There is nothing a mother wouldn’t do to save her child.
After a case where Wallace made the mistake of trusting the wrong person, FBI had a special Sunday night showing, which was a big one.
The abduction of a young boy seemed a straightforward case, only to take a dramatic turn when his mother’s secrets were revealed.
That put Nina in the middle of a huge struggle right when she and Scola faced a major turning point.
It ended in a way that writes off Shantel VanSanten while paving the way for Maggie’s upcoming return.
Between the compelling case and a stunning revelation, Double-Blind was one of the most important episodes yet of Season 5.
A shocking video abduction
At a New York cafe, a group of women talked with Liza Peters (Annika Boras) about her son Luke being a handful. She showed a video of him at home via her security camera. As she watched in horror, someone came inside to grab Luke.
Liza quickly called nanny Carmen (Wendy Lechuga), who went to check on Luke. Without warning, she was shot as the man knocked out Luke with chloroform and carried him off.
Scola met Nina at the scene, bringing up her seeing the doctor, with Nina brushing it off. Carmen was dead as Detective Shay (Jonathan Castro) showed them the scene.
Liza was distraught as she talked about the video, that she and Luke’s father, John, were on good terms, and that there was no chance he did this. Scola asked about DNA and monitoring phone lines, as Liza wanted her son back.
The team quickly checked on leads as John went to New York. They found some fingerprints as Liza was looking at photos of Luke. They matched Thomas Mitchum (Brian Sheppard), Carmen’s ex-boyfriend who had tried to rob Liza for his drug habit. Liza was terrified he might have taken Luke.
The team raided Mitchum’s home, where he tried running to flush some drugs down a toilet after a brief stand-off. Nina frantically looked for Luke but couldn’t find him.
Mitchum claimed to have no idea what happened and was shocked to see photos of Carmen dead. He claimed he and Carmen had still been together, and he’d been there for a tryst, but he’d left and seen a black sedan drive by.
The evidence backed Mitchum up as the team found a video of several men in a sedan by the house, one wearing the same jumpsuit as Luke’s abductor. One matched Akhman Petrov (Serge Didenko), who was part of a Chechen terrorist cell.
The obvious question was what a pack of Chechen terrorists would want with a kid from Brooklyn. Nina and Scola showed Liza photos of Akhman and his associates, and while Liza said it was a mistake, Scola and Nina could tell she somehow recognized them.
Scola wondered if this was somehow connected to Liza’s job as a consultant, and her brushing the question off enhanced their suspicions. Nina pressed Scola about his attitude, and Scola said something was off. Nina snapped that Liza was just a scared mother, and he said that relating to a mother wasn’t his job.
Two shocking secrets are revealed
They got a hit on Petrov’s car and began following it. He realized he was being tailed and took off. They chased him to a hotel, where the man shot a bystander and stole his motorcycle.
Nina and Scola cut the man off, with Nina forced to shoot him after he fired at her. It wasn’t Petrov but one of his men. The only clue on him was a receipt for some burner phones.
The team made an old-fashioned move of calling the phones to get a location on them. To their shock, Liza answered, saying she needed proof Luke was alive. As Jubal said, “This case makes less sense than it did five minutes ago.”
Liza had slipped out of the house as the team began tearing it apart. Nina felt Liza was trying to save her son, as Scola was worried about her looking dizzy. Nina spotted a secret safe hidden inside the fireplace.
Opening it, the agents found stacks of foreign currency, credit cards, and passports of, Liza with different names and disguises. One was Russian and used to travel abroad a lot.
Isobel realized this woman was a spy and their CIA rep Anne Potter (Emily Donahoe) confirmed Liza worked for them.
Scola confronted Nina about her health, and she finally admitted she was pregnant. Scola was rocked at the idea of being a father as Nina confessed she had no idea what she would do.
CIA Officer Peter Bradford (David Wilson Barnes) said Liza had been a top operative but quit field work after Luke was born. The team suspected Petrov’s group had somehow figured out who Liza was to go after her.
Bradford said this might be tied to Milena Kerimova, an activist who’d been railing against Petrov’s group. Liza had recruited Milena into the CIA, but Liza had gotten her into a safe location in Long Island.
The team realized Petrov kidnapped Luke to blackmail Liza into giving up where Milena was. The team headed to the safehouse only to realize Liza had tricked the agents into handing over Milena to “transfer her to a safe location.”
Bringing the boy home
The team found a video of Liza while wondering if she was really going to hand Milena over or had a plan. Nina and Scola found Liza in her car in a field with Milena knocked out in the backseat.
Liza admitted she couldn’t go through with turning Milena over as she knew the meeting’s location. Nina pointed out that she and Milena looked enough alike to fool Petrov long enough to make sure Luke was alive.
Scola protested as Petrov had killed his own brother to show how ruthless he was, but Nina fired back that it was their only move.
With the agents watching, Liza showed up at the meeting location with a bound and gagged Nina. A van pulled up, but it didn’t appear it had either Petrov or Luke inside.
The driver studied Nina and then got in the car with her and Liza to drive to a new location. Scola wanted to end the operation but was overruled. Wallace assured Scola Nina had this, not knowing why he was so worried.
Liza insisted on proof Luke was alive, with the thug calling up his boss to put him on the phone begging for his mother. Liza quickly drove her and Nina off.
The car pulled to a private road which the FBI couldn’t follow. Liza and Nina found themselves in an abandoned waterway as the man started speaking Russian, suspicious Nina didn’t answer him.
Nina got out of her bonds to grab the guy’s gun while Liza subdued him. Liza didn’t want to wait but headed in for her son, with Nina following.
The pair entered with a man firing at them, shooting Liza in the leg. Nina headed to find Luke, only to be confronted by Petrov. Before he could do anything, Scola arrived to shoot him.
Luke’s father had arrived to pick him up as paramedics were tending to Liza. She was also technically under arrest for kidnapping and violating the Espionage Act, although Nina offered to help her out. Liza said it was all right as long as Luke was safe.
The agents saw Nina talking to Isobel and the pair sharing a hug. Nina told the team she was leaving for a job in the white-collar division. She was tearful, bidding them farewell.
Scola met Nina by the elevators to ask why she was really leaving. Nina said she needed time away to figure out her life and the baby. She finally kissed and hugged him, crying as she said goodbye, leaving a heartbroken Scola behind.
It was a big hour to send Nina off, although the door is open for a return while Scola has to adjust to possibly becoming a father, making for a dramatic hour.
FBI Season 5 returns with new episodes Tuesday, November 15 at 8/7c on CBS.