Spoilers ahead for the Season 4 midseason finale of FBI, called “Unfinished Business.”
FBI brought back one of its most formidable foes for the midseason finale, and David Zayas’ Vargas didn’t even need to be free from prison to wreak havoc again for the team. He managed to orchestrate some assassination attempts from behind bars, and as of the end of the episode, it’s possible that one of those attempts succeeded. Kathleen Munroe’s Rina was shot in the opening moments of “Unfinished Business” when heading to work with Jubal, and her fate is uncertain heading into hiatus. Jeremy Sisto spoke with CinemaBlend about when Season 4 will explore her unresolved fate, as well as Jubal’s feelings of guilt after the shooting.
Rina fortunately survived the initial shooting but suffered some complications at the hospital, and there are no guarantees that she’s going to survive. While working the case, Jubal also had to deal with his emotional turmoil at the woman he cares for being shot when he was right by her side. As for whether or not Rina will survive, Jeremy Sisto shared that fans shouldn’t expect that cliffhanger to be resolved within the first few minutes of the winter premiere, saying about the Rina shooting twist:
I had heard about that shortly before I read the script, and I was saddened from Jubal's standpoint, but as an actor I was also saddened because working with Kathleen [Munroe] is great, such a good actress. And getting shot is never a great thing for the next few episodes. But as an actor, I knew it was going to be a chance for [showrunner] Rick [Eid] and the writers to kind of further explore Jubal and his past and who he is as a human being and his recovery as an alcoholic, and just all of the things that make Jubal an interesting character. I knew it was going to be a chance to continue that journey of uncovering the layers beneath. So yeah, it was one of excitement. I'm always grateful when the writers choose to spend their real estate on exploring the character they've hired me to play.
As the actor pointed out, getting shot wasn’t exactly the best news for Kathleen Munroe’s character, but Jubal has already gotten some meaty story material out of it, and the story will last for “the next few episodes.” It has already provided a new window into Jubal as a character, and showrunner Rick Eid (who left his role as Chicago P.D. showrunner to focus on the CBS show) and the writers evidently have plans for this story that will last for some time into the second half of Season 4.
Although Jeremy Sisto of course couldn’t spoil all the details about what fans can look forward to (or worry about) for what comes next for Rina, he did elaborate on the uphill battle that she’s facing in upcoming episodes:
Well, she is still alive at the end of this episode. And we're still hoping that she recovers. Of course, it's not a great prognosis. But we won't find out for a couple of episodes, whether or not it looks like she's gonna pull through. When you have aneurysms, when brain [is] bleeding, there's possibility for recovery, but it's always... the level of damage done is hard to predict.
Rina was unconscious in a hospital bed by the end of the episode, and Jubal didn’t seem optimistic about a best case scenario. He also had an encounter with her ex-husband, which would have been just plain awkward and uncomfortable under normal circumstances considering Jubal’s role in the end of their marriage. With both men deeply upset about Rina’s state, there was an added element of mourning… and in Jubal’s case, guilt. He made a speech to apologize for everything that had happened, but her ex dismissed it as “selfish.” Jeremy Sisto weighed in on the scenes between Jubal and the ex, and how they showed a different side of his character:
I was very surprised initially that they chose to have this character. Originally, there was the idea of Jubal apologizing wasn't a part of the scenes. I'm glad they became [part of them] because it seemed an interesting thing for Jubal to do. He's very, as one is when they've used a 12-step program such as AA to kind of help themselves, very within the process of that. His instinct is kind of, 'What do I need to do to make sure I stay on the right path here?' And so he kind of impulsively apologizes. It's something that it seems like he hadn't done before, even though that's one of the steps in recovery is to kind of apologize to the people you've wronged in the past, and seems like he hadn't done that. And he sort of takes this opportunity, and it's interesting. It's a little selfish, sure, and he kind of gets called out for that.
His apology getting shut down obviously didn’t make Jubal feel any better, and it had been a rough episode all around as Isobel tried to keep him on a short leash when it came to the actual investigation, and he came a little too close for comfort when it came to crossing lines. Sisto continued, commenting on why Jubal feels “guilt” for what happened to Rina despite the blame lying squarely with Vargas:
It's also pretty interesting that he goes to a place – as a lot of people do, I think it's a natural thing to do – is blame yourself. And not even knowing why or just feeling guilty. When you lose somebody, there's just often for a lot of people, including myself, guilt just comes storming in. Sometimes you don't even know why, you just feel somehow responsible. And that's what Jubal goes through in this moment. And yeah, for someone you see usually so sort of in command of his objectives and so kind of on the forefront of the action – at least mentally – he's always got every case in his brain, so firmly... So it's interesting to see him kind of flailing around, not knowing what to do or not knowing what he is feeling, what he's supposed to be feeling. You know, I think it's pretty sad.
Unfortunately for Jubal, it will take multiple episodes for FBI to explore and settle Rina’s fate, and there’s no guarantee that she’ll fully recover from the shooting, even if she survives. It should be interesting to see if there’s a time jump on the way. This wasn’t an immediate life-or-death cliffhanger, so it’s possible that FBI will skip ahead some time. Find out when FBI returns for the second half of Season 4 on Tuesday, January 4 at 8 p.m. ET, followed by FBI: International at 9 p.m. ET and finally FBI: Most Wanted back in its usual time slot, all on CBS.
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