[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the FBI: Most Wanted Season 5 finale “Powderfinger.”]
The Fugitive Task Force gets a couple of wins in the FBI: Most Wanted Season 5 finale, ending on a high note.
Not only do they stop a massive threat to New York City, but Ray (Edwin Hodge) and Cora (Caroline Harris) also get married—and it goes off without a hitch! Furthermore, Ray’s dad (Steven Williams) surprises them with a second line (fitting, since they’re from New Orleans). Below, Hodge takes us inside filming the finale and shares his hopes for Season 6.
Talk about filming the wedding.
Edwin Hodge: The wedding was fun. It was interesting. It was weird a little bit because Caroline, who plays Cora, had just gotten married a week prior. My wedding is coming up June 29.
Congratulations!
Thank you. So yeah, one person who just got married who’s now getting married again, and then you got somebody who is getting married on TV and then getting married in real life. It was weird more so that my actual wife [Skye P. Marshall] is going to have to watch this first before we get married. The wedding went off without a hitch. It was a fun day to shoot. We get to kind of see our main characters in a way that we don’t and the revelations of what their future may be as well. The color scheme was beautiful. The music was beautiful. The family and guests were beautiful. And yeah, Ken Girotti, our director, does his thing. So I trust his vision.
We get everyone at the wedding relaxing. At the end of the last episode, we got Ray and Cora interrupting Hana (Keisha Castle-Hughes) and Ethan (Michael Raymond-James) and then the four of them having fun. You see that these people like each other, and that comes through onscreen.
Yeah, indeed. Offscreen, everybody is effing amazing. I really do love working with my cast here, and then onscreen, I think it’s just transferable. We really had fun with that heads up game scene and Ray and Hana in general have always had a respectful relationship and I think there was a commonality between the two. And yeah, we get to show it. I think that’s one of the best parts about shows like this is when we actually just get to see our characters be regular people enjoying a glass of wine and a game.
Mark Schafer/CBS
Talk about filming the second line.
The second line was crazy. We were filming, I believe, in Brooklyn. We were fighting light. It was getting dark, so we had to get out there real quick. But the band that they had was really, really amazing and they start playing and we get out on the street and me and Steven Williams, who plays my father, we were dancing, Cora and Caleb dancing, and then we have Dylan [McDermott] doing his thing in the back, everybody. It was great. But yeah, I think it’s the perfect cherry on top for the season. We end off with some levity, some smiles, some laughter, some love, some peace, contentment and the heart to only get ramped up for whatever the hell we’re about to jump into next season.
Because there’s that tension with Cora about his job and her wanting him to take off, should we be wondering about Ray’s future with the Fugitive Task Force or is that just something that they’re going to have to figure out?
No, I think that’s just something they’re going to have to figure out. You don’t quit your job necessarily just to appease another particular lifestyle. You’re still a person, you still have your independence and what makes you, and what makes Ray him is the fact that he’s a federal agent. So I would like to identify the complexities of that and really kind of focus in on that. But for him to maybe leave, I’m not sure if that’s on the table yet, but it’d be interesting. We will see how it plays out.
I have really enjoyed Ray and his father this season because they weren’t estranged and just came together for a case. They’re close, and yes, it’s complicated, but they do talk about things.
Yeah, that’s the one thing I do really like about our relationship is the communication. We don’t see that a lot of times with parent-child relationships, father-son relationships. Men are ultimately supposed to be strong and keep their feelings, but we’re human beings, too. We have emotions and it’s nice to be able to find comfort in another man who can identify with your struggles, be it your father, your best friend, brother, whatever it may be. It’s nice to see that play out. Steven’s a joy on set. And for me, our process is as natural as it can be. We do have the blueprint, we have the lines, but sometimes we got to add a little bit of who we are naturally into it. And a lot of times the directors, the writers, they allow us to play. And what you guys see is very authentic. A lot of it is made up on the spot and it’s just based on our history, our own personal lives, and making sure that when we present something to the audiences that it does appear authentic.
What did you enjoy most about who Ray was this season professionally and personally?
Professionally, I feel like Ray has settled into his skin a little bit, a little bit more this season. He’s more diligent, he’s more direct about his thoughts and what he wants to do, how he executes. He did a lot of running again this season. So in TV world, he’s very fit. Personal world, not so much. [Laughs] But overall, I love the arc of Ray. I get to play with many different emotions through this season, be it dealing with Cora and my family, dealing with the different personalities we have within a team. But with all said, Ray has stayed true to himself. He’s definitely a dedicated team member, and he hasn’t dropped the ball yet. And that’s the one thing I do like about him, that he is articulate in what he does. Yeah, it has been a really nice evolution for Ray.
So what are you hoping to explore next season?
Definitely the marriage. What does that look like for myself? How does that conflict with work as far as the time that’s going to be taken off as far as the dinners I’ll be having and then getting the calls midway through to leave? Cora, what journey is she going to go through? Caleb, what is he going to go through? He has this new father figure in his life, and that is an important story to tell. We deal with a lot of homeless children and adoptions in this world, and kids just wanting to feel like there’s somebody who cares about them. And I think the writers have done a great job with giving us that blueprint as well.
And then, yeah, as far as the team is concerned, listen, they go bigger and better every season. As far as Ray as a federal agent, I want him to keep kicking ass. I do yearn for the days there may be a mistake or something he’s got to kind of figure out on his own or with the team, because human beings, we are flawed. So Ray can’t just be perfect and I’m going to have fun with those flaws. But yeah, just making sure we stay steadfast with building an all-around character for the audience. I do want to, as I perform, be relatable to my audience. I want to go through situations that are going to make the audience think as far as their real life situation is concerned and maybe they might be going through something similar and maybe what they see on TV could help them via Ray. But yeah, inform ’em, educate, entertain. That’s my goal.
FBI: Most Wanted, Season 6, Fall 2024, CBS