‘FBI’: Maggie Returns to Work After Her Sister’s Death — Is She Ready?

Maggie (Missy Peregrym) missed an FBI episode while on bereavement following her sister Erin’s murder. Now, in the Monday, March 30, episode, she’s back at work, and the team is, of course, concerned about her.

Peregrym told TV Insider that Maggie will “never be the same.” She shared that the others, including her partner OA (Zeeko Zaki) and boss Isobel (Alana De La Garza) check in with her. However, she added, “We’re not a character show where we sit around in our living room and chat about everything. I’m choosing to come to work because there’s work to do. So, it’s finding those moments to have those discussions and figure those things out, but we still have cases to solve.” So, how does that play out with Maggie’s first case back? Warning: Spoilers for FBI Season 8 Episode 16 ahead!

The first time we see Maggie, she’s talking to Isobel in her office. “I’ll be honest. It’s a lot, but I’ve taken the time and I’ve really let myself feel all of it,” Maggie says. “I know grief is a process. It’s going to come and go. But I have been taking care of myself.” Her counselor agrees she’s ready to be back, so all that’s left is for Isobel to sign off on her returning to the field. But Isobel knows that what went Maggie went through is traumatic — and she said the same things, verbatim, after losing her husband.

“I wish I could say I haven’t been here before, but I have,” Maggie says. (Poor Maggie!) Isobel worries she’s just saying what they need to hear, but Maggie points out that the man who killed her sister is dead and she got justice for Erin as much as she could; for her husband, it took years to get closure. “I’m good,” Maggie promises just before OA checks in that she’s ready to get back into it since they have a case (one that leads to Isobel bringing in CIA‘s Nikki, played by Necar Zadegan). Maggie says she is, and Isobel agrees. But once Maggie’s left, Isobel stops OA: “Keep an eye on her.” He promises, “I always do.”

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At the crime scene, we learn that OA checked in on Maggie while she was back in Indiana. He knows she would’ve done the same for him if he lost his sister. After that, it is work as usual for Maggie, and she’s on top of the case. When OA does check in on her during the investigation, she knows Isobel asked him to keep an eye on her. (He says he would’ve anyway.) She admits it’s tough, but she’ll be OK.

After the case is wrapped up, Maggie tells their bad guy, “I know grief and I know anger. Believe me when I say I know the emptiness you feel inside.” Then, OA checks on her again. “He thought that revenge would fill the hole in him. Nothing’s going to make that go away,” she says.

Maggie then ends the episode in Isobel’s office, crying as she admits she’s not OK. OA watches from his desk.

“I realized something today. I think I’ve been trying to push past the same way I did with my husband, and I can’t. I’m not OK. DiStefano killed my baby sister, and I try to tell myself it’s not my fault, but I had to watch my parents sob at Erin’s funeral. I’m the reason they’re in pain,” Maggie says. “I try to take it day by day. It’s like I’m not even here anymore. I’m in this nightmare I can’t wake up from. I’m never going to be the woman I was before. I don’t know who I am now, so how do I look my team in their eyes and say you can rely on me? How? I’ve gotta figure this out, Isobel, because the truth is, this job is the only thing I have left.” But Isobel assures her they got her. “This is where you’re meant to be,” the SAC says.

What did you think of how FBI handled Maggie’s return after Erin’s death? Let us know in the comments section below.

FBI, Mondays, 9/8c, CBS

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