Homeland has been renewed for a fifth season, a day after it aired its seventh episode for its fourth season. The renewal didn't make much noise, no thanks to that last episode which probably still have some viewers stuck on recovery stage from a heart attack. For a moment, fans of Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) rejoiced and cried tears of joy (sort of) after seeing him back. But that is it. They went back to their sad selves again after learning it was all just Carrie's hallucination.
Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) wandered around Pakistan streets in an unstable mental condition after a Pakistani agent drugged her. She ended up in a house in an unknown location and Nicholas Brody showed up. Turned out, it was all part of her hallucinations. The truth is she is in the arms of young Pakistani general Aasar Khan (Razaa Jaffrey) who we still don't know if a foe or a friend.
It was a surreal moment for fans but at the same time, it was unkind. The showed played on the emotions of pro-Body viewers. It is no secret how viewers badly want the fallen marine back in the show. With him out and officially dead (as of today), Homeland Season 4 appeared to have taken a major reset in its plot. That Carrie-Brody moment totally came out of nowhere.
Entertainment magazine Variety caught up with Homeland Season 4 Episode 7 director Carl Franklin and talked about that shocking, unkind twist.
"We didn't want it to get into the sci-fi/horror arena," Franklin told Variety. "At the same time we did want it to be scary enough to her so that people would realize what she was going through. It was tough not to step over that line. The writing was really strong and it gave us a lot to work with."
Franklin was also surprised that no one leaked about Brody's 'return' to the show despite receiving information that Damian Lewis was seen on the set at Nelson Hotel in Cape Town by some strangers. The scene was shot for just one day but the English actor and Emmy Award winner stayed for one more day to watch them work.
