Showtime’s long-running serial drama, Homeland will conclude in the spring of 2020. The 8th and last Season , which recently premiered on Showtime, introduced us to new challenges that are to be tackled by our main and beloved characters.
The 9-year-old periodical drama has taken viewers and critics on wild and unfettered rides questioning our ideals on the morality of the ‘war on terror,’ American intelligence agencies, and the state of intelligence officers. Over the years, Homeland has delivered high tension and derivative storylines, keeping audiences on edge and surprised. However, there were many questions left unanswered within the past 7 seasons which before its conclusion, the show should address.
What Happens With Jessica Brody And The Kids?
Its been 5 seasons since viewers have spotted Dana, Chris and Brody’s wife Jessica. After Brody’s death in the season s3 finale, the audience members were expected to accept that when Dana asked her father to disappear, that disappear he would alongside the entire family. Since then, there has been tremendous curiosity about the future of Brody’s family, particularly as they were left with the memory of him as being the bad guy.
Either in the form of a flashback or recap of Carrie’s whole life, the showrunners should consider exploring a final redemptive narrative for Brody which could provide us with an update on his family, maybe even one which introduces Franny to them, and provide us the audience, closure on Brody, Jessica, Dana, and Chris.
Franny’s Future
After last season, we accepted that Carrie was in no shape or form (and probably will not be any time soon), a responsible, loving and present caregiver for Franny. Franny’s now been adopted by her Aunt Molly, leaving Carrie to be a badass CIA mom. Before the show ends, the audience will need to know if Franny and Carrie could ever be in a functional mother-daughter relationship. After all, S5 through to S7 did show that Carrie can exercise a certain extent of care for her.
In this last season, we could only hope for Franny a life that Carrie always wanted for herself if she was given the chance with her own mother.
What Happened With The Vest?
Homelands Season 1 finale saw one of the most intense TV moments of all time: Brody in a bunker full of powerful people ready to blow them up to kingdom come. After a teary call from daughter Dana, Brody buckled preventing the whole cabinets’ death and then, we never saw the vest again. The Vest alongside many more of Brody’s secrets (ie his murders and drug use) have yet to be answered by the show.
We don’t expect that Homeland will take time out of their action-packed Middle East action to address this old age question, but if it could somehow in the next few weeks, fans would be left without any loose ends.
Clarity On Saul & Carrie’s Relationship
Carrie and Saul have been the dynamic duo since the beginning. Where Carrie was, there Saul was too and vice versa. But what exactly is Saul’s relationship to Carrie? There have been many moments in the series where we question whether or not Saul has Carrie’s the best interest at heart. Just recently in the S8 premiere (spoiler alert), Saul takes Carrie out of the hospital and puts her a still traumatized Carrie smack bang into the middle of a war zone. Isn’t this just another destructive lane she’s going down again?
By the end of this season, we need to know what Saul’s real motives have been and whether he truly ever cared for Carrie’s health and well-being.
Answers On Saul
Since the beginning, audiences have had to accept Saul Berenson as both Carrie’s guardian angel and a national security savant. But what do we really know about Saul? All we have known for sure is that wherever the problem was, there Saul was, always with connections to the highest authorities. In S8 (spoiler) he is even the one coordinating the peace talks. Saul’s never been suspected as the mole, even when he’s been the common denominator in almost every problem. He’s able to swift in and out of almost every situation and has every situation turn into his most desirable outcome.
Before the show ends, we would like to know who Saul really is and whether he has ulterior motives apart from achieving ‘national security’.
Update On Peter Quinn’s Kid
Peter Quinn was one of Homeland’s most beloved characters. Audiences grew to love his wit and appreciate his blatant honesty towards Carrie. Quinn also cared about Carrie and replaced the brody sized hole in her life. In the season 2 episode ‘Two Hats’ we find out that Quinn actually fathered a child and we’re again reminded of this during the season 6 finale when Carrie sifts through Quinns things.
The showrunners should at least give Quinn a heartwarming final send-off (on top of his hero’s death in S7), maybe by giving us a Franny and John Jr playdate (we doubt it, but we can only hope).
Max
Max Piotrowski has been one of those characters who has sort of just hung around in this show. Up until the 7th season, Max has been at Carrie’s every call and beckon. We know that he does computer stuff, hacks people and now most recently in season 8 (spoiler), acts as an army cable guy. Because Max has been the only character with no major plots or shocking character arcs, this season we would like for his loyalty to be honored and character arc to be elevated by writing him into a hero’s death.
Max currently being placed in a war zone season in S8 already serves as a positive precursor for this as we look forward to seeing him be the hero this season.
Future Of Homeland’s Intelligence Agencies
The last 8 seasons of Homeland have invited us into the world of intelligence agencies. Amongst many things, it’s reflected on the agencies’ lack of care and treatment of its own agents and foreign assets. Despite agents signing dedicating their lives for their mission or country, Homeland’s CIA and NSA have been very rash and inconsiderate with their treatment of injured, compromised and distraught agents. All through S5 up until S8, field agents are time and time again put on missions which further hurt and traumatized them until they ultimately die. i.e Carrie and Quinn.
For this final season, can the audience expect these intelligence agencies to change their policies and tactics to better protect their agents? Only the end of S8 will answer these questions for us.
“The War On Terror”
Since the 1st season, we know that both Carrie and the US government have been met with external enemies i.e, al Qaeda and Russian terrorists; but the internal conflicts which have been experienced by Carrie and the agency indicate that no one can really know who the real enemy is. One of the running themes in Homeland is the ‘war on terror’. Before it ends, the show should at least inform us of the audience about the future of this ‘war’ and provide us with a final prediction of where both the Homeland world and ours are heading.
Carrie
Last but not least, before its conclusion, Homeland viewers will need to know once and for all, what will happen to Carrie. Season 8 has already started with an action-packed adventure, promising viewers, lots of Carrie running, being anxious and doing what she does best: track down and catch bad guys. But we’re glad the showrunners have acknowledged that this distraught and almost ’never caught a break’ character needed to rest. We don’t know what the writers may have in store for her; only time will tell!
Either way, we can only hope that the 8th season finale will put this character to rest and provide a conclusion that is both satisfying for us as the audience and for the character.
