Season 5 of Homeland was another rebirth of the Showtime series, taking Carrie out of the CIA and putting her in Berlin for reality-reflecting storylines. Not that the show excised the other fan favorite regulars, and we got to watch Rupert Friend's Peter Quill putting his ass on the line more than ever before. Spoiler: The season ended with Carrie removing her friend and would-be lover's pulse monitor, seemingly leaving him to die from the effects of the sarin gas in his system. Quinn is alive, as revealed months back, but showrunner Alex Gansa says that isn't how the scene was supposed to go.
We really thought that Carrie was going to kill him at the end of the season. And then when we got there, we just couldn't do it. There was the whole business about her faith and this newfound Catholicism, and we were like, 'I just don't think she is going to kill him at the end.'
Upon watching the Homeland's Season 5 finale, I was initially bothered by the fact that Quinn was hypothetically being killed off. Not so much because Carrie looked like she was sacrificing him or anything, but because Quinn's season-long misery hadn't been rectified at all, and because he had specifically been given an antidote. And then I was bothered by the fact that the creative team came out with the info about Quinn's survival, because it was kind of a cheat. But it's strangely comforting to know that Alex Gansa's intentions were originally set on Quinn being dead.
This is a case when the choice to flip a big plot decision makes sense within the context of the story. Carrie's mental state isn't always so good about decision-making, but she was in a good state following her med-avoidance early in the season. The character became better at using her outer situations to inform her inner state of mind, and that allowed her spirituality to come forth. It would have been a tad pessimistic to bring Carrie closer to Catholicism only to cap the season with her murdering someone she loves.
The decision to keep Quinn alive will play a big role in Season 6, too, as his recovery period will give audiences a completely changed version of the stealthy badass. As Alex Gansa also told TVLine, this altered version of Quinn will present some big opportunities for his relationship with Carrie to get expanded. Whether or not that means romance is coming remains to be seen. But it will be seen.
With several seasons still left on the docket, Homeland will return to Showtime (and the U.S. for the first time in years) for Season 6 soon into the new year, and fans can watch its premiere on January 15, 2017. To see what else is on the way in the near future, check out our midseason TV schedule.
