After Brody's ill fate in Season 3, it is kind of expected that remnants of his character will be seen, or at least mentioned, in Season 4. But this isn't the direction that "Homeland" is taking in its new season. The show is moving on and moving forward, without even mentioning Brody's name is in its Season 4 premiere episode.

Zap2it had a deep talk with showrunner Alex Gansa, where Gansa shared why Brody's name isn't mentioned in the first episode "Drone Queen," and what direction they are taking for this new season.

"All of us here at 'Homeland' are aware of the significance of this season, and whether or not Carrie Mathison is a compelling enough character with the other immediate people in her world to push the story forward into a couple more seasons at least," says Gansa.

He clears that Season 4 won't just be a story about Carrie, her job, her baby and her struggle, it's also about her grief and guilt. But even so, there's no need to mention Brody's name because everyone knows that he is the father of Carrie's baby, and he is the cause of Carrie's misery right now. Indeed, Brody will haunt Carrie this season, but there's no need to refer to the name anymore.

Gansa explains, "Her culpability in terms of what happened last year is the thing that she hasn't really come to terms with. I mean, she sent the man she loved to his death essentially, and sent him on a mission from which he probably wouldn't return. If she really looks herself squarely in the mirror, she would understand that she was fairly complicit in what happened to him."

By being away from her child, focusing on being the drone queen is how Carrie copes and it's the best way of coping she knows. She just wants to focus all her time at work, so her brain is occupied all day until she sleeps at night. She copes by not thinking about Brody or feeling the grief and guilt. Carrie doesn't want to grieve.

Gansa also shared that he knew he lost fans when he killed of Brody. "I know that there are plenty of fans out there who are saying they're never going to watch the show again because Brody isn't in it."

But of course, the show must go on and "Homeland's" Season 4 will be a testing time. It will show if the story can actually hold up with its remaining characters and without Brody.

Gansa describes Season 4 as an experiment and he is optimistic about it. "But we'll see. We'll see on Oct. 5. Our job is to tell the best story we can in the time frame, and it's the audience's decision about whether they want to join that story or care about that story anymore," he concludes.

"Homeland" Season 4 premieres with a 2-hour episode on Oct. 5 on Showtime.