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The following contains spoilers from the postponed Season 4 finale of CBS‘ FBI, which aired (Stateside) on Oct. 4.
CBS’ FBI this Tuesday night aired its Season 4 finale, which was pulled at the last minute in late May, in the wake of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
After all, the episode “Prodigal Son” did revolve around a robbery involving a classmate of Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jubal Valentine’s son Tyler, named Zach. The cache of stolen weapons was found hidden in Zach’s bedroom, save for three guns including an AR-15. From the instant that Zach was confirmed to be somehow involved, Jubal leaned on Tyler for possible leads — only to later learn that Tyler didn’t disclose a phone call he got from Zach, who apparently is one of his few friends these days.
It was gleaned that Zach had a score of sorts to settle, stemming from an unrequited crush at a neighboring school. Jubal went to press Tyler again for info, only to find his son missing from his bedroom. Worried about what Zach may have planned for the nearby school, the race was on to find both him and Tyler. The teens were quickly tracked to a downtown book shop, where Jubal realized that Tyler had met up with Zach to talk him out of whatever he had planned.
A face-off followed, with Zach holding Tyler at gunpoint in front of an anxious Jubal. Zach wound up squeezing off a nervous shot at Jubal, but Tyler’s quick, brave thinking deflected the gun barrel and very possibly saved Dad’s life.
The crisis came at an already-delicate time in the father/son relationship, during which Jubal realized that Tyler was now using his mother’s maiden name, Kelton, at school. It also became clear over the hour that Tyler had issues with his dad’s lawman status.
TVLine asked FBI star Jeremy Sisto, who plays Jubal, how going through this crisis together, and even locking horns along the way, might inform the somewhat-fraught father/son dynamic.
Sisto emailed back, “Before we shot the episode, Caleb Reese Paul (who plays Tyler) and I were speaking, and I asked him why he thinks Tyler decided to change his last name and why he was having such a rough time. Caleb spoke about the challenges of having a dad who seemed almost like a superhero, and how living up to that perceived strength can be daunting.
“He (Caleb) understood that Tyler felt that because he was having challenges in his own life, he couldn’t relate to the image of his father,” Sisto continued. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Of course, Jubal doesn’t think of himself in that way,” Sisto noted. “He has an important job that he loves, but a lot of what he does is make sure all the pieces are in the right places so that the team operates at their highest potential. He didn’t see how the perception of his career could be affecting his son negatively. If anything, he thought his son was proud his father was an FBI agent.”
In closing, Sisto wrote that “despite the extremely scary and difficult circumstances of this episode, it gave Tyler the opportunity to prove to himself that he is a strong, courageous kid, and that his father is far from a superhero. I imagine this will bring them closer, as well as giving Tyler some confidence in his own life, which one needs plenty of in high school.”
Want scoop on FBI, or for any other show? Email InsideLine@tvline.com and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line.
An absolutely excellent sepisode. Best acting ever for Sisto. Bravo!
I understand why they pulled the episode at the time, but I’m really glad they decided to end up showing it. The moments with Jubal and Tyler were very meaningful. You can tell Jubal wants to be a good dad, but he needed a wake up call like this. Also shoutout to Mara Davi, who plays his ex wife, the role could be kind of thankless but she gives it life.
Incredible episode & Jeremy’s performance was amazing! The boy’s name was Zach not Clayton. Clayton killed himself at the beginning of the episode. Also wondering what happened to Jubal’s daughter? She disappeared!
Ah, thank you very much for the catch; I watched a few weeks ago ago, and didn’t have time for a rewatch.
No problem! 😊
A really powerful episode. Very tense and at times breathless. I had no idea how it would all end. Jeremy’s performance was one of his all-time best.
Our of curiosity, is it 100% identical to the original episode that aired in some parts of the world or did anything change in it?
I’m pretty sure it was the same although I can’t guarantee that as it has been 5 months. Watched it on Prime when they released it last year and rewatched it last night on CBS.
I liked this episode but it would have made more sense to air the birthday party episode after this one. Tyler goes from a few friends at a bday party, to a lone wolf making friends with a school shooter. Also where is the daughter? The highlight for me was Ben Shenkman. I also enjoy seeing him on screen.
I enjoyed the episode, but found Tyler insufferable up until he finally explained to his dad why he was friends with Zach. I know Jubal was running on fumes, but he needed more patience with Tyler. That moment between Jubal and his ex resonated with me, because it can be incredibly frustrating for one parent to do the heavy lifting every day and the other parent blaming them when something goes wrong. I’m glad Jubal realized his fault in not really connecting with his son. I hope this results in a stronger bond for them both and Jubal will take some real time off to be with him.
Ohatherv. My. God.
I liked the episode. However, I was praying that someone would grab that brat Tyler and just shake him until his teeth rattled.
I get that he’s gone through a traumatic experience. It’s not fun to face your mortality when you are so young. But what mother lets their kid take their maiden name because he feels like it? How is that helping the kid build resiliency?
Your FBI agent father earned you that your new friend had committed violent crimes and what do you do? Get huffy about it and withhold information.
Yeah, I got very tired of Tyler and his mother very quickly.
Why can’t I watch the FBI streaming on Paramount +
?
Glad I finally figured out what was going on. I kept thinking I’ve seen this. Why would they make another episode almost the same. Turns out I did see it, because I downloaded it when it was played outside of usa, but just now remembered that I did