Did the Homeland season 5 finale kill a major character?

Seems like it may be all up to interpretation.

The series 5 finale of Homeland looks as if it may have just bumped off one of its major characters.

*CAUTION: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*

Entitled A False Glimmer, the show's now left fans on absolute tenterhooks about the fate of one of its most beloved characters.

We opened on Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) running into reluctant jihadi Qasim (Alireza Bayram) in the Berlin subway as she attempted to stop Bibi (René Ifrah)'s plans to release sarin gas and create a massive loss of life in the city. Qasim joined her and together they managed to thwart the plans, though both Qasim and Bibi were killed in the process. 

The major plot thread now resolved, the rest of the running time was dedicated to the unresolved issues of its characters. Laura Sutton (Sarah Sokolovic) was finally arrested by the BND for her unchecked whistle-blowing; though Astrid (Nina Hoss) secured her cooperation by threatening to deport Numan (Atheer Adel) back to Turkey. Meanwhile, Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin) secured his revenge against Allison Carr (Miranda Otto); she was executed in the car carrying her to safety in Russia. 
 
But, there was one thing still plaguing the minds of fans. What of the fate of poor Peter Quinn (Rupert Friend), Carrie's longtime colleague? Still in a coma, suffering permanent brain damage at best if he ever recovered from the dosage of sarin gas he received.

We see Carrie read Quinn's letter, in which the conflicted black-ops agent declares his love for her and accepts the inevitable "darkness" of their world. Then, as she moves to disconnect him from his equipment, light suddenly bursts into the room. A signifier that Quinn has finally found peace?

Nothing's certain. The light does seem to mirror Quinn's last words to Carrie, that he would be a beacon of light to shine and guide her away from the rocks. It would be an extremely poetic manner in which to leave this Earth; that's for sure. That said, the light could also have been a sign Quinn's on the border of some sort of miraculous recovery, too. 

Showtime has announced the show will return in 2016.