This article contains spoilers for the May 21 episode of “FBI,” “Ring of Fire.”
In Thursday night’s Season 6 finale of “FBI,” agent Tiffany Wallace (Katherine Renee Kane) finally takes out the Somalian terrorist who killed her friend — but almost loses her job in the process.
Tiffany was devastated when Hakim Siran (Antwayn Hopper) killed her friend and colleague Trevor Hobbs (Roshawn Franklin) in the Season 6 premiere.
Ever since, her focus has been on taking Hakim down at all costs. Even when she was told he was out of the country, she believed he was still in New York and blew an undercover operation to try to smoke him out. Her partner Stuart Scola (John Boyd) backed her play, but the character came very close to being relieved from active duty.
TheWrap talked to Kane ahead of the finale about Tiffany’s storyline this season and how the character was “spiraling a little bit emotionally” during her “messy phase.”
TheWrap: It’s been a tumultuous season for Tiffany. There were moments where it looked like she was going to lose her job. Did the writers keep you in the loop there?
Katherine Renee Kane: Things for us actors kind of happen in real time. Often we get the scripts about a week before we shoot. When I got the script, I was like, “Oh, my gosh, what’s going on?” But I realized they were presenting me with a really cool challenge, to try and get into her experience and to understand why she’s doing the thing she’s doing and to bring authenticity to it.
There’s several moments where her co-workers call her state of mind into question.
Yeah, it’s always difficult to be misunderstood, to feel like people are misrepresenting you. And I don’t think they’re doing it on purpose. I think it’s justified. She’s spiraling a little bit emotionally and it’s causing her work to become a little bit unstable. It presents her with the opportunity to really reflect on herself and see how she can take stock and take back the reins of her life and her work.
A few episodes ago, Scola had the opportunity to weigh in and say, “I don’t think she should be in the field.” And he doesn’t say that.
Yeah, that was a huge, huge gift for Tiffany from her partner, because he could have very easily just said, “Yeah, I don’t know that she’s coping with this well,” and it wouldn’t have been totally off. But he gave her grace and believed in her. And I think that was also the push that she needed, or she wanted, to understand that the [the pushback] is not from people who are against her, but people who want to see her do well. So she could absolutely take the steps to do the work to heal herself.
I think all the agents at different points have been a little too close to something personal and been given the same speech, which is, “Hey, step back a bit.“
Yeah, they all have their moments. And I’m sure for every one of them, it feels like, “Is it me against the world?” And it was pretty intense.
When Tiffany shoots Hakim, for a moment it looks like a bad shooting.
Yes, it does. When I was reading it, I wasn’t sure where it was going. I was also happy to see that [Hakim did have] a gun. I think it’s a testament to the writers that they’re relentless in raising the stakes. But they still always make sure that you can trust these agents, that they are people that you would trust with protecting protecting you, protecting your family. It was definitely a high stakes moment.
Is Tiffany is in a good place now?
Yeah, I think that people who work on the front line and those at war have more in common than we admit. But she experienced, in a way, some PTSD. And though she’s doing the work, just like in real life, it doesn’t resolve overnight. She’s absolutely heading in the right direction, I think it’s a journey that will take some time.
We saw Maggie (Missy Peregrym) take time off. Does Tiffany maybe need some time off too?
I think that she’s going to see therapy as a safe space that she really needed, as something that she’s been resistant to even before the whole Hakim saga happened. And back when her brother was having some emotional and mental issues, she was resistant to it. I think that her taking this step is a huge win. And it’s a step towards her growing and really evolving in a beautiful way.
How do you think her idea of the job has evolved since she joined the bureau?
I think what she learned going from the NYPD to the FBI, that though the goals are the same, the tools can change from one to the next. She’s learned that having a more thoughtful approach is beneficial. She’s very front-footed. She has a lot of gumption. She’s headstrong. But sometimes, criminals at this level are very calculating, so I think it’s pushed her to meet that with intellect.
Do you do live watches with fans? Because Tiffany was making what looked like questionable choices this season?
No, I’m not on social media. I definitely wasn’t tuning in as much because I knew it was going to be a challenge. She was just going through a messy phase. And people stood by her. I’ll tune in days later when my feelings aren’t as raw. But yeah, people really have hung in with her. I was really happy about that.
'FBI' Renewed for 3 More Seasons at CBS