‘Homeland’ Season 6 Spoilers: Quinn’s Fate Revealed After Finale Cliffhanger

The Season 5 finale of “Homeland” left viewers confused over the fate of Peter Quinn, but it appears actor Rupert Friend will be reviving the character for the forthcoming installment.

Friend will be returning to the Showtime drama as a series regular in Season 6, TV Line reports. The confirmation comes five months after episode 12 showed Quinn lying in a hospital bed with his on-again, off-again flame and co-worker Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) by his side. After terrorists exposed him to poisonous gas, doctors told Carrie his quality of life would be unclear if he survived. The season ended with Carrie locking the hospital room door, placing Quinn’s heart monitor on her own finger and smiling down at him as a bright light shown into the room.

Of course, Quinn’s near-death won’t come without changes. Showrunner Alex Gansa shares the character will be “dramatized” this season in a way that will “surprise” viewers. “It may not be what you think,” he teased.

So, how will the former assassin change? It appears he may become more in touch with his humanity. TV Line is reporting Quinn will be “more willing to show his intimate and personal side.” This could mean big things for Carrie and Quinn’s relationship. Quinn tried to convince Carrie to quit the CIA and be with him and her daughter Frannie at the end of Season 4, but she refused. Could his near-death and the love letter he left behind for her at the end of Season 5 change her mind?

While it remains to be seen what lies ahead of Carrie and Quinn’s future, the setting for Season 6 has already been decided. Viewers will catch up with the “Homeland” characters in New York. Gansa recently told Entertainment Weekly the season will take place during a “dangerous time” in U.S. democracy, the period between U.S. Presidential election in November and the inauguration in January.

“There is this strange period in America where there are 72 days when it’s not exactly clear who’s in charge, and there is a new president that needs to be educated on what it means to be president,” he said. “That is a very complex transfer of power filled with all kinds of anxiety and different competing interests…”

“Homeland” is expected to return to Showtime later this year.