The long-delayed season premiere managed to be both surprising and disappointing.
FBI Season 6 Episode 1 did start with a bang. It also was topical, with terrorists and innocent civilians being killed as part of the narrative.
But it’s a Dick Wolf production. “Ripped from the headlines” is to be expected.
Also, after the writers’ and actors’ strikes had been settled, there were rumors that a character would be written off the series.
The logical choice to be gone was Stuart Scola. After all, things hadn’t been good between him and Isobel since FBI Season 5 Episode 17, when she refused to inform him that his baby mama, Nina Chase, had been shot on a dangerous mission.
Isobel had her reasons. Scola was undercover, and she didn’t want him distracted. He also didn’t like the fact that everyone felt the need to lie to him, basically under Isobel’s orders.
Also, Nina has moved to FBI: Most Wanted’s Fugitive Task Force. So how are they going to co-parent with him based in New York and her heading out in pursuit at a moment’s notice?
But apparently, those are questions for future episodes, if they get discussed at all.
Instead, the new father, Stuart, got short shrift. He’s late, tired, and scatterbrained as a result, just like every other first-time parent. Boring.
Maybe that’s why he ended up killing the suspect that he had just lectured the tactical officer about how he needed to be taken alive.
Hopefully, Scola’s trademark snark didn’t get lost during his transition to parenthood. It would be a shame if his role now is to be the butt of new-dad jokes, as it was on this episode.
So instead of Stuart being written out, it was Special Agent Trevor Hobbs, the fourth-most familiar face in the Joint Operations Center behind Kelly, Elise, and Ian.
Yup, that’s right. The ballyhooed eliminated character recurred in about 30 percent of the episodes over six seasons, with some regular viewers not even sure of his name.
Initially, after more poking fun at Scola, it just appeared to be one of those fun outings for a JOC character, like when Kelly got caught in a bank robbery on FBI Season 5 Episode 11.
And it was a nice touch when the team gathered to toast Hobbs at the conclusion when we learned that it was him who gave OA a much-needed nickname.
But unfortunately, Hobbs was just a prop on a Tiffany-centric episode, of all things.
Sure, Tiffany deserves her time in the spotlight. But did she have to be put in a situation where she blamed herself for her decisions through the bulk of the case?
We should blame Jubal instead. He was the one who blurted out what was on Tiffany’s evaluation and that she should show more leadership skills by taking initiative.
Let’s recap. Tiffany is the youngest of the four featured agents. She’s keeping her head down and learning from his coworkers. Isn’t that what she should have been doing?
But Jubal had planted the seed. So Tiffany decided they needed to infiltrate a restaurant in Harlem where the bomber had been radicalized. So she recruited Hobbs because, well, look around that room. Her options were limited.
At the restaurant, she pushed Hobbs to follow Hakim into the men’s room to make sure he was the suspect they were seeking.
But Hobbs didn’t get shot because Tiffany sent him into danger. He got shot because he got made. There was probably a little rust from all that time working behind the scenes.
Isobel should have put Tiffany into more of a support role since there were plenty of signs that she was in shock. Of course, Tiffany said she was fine. But Isobel gets paid to make the tough calls and should have found a way to sideline her.
That’s just Isobel’s people skills shining through again. Just ask Scola after his selective amnesia clears.
Instead, Tiffany spent the rest of the case being all aggro and out of character. She felt she had created this situation, and she was determined to be the person who fixed it.
Just what Maggie needed in the midst of a manhunt: a hotheaded agent with something to prove. You know, one who will attempt to chase down a suspect alone.
Only this time, the good guy got hit by a moving vehicle instead of the suspect. That was an unexpected change of pace.
After setting her off on this mission, it was only right when Jubal tried to give Tiffany some perspective on making the tough calls. But she was just too close to the situation to digest his words yet.
Now, how will this affect Tiffany for the rest of the season? Will she process it and move on? Or will it continue to haunt her?
It seemed like things were going fairly well for Jubal, although his son Tyler was having to adjust to a new school.
Is this fallout from his approval for his ex-wife to live in the suburbs with her new boyfriend on FBI Season 5 Episode 3?
Oh, well, at least his sobriety and Tyler’s cancer didn’t come up. So those are good signs anyway.
Will you miss Hobbs?
What did you think of this season opener?
