The disrespect was new for a show once so hot that President Obama requested screeners to watch in the White House, and once so honored it was given the Emmy for best drama after its first year. In what might have been the low point, the series was excluded from last season’s ferociously competitive Emmy field for best drama. “We love our show, and we bleed for our show,” said Alex Gansa, a creator of “Homeland.” “So when there is a degree of criticism, it can’t help but hurt. And the lack of an Emmy nomination really hurt.”

But he added: “I’m unable to watch the show objectively. So I look at Season 3, and I choose to focus on the strengths. I love those first four episodes and the way we brought the season home.”

Claire Danes, who has won the best-actress Emmy twice for her portrayal of Carrie, defended what she called “a beautiful season.” She added: “It was a long game the writers were playing. I think maybe some viewers felt excluded in the reveal after the first four episodes. I thought it was a thrilling magic trick. Some viewers might have felt it was a gotcha. But that was never the intention. It was to delight and surprise and show Saul’s brilliance.”

She acknowledged that “Homeland” was a “high risk” enterprise because later episodes are being written even as the first ones are shown, and the end of each season is not determined beforehand. This “flying by the seat of our pants” approach, as Mr. Gansa put it, allows “Homeland” to stay remarkably close to unfolding events in real life, even appearing prescient at times, Ms. Danes said.