FBI’s new episode, Hacktivist, had the team tangling with that most dangerous creatures: a well-intentioned extremist.
While trying to bring one crime to light, someone went over the edge and put scores of people, including Jubal’s son, in grave danger.
The hacker strikes
The episode started on a light note as Jubal checked in with his son, Tyler, who was in a hospital awaiting surgery. Tyler confessed his fears about the future with his cancer and Jubal trying to cheer him up but was clearly more worried.
Without warning, the power went out, with Jubal going into cop mode to talk to some staffers who tried to play like it was nothing. One flash of his badge and they revealed both the main power and generators were down.
Jubal called the team with Isobel bringing the team up to speed on a cyberattack that they presumed was for a ransom. Rina checked with Jubal at the hospital, concerned he was too close to the situation, but he insisted he was fine.
Ian let them know the hacker had to have been on site to load up the virus. Jubal was already showing his concerns by demanding everyone in the hospital be polygraphed despite how impossible that was.
A surveillance video led to electronic store owner Jason Cook who made the classic mistake of trying to run when Stuart and Tiffany go after him. In interrogation, Jason said he only uploaded the virus in a “rubber ducky USB” for money with no idea what it was or who dropped it off. He then revealed he took this to six other hospitals.
Jubal then told the gang that instead of money, the hacker “wants us to find a serial killer.”
The hunt for a killer starts
According to the hacker (speaking in a disguised voice), someone had executed half a dozen former patients at Burwell Psychiatric Facility. The hacker made it clear they were not giving up any control to the hospitals until they discovered the killer.
The head of the facility refused to claim responsibility for anything odd happening despite the claims of the killer.
Jubal and his ex-wife Samantha were told Tyler needed an emergency splenectomy, a dangerous procedure in the best of times, let alone without full power. The team figured out that one of the victims, Anna Lewis, was best friends with Lydia Ryan (Bess Rous), a computer engineer who had tried to complain about the death.
The feds raided Lydia’s home to find her still working on the computer, telling the agents only she knew how to shut down the malware and wouldn’t until they found the killer. She claimed this was the only way to get anyone’s attention and refused to back down until Anna and the others she knew found justice.
When Isobel announced another Burwell patient was just found dead, Maggie realized Lydia wasn’t so crazy.
The danger for Jubal’s son grows
While it looked like an overdose, an examination revealed the patient, James, was poisoned to cause a heart attack. Realizing Lydia was right, Isobel pushed for the team to investigate more.
James’ sister arrived at the morgue to say her brother refused to return to Burwell, claiming someone there wanted to hurt him. She also said someone had called to try and find where James was.
At the hospital, the doctors broke it to Jubal that because of Tyler’s rare blood condition, they couldn’t do the surgery until the power was returned and couldn’t even risk moving him to another hospital.
Jubal went to see Lydia in interrogation, pleading with her to stop this on his son’s behalf and to end this before people started dying. When she refused, Jubal pressed her hard with Isobel pulling him out for a lecture.
Told that Burwell’s director, Pierce, wouldn’t cooperate, Jubal headed right to his office and forced the man and his aide, John McGuire (Frank Boyd), to hand over the files. Isobel was concerned about Jubal crossing the line.
Jubal realized that McGuire had accessed every one of the patient files, which he had no business doing. A call from Samantha got him to race back to the hospital.
The team found that McGuire had been John Mullen, who they realized killed his own bipolar father to put him out of his misery and soon decided to also “help” other mentally ill patients. A quick check revealed McGuire just happened to call in sick every day one of the murders was committed. Given he was off today, it was a race to find him fast.
Bringing both killers to justice
Wallace and Scola showed up at the house of McGuire’s latest victim, only for the mentally disturbed man to attack them with a knife. By the time they subdued him, McGuire had run off.
They tracked him to an abandoned building where McGuire attacked Wallace, claiming he was “helping” these people. He got her gun but Scola showed up in time to gun McGuire down.
Maggie brought Lydia right to the scene to see McGuire’s body and convince her it was over. Lydia didn’t believe her at first, clearly with her own mental problems but Maggie was able to use her sister being in rehab to sway Lydia over.
The power was restored with a grateful Jubal watching as Tyler was wheeled to surgery. Sadly, while Lydia was right about McGuire, a child died because the hospital staff couldn’t catch her condition, meaning Lydia would be charged with murder.
Rina went to check on Jubal as the doctor informed him Tyler would be okay. Jubal could only let out a sigh of relief to embrace Rina.
It was a rough hour for Jubal to press him to the edge and showed how far he’d go to save his son’s life. It was a strange mirror to how Lydia likewise went to extremes for justice, just in the wrong way.
FBI airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on CBS.