"Homeland" season 5 received the series' highest viewer ratings, particularly during its finale. But the last episode did feature the controversial scene where main character Carrie (Claire Danes) pulled the plug on Quinn's (Rupert Friend) life support, potentially killing him in the process.
However, according to a report from Design and Trend there are many reasons why killing off Quinn would hurt the show. One of the most important points raised in the report is that Carrie spent so much time and effort saving him throughout the season that it would be contradictory for her to suddenly kill him.
It is also cited that Quinn had gone through more than one near-death situations lately and that teasing to kill him again would be detrimental to the show as it only fanned the flames of disappointment and resentment of fans towards the way the character is being handled.
According to Movie News Guide, bringing back Quinn may also open up a new sub-plot revolving around a love-triangle with Carrie, Quinn and Otto (Sebastian Koch).
However, this would require three things to happen first: the sixth season would indeed have to bring back Quinn, it would also need to bring back Koch even if the story has moved out of Berlin, and the show must still be connected, at least plot-wise, to Berlin even if the showrunners decide to set the series again in the U.S.
Up to this point, however, Showtime has yet to officially confirm that Quinn is coming back. When "Homeland" season 6 was announced via Twitter it only mentioned Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin. Given how big of a role Friend has in the series, it is a little suspicious how his name was omitted from the announcement but this may be a ploy to avoid revealing his character's fate.
"Homeland" season 6 is expected to air this year although no release date has been announced yet.
