Did you miss last night’s Homeland season finale? Well, then: WARNING! SOME SPOILERS AHEAD! AVERT THINE EYES!
So for about 35 minutes, viewers of Homeland were treated to arguably the most boring season finale of any show ever. With Nazir dead and Brody redeemed (well, in Carrie’s eyes, anyway; Saul still doesn’t trust him and Estes has assigned his man Quinn to permanently put Brody out of the picture), we got to watch Carrie and Brody make plans for Boyfriend-Girlfriend time. (Side note: am I the only one who is slightly bothered by their “romance”? I get it, they’re both damaged and that’s what drew them to each other, but ewww, gross, as my kids would say.) They go to Carrie’s cabin on the lake. They buy groceries. Brody builds a fire. They talk. They go stand by the lake. They talk some more. (Ok – Brody does tell Dana that he was working for Nazir, but he’s fine now, really.) And then the episode gets good, which of course means that things start to go south – Quinn realizes just who the bad guy REALLY is, and when Brody and Carrie attend the memorial for the fallen Vice President…
Don’t be sad, Damian Lewis! You’re under contract at Showtime!
Ok. I know some of you have yet to hit your VCRs, so I’ll stop there. But if you have a basic understanding of why hit shows are hit shows, you won’t be surprised to know that both Brody and Carrie survive the episode (SPOILER ALERT: Damian Lewis is under contract for 7 seasons of Homeland). But will he actually be back next season? As the episode ends, Carrie returns to Saul and the CIA, and Brody heads north, with a new name. Although I’m not sure how a fake ID will help him. (“Say! You look exactly like that really tall red-haired VP candidate who’s been all over the news for the past six months, Mr…Takashi Kobayashi, was it?”)
So where do they go from here? Well, the show’s thrown a few curveballs our way over the past two seasons, so I see no reason why Season 3 shouldn’t be the same. Here are some possible plotlines for Homeland‘s next season.
- Carrie quits the CIA, sells her memoirs, and gets her own talk show, Carrie!, which features lots of crying and some really strange giveaways. (“YOU get a box of Eggo Frozen Multi-Grain Waffles! And YOU get a box of Eggo Frozen Multi-Grain Waffles! EVERYBODY gets a box of Eggo Frozen Multi-Grain Waffles!”) Brody makes it to Saskatoon, where he starts a new life as a defensemen for the Saskatoon Blades. Unfortunately, as the spoiler photo below seems to indicate, his disguise – a hairstyle favored by many hockey players – doesn’t really work, and he’s captured by CIA operatives and sent back to Langley.
“Enemy agent, eh? I’m a hockey player, eh!”
- Carrie is told that she’s been promoted to Station Chief. She travels to her new posting, a place suited to her unique personality and propensity to do things that will potentially get her and other agents captured or killed: Antarctica. Meanwhile, Brody returns to the States, grows a goatee, and is hired as the Notre Dame mascot. His new career lasts for exactly three minutes and thirty five seconds, which is how long it takes everyone at South Bend to recognize him after his face goes up on the stadium Jumbotron.
- Carrie is exposed as a double agent. Brody is revealed to be a quadruple agent. It’s complicated. Here, have some waffles. Mmm. Waffles.
- Pretty much the same stuff happens – there’s a terrorist plot, Carrie struggles with her bipolar disorder, we’re kept in the dark about Brody’s true identity and who was behind the stunning plot twist at the end of season 2. Only this season, there are lots and lots of big musical numbers, including a Grease 2 tribute episode.
- Carrie and Brody are reunited in Nova Scotia, where they open a bed and breakfast, and start a new life for themselves. In the Season 3 finale, Carrie wakes up next to Jordan Catalano and tells him about this weird dream she had, where she was a crazy CIA agent in love with the guy from Band of Brothers.
What curveballs (realistic or not) would get you excited about the next season of Homeland?
About Jason Avant
