Homeland season 8 spoilers follow.
A rather epic, potentially heartbreaking reunion was cut from the "jaw-dropping" series finale of Homeland, as CIA agent Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes)'s daughter Franny was due to make a reappearance.
In an interview with TVLine, showrunner Alex Gansa has revealed the finale was originally due to open with a "significant" scene between the mother and daughter.
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"There was a very significant Carrie/Franny scene that opened the finale at one point," he revealed, adding that the scene was cut for "two big reasons".
Related: Homeland's Claire Danes opens up on the "cathartic moment" show ended
First up was a slight budget issue – apparently Homeland's purse strings had to be tightened to ensure they weren't spending too much per episode.
"One of the battles that you have making television shows is how much you're spending on every episode," Gansa explained. "And we just couldn't [financially] fit it in."
The second reason involved actress Claire Danes' feelings about the reunion, as she didn't feel quite right about it. So, they adapted.
"Claire felt very strongly that Carrie had made the decision to leave Franny behind in Season 7,” he says. “So we resolved that by having [Carrie grab a] photograph of Franny instead of [having a] scene."
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The penultimate episode did, however, feature a twist that teed up a shocking finale for Carrie, and according to fans, yesterday's ending was a "jaw-dropping" send-off.
After managing to sidestep the possible murder of her mentor Saul Berenson, Homeland introduced a time jump where Carrie has fled to Russia.
She's now living with Yevgeny Gromov and sending intelligence to Saul – effectively replacing the asset she was forced to dispose of earlier in the episode.
Homeland airs on Channel 4 in the UK and Showtime in the US.
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