Homeland is one of the most popular shows to grace our screens. It’s a psychological thriller which is based on the Israeli TV series Prisoners of Wars.
The series stars Claire Danes, who plays the role of a bipolar CIA officer turned private citizen. Her name is Carrie Mathison and Mandy Patinkin plays the role of her mentor, Sail Berenson. The pair of them try to outsmart terrorists and maintain national security.
Homeland’s storyline
It is another Emmy award-winning show that has so many twists and turns, you will be hooked to the screen. Season 1 begins with Carrie trying to prove that the US Marine sergeant and POW Nicholas Brody is a spy for the terrorist organization al-Qaeda.
Things develop rapidly throughout the seasons and by the finale season, Carrie is a private citizen who is trying to get past her experience of being in a Russian Gulag where she had turned into the very thing she had been exposing: A spy.
How things ended in season 8
Unlike other shows that end with a close-ended finale, Homeland has given people the impression that there is more to the storyline. The end is not neatly wrapped up.
Actually, it is far from it. It did not resolve the tension in the Middle East, nor did it conclude the storyline of Russia interfering in American politics. However, it does give some satisfying answers.
Season eight’s main question is whether or not Carrie had actually turned into a spy especially because she shared a very close connection to the Russian intelligence agent Yevgeny Gromov. The answer does become apparent as the show progresses.
The U.S President is killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan and Carrie is sent to retrieve the flight recorder to see if this was accidental or because of terrorism.
Somehow, the recorder finds its way in Yevgeny’s hands, so Carrie makes a deal with him. She is willing to trade the recorder for the name of a high-profile double agent inside the Kremlin. The agent was placed there by Saul. Carrie is asked to get the information by whatever means necessary, even if it means taking Saul’s life.
Carrie captures Saul and tries to get him to talk. She even threatens to give him a lethal injection if she does not give her what she wants—the identity of the spy. He calls her out on her bluff, and Carrie does let him live.
However, she flees the country and gets the information from Saul’s secret USB drive. In the season finale, Carrie is living in Russia with Yevgeny and has released a book about CIA and Edward Snowden.
She sends Saul a copy with a coded message indicating it is from her. And that, folks, is how the season concludes.
Even the scene with Carrie’s daughter was put into the show. Claire felt very strongly about the fact that Carrie had decided to leave behind her daughter, Franny, in season 7.
This did not sit well with her at all. To counter this, and to give a more complete ending to the show, the producers showed a scene where Carrie is grabbing her daughter’s photograph. They decided it was a good substitute for the daughter herself.
Is there going to be a Homeland season 9?
Now to the important questions. Will season 9 of Homeland be gracing our screens in the upcoming years? The verdict might disappoint you! It’s probably a no. Yes, that’s right! On August 2, 2019, the producers confirmed that season 8 will be the last season of this show.
Although things are not so black and white. According to the co-creator Howard Gordan, “never say never. All of us are happy with where we ended the show and the series. Another chapter doesn’t feel necessary at the moment.
“But who knows what’s going to happen? Who knows what Claire and Mandy want to do? Who knows what Howard wants to do? We don’t know what that looks like. For now, it feels like closure.”
Even the cast wants it to continue! They are not done playing the characters and believe there is plenty of more stuff left to explore. For instance, Clarie Danes in her interview with The Guardian said, “I loved [her]. It was just so nice to play the smartest person in the room, somebody who was so daring and unapologetically ambitious and such a badass. She’s not really going away.”
This gives us one clue that it might return. Who knows? We are living in an era of reboots. Plenty of shows were cancelled and then rebooted because of popular demand. Maybe Homeland might be one of them.
In fact, did you know that Amazon is considering buying the series and then launching it on its streaming service? If that is the case, a lot of fans will be super happy.
There is one thing to note here. Ending it was not some last-minute decision, as some might believe. The co-developer of the series, Gansa stated that Homeland is a story between a mentor and his protégé.
Both characters have grown and evolved, and both of them have managed to make a life for themselves outside of the work they usually did. Therefore, not much is left to explore. Hence, the ending. It makes sense if we see things in this light.
Extending the story, just for the sake of extending it does not sit too well with the audience. It is therefore important that the show be finished in a timely manner.
However, the producers, the crew, and the actors have all done a wonderful job. They have brought the characters to life and made us relate to them in some ways.
The show is full of suspense and one you can easily spend hours watching. If you are missing them on the big screen, might we suggest you stream it on Netflix and pretend you are watching it for the first time?