FBI Season 8, Episode 7 goes in the opposite direction of most of this season’s episodes—and that’s why it almost entirely works. Some of the CBS show’s plots have been easy to figure out, but that allows for time to have more character development moments. “Fadeaway” has a plot with extra twists that risks becoming convoluted, but keeps the fans guessing for much longer.
The episode starts with the firebombing of an apartment building and ends with a prison riot, and there are four different suspects across the hour. Audiences will have to decide for themselves if they believe the real explanation: that a college basketball star got his 15-year-old girlfriend pregnant, murdered her when she refused to terminate the pregnancy, and then his parents tried to cover up the crime with the apartment building explosion. That’s a pretty massive scheme—which FBI has to explain by having Jubal Valentine and Isobel Castille spell it out to one of their suspects. Yet audiences are unlikely to have parsed it out before the team does, save the fact that Lorraine’s appearance in the beginning of the episode is foreshadowing.
Because of the extra twists in the tale, “Fadeaway” only has one truly significant character moment, which is Isobel changing her mind and deciding not to take the promotion to Assistant Director in Charge. It’s a genuine surprise, only because FBI viewers know how quickly characters can be written out. One just has to look at the revolving door of partners Stuart Scola has been through, or how Juliana Aidén Martinez came to the show after a relatively short tenure on Law & Order: SVU. If Alana de la Garza had been leaving the series, Isobel being promoted would have been the way to do it. But thankfully, she isn’t, and the scenes between her and Jeremy Sisto are reminders of how the two Law & Order alums really are a perfect pairing.
The action sequences in the middle of the episode are hit and miss. On the positive side, any reminder of OA Zidan’s action-hero skills is always welcome. On the less successful side, the prison riot actually feels kind of tame—just because other shows have been able to do more. Anyone who watches Mayor of Kingstown will think that this riot looks quaint as compared to the constant darkness on that program. And because it’s such a large-scale premise, the players within the prison are limited to basic character types.
But “Fadeaway” keeps things moving, and keeps the audience engaged throughout. Not every episode requires an in-depth character arc or a profound theme; those are great hours, but the best shows are able to tell different kinds of stories. This is a more action-oriented FBI, and it gives all the show’s main characters something to do. It also wraps up Isobel’s promotion subplot in a way that makes perfect sense—after the early scene in her office, no one in the audience would want to turn into her boss, either. This is a messy episode for certain, but one that clears the deck for the series’ next big event.
