Maggie Bell’s new challenges: Missy Peregrym faces personal and professional struggles in FBI new season

FBI Season 7, Episode 6, “Perfect” is a rare complete miss for the CBS series. It’s an episode that doesn’t fit this show, both in terms of its disturbing case of the week and in what it means for the character of Special Agent Maggie Bell. Missy Peregrym’s character Maggie has been through a lot over seven seasons, but this is a disappointingly low point for her.

“Perfect” involves a serial killer who abducts women and forces them to pretend to be the ideal wife — with horrific consequences if they fail. The episode is hard to watch, not only in its level of implied violence but because of the messages it sends. And while the FBI cast are just as reliable as they’ve ever been, they can’t make up for a deeply flawed script.

FBI Season 7, Episode 6 Ventures Into Maggie’s Past

But There’s No Further Insight Into Her Character

FBI Season 7, Episode 6 starts with the tease of exploring more of Maggie’s history, because the first suspect is Ray DiStefano, who happens to be the first perpetrator she arrested after joinng the Bureau. Many series have gotten mileage out of the “hero crosses paths with a bad guy from their past” plotline, which can be great if done well. It’s a fairly common crime show plot. But since Ray is introduced so early, audiences know he can’t be the true villain — or the episode would be over in much less than 42 minutes. This means that the show pulls out a series of killer cliches that all amount to very little.

“Perfect” hits on several familiar beats: Ray has a creepy room covered in photos of Maggie and her daughter Ella. A foot chase is written in such a way that Maggie is left alone with Ray, who promptly attacks her. Once he’s subdued and brought back to headquarters, he taunts her about her personal life. Fans of the genre can predict all of these scenes. Peregrym is solid in all of them, too, but she can’t make up for how pedestrian this detour is. And it does feel like a detour, because audiences don’t learn much more about Maggie beyond her relating to OA Zidan the facts of Ray’s original case.

If the writers wanted to go back to the very beginning of her career, that could have been its own wholly separate episode, thus allowing for more exploration of who Maggie was as a rookie. What about that scar Ray was so proud to have inflicted on her? How was she different back then compared to who she is now? This is an idea that’s mostly wasted by using it as a red herring.

The Case of the Week Is More Suited to FBI: Most Wanted

Season 7, Episode 6 Doesn’t Fit the Tone of FBI

A bigger problem with FBI Season 7, Episode 6 is that it’s a level of disturbing and violent that it doesn’t need to be, and that also doesn’t fit with the tone of the show. While FBI can have its intense moments, for the most part, it’s a procedural that is serious without its cases being too uncomfortable or shocking. “Perfect” is both of those things. Talking about women who are having their uteruses removed before being literally thrown in the trash is disgusting (although at least the show acknowledges that). And the whole “traditional wife” concept is likely to offend some viewers, moreso when it’s considered alongside the subplot for Maggie.

There are plenty of places to tell darker TV crime stories. Both Law & Order: SVU and Criminal Minds have done episodes more unsettling and more graphic than this. And FBI: Most Wanted has distinguished itself from its predecessor by veering into darker territory, with episodes that’ve covered cults and mass murders. The problem is that FBI doesn’t have that same tone, making all of this jarring as well as disturbing.

But even setting aside any and all feelings and opinions that the storyline provokes, “Perfect” just isn’t very well-written. All of the guest players are over-the-top creepy; there’s no subtlety in the script whatsoever. The character of Dr. Adam Marion is one step away from breaking out into evil laughter, and Ray is a one-dimensional distraction. A little more shock value or controversy might be overlooked if the story was meaningful or memorable. To the contrary — this is the rare FBI episode that has little entertainment value.

What Is FBI Going To Do With Maggie & Ella?

Episode 6 Unintentionally Sends a Disappointing Message

The personal subplot in “Perfect” is Maggie trying to balance her career as an FBI agent with being a mother to Ella; it’s painfully obvious how FBI is using the case of the week as a compare and contrast situation. But there are so many ways that the show muddles whatever it’s trying to say. By ending Season 7, Episode 6 with Maggie telling Kevin that she’s not sure if Ella shouldn’t be staying with Kevin full-time, the writers are trying to drum up suspense as to what Maggie will do with Ella. She’s not the first TV crime drama character to worry about his or her family being collateral damage, and it’s a natural thought after seeing Ray’s many photos of the two of them.

Yet because of the themes of the case of the week, suggesting that Maggie might not be able to be a mother and an FBI agent — even if it’s just her own self-doubt — comes off as disappointing and even potentially offensive to some viewers. Audiences hear all about the “traditional wife” idea and then the main character who is very much not fulfilling that idea is thinking about essentially giving up her child (in the sense that Ella would be living elsewhere permanently). If the episode had ended with Maggie coming to a clear resolution that she could still be an effective parent, or at least somewhat of a discussion with Ella about what she might want, then it would feel much different. But the more open ending, as Maggie sits with Ella on the couch making small talk, means that the awkward message is what the audience is left with.

And awkwardness aside, this has the same problem as the overall plot: it just isn’t interesting. Ever since Ella was introduced, FBI has been playing with this idea in one form or another. First, it was killing off Maggie’s friend and Ella’s mom, Jessica Blake — herself also an agent. Then there have been other episodes discussing Maggie’s balance between the Bureau and parenthood, such as Season 6, Episode 10, “Family Affair.” Plus, her colleague Stuart Scola has been having a similar struggle since he and Nina Chase welcomed their son. This is ground that the show has covered before. FBI Season 7, Episode 6 offers nothing new for Maggie as a character, and its story falls well short of what the series is capable of.