Warning: spoilers are forward for FBI‘s Season 7 winter premiere on CBS, referred to as “Descent” and set to stream with a Paramount+ subscription.
FBI returned to CBS within the 2025 TV schedule with a case that concerned a terror menace to New York Metropolis with hijacked planes, and that basically would have been sufficient for a full episode of the hit drama. As an alternative, “Descent” additionally included an emotional storyline for Scola as he thought again on his brother’s loss of life on 9/11. John Boyd, whose character remains to be between companions on the job, spoke with CinemaBlend about how Scola developed in addition to what might have been actually, actually, actually unhealthy.
The episode’s first scene between the brokers at 26 Fed (together with Nina with Shantel VanSanten crossing over from FBI: Most Wished earlier than a juicy story in that winter premiere) was fairly lighthearted, with Maggie and OA teasing Scola about an envelope that he is had on his desk for months with out opening and making an attempt to get Nina to open it. Scola was spared that occuring when the brokers needed to get on the case of the week, which began with the loss of life of an assistant U.S. lawyer and escalated to the purpose of terrorists taking distant management of dozens of home flights.
Scola was key to cracking the case regardless of being flooded with reminiscences of his brother, and John Boyd defined that he needed to play Scola in a means that wasn’t triggered by loss:
That was actually one thing that I needed to honor, honor individuals who carry that sort of loss. It is so deep inside us. Once you carry that sort of grief for that lengthy, it is not essentially one thing that you’ll present in your face at work. It is there. Everyone knows it is there. And there additionally simply is not quite a lot of time. It is concerning the case, till it is not. The case comes first proper now. That is the hand he is dealt, and he is bought to take care of it.
Scola did a superb job in specializing in the case even whereas the grief of dropping his brother was on his thoughts, and Maggie and OA actually assured that Douglas was already in his ideas once they teased him concerning the letter. I famous to Boyd that it was a very good factor they did not efficiently open the envelope in entrance of your entire workplace, and he responded:
I do know! Are you able to think about? That might have been so unhealthy. He must go dwelling. He would not have labored that day.
Luckily, the letter turned out to be excellent news when Scola lastly requested Nina to learn it to him. The New York Genetic Identification Challenge, which was devoted to figuring out victims of 9/11, was in a position to positively determine the stays of his brother due to superior DNA expertise. The letter ended with “Might this information carry you and your loved ones closure and peace of thoughts.”
It was a really candy approach to finish the episode, and Scola merely stated “They discovered him” as he held Nina shut. It is laborious to think about “Descent” hitting fairly as laborious emotionally if Shantel VanSanten hadn’t been in a position to cross over from FBI: Most Wished, and John Boyd addressed what it meant to Scola to have a accomplice at dwelling to carry him via it:
I feel anybody that is adopted this character for this lengthy, anybody that loves Scola or understands Scola is aware of that there is that a part of him that was closed off, that he does not present himself to everybody, that he stays guarded, and what it means to divulge heart’s contents to somebody, to have somebody that is protected. And to get to a spot in your life the place you are able to be susceptible sufficient to a accomplice and ask them for assist to do one thing that you just’re completely petrified of doing [is growth].
FBI is not a present that all the time offers in quite a lot of peace of thoughts, so Scola getting that excellent news about his brother was a strong approach to finish the winter premiere. Though he’ll by no means get Douglas again, he at the very least has one thing left of him. Boyd elaborated:
I actually noticed it as a go to from his brother. When there’s somebody that you have misplaced, he had nothing. He did not get to have one piece of him endlessly. He simply by no means knew the place he was. After which at some point, this letter is available in, and it is like his brother simply walks within the room and he is in a position to giggle and cry and revel in him. It was cool to get to do.
Hopefully Scola is ready to relaxation somewhat simpler shifting ahead, though the promo for the subsequent episode suggests that every one arms are going to be on deck for an additional terror menace. Curiously, there’s additionally a point out of the CIA within the preview that leads me to marvel if FBI is organising the potential FBI: CIA spinoff quite a bit sooner than anticipated. Have a look:
Watch On
Hold tuning in to CBS on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET for brand new episodes of FBI, forward of FBI: Worldwide at 9 p.m. ET and FBI: Most Wished at 10 p.m. ET. John Boyd already appeared on Most Wished as soon as this season, with Scola and Nina clashing quite a bit lower than final season. You could find that episode in addition to each different episode of the 2024-2025 TV season up to now streaming on Paramount+ now.