The first season of Showtime's Homeland was a wild, runaway, critically acclaimed masterwork. The second season, to a lesser extent, was still a critical and commercial success. Yet, in its third season Homeland proceeded to fall off the edge of the cliff with unbelievable plot twists and a never-ending, improbable main storyline.

With Brody literally out of the picture how will the show carry on? Aftter all he was the main star. According to the Epoch Times, the series' main star Carrie Mathison "will likely become a [CIA] case officer, which is what she is trained to do." She'll have to relocate to another country and continent however to start the job.

So what will audiences see Mathison go through in season 4? She's on track to become a single mother (to whom the deceased is the father). Will she raise the baby on her own? Will she give it up for adoption? 

And what about Mathison's love life...? Perhaps she'll acquire a new edgy man, perhaps a brooding Turk involved with a secret security agency? Whatever happens, the new Istanbul locale should inject some much needed excitement back into the show.

Now, you may be wondering what will become of Brody's wife and daughter. It turns out that Dana and Jessica have been demoted (that sounds overly harsh, perhaps) from their prior spots as series regulars. They will make occasional appearances and, according to showrunner Alex Gansa, "Carrie might circle back and connect with one of them for this reason or that -- the main reason being to inform them exactly why and how Brody died, which right now has to be kept as a very tightly held secret."

Gansa added: "The last thing the Revolutionary Guard or the Ayatollahs in Tehran would want to hear is that this was actually a CIA operation. It has to play out that Brody was out of his mind when he killed Akbari. That has to be the official story so that whatever delicate peace negotiations transpire can move forward."

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Will you be tuning in to watch the fourth season of Homeland or have you moved on to other more, how shall I say it, stable shows? Either way let us know in the comments section below.