Homeland Season 5 Finale: Lesli Linka Glatter on That Carrie, Quinn Hospital Scene

Posted by Jenniffer Sheldon on Saturday, May 11, 2024

Although it certainly had just as much bloodshed and high-stakes situations as ever, the fifth season of Showtime’s “Homeland” ended on a quiet note. The last scene in the finale, “A False Glimmer,” focused on two people in a room: one, a comatose Peter Quinn (Rupert Friend) and the other his ally, Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), tormenting herself over the decision to do what she believed her friend would want versus what is legal.

Director and executive producer Lesli Linka Glatter helmed this episode, which was written by Liz Flahive, Alex Gansa and Ron Nyswaner. Glatter says the “extraordinary cross-cultural crew” was a mix of regulars who have been with the show or her for years — such as assistant director Sunday Stevens — and European professionals who joined them for this Berlin-set season.

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“For me, personally, no one can make anything without the whole crew; it’s such a team sport we’re in,” Glatter says. She spoke to Variety about some key players.

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David Klein, director of photography
“We started off as Carrie was walking in the hallway of the hospital. To me, that particular walk says so much, because she had made a decision. As she walks down the hall, she’s single focused. In the last moment in the room, the blinds of the window are open and there’s this natural light that comes in and is right on Quinn’s face. Then the question is, ‘What did she do?’”

John D. Kretschmer, production designer
“There was something about that location we picked, which was very simple; very sleek and unadorned. And yet, there were interesting lines in the hallway. We’ve all seen a lot of hospital rooms, but there was something about that particular room that had very clean lines and a huge window. In our minds, we decided this location was for terminal patients. This is not an ER ward or an intensive care ward. This is a ward where people are vegetables; where you keep them comfortable. It’s a very delicate scene.”

Annett Schulze, makeup and hair department head
“In researching Quinn’s condition, we had to think about what he would look like. Additionally, Carrie is exhausted. She had a somewhat normal life [when the season started] and had been happier than Carrie Mathison had ever been. That lasted about two weeks.”

Sean Callery, composer
“In every choice about the sounds — from the machines that keep someone alive, in Quinn’s breath and in Sean Callery’s music — all of these things, it comes down to the simplest thing, which is human emotion between two people.”

Michael Klick, line producer
“The show could not be made without him. People somehow think we have this huge budget and all this time. We don’t. I think we’re able to pull this off with the excellence of our production team.”

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