At the conclusion of its messy, melodramatic third season, with Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) hanging in the main square and Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) clinging, grief-stricken, to a chain-link fence, &quot;Homeland&quot; seemed poised to slink quietly into TV viewers' memories, a once-great counterterrorism thriller lost in the thicket of love. By the conclusion of the fourth season, on Sunday, Showtime's aging drama had reinvented itself entirely, emerging as a stark, surprising tale of life during wartime. On the basis of the final five episodes alone, it easily qualifies as the year's most improved series. Here are the keys to the unexpected resurgence of &quot;Homeland&quot;:

1. Know When to Fold 'Em 
The decision to discard Carrie and Brody's frenzied romance arrived more than a season too late -- the long, slow decline from the series' finest hour, season two's miraculous &quot;Q+A,&quot; to &quot;The Star,&quot; the season three finale, pained even the series' most...<br/>
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