'Homeland' Obituary: Before the Shocking Death, a Memorable Figure

Major Homeland spoilers below.

Former Congressman Nicholas Brody, a Marine turned politician whose unsure loyalty in the War on Terror was the focus of several geopolitical incidents, died Sunday in a public hanging in Iran. He was 38.

Brody first came to the public’s attention in 2003, when he and a fellow Marine were captured by Ba’athist forces while serving in the Iraq War. Feared dead at home, Brody was sold to al-Qaeda leader Abu Nazir, who converted him to the Muslim faith and persuaded him to become an al-Qaeda operative.

In a plot masterminded by Nazir, Brody set himself up to be rescued by American forces. He returned to the United States a war hero, but worked secretly on a mission to gain the trust of Vice President William Walden, whom he planned to assassinate. Brody later abandoned this plan at the urging of his daughter.

In 2012, Brody won a special election for the Virginia congressional seat vacated by congressman Richard Johnson. Once in office, Brody posed as a loyal Walden supporter, but used his position inside the government to assist Nazir in his plots against the United States.

Months into his first term, Brody’s true allegiances were discovered by the CIA, who convinced him to work for the agency as a double agent, a position he maintained for the rest of his life. From here both the CIA and al-Qaeda used Brody as an agent to further their goals, with the congressman caught in the middle. Brody assisted Nazir in assassinating Walden, only to be framed by al-Qaeda for the bombing at CIA headquarters that killed 200 people, among them the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security.

An international fugitive after the bombing, Brody traveled to Venezuela, where he was again captured by the CIA and ordered to assassinate the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. To fulfill his mission, Brody infiltrated Iran under cover of political asylum, and let himself be used as a propaganda tool by the Iranian government. He was successful in killing his target, but was later captured and tried after the U.S. government refused to extract him from the country. He was sentenced to death by hanging and killed in a public execution.

Brody is survived by his wife Jessica, daughter Dana and son Chris. He also leaves behind an unborn child through his mistress, Carrie Mathison.

Watch PEOPLE’s supercut of Brody’s deepest sighs below:

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