Fans of CBS' Dick Wolf TV shows knew going into the finales that they would be the last-ever episodes of FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International, but who would have guessed that FBI would end on a life-or-death cliffhanger for one of the main characters? Not exactly a show known for serialized storylines or season-ending cliffhangers before the 2025 TV schedule, the Season 7 finale seemed like it was about to end with the good guys winning, the bad guys losing, and fans feeling pretty okay heading into hiatus. Instead, Isobel's life is on the line!
Alana De La Garza and Jeremy Sisto didn't spoil to CinemaBlend what happens next, but they proved to be a very fun duo when paired up for interviews even after previewing a "frightening" finale. While dodging any spoilers, the two FBI stars came up with some wild spinoff pitches and fun alternate explanations for why Isobel collapsed with no pulse at the end of the Season 7 finale. When I spoke with the actors, I had to ask the obvious question: will De La Garza appear in Season 8? The Law & Order alum teased:
Look, you never know. You have to watch! You have to watch Season 8 to see if I'm alive. Does she make it? How does she make it? Is there actually a call? Is she a zombie?... Zombie Apocalypse: FBI. She just comes back [like that].
Hey, if any TV universe could pull off a procedural about zombies, I'd wager that one in the FBI/One Chicago/Law & Order Dick Wolf world would have a fighting chance. Jeremy Sisto wasn't sold on the idea of Zombie Apocalypse: FBI, though, and the actors went back and forth on a potential supernatural spinoff:
- Jeremy Sisto: "I don't think that's a good idea. That would be jumping the shark for sure."
- Alana De La Garza: "We’ll ask Dick [Wolf]."
- Jeremy Sisto: "Has Dick ever done a vampire [show]? I don’t think he has. A zombie thing?"
- Alana De La Garza: "I don’t think so. Blood and gore, but not that kind."
Dick Wolf's current slate of shared universe TV shows via the Wolf Entertainment production company includes Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Organized Crime, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., Chicago Med, and of course FBI. (CIA will join on CBS in the fall to a certain extent.) They're all different enough shows, but one thing they all have in common? No zombies or vampires.
Jeremy Sisto went on to address what it would mean to lose Isobel, so soon after she made a decision with no regrets. With the Season 7 finale currently available streaming with a Paramount+ subscription, the former Clueless star said:
I mean, it's huge. Obviously, just the idea of losing Isobel... All of us were like, ‘What's going on?' So whatever the fans are feeling, we have also felt, although perhaps we know the results, but we don't know. We cannot say.
Despite the laughs between the stars, nobody was smiling when the final credits rolled on the finale. After Maggie and Jubal noticed Isobel stumbling over her words, the ASAC suddenly collapsed to the floor without a pulse. It seems that head wound that had me worried in the promo was more serious than it seemed!
In a touch that I particularly loved, Jubal kept calling her "ma'am" when something just seemed a bit off, but switched over to "Isobel!" once she collapsed. Having seen that tragic ending, I got a kick out of De La Garza and Sisto continuing to spin sillier options for what the future holds. They told me:
- Alana De La Garza: "We cannot divulge."
- Jeremy Sisto: "That's the idea of it. Either I'm extremely saddened right now because she's not coming back, and I'm hiding that from you."
- Alana De La Garza: "He is a good actor!"
- Jeremy Sisto: "Or she is coming back and you'll just have to wait and see. I'm hiding that too. That's what we're supposed to be doing here. I'm playing the middle."
But what about Maggie announcing to the assembled agents that Isobel didn't have a pulse, just after they scored such a huge victory against the villains who had infiltrated the Bureau? That's the biggest cliffhanger left after the credits rolled on Season 7, and that left me very happy that FBI scored an early renewal for Season 8. Well, the stars pitched an explanation for the absent pulse:
- Jeremy Sisto: "She doesn't have a pulse. I checked again, still no pulse. Maybe she just doesn't have a pulse. That's the other thing. They cut out the part where I was like, 'Maggie, it's fine. She just doesn't have a pulse.’"
- Alana De La Garza: "'Just leave her there. It's fine.'"
Will FBI pick up in the immediate aftermath of the cliffhanger in the fall, to show exactly what happened to Isobel after her collapse? Or will Season 8 pick up in real time, with months passed in-universe since Isobel ended the spring without a pulse? Season 7 started last year with the exit of a series regular following a time jump, although Katherine Renee Kane's Tiff Wallace got to walk out alive and well. What about Isobel?
We can only speculate for now, but at least Paramount+ has the entire run of the series so far to offer for summer hiatus rewatching.
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