Maggie can’t think straight when Erin is involved, can she?
Maggie’s recovering-addict sister popped up once again on FBI Season 5 Episode 20.
The way that Erin handled her reentry into Maggie’s life, it’s understandable why Maggie reacted the way she did.
To paraphrase Erin, “I’ve been back in town for three weeks. I’m staying with my best friend, Nikki, who I met in rehab. I’m finally calling you because Nikki’s boyfriend is missing.”
Then again, Maggie telling Erin to call the police wasn’t exactly warm and fuzzy. But Maggie was correct that she couldn’t just pick up whatever case she wanted to.
Didn’t everything dovetail nicely shortly after that, though?
To understand Maggie’s disbelieving reactions to Erin’s actions, remember that Erin doesn’t have the best track record, getting addicted as a college student in NYC and having to go into rehab during her two previous appearances.
No wonder Maggie wanted to exile her back to Indiana, like there were no drugs in their home state.
What was sad was that everyone else had more faith in Erin than her own sister. But then, Maggie’s coworkers haven’t had to deal with Erin’s addiction previously. They didn’t have the traumatic history with her that Maggie did.
How convenient was it that the dead drug dealer’s partner in crime was Nikki’s missing boyfriend? So the two recovering addicts were hanging out with a drug dealer. It’s little wonder that Maggie doubted Erin already.
Then when Maggie and O.A. showed up at J.J.’s apartment, they found a wounded Erin there, and she sent them off on a wild tangent, as two masked men had abducted Nikki.
However much Maggie didn’t like it, Erin was a central part of this case since she knew all the players.
Her noting that J.J. probably had stolen Nikki’s car allowed Elise to track the vehicle and locate J.J.
J.J.’s failed Spider-Man impression took him out of the picture pretty early, but his phone told the analysts all that they needed to know. He owed somebody $35,000, and Nikki was being held for ransom until he paid that back.
J.J. stupidly attempted to get the money from Nikki’s father, hardly J.J.’s biggest fan, then tied him up to search the house in hopes that kind of money was just lying around there.
The text demanding the money came from the club where the dead dealer used to work.
Erin said the club was allergic to strangers, but she volunteered to go in with O.A. as backup. Apparently, the tall Egyptian wouldn’t draw any undue attention.
Maggie emphatically pointed out the flaw in sending in a recovering addict to sniff after cocaine. But with no better option, Isobel overruled her.
Things went off the rails as Maggie had feared. The club’s owner, Sammy, was too smart to get entrapped for dealing, offering Erin a line instead to take the edge off.
She tried to beg off, but he insisted, and Erin appeared to do the line. Erin was able to get clear after that.
It wasn’t at all evident what had really happened. Erin said she brushed off the line, but Maggie refused to believe her based on their history.
After this Erin experiment failed, they pinned their hopes on J.J., who prompted died in surgery. This development left Isobel with no option but to send Erin back inside, hoping to get Sammy to incriminate himself.
When that Plan A failed, Erin started riffing, offering to use an imaginary settlement to buy Nikki’s freedom. Sammy actually fell for that, figuring that he could con this addict out of her money.
While everyone else was praising Erin for her improv, Maggie insisted, against all logic, on delivering the money to Sammy herself, with no actual plan of how she would do that.
Erin correctly determined that Sammy wouldn’t negotiate with anyone but her and showed up for the meet despite Maggie’s express orders for her to go home and rest.
Erin did well thinking on her feet when Sammy showed up without Nikki. She insisted on proof of life, a video that also incriminated Clive, the bartender, as the second masked kidnapper.
Things went relatively smoothly until Maggie got too close, setting off Sammy’s radar. The results were Erin getting hit by Sammy and Sammy getting shot by Maggie for doing so.
Thanks to Scola and Tiffany, Nikki was rescued from Clive, who, if he’s smart, will turn on Sammy for a reduced sentence.
Maggie was just plain harsh afterward, considering that a murderer was in custody and Nikki had been saved.
Erin managed pretty well for an amateur caught up in an FBI operation. She deserved better than to be called an embarrassment by her old sister.
Erin has declared she isn’t going anywhere. It’s not like she could escape drugs wherever she went.
Maggie must repair her relationship with Erin (offscreen, of course). She should be supportive and not tear Erin down.
Maybe she finally reached that point in the end when Erin’s drug test came back, and Erin was clean. Perhaps Maggie realized how badly she had mishandled things.
To revisit Erin’s earlier appearances, watch FBI online.
What did you think of the Maggie-Erin dynamic?
Who’s more at fault for their rift, Maggie or Erin?
How did you think Erin handled herself?
Comment below.
Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.