Jubal Valentine isn’t exactly the most beloved FBI character, but the series could easily resolve his biggest criticism by taking notes from their own star’s past work. In fact, the show has already proven just how easily Jubal can be fixed by taking at least a few steps in the right direction as recently as the FBI season 7 finale.
It’s not that Jubal’s character is the only divisive aspect of the show. Dani Rhodes’ FBI season 8 departure robs Scola of yet another partner, and numerous fans have voiced boredom with the show’s general structure since the cancelation of its more unique spinoffs. However, that structure directly relates to one main reason Jubal needs fixing in FBI season 8.
FBI’s Jubal Valentine Is Heavily Criticized For Rarely Appearing Outside The JOC
He’s Perceived As Doing Little But Standing Around And Barking Orders
Jubal stands in the FBI headquarters with his earpiece in, giving and receiving info about a case
One of the reasons that many fans preferred FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International over the flagship is that the spinoffs distinguished themselves from the mother show by putting their leads in the field. Seeing the entire team working together made it less interesting by contrast to watch a series structured around one man giving orders from a single room.
This problem doesn’t necessarily apply to Jubal alone. Criticisms of FBI’s partnerships have extended to Isobel as well, but Isobel’s lack of mobility is less glaring because she’s given less screentime and has a higher-ranking office job. It could be argued that Jubal’s position also reasonably ties him to the JOC, but that only addresses half of the primary issue.
Having other characters tied to the same location yet who still appear slightly more dynamic despite commanding less screentime creates another issue, which is that a cursory analysis could easily lead to the conclusion that Jubal’s monotony is an actor problem. However, Jeremy Sisto has already proven he can demonstrate better range, and he did it nearly 30 years ago.
Jeremy Sisto’s Suicide Kings Proves A Static Location Doesn’t Have To Affect His Range
The Film’s Core Plotline Takes Place Almost Entirely In A Single Setting
Jeremy Sisto as T. K. and Christopher Walken as Carlo Barolucci in Suicide Kings
Despite its absolute critical and commercial failure, there’s at least a cult following who would argue to the death that 1997’s Suicide Kings belongs on a list of Christopher Walken’s best movies. Jeremy Sisto’s T. K. is a medical student who helps kidnap a former mob boss, providing treatment after the kidnappers cut off Walken’s finger for their ransom demand.
The film does change locations as it follows Denis Leary on a mission to find his boss and punish the kidnappers. However, the majority of the film’s 146-minute runtime takes place in a single setting, a house the kidnappers (and a reluctant Johnny Galecki) are using to play poker with their hostage until the ransom comes through.
Not only does Suicide Kings prove that Sisto’s acting range is far from the root of FBI’s Jubal problem, it also offers a solution. Just as Suicide Kings does with T. K., FBI could vastly improve Jubal simply by diversifying the tone of his interactions with other characters. Fortunately, season 8 may already be on track to do just that.
FBI Season 8 Is Already Set Up To Fix The Series’ Jubal Problem Moving Forward
A New Primary Conflict Could Breathe Fresh Life Into The Character
Isobel and Jubal sitting at a table together in FBI
While the FBI season 7 finale gives Jubal multiple settings to play around in, even his JOC scenes allow Sisto to demonstrate more range than usual. Jubal’s emotive performance in the finale is largely due to his personal feelings about Forefront’s infiltration, but the stakes don’t need to be quite so high to see this side of him more often.
Viewers may at least get to see a slightly more bemused version of the character if the possibility of Jubal appearing in Tom Ellis’ CIA spinoff pans out, but even subtle differences in how he reacts to different characters and case developments would make a huge difference. And that slight adjustment would help establish a baseline for more significant changes.
As seen in both Suicide Kings and the FBI season 7 finale, Sisto’s range shines best when his characters are at the center of a conflict. With her fate currently undetermined, Isobel’s possible FBI exit could pose several challenges for Jubal. In fact, Jubal’s desire to make SAC already created conflict by making him a suspect in the Forefront case.
Jubal applied for SAC before, but Dana Mosier’s FBI departure resulted in Isobel taking the reins instead. Were Isobel to die or retire following the season 7 attack, promoting Jubal would force him to adjust to a new job while hunting Forefront and mourning a colleague. It would take an almost impressive effort to milk tedium out of that storyline.
In short, there are numerous measures both great and small that could be taken to ease complaints that Jubal’s only function in FBI is to stand around the JOC and bark orders. From giving him more varied interactions to a larger plotline in general, Sisto’s role in Suicide Kings should prove that Jubal’s flaws are far from insurmountable.
