Tamal Kundu
In Dick Wolf’s shows, romance is always a perilous affair. As they are essentially workplace drama — with a bit more violence associated with them than what is normal — characters inevitably get into relationships with each other, and more often than not, these relationships end in bitterness and pain. With such a high rate of failure, one would think that these characters would consider the option of looking beyond the walls of their office, but they rarely do. Then again, the job they have automatically limits their dating pool, so someone with similar professional experience is probably preferable to those who don’t.
In the early part of the fifth season of CBS’ ‘FBI,’ one such relationship develops between agents Stuart Scola (John Boyd) and Nina Chase (Shantel VanSanten). If you are wondering whether they will end up together in ‘FBI,’ here is what we think. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Nina and Stuart’s Fate
We first get a hint of a possible relationship between Nina and Stuart in season 4 episode 18, when it is revealed that they went out on a date, but then Stuart stopped responding to her. Despite this, the two characters agree to go on another date toward the end of the episode. Things evidently have been escalating in the background since then. The second episode of the fifth season begins with the heavy implication that they have spent the night together.
However, it quickly becomes apparent that Nina and Stuart aren’t on the same page about what they have. Nina wants to keep it between themselves and not let the rest of the team know. Stuart seems to be fine with that. But complication rises while they are at their job. The title of the episode is ‘Love Is Blind.’ The New York Field Office team searches for a couple whose lives have suddenly taken a criminal turn, and now, several people are dead, including a police officer. The bleak inevitability of the fate of this couple seems to foreshadow what is to come for Nina and Stuart.
This episode underscores the basic problem of a relationship between two law enforcement officers. Stuart becomes distracted when Nina is shot at and rushes toward her, giving the shooter the chance to escape. He later voices his objection when Nina decides to approach the rampaging couple, who have just taken a hostage.
It seems that the dynamic that Stuart and Nina have now is drastically imbalanced. If it remains that way, Stuart is setting himself up for heartbreak. If their relationship gets the chance to evolve, things might change. But then, Nina is only part of the team as a replacement for Maggie. When the latter returns, Nina will most likely leave the team.
The lines “the things you do for love” and “love will do that” play important roles in describing Nina and Stuart’s relationship in season 5 episode 2. According to Boyd, the said lines will continue to play critical roles as the two characters’ relationship progresses in the show.
“They’re teetering on that place of, do we know what this is? Is it possible? This show asks the question of, with this job I do and the service that I do, is it possible for me to get to have those things? I think that Scola’s [Stuart] willing by the end of that episode to ask the question, and the way that it’s juxtaposed with the storyline between the two young lovers, Scola believes in his heart that that type of love and that type of closeness is reserved for people that don’t do what we do and that he’s not fully allowed or maybe fully capable of getting to have that. I think for the first time, we see the character in a position where he’s thinking maybe that is possible and seeing that thing in himself, that that could grow, and maybe it’s a possibility,” Boyd said in a September 2022 interview with TV Insider.
The relationship between Nina and Stuart comes to a turning point during the 2023 crossover event called ‘Imminent Threat.’ After it becomes clear that a terrorist attack on American soil is imminent, Stuart goes undercover posing as a C-4 supplier to see if anyone takes the bait. Meanwhile, Nina accompanies Jubal Valentine to Italy, where a structural engineer has been kidnapped, and the authorities think that it is connected with the terror threat. They are ultimately proven right as Valentine and Forrester learn from a CIA operative that the person behind the impending attack is a Belurisian general named Lenkov, who lost his daughter and his entire unit in a Ukrainian drone attack using American technology. And now, he seeks revenge against America and intends to cause a 9/11-like catastrophe.
Nina, who is several months pregnant, gets shot during a raid and is immediately rushed to a hospital. Although her condition becomes critical, she survives, as does the baby. Stuart isn’t initially told about what has happened to Nina, as his superior officers know that his reaction will negatively impact the investigation. Despite this, he does find out and becomes emotional. At times, he even inflicts pain on the perpetrators he comes across during the investigation. Eventually, when the situation is resolved, Stuart flies to Italy and reunites with Nina. They tell each other “I love you,” indicating that they are finally ready to think about a life together.
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