FBI showrunners are giving hints as to when we discover Isobel’s fate in season 8, and it may not be as instant as fans would want.
FBI rarely does big cliffhangers like other procedural dramas. While a few seasons have left off with some major drama, the classic cliffhanger isn’t a normal thing for them. They made a major exception for season 7.
The episode paid off a long-running subplot of the team facing the terrorist group Forefront, who had infiltrated the FBI at several levels. The core team was forced to go rogue to stop them.
They seemed to succeed, but in the final scene, talking to them all, Isobel suddenly started bleeding from the nose and then collapsed. Speaking to TVLine, FBI showrunner Mike Weiss shared that while the season 8 premiere picks up shortly after, it may be a bit before we learn Isobel’s fate.
He confirmed it will pick up three days after the finale, as for Isobel, “You might not know for a long time. You’ll have to watch!”
What is coming for FBI season 8?
Weiss related that he and the writers didn’t want to tease fans too much about Isobel’s condition, but keep up the tension for a while.
“I might not be a total fiend, but I do employ some fiendish writers… We wanted you to feel very real fallout from her horrible, life-threatening injuries, and also the kind of existential threat that was posed to the New York Field Office. We did, after all, survive kind of a coup that took place.”
The season opens with the team searching for a missing judge on an island off New York while Jubal is now in charge of the office. Weiss shares it will be a challenge for Jubal as he’s “going to be dealing with all of a sudden stepping up in Isobel’s absence, and we’re going to see the intensity that that’s going to cause him to have to deal with, with Isobel not running the day-to-day.”
Whether or not Isobel survives, her abscence will be felt. The FBI is likely still recovering from this infiltration so there will be investigations and the team under a microscope. That will add to Jubal's pressures as he has to deal with the politics of the office that Isobel usually handles.
Jubal should be able to handle it okay but fans know of his past issues with alcoholism and his family problems so adding this leadership role may be a bit much for him. Hopefully, Jubal has the support of the team to help him navigate this crisis.
Weiss was more tight-lipped on the arrival of Juliana Aidén Martinez as Scola’s possible new partner, simply stating that “there are going to be other really exciting changes coming to the show. Audiences are going to have to wait a couple weeks to figure out exactly who they’re going to be rooting for, but I think they will be really excited by some of the changes that are coming.”
One has to wonder if one big change is that Isobel either dies or quits after her ordeal. There’s been no word of Alana de la Garza leaving the series, but it’s possible her departure could be kept secret to enhance the drama. It wouldn't be the first time FBI has thrown a sudden curve at fans and this would be a major change for the show.
Fans will have to wait a bit longer for the truth and makes FBI season 8 more exciting to wait for.
FBI Season 8 premieres on Monday, Oct. 13 at 9/8c on CBS.
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