FBI Season 5 Episode 7 Review: Ready or Not

FBI Season 5 Episode 7, “Ready or Not,” finally brings Maggie back into the fold, and gives us a fantastic episode for her return. 

In some of their best work on FBI, Zeeko Zaki and Missy Peregrym show us exactly why OA and Maggie are the main characters we deserve. 

Maggie returns to hugs from everyone, but definitely a more skeptical eye from OA. As the person who stood at her bedside when it was still TBD on whether or not she’d pull through, his protective streak is understandable. 

However, even though he’s trying to be there for Maggie OA sometimes ends up getting in the way as opposed to really helping.

“Ready or Not” does feature something I’m truly sick of seeing on procedurals: the instant denial of using medications. 

Being on medications, whether for pain, depression, anxiety, or any number of other things, isn’t something to be ashamed of. Pain, physical or mental, isn’t always about if you can handle it or not. 

Around 66% of the population in the United States takes one or more prescription drugs. So why, in 2022, is TV still telling us, and its characters, to simply tough it out? 

As much as I adore him and would love to say he does no wrong ever, OA definitely takes things a step too far when instead of trusting Maggie, he assumes she’s taken medications she explicitly told him she’d speak to him about. 

While we see that Maggie did not, in fact, seek him out when debating whether or not to take it, it’s still a step too far for OA to go. 

Something I love about Isobel is that she (usually) always allows her agents to make their own decisions, and while Maggie did well during this case, I do believe someone should’ve stepped in and had Maggie take a backseat. 

Being in danger is part of the job, of course, but being off the job for seven months and going back to have several guns pointed at you from people you don’t know or trust is obviously going to cause a speedbump in recovery. 

Even if you are seeing a therapist, and have been cleared, Isobel is supposed to be there to look out for Maggie putting herself in dangerous situations because she feels she has something to prove. 

Maggie asks OA to simply trust her at the end of “Ready or Not,” but OA is her partner, and Isobel is her boss. Isobel should’ve never let Maggie go undercover on day one of being back. It’s risky, and she’s lucky it works out. 

Overall, “Ready or Not” is some of Zaki’s and Peregym’s best work, and we’re so excited to have Maggie back and to see her progress post-sarin gas incident. 

Though there are some stumbles in this episode, it’s still put together in a way that makes it an impressive episode of FBI. 

Stray Thoughts:

• Maggie Bell is a true ally of the LGBTQ community! Queen!
• There’s something so special about watching characters you want to be together bring each other coffee. 
• The throwaway line of having a priest at Maggie’s bedside to read her last rites needs to come up again. 
• OA is bold as hell to pull a medication bottle out of Maggie’s bag without even asking her. 

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FBI airs Tuesday at 8/7c on CBS.

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