'Homeland' Season 4 Premiere Spoilers: Show Starts Off With A Bang...Literally!

Homeland is back with a bang! And we mean literally with a bang. After a very disappointing third season, it was time for the show to reset and basically start again. Brody's death at the end of the third season gave the show a chance to do that and it had paid off big time.

The start of part one of the fourth season, called "The Drone Queen," sees our Carrie Mathison, played by the always amazing Claire Danes, as the chief of agency for the CIA in Kabul, Afghanistan. There is a potential terrorist target they are getting ready to hit and after they weigh their options Carrie decides to hit it. There may be a wedding taking place in the house, but the fact there may be terrorist in there outweighs the bad. After air strike, Carrie's staff surprises her with a Birthday cake that reads "Happy Birthday The Drone Queen." Later that night back at her home there, she tries to Skype with her family back home including her daughter, but couldn't wait for her anymore so only her stayed to talk to her.

During the rescue efforts at the targeted house, there is a young college-aged boy who survives. Ayaan Ibrahim, played by Life of Pi's Suraj Sharma, realizes his whole family is killed in the attack. No telling what's going on in his head, but it can't be good. There is a long panning shot of the dead bodies so we see the scope of the damage.

Saul Berenson, the always reliable Mandy Patinkin, is now partners in a security contracting firm and trying to get a deal to take over for when the troops pull out of Afghanistan. His conscious doesn't let him go through with it because he thinks the government should give the troop serge more opportunity to be successful. Of course, his partner isn't happy with this. Saul comes home to his wife Mira to tell her he doesn't think it's working out for him in New York City, but she's upset because they moved there for her after years of their marriage being all about him.

After news reports surface that it was a wedding the CIA attacked, Carrie is confronted by a lieutenant at a local hangout who helped carry out the strike. The lieutenant is obviously not happy to find out there were innocent civilians in the targeted area and let's Carrie know it. Carrie doesn't let him speak to her disrespectfully, thus telling the soldier to leave immediately.

On the way to school, Ayaan watches a video of the wedding he took on his shattered phone. When he arrives to his dorm room, his roommate is surprised to see him because he thought he was killed in the drone strike. Later at a study session, his roommate presses him to put the video on YouTube. At first he says no, but later on Carrie gets a call from the head of the CIA, former Senator Lockhart, that a video of the wedding was going viral on YouTube. Lockhart wants an explanation to give to the media, but Carrie is at a loss for words. Saul watches the video and calls Carrie, but she doesn't take his call. Ayaan finds out his roommate's cousin uploaded the video, but after some pleading he won't tell his cousin to take it down.

Carrie lands in Islamabad, Pakistan where she is greeted by Quinn, played by the striking Rupert Friend. They discuss issues pertaining to the strike including how Station Chief Sandy Bachman, played by House of Cards' Corey Stoll, got the intel to strike that particular building. Carrie says he gives her the information and she carries it out. They also discuss why Quinn didn't come with her to Afghanistan, but he abruptly ends that conversation. On TV in the airport, they see a picture of Sandy with a corresponding news report that outs him as a CIA chief. 

Sandy is next seen walking the streets for a meet-up with his contact, but people recognize him. He goes into the building, but his key doesn't fit in the lock where they usually get together. He gets a call from Quinn telling him his cover is blow and that they're on their way to rescue him. Sandy goes out the back, but a mob starts to grow. He takes out his gun, but Quinn and Carrie swoop in to rescue him. Once he gets in the car they try to escape, but the crowd stops them and starts banging on the windows. They break through the windows with Quinn trying to shoot them away. Sandy gets taken by the mob while Quinn and Carrie barely escape. They drive to the embassy where Quinn and Carrie get into an argument because she thinks they could've done more. Carrie goes in to talk to the ambassador, but first stops into the bathroom to wash the blood off her face and look more presentable.

Part 2 of the jam-packed premiere, called "Trylon and Perisphere," takes place two day later when Quinn and Carrie escort Sandy's American flag-draped coffin to Maryland. Carrie comes back home to visit and sees her daughter for the first time in a long time. Quinn gets drunk and has sex with the manager of the apartment building he's staying at.

Ayaan is recognized by the media as the only survivor of the wedding strike that killed his family. He dodges the journalist asking questions and runs to his dorm room to pack his stuff. Suspiciously, he has cases of an injectable liquid that he stashes in his bag.

Carrie is brought into see CIA Director Lockhart, who tells her she is being recalled and has to stay in the US permanently. Quinn goes to breakfast with the manager he slept with and gets into a fight with some guys who were making fun of her weight. He ends up in jail, but gets bailed out by Carrie.

Back in Pakistan, Ayaan, who is apparently the nephew of the terrorist killed at the wedding, is traveling on a bus to stash away the goods he had. We meet a classmate of his and her family who disapproves of him being there. Apparently, there is something more than a friendship, but nothing serious.

Carrie then stops into the CIA archives to try and talk to one of Sandy's former partners to see if he knows anything or anyone that could help them figure out who his contact was. The former CIA case worker won't talk to her and tells her to leave. She then goes home where she has a talk with her sister about Carrie being more involved in the baby's life. Carrie agrees and takes the baby the next day out to Brody's home to show her where her father lived. Carrie then gives her daughter a bath where she contemplates drowning her, but has a momentary flash of clarity and stops.

We finally see Saul with Dar Adal, played by Oscar-winner F. Murray Abraham, who tells him he can get back into the CIA if he wants to, but this time as Director.  Saul is hesitant, but inside wants it badly.

Carrie goes back to the Sandy's former partner to try and get the information out of him again. She succeeds and finds out Sandy was trading US classified secrets for information on the locations of terrorists. Carrie takes that information to Lockhart outside of Sandy's funeral, but not before she has a little talk with Saul. Once confronted by all of the info Carrie learned that implicates Lockhart, he agrees to let her go back to Islamabad, Pakistan to be the station chief there in replace of Sandy.

Inside the funeral service, Carrie talks to Saul about having his security company do work for the agency in Pakistan. Of course, he agrees so finally they'll be working together again. After the funeral, Carrie gets into an argument with Quinn after he tells her he's not joining her in Pakistan. As always, Carrie makes it all about her, but he makes sure she knows the world doesn't revolve around her. She then goes home to tell her sister she'll be going back to Pakistan, which does not sit well with her sister because she'll have to take care of Carrie's baby now. Carrie even barely gives the baby a goodbye.

Back at Quinn's apartment, he gets a love not from the building manager he slept that said no one ever fought for her before. Sparks may fly between them, but I still hold out hope he and Carrie will fall for each other. They'd be a much better pair than her and Brody.

In Pakistan, Ayaan wakes to some guys coming in and hitting him. One tells him no more interviews and no more videos. He has a bloody face, which his roommate sees and probably now gets the picture that it wasn't a good idea to post the video.

The last shot we see is Carrie on a private plane on her way to Pakistan. When asked if she needed anything she replies, "I'm fine." Very telling given that we know she isn't fine...well she's never fine.

Can't wait till next week when Carrie begins to investigate who Sandy's contact was. Hopefully, Quinn will come to his senses and help her.