A combination season finale and anniversary episode should have had a little bit more oomph to it.
Still, FBI Season 5 Episode 23 was an enjoyable blend of a suspenseful case continually interrupted by two agents’ medical drama.
But that’s FBI for you, which has been balancing the procedural and personal for 100 episodes.
Often, the action tilts toward the procedural, which was the situation again this week. And, to allow time for Scola and Nina’s baby drama, the case came together a little too simply.
When a hotshot surgeon was killed and posed Criminal Minds-style, that just screamed serial killer.
And it took, what, a few hours to prove that to be the case when a respected military officer turned up murdered in precisely the same sicko way.
Maggie and OA barely had time to unpack the first red herring before the second murder happened while the person of interest was still in the interrogation room.
The killer was sloppy enough to get caught on camera that time, giving them an image they could attempt to identify.
The rosary beads the killer uses tracked back to exactly one church, and the father there instantly identified their photo as a former employee who began to think of himself as God.
Then the padre gave them the nutjob’s address, which was, not surprisingly, an abandoned church, in other words, a house of God.
So, less than one-third of the way through, the agents knew who the killer was and had been told where his base of operations was. Much of the heavy lifting had been done already, leaving lots of time for a quick search before he kills again.
After crashing into an impressive-looking closed church, they came upon further proof the man they were pursuing was seriously warped as if there had been any doubt.
Tiffany and Scola found his assault center, complete with clippings that could point to his future targets.
At the same time, Maggie located Silver’s Mary, a social worker he had abducted to bear him a son, another delusion that didn’t come to pass.
The treasure trove of materials they brought back allowed a profiler they had brought in to proclaim Silver had a God complex and was offended by offers who made choices about people’s lives, such as a surgeon and a military officer.
Well, no duh. But using those clippings, Elise could pick out Silver’s next target, a judge whose comments put him in the line of fire.
So, the team had Silver’s next target and knew the car that he was driving. (Side note: How does anyone expect to race away to freedom by car in New York City?)
From there, it was a simple matter of finding and taking the getaway car out of action and then protecting the obstinate judge from himself.
That left Maggie, OA, and Tiffany to track down Silver in, granted, a large courthouse. Silver still managed to create chaos and escape long enough to steal a car, extending the chase.
It was somehow appropriate that they had to track Silver down in a foggy, spooky cemetery.
Maggie violated a cardinal rule heading into that mausoleum without communications or backup. Then she lost the hand-to-hand battle with Silver because of surprise and his psycho strength.
But in the end, they got him trussed up for transportation to the nearest psychiatric facility. Maybe he could become a chaplain.
Their chasing a would-be diety around the city was the lesser of the two storylines. Naturally, Nina and Scola were having problems again.
We hadn’t seen much of Nina since she went and got herself shot disobeying Jubal’s orders back on FBI Season 5 Episode 17. She appeared to be taking it easy, as she should have been.
Although making color choices for the nursery could be considered stressful, opting for blue shades proved prescient.
Nina feeling dizzy in the nursery was an obvious sign of future things. And, shockingly, she did follow through rather than blow off Stuart’s request. Maybe she’s learning to listen to her body.
That began Scola’s day of back and forth, back and forth. During the investigation, he attempted to pull his weight, but everyone understood why he kept one eye on his phone.
Didn’t Nina realize there was no way to soft-pedal to Stuart, the doctor telling her to come to the hospital because he didn’t like something he’d seen in her bloodwork?
It was literally a case of something Nina ate disagreeing with her. But because it could affect the baby, her doctor tried to treat it with antibiotics.
Of course, this being Nina and Scola wasn’t that simple. Instead, she would have to deliver a month early by caesarian.
And as soon as Stuart raced back for the final time, the doctor made him decide who was the priority to save: Nina or the baby.
Naturally, he chose Nina. But this being the season finale and an anniversary episode, Nina and baby boy Douglas (named after Scola’s brother) survived. After all the crap Stuart has been through this season, that’s only right.
Better news, it doesn’t appear Scola is leaving, which had been hinted at. Nina’s status is up in the air. But her maternity leave gives time to figure out that question.
To follow Scola and Nina’s travails, watch FBI online.
Did the case feel a little rushed?
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Were you expecting Nina and the baby to be OK?
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Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.