FBI fans will finally get to see last season’s finale.
CBS has announced that the planned Season 4 finale will air as part of Season 5 on October 4.
The episode, titled Prodigal Son, was to have aired on May 24 but was pulled at the last minute due to its parallels to a real-life tragedy.
After rumors of whether or not it will air, fans will finally get to see the storyline involving stopping a school shooting which also has a major push for Jubal Valentine.
Jeremy Sisto shared some fresh thoughts on the episode and what it means for Jubal’s future and family.
With this controversial finale finally airing after a delay, fans are excited to see how Season 4 of FBI was to conclude.
The controversial delay for the FBI Season 4 finale
Initially, the Season 4 finale of FBI was to have aired on May 24 as part of the regular season finales for the franchise.
Entitled Prodigal Son, the synopsis for the episode stated, “as the team investigates a deadly robbery that garnered a cache of automatic weapons for the killers, they discover one of the perps is a classmate of Jubal’s son, who is reluctant to cooperate with the case.”
The episode had been set for its airing, but only hours beforehand, the tragic school shooting at Uvalde, Texas, took place. CBS decided that airing an episode involving this plotline right after such an event would be wrong.
The episode was pulled for a rerun, although the scheduled season finales for FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted did air as planned.
There had been a question if CBS would air the episode as the Season 5 premiere, but CBS has now announced it will air on October 4, making it the third episode of Season 5.
The delay is intriguing as the main plotline can still play into events of the Season 5 premiere, where Jubal was forced to miss his son Tyler’s (Caleb Reese Paul) birthday because of a case.
It looks as if this episode will put Jubal through a big wringer.
What is happing with Jubal in this episode?
Speaking to TV Line, Sisto shared how the episode will work and what it means for Jubal.
“I haven’t seen the episode. I’ll be watching with everyone else, so I can’t speak to the final product, but I was very impressed with [executive producer/showrunner] Rick Eid’s script. He’s a great writer, and this script really showcases his ability to tie the emotional character story to the action of the episode.”
Sisto says a key to the episode is Jubal finding it more difficult to handle his son’s problems than the violent crime he deals with every day with the FBI.
“As a parent you’re always weighing what your child or a co-parent thinks is right to our own instincts. Often it is smart to temper your reactions but, when you do, you run the risk of really letting your kid down. To see Jubal, who is constantly making big decisions with life or death consequences, make mistakes in this very different but equally important space makes the character so relatable. Jubal has been through a lot and he is in a pretty resilient place but when it starts to become clear to him how he may have failed his son, it is a heavy blow.”
Jubal will be aided by ex-wife Samantha (Mara Davi), although she’s warned Jubal that Tyler is still recovering from leukemia and feeling it hard to make friends. This may put a strain on the family.
“Sam is very understanding. She knew when she started a family with an FBI agent that Jubal’s job would be demanding and she respects that. But when your kid is struggling, the last thing you want is your partner to minimize it. And she has to push up against it.”
As he tries to push Tyler to give up a friend to stop this tragedy, Jubal may drive the family toward a fracturing point.
“Things get pretty hairy in this episode,” Sisto previews, “and if the damage can’t be undone, their lives will become very dark.”
As fans finally get to see this “missing” episode of FBI Season 4 unfold, the effects can still be felt across Season 5.
FBI Season 5 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on CBS.