While the FBI: Most Wanted season 5 finale is one of the most high-stakes episodes to date, it ends on an optimistic note, providing viewers with peace of mind until the series returns in the fall. “Powderfinger” sees the team race to stop a former employee of an airplane manufacturing company from detonating radioactive bombs throughout New York City. The events occur directly before Ray and Cora’s wedding, casting doubt on whether the couple will make it down the aisle.
Although he was initially worried about what may transpire, Edwin Hodge, who plays Special Agent Ray Cannon, is excited that the characters end the season as husband and wife. He believes that there’s more to FBI than crime fighting, and the show’s celebratory moments allow the audience to connect to the characters in a different way. With FBI: Most Wanted Season 6 on the horizon, Hodge is looking forward to what’s next for Ray and his new family.
Screen Rant interviewed Hodge about Ray’s wedding in the FBI: Most Wanted season 5 finale, his new role as a father, and his crossover hopes.
Edwin Hodge Always Knew Cora Would Be Integral To Ray’s Story
Screen Rant: A lot goes down in this finale, especially with the case. What was your reaction when you first read the script?
Edwin Hodge: I don’t think I can say. It was, “Oh my God, what the hell’s going on?” It was great. The case is huge. I’m not gonna lie, going into the third act, I was afraid of what was going to transpire. But the writers did an amazing job of balancing the intensity, and the love and lightheartedness within this episode.
We get more of Cora this season than ever before. When you were first introduced to the character, did you know that she was going to play such a big role in Ray’s storyline?
Edwin Hodge: Yes. I knew she was going to be around. I didn’t know in what capacity the writers were streamlining the storyline. I knew she was going to be an integral part of Ray and the character build-up. They had to introduce something, someone that would make him have to think otherwise, in a sense. He’s dedicated to the job, but now there’s something that he’s gonna have to balance within himself and within his life, in general, and that is Cora and Caleb. He’s obviously seeking guidance from his father, but it’s a nice balancing act that I’m enjoying to see play out.
As we saw with Barnes and Charlotte, agents often struggle to balance their career with their family life. Do you foresee that being an obstacle in Ray and Cora’s future?
Edwin Hodge: I’m sure it’s gonna become an obstacle. We kind of get a taste of it in the finale, but that is part of the job. It is the sacrifice, it’s the waiting as far as Cora and Caleb are concerned. Every day, they’re going to be waiting for Ray to come home. What does that do to one’s mental capacity to actually sustain their sanity while they’re waiting for the one person they love to return home, be it from the FBI, war, our soldiers who are overseas? We identify with a lot of that.
Like I said, I think this is something that we definitely are going to need to play out, should play out. We need to see that conflict.
FBI: Most Wanted Season 6 Will Likely Build On Ray And Caleb’s Relationship
Ray is officially going to be a father to Caleb, so what do you imagine that role might look like for him next season?
Edwin Hodge: It’s gonna change a lot. I don’t know exactly how it’s gonna change. When I’ve seen some really, really close friends of mine become fathers, it changes them a lot. To the core, they still are who they are, but having to be responsible for another life, a life that they created, a life that is their own, it changes the person. When you’re stepping into the life of a child who may have not known love from a father or what it feels like to have a father figure in his life, there is a true responsibility to make sure that you nurture this kid as if he were your own.
I love the relationship between Ray and Caleb. Right now, it’s really, really fun. Caleb looks up to him. At the same time, Caleb is his own little man, and Ray gives him that respect. But at the same time, I’m sure there are gonna be moments where Ray’s gonna have to discipline him a little bit, something’s gonna have to fly off the rails, maybe Cory doesn’t like it. I don’t know. Who knows? But I’m sure they’re going to intensify the relationship in many ways.
We get to see the wedding. I’m so happy that it happened despite everything else that was going on. How was filming all the festivities with the rest of the cast?
Edwin Hodge: It was fun. It was fun to play husband for a day on set. It’s not often we have a lot of scenes where we’re all there living in the moment. A lot of times, we’re handling a case or whatnot, but it’s nice to see us have some drinks and laugh and dance and connect with the audience in a different way. It doesn’t always have to be about crime fighting. It is about who they are personally. It is about how they interact with the world around them. I think the wedding provides a nice moment for all of that.
Hodge Hopes To Share Scenes With Zeeko Zaki In The Future
Switching gears, other characters have crossed over to FBI and International, but you haven’t yet.
Edwin Hodge: I haven’t been able to cross over to another show. So David Hudgins…Ken Girotti…if you guys want to [put me] in the next crossover, that’d be cool. You can definitely send me to International. I don’t mind being over there in a foreign country for two weeks. So whatever it may be, if possible, that’d be great.
Is there a character from one of the other shows you’d like Ray to build a rapport with?
Edwin Hodge: I get that question a lot, and my answer is Zeeko Zaki, man. Honestly, I love him. We actually have a longer relationship than most people think. We actually worked together on a project back in 2016. I loved his energy then, and his energy hasn’t changed now. He’s intense. He’s dedicated to the craft. For some reason, I just see Ray and [OA] running next to each other trying to take down the bad guys.
Looking back, what were your thoughts on season 5 as a whole?
Edwin Hodge: As a season as a whole, I loved it. The episode that got me was the fentanyl poisoning, the kids, little babies. When we walked into the scene, obviously there were fake babies there first, and then they put the real babies down there, but it really hit close to home. How someone being so careless could destroy the lives of so many. I think we see it on the daily, sadly. That episode really touched my heart.
Our writers do a great job of bringing cases to you guys that, if they happen in real life or not, we try to amplify them as much as possible. Working with our cast, we do our due diligence to make sure that the story that we’re telling is authentic as well. So very, very happy with the season. I think this season ended off well, and it’s only given us more momentum going into next.
Lastly, is there a storyline that you would like to see explored for Ray? Do you have any personal hopes or theories?
Edwin Hodge: Good question! There are so many different directions Ray can go in. I haven’t really thought of one, specifically. The one I really wanted last year that they did already was the episode where my father was in danger. In my mind, it was like, “What if there’s something that my father did, and it came back on him, and then Ray had to step in?” and it happened.
I think anything that’s going to put his family in danger will be really crucial for Ray. We’ll see what happens.
About FBI: Most Wanted Season 5
From Emmy Award winner Dick Wolf, FBI: MOST WANTED is a high-stakes drama that focuses on the Fugitive Task Force, an elite unit that relentlessly pursues and captures the notorious criminals on the Bureau’s Most Wanted list. The team’s charming but formidable leader is Supervisory Special Agent Remy Scott, who started his career in the New York FBI field office before rising through the ranks of the Bureau in Philadelphia and Las Vegas.
Check out our other FBI interviews, as well:
Eva-Jane Willis
Katherine Renee Kane
Jeremy Sisto
John Boyd
Roxy Sternberg
Vinessa Vidotto
Zeeko Zaki
FBI: Most Wanted is currently available to stream on Paramount+.
