FBI Review: A New Day (Season 1 Episode 12)
FBI Season 1 Episode 12, “A New Dawn,” explores the dangers of inflammatory rhetoric when “self-proclaimed Western chauvinist” Nathaniel Bain is murdered following a University speaking engagement.
Any other day, this would be a normal case, but with O.A.’s younger sister, Amira, involved, the stakes are a bit higher.
Delivering a gut-punch via the most controversial issues in today’s society is the hallmark of a strong Dick Wolf procedural, and “A New Day” definitely delivers. Maggie accurately sums up the day and age of it all when she says that there “used to be a time where you could disagree with someone and not get firebombed.”
Student organizations exchange Molotov cocktails and gunshots, and the President of the University’s son even attempts suicide following his I.D. in the murder. The case culminates in alarming fashion, however, when everything circles back to Professor Will Kelly.
Red flags fly high in all of Kelly’s scenes: thirty of thirty-one students flagged for social media threats are his students, and the smugness in his replies is off-putting. Once he is in custody, he claims that his students “idolize” and “revere” him, then goes so far as to call his students his “followers.” As I struggle to find a work-appropriate word to describe the Professor, Maggie rescues me from my thoughts and uses a fitting analogy by comparing him to Osama Bin Laden.
The similarities between Bain and Professor Kelly make this a very strong, chilling story, and a stark reminder that our words have power. Bain uses his words to spew hate, but Professor Kelly uses his to incite violence. Kelly’s agenda turns out to be worse than Bain’s because Kelly essentially weaponizes his students against society.
In the middle of the chaos stands Amira. She gets Maggie an introduction with Heather, a member of A New Day, which gives the Detectives a glance of the group’s inner workings. The inner workings are disturbing, however, as the walls of both the bar and a neighboring van are filled with nothing but high-powered weapons.
The suspenseful moment in the van is not even the most intense part of the episode. The audible gasp, lean forward in your seat moment comes after Kristen interrupts an interrogation to deliver some startling news. Heather texts a member of the group about a “new recruit” and attaches a photo. You can practically see O.A.’s heart leap into his throat when he sees Amira on the screen.
The “oh my God” moment occurs right before Bain’s funeral, when O.A. glances to the top right corner of the church to see Amira and Heather handcuffed to each other. Heather clutches a cell phone, ready to do Kelly’s dirty work and detonate a slew of napalm bombs hidden in Bain’s casket. Amira is eager to get involved at the beginning, but not to this extent.
Though O.A. is very cold towards his sister until this point, it is obvious how much he loves and wants to protect her. Despite Amira’s tears, he is able to put his concern aside and with Maggie’s help, convince Heather to hand over the detonator.
Once the situation is diffused, O.A. finally tells Amira how proud he is of her and wraps her in a tight hug. This is a positive ending, yes, but overall, O.A. being more of a father figure than a brother to Amira is disappointing.
Big brothers are protective, yes, but also loving and playful. The tension in their relationship until this closing scene is no surprise given how O.A. is admittedly “overbearing,” but also somewhat critical of his baby sister (calling her an “entitled teenager” is a bit harsh).
The more he says no to her, the more he pushes Amira away, and doesn’t realize this effect until she is practically pushed into a corner she can’t get out of.
Although disappointing, their relationship is understandable. Amira divulges to Maggie that their father died in 2009. Without knowing details about their mother, or the specific timeline surrounding O.A.’s time in the military, it is difficult to speculate what occurred between them in the preceding ten years.
Though the sibling relationship is not what I anticipated, the O.A. and Maggie partnership continues to be one of the show’s brightest spots. It only takes two minutes for Maggie to tease her partner (“you’ve been here two seconds, and you’re already working Tinder?”), and her sly grins every time Amira talks back to her brother show the strong foundation their relationship is built upon.
The trust between Maggie and O.A. is one of my favorite things about them. Not only does O.A. trust Maggie to protect Amira in the van, but her tapping out Morse code to him via her wire shows that they are on a whole other level of partners. In addition to their pasts, their partnership is something I hope is further developed as the season rolls on.
Overall, “A New Day” is one of the debut season’s stronger episodes. The show always strikes a good balance between compelling cases and relatable characters that keep us coming back week after week.
What did you think of this episode of FBI? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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FBI airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on CBS.
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Gina Zippilli
Gina is the co-host of Meet Us At Molly’s, the first-ever Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago P.D. podcast. Outside of One Chicago, she has never met an ensemble-driven cop show, post-apocalyptic drama or true crime whodunit she has not liked.