Warning: The following contains spoilers for Tuesday’s episode of FBI: Most Wanted. work according to.
That’s it for Jess LaCroix (played by Julian McMahon) On FBI: Most Wanted.
CBS’s actions paid a shocking farewell to the supervisory special agent in Tuesday’s episode, which saw him shoot and kill as he pursues a dangerous domestic abuser. His on-screen death was predicted back in January, when McMahon announced that he was He left the show after three seasons.
The hour began on a much lighter note, with Sarah playfully berating Jess for his not-so-great efforts to paint their dining room—a project he hadn’t done before but found comforting. Jess suggested they head to Bali for their vacation, and it was too expensive so they settled in the Bahamas instead. Unfortunately, he will never make that trip.
At the end of the hour, the team tracked their killer to a hospital in New Jersey, and Jess found the missing victim in a parking lot. While helping the injured woman, the fugitive opened fire on both, and grabbed Jess in the neck before he was taken down by the team. LaCroix’s last moments were bleeding on the floor as Barnes pleaded with him to stay with her.
In the next scene, Hannah and Barnes tearfully relay the tragic news to Sarah, handing Jess’s bloodstained badge as confirmation. Heartbreak filled the dining room as Sarah collapsed, realizing he would never finish the walls or use the non-refundable tickets to Bali that she would surprise him with. The episode ended with Sarah and Jess’s father Byron preparing at Tully Boarding School in Canada to deliver the terrible news right outside the door.
In the conversation belowExecutive Producer David Hudgins explains why the book chose that tragic ending for LaCroix, and what his death means for the rest of the team.
TVLINE | Lacroix’s death was a great shock. Have you considered options other than killing him?
We have looked at other options. We’ve known a fair amount of Julian’s timeout [McMahon] He was about to leave, so in the book room, we started discussing what that exit might have been like. We talked about every possible iteration of her, and in the end, what [we] They kept coming back to session after session, ‘Look, this is it the most wanted. We chase the worst of the worst, the most dangerous of the most dangerous, and there is a very real danger associated with the job. We ultimately decided that this applies to the introduction to the show, ie the risk of being shot or killed in the line of duty. We just felt it was fitting and emotional and tragic.
TVLINE | In an ideal world, would Julian have given you more warning in advance that he wanted to leave so you could plan a longer story for his exit?
Not so. We knew it was coming and we were trying to figure out the best way to do it. The story of the week about the domestic abuser had parallels and spoke to Jess and Sarah’s own experience with her [Sarah’s ex-husband] Hugh is from last season, so we thought this was the right episode to do that. And the [Jess’ death] It happens to be…part of making the show. You never know when something like this could happen.
We had a definite discussion in the writers room about whether it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen in a heroic way, which is [why] He is shot trying to protect the woman who is being rescued. We also decided we wanted to play the immediate emotional ramifications from that, which is why we see Barnes and Hanna telling Sarah, then get Byron and go tell Tully. It’s not just about going away. Grief Processing, Loss will play out in the show over the next two episodes.
TVLINE | Many people were surprised when he announced that he was leaving. Can you make things right in regards to the reasons for his exit?
He wanted to leave to go to other creative activities. That’s what he wanted to do and we were honored by that.
TVLINE | Dylan McDermott is Intervenes for McMahon. We know him from Law and Order: Organized Crime Like Richard Wheatley. since Law and order The universe connects to One Chicago and FBIWorried that people might see him as Stabler’s evil enemy?
I don’t get worried about it because I think we created him a very compelling character. I think he’s a great actor and he brings everything on his set to every role he plays. Thus, for this person, he would not feel this feeling. He’s already filming and will be attending the show [beginning] April 12… We already had a visualization of the character and we were like, “That’s perfect. It’s going to be great. We’re closing one chapter of the book and starting the next.”
TVLINE | Have we seen another Jennifer Landon as Sarah?
There are upcoming in-episode stories she shares, as well as Terry Aucoin, who plays Jess’ father. We wanted to play the loss and grief, and see how they deal with it. Plus, I think they’re both great actors and I love having them around so here’s another story for them.
TVLINE | This is a huge loss for the team. Who do you think will cause his death the most difficult?
It’s interesting because Hannah and Barnes have been there since the beginning. We’ve always referred to Barnes and Jess as work wives. They work together but you also felt a connection between them on the outside. And with Hannah and Jess, I always felt like there was a special bond there, too.
Watching the two of them deal with it in particular, because they know Jess the tallest and have been on this team the longest with him, that’s going to be an interesting thing to follow. People grieve in different ways. Some people are angry and impulsive, some become inward and calm; Everyone does it differently. I think these follow-up episodes are a chance to explore how everyone’s grief is different, and what that does for the team [and] The question is who is responsible now? Until someone new comes along, this idea, “How do we do this without Jess?” Part of the story for the next two episodes.
TVLINE | Is there anything else you can bother about about our team’s upcoming trip moving forward without Jess?
I keep coming back to this example to close a class and write a new class. It will always be a stalking show where we bring someone to justice. This is the motive, this is the drama, this is the show. Seeing how this team is going to do it with Dylan in charge – and do a six-episode arc that we’re building for his character and the team that ends up being – I think it’s going to be different fun and good.
TVLINE | Because this offer is part of FBI Expanded Universe plus One Chicago and Law and order Universe, do you anticipate the events of this episode affecting any of those other shows?
[FBI’s] Isobel in the next episode. Come to talk to our team… about Jess. She clearly had an affair with him as well, so it definitely seeps into this universe. I could see it transforming into international Because we’ve proven that people in these three shows actually interact. It would make sense to me that there could be some recognition of it.