FBI: Most Wanted – The Circle Game – Review: “To Family!”

Few long-running shows manage to stick the landing, but FBI: Most Wanted’s finale, “The Circle Game,” did just that—delivering a thrilling case, emotional farewells, and an unexpected warmth that made saying goodbye a little easier. After years of chasing down fugitives—spree killers, domestic terrorists, and assorted nightmares—the Fugitive Task Force took its final bow in an episode that balanced edge-of-your-seat urgency with heartfelt goodbyes. Let’s review.

“The Circle Game” – FBI: MOST WANTED, Pictured (L-R): Edwin Hodge as
Special Agent Ray Cannon, Dylan McDermott as Supervisory Special Agent Remy
Scott, and Keisha Castle-Hughes as Special Agent Hana Gibson. Photo: Mark
Schafer/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The episode’s crime arc starts with a protest against DOGE-like job cuts at the local office at the Department of Education. Former employees Judy King (Lilli Birdsell) and Saquon Ball (Khouri St. Surin) hurl paint-filled balloons at protestors.

Things take a violent turn when Saquon suddenly pulls a gun and fires. His driver, Judy—a mother-figure to him—was horrified. When she realized the situation had spiraled beyond repair, she tried to cut ties, forcing Saquon into a reckless decision: taking her and his aunt, Kay Ball (Juliette Jeffers), hostage.

Turns out, Saquon wasn’t just an impulsive vigilante—he’d been hired by two arrogant tech bros, Kyle McConnelly (Nathan Salstone) and Patesh Karna (Nik Sadhnani), to eliminate Aiko Wu, a team member assigned to provide legal oversight of their operation. But while Kyle and Patesh were more methodical, Saquon was out of his depth, fumbling his way through a doomed escape attempt.

When Supervisory Special Agent Remy Scott (Dylan McDermott) faces off with Saquon, the young man tries to shoot his way out. He fails. His final moments were some of the episode’s most arresting: “Am I dying?” he asked, followed by a heartbreaking cry for his “momma”—George Floyd style. Remy, shaken, pleaded with him: “Stay with me. Don’t go.” It was a stark reminder of how quickly things can spiral—and how even in justice, tragedy still lingers.

Meanwhile, Kyle and Patesh had bigger plans—using their fancy Pepperdine degrees to steal classified government data from the National Cyber Authority. Their goal was to engineer a digital ‘kill switch’ capable of shutting down the internet’s infrastructure. they tried to sell the ‘kill switch’ to Russian mobsters for $50 million Bitcoin payday.

“The Circle Game” – FBI: MOST WANTED, Pictured (L-R): Roxy Sternberg as
Special Agent Sheryll Barnes and Shantel VanSanten as Special Agent Nina Chase.
Photo: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
As proof of concept, the tech bros test the cyber weapon on the streets of New York City. Chaos erupts. Banks fail. Cell service disappears. Traffic grinds to a halt after the signals stop working and bedlam ensues. The urgency was palpable, The Fugitive Task Force springs into action, hunting Kyle and Patesh down with the same methodical expertise exhibited on the show for years.

Kyle McConnelly made the classic mistake of running errands mid-fugitive life, heading to a pharmacy for his precious Adderall fix. When approached by the team, he pulled a gun—cosplaying as some sort of desperado—only to be gunned down himself. His demise was a symbolic takedown of misplaced privilege.

Patesh Karna was even more desperate, taking a hostage in a last-ditch effort to escape. But he was outmatched by the Fugitive Task Force and folded. This final arrest secured justice, closing out the team’s last mission with one final hard-earned victory.

“The Circle Game” – FBI: MOST WANTED, Pictured: Shantel VanSanten as
Special Agent Nina Chase. Photo: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.The show’s DNA is built on action, but this finale finds space for warmth. In contrast to the violence and chaos that had defined the team’s work for years, their farewell was filled with recognition, praise, and hope.

Remy, in a heartfelt toast to his team, gave everyone their moment:

* Agent Nina Chase (Shantel VanSanten): “Strong, fierce, stunning.” “Remy’s compliments echo the pride her father expressed in her role as an FBI agent.”

* Agent Hana Gibson (Keisha Castle-Hughes): “Genius-level smart.” Remy even admits she’s the kind of child he wishes he had.

* Agent Ray Cannon (Edwin Hodge): “Honesty, loyalty, integrity.” And oh yeah—he’s going to be a dad!

* Agent Sheryll Barnes (Roxy Sternberg): Takes over as Supervisory Special Agent—marking not just the end of Remy’s leadership, but the beginning of something new.

“The Circle Game” – FBI: MOST WANTED, Pictured: Keisha
Castle-Hughes as Special Agent Hana Gibson. Photo: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2025 CBS
Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.And because it wouldn’t be a finale without a personal milestone, it’s Remy’s birthday—his retirement, a fresh start, and a love story with Abby Deaver (Susan Misner).
FBI: Most Wanted’s finale struck the right balance—tense, action-packed, and emotionally rewarding. The series never shied away from the weight of responsibility, but in the end, it reminded us that even in the darkest careers, there is light, there is hope—and there is family.

“The Circle Game” – FBI: MOST WANTED, Pictured (L-R): Roxy
Sternberg as Special Agent Sheryll Barnes, Shantel VanSanten as Special Agent
Nina Chase, Dylan McDermott as Supervisory Special Agent Remy Scott, Edwin
Hodge as Special Agent Ray Cannon, and Keisha Castle-Hughes as Special Agent
Hana Gibson. Photo: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
Now excuse me while I sit here and pretend, I don’t miss it already.

Did you think “The Circle Game” was a fitting farewell to a gripping show? Let me know in the comments.

Overall Rating

9:10

Lynette Jones