Scola's dynamic with Syd Ortiz on FBI will be quite different from his with Tiffany Wallace

Scola is getting a new partner on FBI so how will he adjust? The actor and showrunner have chimed in!

The FBI season 7 premiere opened with the surprising news that TIffany Wallace had already resigned from the team. Partner Scola (John Boyd) tried to talk her out of it, but her mind was made up. Wallace was affected after killing the terrorist Hakim, who had murdered her friend agent Hobbs. She blamed herself for it.

Wallace helped crack a case involving a family on the run, terrorists, and the CIA. That included patching up Scola when he was stabbed in the leg by a suspect. The final scene had Wallace talking to Maggie and sharing that she thought taking out Hakim would lead to closure but it didn’t. She needed to clear her head and so was moving to Georgia to be with her sister.

This was how the show wrote out Katherine Renee Kane, and John Boyd spoke to TV Insider about how the loss of Wallace affects Scola going forward.

"I really love that Mike had such a great idea coming in to have this struggle to find [someone, to have] the rest of the team joking and making fun of me for speed dating and who works and doesn’t work. And it’s the struggle. And part of it is his own journey of finding out that he’s not necessarily ready for someone or [there are] people that are just not the right type, totally wrong for him. It’s been really fun to play. There’s a little bit of humor in there and yeah, I had a great time doing it."

The episode had the pair bidding a simple farewell as their friendship wasn’t as emotional as others. However, Scola now faces the challenge of breaking in a new partner!

How does Scola get along with Syd on FBI?

Episode 2 introduces Wallace’s replacement, Syd Ortiz (Lisette Olivera). While Wallace was already an experienced cop before joining the FBI, Ortiz is younger and part of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, so she has a background in psychology. Showrunner Mike Weiss told TV Insider that it would be an interesting new dynamic in the field. 

"For Scola, because he is such an intense seen it all, New York City special agent, I think he’s the perfect person to pair with someone who can ask tough questions because you kind of know that Scola, he’s right there anyway thinking about things I think in the same really detail-oriented way and he’s got a partner who is going to be voicing some of those psychological aspects of the cases. I think it’s going to be really fun. And then also he’s just more experienced in the field…He’s got someone who was working indoors and has all of a sudden become an outdoor cat, and so Scola is going to have to be there to help her get her head around field work a little bit."

Boyd added that it would be a different take for Scola as he’ll be taking on a more mature role of a leader and breaking in this rookie agent. This connects to Scola and Nina (Shantel VanSanten) raising a child together while Nina is busy on FBI: Most Wanted. While Scola will deeply miss Wallace, he knows he now has the task of showing Syd the ropes in the field and getting on her feet quickly.

This will be an interesting new dynamic as Scola was once the new guy on the team himself, so he knows how tricky it can be (the fact he used to be a Wall Street trader first didn’t help). Thus, he can help Syd learn how to do things even as he has to get used to a younger partner who is not as action-inclined as Wallace is. Yet the fact he’s now a mentor as well as a dad has humanized Scola and should lead to some dramatic scenes. 

FBI fans can expect a new direction for Scola as he leads this rookie agent and a much different relationship than with him and Wallace!

FBI season 7 airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on CBS. Next day streaming is available on Paramount+. Stay tuned to Amercans Undercover for coverage. Follow us on X and Facebook for more content!