FBI just introduced another new partner for Scola, so will this one take? And has she been worth the wait?
Caution: This article contains SPOILERS for FBI season 7 episode 16
FBI has seen some cast shakeups in season 7. The season premiere opened by explaining that Tiffany Wallace (Katherine Renee Kane) was transferred from New York to Atlanta. Wallace was affected after killing a terrorist who murdered a fellow agent and needed a break.
That left Scola (John Boyd) without a partner. After some one-episode fill-ins, Scola seemed to land a new regular partner with Syd Ortiz (Lissette Olivera), who transferred from the Behavioral Analysis Unit. But in a shocking turn, Olivera left the show before Syd’s first episode aired. The character was written out as getting a new assignment in Washington D.C.
Scola had been bouncing between working with OA and Maggie for a few episodes. However, the latest episode introduced what could be his new partner and she’s already proven able to work with the team!
How did Dani Rhodes enter FBI season 7?
In “Covered,” the entire division was on the hunt for the mobsters who killed an undercover agent. They caught him only to learn the man had bought the info from selling the identities of other undercover agents.
Among them was Dani Rhodes (Emily Alabi), who wasn’t happy about being yanked out of the field. When she learned why, she helped the team investigate the leak inside the office.
The good news was, they caught the low-level techie who’d been selling the info. The bad news was that he’d sent out one more file on a certain agent: Maggie, who was undercover with an eco-terrorist group.
Maggie had bonded with the group’s leader, Josie (Lauren Pattern), who claimed to be following the orders of their millionaire backer. That bond ended when Josie received the phone alert on Maggie being an agent. One of her underlings tried to set Maggie’s car on fire with her in it, but luckily, OA showed up to rescue her.
Maggie met with Dani, and the pair bonded over their tough jobs, with Dani admitting she often felt overwhelmed with taking on so many roles.
Is Dani on the team?
Maggie confronted Josie at a small power plant to relate she figured out Josie was really the boss using her stepfather’s money. Unfortunately, Josie had done too good a job radicalizing her allies as the other two members were preparing to blow up an oil tanker in a crowded area that could kill thousands.
Dani joined the team in stopping the attack. She then met Isobel, who noted the woman’s amazing record (she even kept undercover after being shot) and said that they could use that. Dani thus agreed to join the team.
Dani’s introduction was much better handled than Syd was. While Syd seemed an odd choice to join the team, Dani fits in perfectly. She’s action-oriented, she’s tough, and she has more than proven herself capable in the field. It helps that she and Maggie hit it off, and Dani uses her own experience as an undercover operative to help Maggie.
Dani and Scola didn’t get as much interaction as we’d hoped for, but she does seem better as a partner than Ortiz. That woman just came off too young and not believable as a field agent, while Dani more than fits the part.
While Alabi hasn’t been made a full-season regular yet, her debut episode should be a great push as in one episode, Dani came off as a better fit for FBI than Ortiz was to spark this show more.
FBI season 7 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on CBS.