Feeling more like a series end rather than a season end, espionage thriller Homeland closed out it’s season three with a rather emotional and sometimes difficult to watch finale that is diving viewers right down the middle.

In an often frustrating to watch season three, Homeland saw Carrie (Claire Danes) pretending to be on bad grounds with the CIA while actually on a secret covert operation under the very watchful eye of Saul (Mandy Patinkin).  Saul, meanwhile, had hatched a plan of grandeur that involved inserting a high-level asset (Javadi) into the Iranian government and to bring Body (Damien Lewis) back into the United States.  Brody himself, was under suspicion as being the CIA bomber that killed over 100 CIA agents and after his innocence was proven, was tasked to return to the marines in order to assassinate the current Iranian high ranking officer, allowing Javadi to take over.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, there is Quinn (Rupert Friend) dealing with his demons after the accidental shooting of an innocent child and Brody’s family – Jessica (Morena Baccarin) and Dana (Morgan Saylor) dealing with the aftermath of Dana’s suicide attempt.

IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THE FINALE THEN STOP READING!

I’m pretty sure, even as it was starting to begin, I was hoping that something would happen to stop Brody’s death.  A bomb, a military attack, the crane used to hang Brody breaks down, but in the end, we, the viewers, actually felt as hopeless as Carrie did, watching Brody being executed for his assassination on General Akbari.  All their work together, hers with Saul and with Brody, was all in vain as it ultimately led to Brody’s death.  Did Javadi need Brody to ensure his election into the Iranian Government?  Yes.  Was Dar Adal (F.Murray Abraham) right to go against Saul’s original command to extract Brody and Carrie and inform Javadi of their whereabouts?  Yes.

So where does Homeland go from here?  Saul has moved from the CIA to the public sector and he and Mira (Sarita Choudhury) have moved to New York while a heavily pregnant Carrie has been offered station chief in Istanbul and wants to give the baby up for adoption.  It’s already been confirmed that both Morena Baccarin (Jessica Brody) and Morgan Saylor (Dana Brody) are not returning for the new season (though their contracts remain open for guest appearances) as the show moves away from the Brody story line and should focus more on Carrie’s new position as station chief in Istanbul and I’d also expect her to bring Quinn along with her.  As for Saul, Dar Adal did hint that Saul may return to the CIA if Senator Lockwood (Tracy Letts) came begging and I would be surprised if that situation did not reveal itself in season 4.

Homeland returns for season 4 in mid 2014.