Maggie’s Chess Game With a Familiar Face Takes a Tragic Turn [Exclusive]

Season 8 of FBI got off to a tragic start this week, but the work within the New York City field office must carry on. Episode 2 will see the team back in action and responding to a high-profile art theft from an international cultural exchange. One security guard is dead, and a collection of priceless paintings is stolen, leaving little time for Maggie (Missy Peregrym), OA (Zeeko Zaki), and the rest to waste to get those artifacts back. Before that, though, Maggie has a game to play with a recurring Ray Donovan and Devs star. Collider can exclusively share a new sneak peek that sees the officer setting aside some time for a round of chess with Zach Grenier before the call comes in.

The footage opens with Peter (Grenier), a retired member of the Behavioral Analysis Unit, locked in a tight game with Maggie, who insists she’s just there to hear his stories and play with an old friend. He is annoyingly good at chess, though, playfully picking out exactly the move she’s going to make before she even realizes. Their fun is interrupted when duty calls with a report of a heist at the Rushman gallery. As much as Peter wants a look, Maggie hesitates since he’s no longer with the FBI, but that doesn’t stop him from snatching her phone and scrolling through the grisly details. The stakes are high with all five of the paintings on loan from European allies, and Peter notes that the guard’s death likely wasn’t part of the thieves’ plan. Their interaction sets him up as a valuable potential resource for profiling suspects and generally aiding the pursuit as it unfolds.

What Happened in ‘FBI’s Explosive Season 7 Finale?

Although the page is turning to a new case, Dick Wolf and Craig Turk‘s flagship police procedural still has much to address following the bombshell premiere on Monday. After the Season 7 finale left the fate of SAC Isobel Castille (Alana De La Garza) up in the air after her collapse in the bullpen, Jubal (Jeremy Sisto) rose up to take her place in the office while she recovered. It was revealed that she was suffering from a significant brain bleed and, until the end of the premiere, had been unconscious and in need of an emergency craniotomy. How quickly she’ll heal and get back to work remains to be seen, but just as the unit appears to have dodged one bullet, another tragedy strikes — Scola’s (John Boyd) new partner, Dani Rhodes (Emily Alabi), was shot dead trying to rescue Maggie and OA. Alabi’s departure after just joining the series last season has been known since July, yet it was a cruel twist of the knife that will hang over the team for some time.

In an interview with TV Insider, showrunner Mike Weiss described Rhodes’s death as a reminder of the stakes FBI‘s agents face daily in the fight to keep people safe and eliminate the endless string of threats constantly coming out of the woodwork. Regarding Scola, he teased that it hits the agent hard, especially since she was just starting to mesh with the team. The feeling of loss will undoubtedly linger into Episode 2 and beyond for him, but Weiss believes that his ability to grow from tragedy and be a rock for the team will ultimately help him pull through stronger than ever.

“Losing a partner is always a tough thing. And Scola is going to be feeling the loss of Dani for a while. But Scola joined the FBI after the loss of his brother. He’s a character who finds ways to grow and honor everyone he’s lost in his daily life as an agent. It’s what makes him an extraordinary asset to the team.”

FBI Season 8, Episode 2 premieres on Monday, October 20 at 9 p.m. ET. Check out our exclusive sneak peek in the player above.