Spoilers ahead for the Season 4 premiere of FBI and Season 3 premiere of FBI: Most Wanted on CBS, and updated with FBI: International.
The second season of FBI: Most Wanted ended on a cliffhanger that seemed to quite literally be killer, with Sarah's armed ex-husband Hugh breaking into the house where Sarah and Tali were alone, with Jess and Kenny outside and unable to come to the rescue right away. They did see what was happening, and the final sequence of Season 2 saw the two agents racing to the rescue and three gunshots ringing out, but no answers as to who was shot. The challenge in Most Wanted resolving that cliffhanger was the fact that the show was returning for Season 3 smack dab in the middle of a crossover with FBI and FBI: International, and here's how the show pulled it off.
There was a time jump between the end of Most Wanted Season 2 and the beginning of the crossover that started with the FBI Season 4 premiere, and no flashbacks, so viewers didn't get to see the immediate aftermath of Hugh going after Sarah and Tali. Kenny and Jess did both show up, with Kenny coming to FBI to reach out to a former brother-in-arms at the request of Maggie, so it was clear that they both survived the encounter with Hugh. Unfortunately, Kenny was shot by his former friend, and his fate was very much uncertain due to the wounds.
It was in a conversation between Jess and Maggie at the hospital that some clues began to emerge about what had happened immediately after the Most Wanted Season 2 cliffhanger. After Maggie delivered a not-too-promising update on Kenny's health, an upset Jess responded:
You know, Kenny's been having a hard time lately. He was involved in an off-duty shooting. He's been struggling ever since.... Putting him in the field to have him engage with a fellow soldier was a bad idea.
The mention that Kenny has been having a hard time and struggling since the shooting indicated that perhaps something had happened to Sarah or Tali, which would understandably upset anybody. After all, not only are they two civilians, but civilians that Kenny knew personally. That wouldn't have explained why Jess wasn't more broken up, but he wasn't exactly handling the personal elements of the case well with Kenny injured.
The next update on what happened came courtesy of Isobel, who pulled Jess aside at the hospital, and she had some good news for him (and fans) despite the case taking a turn for the worse.
Isobel: I just talked to OPR. You and Crosby have officially been cleared in the killing of Hugh Holt at your house.Jess: It was self-defense, Isobel. He was gonna shoot Tali and Sarah.Isobel: I know that. How are they doing?Jess: They're okay. We're gonna get through it. Thanks for asking.
Thanks for asking indeed, Isobel! That conversation clued viewers into the very good news that the only person who died due to the Season 2 finale cliffhanger was Hugh Holt, plus that both Jess and Kenny were cleared by the higher-ups at the FBI for taking action out of self-defense. Plus, Jess' response indicates that the ordeal didn't result in the end of his relationship with Sarah. Who could have guessed that the big answers about what happened at the end of FBI: Most Wanted's season finale would come in FBI's season premiere?
Of course, the FBI: Most Wanted hour of the crossover (which showcased new character Kristin Gaines) didn't have the best news to deliver when it comes to Kenny's fate. Still hospitalized due to his gunshot wound, there were some "complications" that meant the episode ended without definitively revealing his health status for the rest of Season 3, and it wasn't until the very end of of FBI: International that viewers learned what's next for Kenny.
Jess and Maggie made peace with each other once it was clear that Kenny would survive those complications that gave his friends quite a scare, but Kenny isn't going to be able to recover overnight. Jess explained:
He's doing all right. It's gonna be a long recovery. He's got family in Oklahoma who want to care for him.
So, Kenny is going to live, but depending on whether or not FBI: Most Wanted goes for a time jump between the crossover and the next episode, Season 3 might have to go on without Kellan Lutz for a while to fit with Jess' statement about a long recovery. For now, at least fans can rest easy knowing that Kenny didn't survive the Season 2 finale cliffhanger just to be killed off in the Season 3 premiere after struggling with the aftermath of the death of Hugh.
See what happens next in the FBI universe with new episodes of FBI at 8 p.m. ET, FBI: International at 9 p.m. ET, and FBI: Most Wanted at 10 p.m. ET, all on Tuesdays on CBS. More crossovers are on the way, according to the International showrunner, so be sure to tune in!
