Homeland: Does Saul Berenson die? Character's fate explored

While Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) and Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin) spent the majority of Homeland as prodigy and mentor, navigating the nitty-gritties of international conflicts together, the series finale found them on opposite sides of war.

After Carrie was caught up in the conspiracy regarding the downing of the President's helicopter, she found herself amidst the CIA tribunal that questioned her own patriotism. Her only saving grace was the black box, owned by Russians, which contained solid evidence that this incident was a tragic accident caused by mechanical failure and not due to Taliban shooting.

The major conflict in the Homeland finale came to a head with Saul's Russian asset, whose identity was the key to stopping a Russian-American war and clearing Carrie's name from the harrowing event. After much pondering and an intense confrontation, Carrie decides to betray her country and kill her mentor.

The final moments of the series finale saw Carrie paralyzing Saul and leaving him with two KGB agents and a lethal injection. However, Saul does not die in Showtime's political series. The epilogue confirms that Saul continued to live with his sister after retiring from the CIA.

More on Saul's fate in Homeland in our story.

Saul was almost killed in the Homeland finale

The Homeland series finale saw Carrie amidst a pickle as she was the only person who could avert a brutal war between Russia and the US by betraying her country and mentor, Saul. The Russian government assured Carrie that they would give up the black box if she gave up Saul’s Russian asset, who had been feeding him with Russian intel for over two decades.

The Russian mole was revealed in the penultimate episode, Anna Pomerantseva, the lead interpreter for Russia’s GRU intelligence agency, who had been working for Saul for twenty years. Since Carrie knew her mentor would rather die than give up his asset, she decided to have a final confrontation at his house.

In the final moments of the Homeland finale, she paralyzes Saul on his kitchen floor and orders two sturdy KGB agents to administer him a lethal injection. Leaving Saul with the two men, she arrives at his sister, Dorit's house, lying that her brother has died and procuring the envelope containing the details of his Russian asset, which she then passes on to Yevgeny Gromov, the Russian GRU super-agent.

While Saul managed to escape death and the two KGB agents in Homeland, thanks to the officers sent by Wellington, he breaks down after he hears a single gunshot on the phone, confirming that Anna was executed at the UN headquarters.

Anna's death was the final straw that fractured Saul and Carrie's relationship beyond repair. She blames Gromov for this tragic turn in her relationship with Saul, while realizing she is deeply involved with the Russian agent now:

“Saul loved me. He trusted me. … That’s gone now. That’s lost. Do you even know what that means? I don’t know what it’s like on your side but it must be very, very lonely.”

The Homeland epilogue changed the fate of Saul and Carrie's relationship

The Homeland series finale was a brutal outing for Saul, who not only heard his trusted and longtime Russian asset being killed but also lost his daughter-like prodigy in Carrie. The series epilogue, set two years after the events of the finale, saw Saul living with his sister after retiring from the CIA.

Elsewhere, Carrie's betrayal of her country took full form as she was seen living with Gromov in Moscow, attending a music concert in a glamorous fit. While Saul had retired from the CIA, he received a mysterious package delivered to “Professor Rabineau,'' the code name Anna used to send him books/intel. The ex-CIA officer found Carrie's book, Tyranny of Secrets: Why I Had to Betray My Country, explaining her reasons for betraying her country.

However, in the spine of the book, Saul found a secret note:

“Greetings from Moscow, Professor. The Russian S400 missile defense system sold to Iran has a backdoor. It can be defeated. More updates to follow. Stay tuned.”

This cryptic note concluded the eight-run season of Homeland, suggesting Carrie will become Saul's secret new asset, who will replace Anna and feed intelligence back to the CIA through her lover and Russian agent Gromov.

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