FBI: Most Wanted Has Never Been Able To Recover After 1 Unfortunate Character Exit
FBI: Most Wanted has never found a way to move forward after losing one of its most popular characters. This FBI spin-off features a team that is close-knit by necessity. This team investigates the most violent federal cases imaginable and searches for hardened criminals who won’t hesitate to kidnap or kill either civilians or FBI agents. Thus, the team members must trust and rely on one another in order to survive confrontations with dangerous lawbreakers. It is especially important that the team trust and like their leader, considering the high-stakes cases they are investigating.
The team was originally led by Jess LaCroix (Julian McMahon), but McMahon elected to leave the series during FBI: Most Wanted season 3. FBI: Most Wanted replaced McMahon with Dylan McDermott as Special Agent Remy Scott after the tragic loss of LaCroix, and Scott has led the team ever since. FBI: Most Wanted has been confirmed for season 6, with Scott again leading the way even though his character has been underdeveloped in the three years he has been in charge of the team.
Jullian McMahon’s Exit Was Spectacularly Mishandled By FBI: Most Wanted
Killing Off LaCroix And Replacing McMahon With An Actor From Another Dick Wolf Show Didn’t Work
It was well publicized that McMahon had elected not to renew his contract, yet his exit was rushed and unnecessarily final. Rather than take a few episodes to set up a reasonable explanation for LaCroix’s departure, the character was killed off during a story in which the team was hunting a domestic abuser. LaCroix stood between the abuser and his intended target and was shot fatally in the neck. This led to powerful scenes in which the team had to inform LaCroix’s family of his death, but was ultimately disappointing because it was unnecessary to make the ending so permanent.
Lacroix could have been seriously injured and sent away to rehab, which would have allowed for the possibility of guest appearances in the future. This would have preserved the drama and shock of his exit without destroying the possibility of LaCroix returning. Killing the character off made it more difficult to accept his replacement. Additionally, Dylan McDermott began work as Remy Scott shortly after wrapping up a run as larger-than-life villain Richard Wheatley on Law & Order: Organized Crime. This made it difficult for those fans who watched both shows to accept Scott as a good guy without ulterior motives.
Why Dylan McDermott’s Remy Scott Shouldn’t Be Leading The Team
Scott Doesn’t Have the Empathy and Interesting Personal Life That LaCroix Did
Remy Scott has been a hard character to warm up to despite McDermott’s talent as an actor. Scott was originally introduced as an enigmatic figure who was there only to lead the team and didn’t divulge much about his personal life. This lack of information made him far less relatable, and his leadership style didn’t help matters. While LaCroix was an empathetic leader who bonded with his team, Scott tended to be harsh and intense. Scott’s communication style was especially off-putting during his early episodes, as he did not appear to be sensitive to the team’s grief over LaCroix’s death.
Scott’s grief and desire for answers about his brother’s death was an interesting story but failed to make Scott a more sympathetic figure…
Later seasons have attempted to rectify Scott’s character, but it hasn’t worked. Scott’s grief and desire for answers about his brother’s death was an interesting story but failed to make Scott a more sympathetic figure, and Scott’s attempt to bond with his nephew evaporated when his nephew abruptly left. Lacroix’s personal stories worked because the character had been carefully constructed and given relatable conflicts from the beginning, while Scott’s issues were added after the fact to attract greater interest. Additionally, Scott is often a one-note character who is singularly focused on finding the bad guys, making him uninteresting.
FBI: Most Wanted Has A Bad Track Record Of Replacing Characters
New Characters Are Rarely As Fully Developed As The Ones They’re Replacing
LaCroix is far from the only character to have left FBI: Most Wanted, and most exits have left big holes to be filled. The series has this habit of writing out the most interesting characters and either not replacing them at all or introducing blander characters to take their place. Although this series is a police procedural, the main characters are not interchangeable, so replacing compelling characters with stereotypical cops or characters who have no distinct personality won’t work.
One of the most recent departures was Kristin Gaines, who was herself a replacement for Kenny Crosby. Gaines was one of the more interesting members of the team as she had a teenage daughter who was similarly rebellious to LaCroix’s daughter. Gaines was replaced without much explanation by Nina Chase, who was originally a character on FBI. Chase could be a compelling character because she is married to another agent and the couple are new parents. However, this aspect of her character is ignored 95% of the time and instead she is shown only as an agent who has a brusque manner.
FBI: Most Wanted keeps going around in circles by starting to develop aspects of new agents’ personalities and then backing off. This is especially true in Remy Scott’s case. LaCroix’s sudden and unnecessary death put Scott at a disadvantage from the beginning, and one-dimensional writing has not helped that. The series needs to stop treating main characters as interchangeable if it hopes to retain audience interest despite cast changes.
FBI: Most Wanted airs on CBS on Tuesdays and streams on Paramount+.
