***SPOILER ALERT***

Be honest. We all sat and watched as Brody was hanged before all of Iran and waited for something miraculous to occur- for the rope to cut and for him to land on a white stallion and ride away to safety; for Jahvadi to burst into the scene and order his release; for Carrie to break through the fence and somehow get Brody down without alarming any of the armed guards entirely surrounding him. And then it didn’t…leaving a stunned, mourning audience of millions wondering: now what?

There was no way it would compare to the shock and awe of the previous season’s finale. The bombing at Langley pushed things to a level of intensity impressive even for this show and left numerous loose ends, which thrilled the audience and left them shaking in anticipation of the season to come. In contrast, this season’s finale seemed fairly conclusive. With the exception of soap-opera caliber questions like where Carrie’s baby will end up, whether or not Saul will return to the agency, and whether Carrie does indeed plan on taking the job in Istanbul, all has been answered. I would almost go as far as to say that it could be the end of the brief but glorious Homeland era, except that Showtime has already booked the show for another season, which could premiere as early as September 2014.

But where is Homeland to go from here? Can it live on without Brody- the main cause of the show’s conflict in the first place? Sure, Carrie is a beyond-compelling character, but can she uphold an entire show in Brody’s wake? Without Emmy-award winning Damien Lewis (actor who plays Brody) in the cast, it’s hard to think that the show can maintain its audience, which had formed around him and grew to both love and hate him over the years. I fear that this once great program may in fact die with marine/congressman/terrorist/national hero Nicholas Brody. Here’s hoping I’m wrong…