The sixth season of Homeland opens not in a foreign capital but on the streets of Brooklyn, marking a dramatic homecoming for its characters. In the premiere episode titled “Fair Game,” which aired on January 15, 2017, Carrie Mathison is no longer a CIA operative but a legal advocate, while the nation braces for a controversial new president. The episode sets a deliberate pace, trading last season’s Berlin action for a tense domestic drama about freedom, power, and personal demons .
From Spymaster to Public Defender: Carrie’s New Mission
Six months after preventing a terror attack in Berlin, Carrie Mathison has traded espionage for advocacy. She now lives in New York City with her daughter, Franny, and runs a non-profit organization that defends Muslim-Americans from discrimination and unfair prosecution .
Her latest client is Sekou Bah, a young Muslim-American man arrested by the FBI. Sekou runs a website where he posts videos filmed at locations of past terrorist attacks in New York, providing historical context that often criticizes U.S. foreign policy. The FBI, led by Agent Ray Conlin, charges him with providing “material support” for terrorism . Carrie sees a young man exercising free speech, telling Conlin, “What I saw was an angry kid, at worst” .
However, the case becomes more complicated. Agent Conlin reveals to Carrie that the FBI found plane tickets to Nigeria—where the militant group Boko Haram operates—and $5,000 in cash hidden under Sekou’s mattress . This evidence forces Carrie, and the audience, to question whether Sekou is simply a frustrated critic or someone with more dangerous intentions.
A Broken Hero: Peter Quinn’s Tragic Struggle
The episode delivers a heartbreaking update on Peter Quinn. The once-formidable CIA operative survived exposure to sarin gas but is now a shell of himself. He is in a veterans’ hospital, suffering from partial paralysis, brain damage, and severe PTSD .
Quinn’s condition is so dire that his medical team suggests Carrie’s daily visits are hindering his recovery by frustrating him. Defiant and in despair, Quinn skips his physical therapy, telling Carrie, “I’m not getting any better” . In a devastating sequence, he sneaks out of the hospital, gets involved with sex workers, and is robbed and assaulted after cashing his government disability check .
Carrie finds him battered and brings him home, but not back to the hospital. In a decisive and controversial move, she lets him move into the apartment below hers. The episode ends with a telling moment: Quinn tries the door to leave and finds it locked from the outside. Carrie is determined to save him, even if it means confining him .
“Let me go,” Carrie says to Quinn during an argument at the hospital. “Let me go,” he retorts, a plea that applies to both his physical and emotional imprisonment .
A Nation in Transition: The President-Elect and a Nervous CIA
The political landscape of the show mirrors the divided America of its release year. President-elect Elizabeth Keane is preparing to take office. In a critical briefing, she meets with Saul Berenson and Dar Adal, demanding to know about CIA “lethal programs,” especially those that don’t require presidential approval .
Keane questions the ongoing military strategy in the Middle East, asking, “If the war isn’t winnable, what are we still doing there?” . Her skepticism alarms Dar Adal, who suspects her motivation is personal: her son was killed while serving in Iraq, and Dar believes she blames the intelligence community .
This tension sets the stage for a shadow war. Without Saul’s knowledge, Dar meets with a Mossad agent, suggesting they accelerate covert operations before Keane’s inauguration. In the episode’s final scene, Dar hosts a secret meeting with General Jamie McClendon and Senator Elian Coto, pointedly excluding Saul . The message is clear: elements within the government are already plotting against the incoming commander-in-chief.
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Setting the Stage for Season 6
“Fair Game” methodically positions its pieces on the board. The critical response noted its slower, more deliberate pace compared to prior seasons. Brian Tallerico of New York Magazine wrote that it had “a pleasantly slow pace… it’s an interesting tone-setter,” while Paste magazine called it “uneventful” but effective at setting the table for future drama .
The premiere drew strong ratings for Showtime, with 1.1 million viewers for the live broadcast and an additional 1.25 million through on-demand previews . It also earned praise for individual performances, with TVLine naming Rupert Friend “Performer of the Week” for his raw and tragic portrayal of Quinn’s decline .
The episode leaves central questions unanswered: Is Sekou Bah a victim or a threat? Can Quinn find any path to recovery? Most pressingly, how will Carrie navigate her new life when it’s already colliding with the very government overreach she fights against and the personal crisis of a broken friend? “Fair Game” argues that the most complex and dangerous battles are no longer overseas but within America’s own institutions and communities.
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