There is a funny thing about the past – no matter how much of it passes, you can’t out run it. It will catch up with you in some way, shape, or form. The good, the bad, the ugly. It will all be there, ready to come out at times that you don’t expect, reminding you that you have no choice but to deal with it.
You have to deal with pain and happiness, trauma – everything that you feel. And in last nights FBI, Scola was slapped in the face with the past and learning how he couldn’t out run in.
Before we dive into the episode, let me say that I was glad that we finally are getting to know more about the characters beyond Maggie and OA. Even with them, we don’t get to learn a lot. Everything revolves around cases, which we do love, but sometime we want more. It’s important to recognize the others, because this show is so much more than Maggie and OA.
And I have felt like learning about Scola and Tiff has been not as important, and to me, it is as important as anything else. Scola seems somewhat cold at times, but we learn about why he’s so guarded, and the past that he can’t unrun.
This weeks episode is entitled, Fire and Rain, and the jist, “The team attempts to extract key information from a vulnerable 9/11 widow, Hannah Thompson (Janel Moloney), who is shocked that her new “boyfriend” is the manipulative leader of a terrorist group planning an attack. Also, Scola is reminded of his brother’s death on 9/11, and Tiffany worries about his emotional choices during the investigation.”
Scola’s brother passed away on September 11th, and he’s spent his life feeling guilty, blaming himself. They had had plans that morning, but Scola had cancelled. It’s his brothers birthday and he went to visit his brother at the cemetary, leaving before he would run into other members of the family.
Family he doesn’t talk to because it’s too painful.
The case that he gets a call on seems like it’s just a murder until the NYPD shows them why they were called in – the basement is filled with bomb making supplies. The basement has enough supplies and enough Ammonium Nitrate to bring down a city.
The FBI can show that he made at least one bomb. And so they know that the shooter made at least one bomb and the murderer took off with it.
After the team figures out a few leads, Maggie and OA are able to find the car – where there is still blood in the car. They enter the house, and Hannah (the owner of the car), is shocked and don’t know what is going on. When they bring her to 26 Fed, we find that Hannah’s husband passed on 9/11 also.
Scola and Tiff take a pass at Hannah. Turns out Hannah’s boyfriend has access to the car and her boyfriend is a terrorist. Hannah didn’t know who he was and watching it there are times where I believe her and times where I am like girl, do better.
Hannah hadn’t felt anything since her husband died. She was numb. She was still in pain. And this man had made her feel like she could feel again.
And that was a beautiful thing for her. So, I am not surprised that she was willing to do anything for him. Including falling for his lies, when he asked her for money to invest in his business. Would I pull 30K out of my retirement fund? Nope. But Hannah did. She wanted to do everything that she could to make him happy.
Hannah fell for her boyfriend and doesn’t want to believe that he could be the person that the FBI is describing. I actually feel for Hannah, because she’s naive and she just wanted to be loved. But love has a weird way of working – sometimes it is this overwhelming happiness and sometimes it is this overwhelming pain. We all live in denial when it something that we don’t want to hear.
And I also feel for Hannah, because Scola is so cold trying to explain things to her at times, and at others, he’s trying to be comforting. But I’ve come to realize that Tiff is changing him. She’s forcing him to bring out a side of his that isn’t so superficial.
Hannah is faced twice with the realization that the FBI isn’t lying and she’s doing everything that she can to help. But when you see the look in her eyes, you can’t help but wish you could fix this for her. Hell, we’d all feel stupid and taken advantage of in her situation.
But for Scola, he’s motivated in a way we’ve never seen. He’s always been a good agent, but he is willing to sacrifice everything to make sure that this case goes right. He is living with the survivors guilt of 9/11 and he doesn’t want that pain and anguish that he feels to be something anyone else ever feels.
And if we’re being honest, I can respect that. This is the kind of case that you sacrifice everything for.
Watching Scola take the lead on this and making sure that he solves this makes me see him in a different light. It makes me like this character more, because we see the development of the character.
FBI has always been a strong show, but over the years it’s grown to be stronger. I don’t want to say that it’s finding its footing, because it’s always had footing. But in this season, it’s found a way to start developing more characters outside of the job and in the job, to establish that this show could be like other Wolf Entertainment shows – in it for the long run.
Ultimately, that’s a good thing.
And in this episode, I will reiterate that the development of Scola, even though it’s just a peak inside his mind, is something that I have been waiting for. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to solve the case, including finding the terrorists brother and holding him next to the bomb as it’s running out of time, to force him to make a choice.
Stop the bomb or your brother dies.
I know that it’s not a good thing for Scola to do, but it was the last play. And he’s doing whatever it takes to make sure that the bomb doesn’t go off. He felt his back to the wall, and I think in one way it was him trying to make sure that he was there for his brother and that no one else had to go through what he does on a daily basis.
Scola could have lost his job, but this was something that he was willing to do. And it works – he’s able to diffuse the bomb.
But my favorite moment in this whole thing had nothing to do with solving the case. It had to do with Tiff meeting him at a bar and him opening up about his brother. It had to do with him admitting that he hasn’t seen his brothers family in five years.
Tiff isn’t afraid to tell Scola the truth. She’s not afraid to tell him that he needs to stop being afraid of connections and form some.
That’s the way partners should be. Honest, forthcoming, and there for each other. This episode is pivotal in understanding Scola and makes you root for him.
But it also solidifies that Tiff and Scola make a great team. However, we already knew that.
FBI airs Tuesdays on CBS.
