‘Homeland’ Recap: What Happened to Saul and More Revelations from the Series Finale

In 2011, Showtime’s ‘Homeland’ grabbed the attention of the public – along with six Emmys including Best Drama Series – thanks to its captivating first season. At the time, the relationship between Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) the CIA super spy and suspected terrorist and military hero Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) was the cynosure of all eyes.

Now, with more than eight seasons gone and several ups and a few downs which include the death of Nicholas Brody back in Season 3, all attention has shifted to the super spy, Carrie. This brilliant CIA operative has been struggling with her savvy mentor The Company man, Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin) and mental illness.

The Impossible Task

Carrie may be a brilliant operative, but she broke all the rules in the book at least twice. However, the series final episode which aired on Sunday was as thrilling as it was fraught with suspense.

The Russian agent, Yevgeny Gromov (Costa Ronin) gave the CIA agent only one way to secure the black-box flight recorder which contained enough evidence to prevent a possible catastrophic nuclear war: “Kill Saul.”

How the Finale Played Out

Now here’s a quick recap of how the finale played out: Carrie starts imagining what it will be like to be portrayed as a terrorist in her country if she made a move by killing Saul.  A quick reminder of the long road the TV show has traveled – in the form of an image of the hero who was castigated as a traitor, Brody – flashes across the screen.

Carrie looks for Saul, but he’s away at the United Nations, trying hard to find another way to get his hands on the flight recorder that explains the cause of the chopper crash that killed the Afghani and United States presidents.

The Quest to Prevent a War

It is a bit puzzling to see Carrie running around when she has been charged with being an accessory to the murder of the president. The charges may be phony, but everyone expects her to be behind bars, awaiting trial.

Carrie and Saul are separately trying to stop a war, and they have a 48-hour deadline to beat. The quest is based on the incorrect hypothesis that the Taliban shot down the president’s chopper.

The Discovery of the Flight Recorder’s Location

At the United Nations, Anna Pomerantseva, top translator for Russian intelligence official Mirov – and Saul’s long-concealed intelligence asset, as revealed just last week – enters an office and sets eyes on the flight recorder. The flight recorder was stolen by Yevgeny from Carrie back in Afghanistan.

Carrie keeps perfecting her cockeyed plan to kill off Saul and receives poisoning instructions from the Russian mole in the United States.

Saul fails to secure the black box and resorts to using internal diplomacy. He arranges for a meeting with President Hayes but finds John Zabel, yahoo warmonger, there.

Saul explains that the black box contains evidence that the helicopter crash was an accident, but Zabel wouldn’t believe it without concrete evidence.

The Meeting

Carrie returns to her mentor’s house while a Russian agent waits in a vehicle. As Saul confronts her about not getting in touch with Franny and Maggie, Carrie focuses on the flight recorder/spy asset trade, stating she knows it is a woman and even demands her name.

But Saul remains adamant, and even orders Carrie out of his house. And that is when his mentee pulls the poison stunt. And from that point on, everything starts going downhill.