How did Jess LaCroix leave the team in FBI: Most Wanted?
We knew we were saying goodbye to Jess LaCroix on FBI: Most Wanted this week. The question was how Julian McMahon’s exit would be written in.
Caution: There are spoilers from FBI: Most Wanted Season 3, Episode 14 in this post.
There are two main ways a character can leave a TV series. They either leave for pastures new or they are killed off. Knowing that Julian McMahon was leaving FBI: Most Wanted in the March 8 episode, we were left wondering which way the writers would go.
It looked like there could be a way to write him out through an exit. Jess and Sarah were planning a dream vacation, but would Jess choose to make it an extended leave from his job? The end of the hour gave us all the answers we needed.
What happened to Jess LaCroix on FBI: Most Wanted?
The show opted for an ultimate exit. While the team hunted down an abusive man, things got extremely dangerous. Jess was shot and left bleeding out on the road. Hana and Barnes were there by his side, both of them willing him to stay with them as the ambulance arrived.
It was only at the end that we got confirmation that Jess wasn’t able to stay with them. The women handed Sarah his bloodied badge, sharing the devastating details. Jess didn’t make it.
Byron, Jess’s dad, was the one to head to Tali’s boarding school to deliver this news. We didn’t get to see how Tali would take it, knowing that she is now an orphan.
Why couldn’t Jess just leave the team?
Would leaving the team be realistic for Jess? Possibly with some of the changes that had happened in his life. There was a chance that he would choose Sarah over his job now that he had an empty nest. However, I’m sure for some, the exit wouldn’t have felt right.
Plus, the death was far more realistic for the dangerous work our favorite team does. They’re hunting down the “most wanted” criminals; they’re the most dangerous in the country. We’ve already seen some of our characters face dangerous situations with Crosby leaving after being shot and almost dying in the FBI: Most Wanted Season 3 premiere.
According to an interview with TVLine, executive producer David Hudgins explained that the death was to remind us that the team is doing dangerous work. With the lead time the writers got, they looked at multiple ways to write out the character but always came down to Jess dying on the job.
Don’t expect Sarah and Byron to just disappear. We’ll see the grief part of the storyline in the coming episodes.
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What did you think of Jess’s exit? Will you miss Julian McMahon on FBI: Most Wanted? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
FBI: Most Wanted airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on CBS. Catch up the following day on Paramount+.