FBI is finally on the way back to CBS with a new episode after a couple of weeks off, although it will be the final episode of 2022. Called “Fortunate Son,” it will bring back Shantel VanSanten as Nina after her departure earlier in Season 5, making it the very first episode featuring both Nina and Missy Peregrym as Maggie. When Peregrym spoke with CinemaBlend in honor of her own return from maternity leave, she opened up about how they could work together as a team, as well as the importance of women joining forces on the show.
Nina joined the team in the second half of Season 4 after Maggie was exposed to sarin gas and out of commission for the foreseeable future. She fit right in and even started a relationship with Scola, but decided to transfer away from the very dangerous job to a white-collar division of the Bureau after learning that she was pregnant. Now, Maggie is back, and Shantel VanSanten is set to appear in the fall finale on December 13. When I spoke with Missy Peregrym ahead of her return, she shared her thoughts on how the two agents could work together:
I think they'd be a badass duo. What I love about the show is that everybody has their strengths, and their shortcomings and what's great is when you mix partnerships, you get to actually play those things. I don't know what would come up for Maggie and Nina, but I'm always for that type of thing.
Considering how much of an asset Nina was in filling in for Maggie – who never shies away from making bold decisions, to the point that OA was worried after her and ultimately caused some tension before their breakthrough – and fit into the team so well that OA was confiding in her, can there be any doubt that they’d be a badass duo, as Missy Peregrym said? We spoke back in November, well ahead of Shantel VanSanten’s return in the fall finale, but the actress pointed out the perks of mixing partnerships.
While Maggie is more often teamed up with OA than anybody else, Missy Peregrym elaborated on how she feels about FBI allowing the female characters to work together, saying:
I also love episodes with Katherine [Renee Turner], where we get to play off of each other's characters. Anytime you have women teams, and they're really strong, they support each other instead of, you know, 'They can't get along because they're women.' There's room for two women in a room, it's okay! We can actually work very well together and we get a lot of shit done. But yeah, it'd be really fun. I would personally love to be able to play with [Shantel VanSanten].
Katherine Renee Turner plays Tiff, who joined the team and became Scola’s usual partner back in Season 3. FBI filled in some important blanks about Tiff and her background earlier in Season 5, and she supported Maggie upon her return in November. Along with Isobel, they definitely prove that women can easily work together. It seems safe to say that Maggie would welcome the chance to work with Nina, since Nina proved to be a very capable agent.
That said, there’s no guarantee that Nina and Maggie will even share scenes in Shantel VanSanten’s return in the fall finale. The CBS episode description reveals that Nina will reach out to Scola with a proposal, although he isn’t 100% convinced about accepting. Meanwhile, the case of the week will involve a teen coming to the FBI with a bag of fentanyl, in need of protection.
See what FBI has in store with the Season 5 fall finale on Tuesday, December 13 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, ahead of the fall finale of FBI: International at 9 p.m. and FBI: Most Wanted at 10 p.m. You can also revisit past episodes streaming with a Paramount+ subscription, and start planning ahead for the new year with our 2023 TV premiere schedule.
