FBI returned in 2022 to deliver a tragedy that shook up all the characters as they tried to crack a high-stakes new case, but none more than Jeremy Sisto’s Jubal Valentine. Just as Jubal and Kathleen Munroe’s Rina Trenholm were getting more serious about their relationship, she was shot and mortally wounded. Rina was ultimately killed off, leaving fans without Munroe, Jubal without the woman he came to love, and the team without an ADIC on hand. So, will the show replace Rina moving forward? Sisto has shared his thoughts.
I recently spoke with Jeremy Sisto about how Rina’s death will affect Jubal and the future of the show, and he weighed in on the matter of Rina’s job being vacant and whether that would come up in later episodes of Season 4:
Honestly, Kathleen is such a great actress and was so much fun to work with. I think one of the reasons they killed her off was because there needed to be too much storyline in the office in order to utilize the character and it became a lot of, you know, Isobel and Rina sort of sparring. I don't know, on a show like this, where being out there chasing criminals is a real part of the fun, I feel like maybe the writers were not sure how they can continue. So I feel like the ADIC role probably made more sense the way it was before, where it pops up every now and then. Mostly just like, 'I just spoke to the ADIC.' And then every now and [then] in an episode the ADIC shows up, and basically Isobel has to deal with handling the brass, the higher ups. And it becomes really interesting, but having it have to happen every episode, I think maybe didn't work as well as the other way.
FBI did have to change in some key ways when Rina showed up more regularly as the Assistant Director in Charge in the New York field office, including some tension between Rina and Isobel. While Jeremy Sisto has had nothing but good things to say about working with Kathleen Munroe, his comments indicate that maybe FBI won’t need to fill the ADIC vacancy with a character who shows up on a regular basis. Isobel evidently isn’t going anywhere, and the team dynamic worked before Rina came on board. Losing her as ADIC was sad, but doesn’t have to cause problems for how well the team works.
That’s not to say that FBI won’t introduce a new ADIC, but it’s possible that there won’t be a character who fills the same kind of active role on the team that Rina did. Fans don’t need to worry that the team won’t be able to function moving forward, and even Jubal’s grief may not cause any problems considering all the growth he has gone through over the years so far. Although Sisto shared that he wouldn’t mind if Jubal “falls off the rails” just to be able to play that kind of conflict again, he hopes that Jubal is okay “as a fan of the show and a fan of the character.”
Fans will have to wait and see whether or not FBI puts much focus on Jubal’s grieving process. The fourth season has delivered a few powerful Jubal-centric episodes so far, and the death of Rina packed a serious emotional punch. New episodes of FBI air on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, although the show won’t be back with a new episode until February 1. FBI opens a full night of crime-fighting action on the network, followed by FBI: International (which just delivered a game-changing episode as well) at 9 p.m. and FBI: Most Wanted at 10 p.m. in the 2022 winter premiere lineup.
