Warning: spoilers ahead for the fall finale of FBI: Most Wanted Season 4, called “Appeal.”
FBI: Most Wanted has come to an end in 2022 with the fall finale that took the team down to Arkansas following the assassination of three prosecutors. What first seemed like the case of an affair leading to a murderous rampage turned out to be politically motivated by the ambitions of a racist and sexist judge. While a lot of blood was shed before the team could close the case, Ray Cannon had another injustice on his mind throughout the episode. After Ray’s decision and the reveals about his past, actor Edwin Hodge opened up to CinemaBlend.
The episode opened for Ray on the walk to work with Hana, when they happened upon a shouting match due to a landlord raising his longtime tenant's rent by a whopping $2000, which she couldn’t afford and was facing eviction for herself and her son. Ray tried to interfere, but was called away by a case before he could help. The woman’s situation stayed on his mind, and Hana dug up some public record dirt on the landlord for him.
After some hesitation about using it, he ultimately took what she’d found to try and help the woman and her son. Ray paid the landlord a visit and called him out for tax evasion. He gave the landlord two options: he calls his buddies at the IRS about the $75,000 in back taxes, or the woman and her son would get another lease instead of jacking up the rent. The landlord chose the option that didn’t involve jail and tens of thousands of dollars.
Ray giving the landlord the choice and then not actually reporting him guarantees that two innocent people will be able to stay in their home instead of being evicted, but it may not be something that he would have done if he was on the job. Former Chicago Fire actor Edwin Hodge addressed why his Most Wanted character handled the situation the way he did:
You fight an injustice any way you can. Even if it means using someone’s dirty indiscretions to corner them. Morally, was it the right thing to do? I’ll leave that up to the audience to decide, but this was a way to help someone who he identified with because of his own past.
Ray fought injustice in this way while off the clock because he could identify with the woman and her son due to what he experienced with the gentrification in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This was a happy ending for two innocent people getting to keep their home thanks to Ray, but Edwin Hodge leaves it to viewers to decide if not reporting the landlord was the moral choice.
The agent also opened up in "Appeal" about his past in New Orleans and how he has continued to face prejudice due to the color of his skin throughout his career. He revealed that he's had to overcome a lot of hate, assumptions, and doubts about his abilities, and it shed more light than ever on Ray as a character on FBI: Most Wanted.
Edwin Hodge shared how he approached the scene as an actor opposite co-star Keisha Castle-Hughes (who recently had her own intense episode with Hana’s kidnapping), and the message he wanted to convey:
That was an interesting scene to execute. I wanted to find a nice balance of being upset about everything he’s gone through, but not being angry at the world. There’s a fight the African American population has continuously endured, and we’re exhausted by it all. We’re tired of fighting though we will continue to fight, and it shouldn’t be this way. Especially in the time we’re living in now. That’s more of the message I wanted to get across. We as a people have contributed so much to the growth of this nation and we just want the same acknowledgment and respect for what we’ve done. Stop trying to remove us from our homes where we are trying to live a happy progressive life like anyone else.
Ray was calm but clear in opening up to Hana about how he has had to work twice as hard to get half as far, and it was obvious that watching two people go through what he had to endure all those years ago in New Orleans weighed on him. He found a way to fight injustice and keep the mother and son in their home, and he got a win this week. The situation showed a different side of the character, and the actor weighed in with his thoughts on seeing this side of Ray explored further in the second half of Season 4:
I feel that anytime we have a chance to dig into the personal lives of these agents, it gives the show more body and depth. I’m sure we’ll see more of how Ray’s personal life influences his work life and vice versa.
FBI: Most Wanted rarely follows cases for more than one episode, as the team usually catches their fugitive and moves on to the next. That said, the aftermath of cases can continue to affect the characters, as with the death of Jess back in Season 3. Hana teased Ray about wanting to see more of the woman he was trying to help; whether or not she appears again in the new year remains to be seen.
The show has officially finished with new episodes for 2022, but fans won’t have to wait too long into the 2023 TV premiere schedule for the return. FBI: Most Wanted comes back with the winter premiere on Tuesday, January 3 in its usual time slot of 10 p.m. ET on CBS, following FBI: International (which has featured less of Luke Kleintank for a good reason) at 9 p.m. and FBI (which just brought back Nina) at 8 p.m. You can also revisit past episodes streaming with a Paramount+ subscription.
