Spoilers ahead for Episode 6 of FBI: Most Wanted Season 6, called “Pageantry” and available streaming now with a Paramount+ subscription.
After a brief break, FBI: Most Wanted returned to CBS in what’s left of the 2024 TV schedule before the start of the 2025 TV schedule with an episode that involved a beauty pageant, assassins, the CIA, and sarin, the latter of which had me flashing back to one of FBI‘s most intense storylines. It was also the epic episode that showrunner David Hudgins had previewed to CinemaBlend earlier in the fall, but none of his comments about Ethan‘s “secret” had me ready for what Hana would discover about her boyfriend in “Pageantry.”
Before fully getting into spoilers, let’s start with what the showrunner said that had me totally unprepared for the big reveal of the latest episode.
What David Hudgins Told Me About Hana And Ethan
I spoke with FBI: Most Wanted showrunner David Hudgins ahead of Season 6 this fall about everything ranging from that Crosby throwback to the perks of getting to do a full season again. He also provided some relationship updates for the main characters, including that “Hana’s still with Ethan” to start the season.
I admitted to Hudgins that I’d originally suspected that Ethan was too good to be true for Hana, and he responded:
Ethan is back. He does not have nefarious intentions, but he does have a secret that Hana discovers, and they have to work together to figure out if it’s going to tear their relationship apart or not. You’re not wrong. I mean, Michael Raymond-James has that twinkle, right? You always feel like that kid’s got mischief, something’s up. But I love them together so much. I was telling somebody earlier, I love to watch dailies when Michael’s there, because after they say cut, watch him and Keisha interact, because they’re hilarious together and have good chemistry. So he does not have nefarious intentions, but he does have a secret, and it leads to some drama.
Although Hudgins mentioned a secret with the potential to tear their relationship apart, his comments about Michael Raymond-James and Keisha Castle-Hughes being “hilarious together” really made me think that nothing too serious would come between them. In fact, the showrunner went on to share why he enjoys getting to tell stories for the characters’ personal lives as well as the harrowing cases of the week, saying:
I think it’s good for the show. I personally enjoy writing them and breaking those stories with the writers. One of the things about the show as it’s evolved over the years is going home with our characters and seeing what’s going on in their personal lives is entertaining. We’re always going to have our driving A story, catching our fugitive, but these are real people with real lives, and they have real problems and real triumphs and we want to tell those stories as well.
Well, weeks after I originally spoke with Hudgins, I can definitely see that Ethan can raise “real problems” for Hana without actually having “nefarious intentions.” His secret seems bound to damage their relationship and possibly put her in a sticky situation as an FBI agent, but he’s not deliberately wronging her. It’s just… very messy. So, let’s get into what happened for Hana to learn Ethan’s secret!
What Happened In “Pageantry”
The episode opened with Ethan and Hana enjoying a night in watching TV together, with Ethan admitting that he’s been “MIA” lately but had a special night planned for them later in the week: the Rockettes’ Christmas Spectacular at Radio City with a nice dinner afterwards. Hana was all smiles… which may have been a sign that something was going to take a dramatic twist, since this is FBI: Most Wanted we’re talking about. While he took Milo outside, a text popped up on his phone that he’d left with Hana from a “Jamie” that read:
Missed you tonight. I’ll be up late if you need me xxoo
Now, even if Hana gave him the biggest benefit of the doubt about who “Jamie” is, the “xxoo” to end the text is pretty damning. She wasn’t totally disillusioned, though, and was excited about their Radio City night… until he called to cancel. He said – seemingly sincerely – that he was really sorry and intended to make it up to her.
And by the end of the episode, the other shoe dropped. Hana banged on his apartment door when she couldn’t get through to him for a few hours, then let herself in and discovered him passed out in front of the TV. It wasn’t the kind of passing out one would do after a long flight or needing a good night’s sleep, either. She discovered a bottle of Oxycodone sitting on his counter, and the dots connected that he was extremely high. Slamming her key to his place down, she gave him one minute to try to explain about the situation and about Jamie.
When he couldn’t do much more than slur his words and mutter “It’s not” about Jamie, Hana declared that she was done, that she’d known she was right about him, and stormed out of the apartment. All the woman had wanted to do was enjoy a festive night watching the Rockettes, and this is what she gets!
Based on the showrunner’s comments, I’m actually inclined to think that Jamie isn’t another woman in the sense that Hana is thinking. Could she be his dealer, who she’d hoped to see so that she could sell him more oxy? Or an NA sponsor who didn’t know that he was off the wagon? Is there a perfectly reasonable explanation for the “xxoo” text?
And dang it, could Hana and Barnes just meet up and go see the Rockettes together, no relationship drama allowed? Both women could use some fun at this point, and I haven’t forgotten what Roxy Sternberg said about Barnes’ relationship with Hana when she broke down her big episode to CinemaBlend.
It remains to be seen if we’ll get any more answers about whether Hana has a future with Ethan before winter hiatus starts, as only one episode is left before the fall finale. Fans won’t have to wait too terribly long into the new year to see the Fugitive Task Force back in action, though.
Along with FBI (which just delivered a devastating choice for Maggie)and FBI: International (which is about to bring in Station 19 alum Jay Hayden), Most Wanted will return in 2025 on Tuesday, January 28. For now, though, you can keep finding new episodes on CBS Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET.