self-destruction, his family feels whole for the first time since his return.

Season 1, Episode 12 "Marine One"

**CONTAINS SPOILERS*

Carrie is near catatonic and confined to bed as events swirl around her. Meanwhile, Walker secures a perch for his mission. Brody makes his final preparations for the Vice President's policy summit at the State Department, and Saul continues to investigate the unsettling implications of Carrie's rainbow-colored timeline.

The pieces to a deadly puzzle are falling into place, but even as she springs into action, Carrie may be too late to put it all together. When the crisis finally hits, no one - not even Carrie - foresees the outcome of Abu Nazir's long-awaited attack.

Cast

Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison
Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody
Morena Baccarin as Jessica Brody
David Harewood as David Estes
David Harewood as David Estes
Diego Klattenhoff as Mike Faber
Jackson Pace as Chris Brody
Morgan Saylor as Dana Brody
Mandy Patinkin as Saul Berenson