The FBI’s Most Wanted’ s newest episode, “100%”, shows the devastating effects of a dysfunctional system—the Veterans Administration (VA)—and its inability to honor individuals who sacrificed so much for this nation. The episode subtly challenges gender norms by mixing systemic critique with personal tragedy. The episode doesn’t fully deliver on its theme, “Broken systems. Broken people,” because of faulty pacing and inconsistencies in the character-driven conflict that sometimes feels forced.
Let’s review.
“100” opens with Special Agent Hana Gibson (Keisha Castle-Hughes) checking her ex, Ethan McPherson (Michael Raymond-James) into a VA-sponsored drug rehab program. A disturbance erupts when two army vets, Dani Harrigan (Ashley Crowe) and Carver Fleck (Tobias Forrest), begin arguing with the clerk named Stuart (Eric Elizaga).
The issue—Fleck, a wheelchair-bound vet, needed to get his disability rating updated from 50% to 100%. Fleck’s paperwork is missing. It almost takes an act of Congress to get this rating changed. Frustrated, Fleck’s literal ‘ride or die’ Dani escalates the situation. Dani, also likely suffering from a traumatic brain injury (TBI), pulled her gun, shot the guard (Bob Roseman), and took everyone in the waiting room captive, including Hana and Ethan.
“100%” – FBI: MOST WANTED, Pictured (L-R): Nakia Dillard as Janitor Wally, Keisha Castle-Hughes as Special Agent Hana Gibson, and Michael Raymond-James as Ethan McPherson. Photo: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Unaware she’s taken an FBI agent and a US Marshall captive, Dani gets Hana to collect all the cell phones, but not before she sent a text to the Fugitive Task Force as the onsite police presence swells. Protocols are followed. The negotiator, Rick Deschain (Josh Marcantel), makes mistakes that put Hana’s life in danger.
Assistant Special Agent in Charge Hugh Puglia (Ben Cain), thinks a woman might better get through to Dani. Special Agent Sheryll Barnes (Roxy Sternberg) takes over negotiations. She successfully gets Dani to release the injured guard and one hostage in exchange for chewing tobacco. Special Agent Ray Cannon (Edwin Hodge) volunteers to be part of the EMT Team that evacuates the guard out so he could smuggle a phone to Hana and deliver Dani’s dip.
“100%” – FBI: Most Wanted, Pictured (L-R): Ben Cain as Assistant Special Agent in Charge Hugh Puglia and Roxy Sternberg as Special Agent Sheryll Barnes. Photo: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The janitor Wally (Nakia Dillard) was released because he thanked Dani for her service. Unfortunately, media coverage alerted Dani that she had an FBI agent in her midst. Dani mistakenly assumed it was a tall, white guy (Josh Wingate). She knew it wasn’t Stuart because he worked at the VA. She ruled out Ethan because he was actively ‘dope sick’. She dismissed Hana – well because she was a middle-aged woman. Through process of elimination, it had to be tall, white guy who swore he was a schoolteacher. Dani was prepared to shoot him, until Hana confessed to being the FBI.
Dani focused her rage on Hana. She called Sheryll to let her know that Hana was her new bargaining chip. Sheryll Counters, by convincing Dani to talk to her ex-husband (William Nicol). The two talked about her kid’s reading progress, which was deeply moving to SA Barnes who herself is a mother of two. The Agent in Charge Hugh Puglia disregarded Sheryll’s pleas not to breach the facility. A swat team was dispatched. Dani wired a door with explosives. Hana sent a text warning them not to enter, but it was too late, and several officers were injured.
“100%” – FBI: Most Wanted, Pictured (L-R): William Nicol as Keith, Ben Cain as Assistant Special Agent in Charge Hugh Puglia, and Roxy Sternberg as Special Agent Sheryll Barnes. Photo: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
After the explosion even Sheryll planned to eliminate Dani and Carver. The swat team lined up their kill shot. Carver is killed, but Dani bent to pick up the tobacco she dropped. Panicked she moves the hostages to the chapel. During the transfer, Ethan takes the phone from Hana to keep Dani from finding it in her possession.
Suffering from the effects of opioid withdrawal, Ethan can’t control his tremors enough to send a text to Hana’s team. Ethan calls the team instead and declares he’s the FBI agent, not Hana. His gambit works. Dani places Ethan on his knees– execution style. Service member to service member, Ethan delivers a great speech. He appeals to Dani’s sense of duty letting her know that killing him won’t achieve anything but intensify her feelings of self-loathing because she blames herself for the injuries Carver sustained rescuing her in combat, and for getting him killed earlier that day.
Dani tells Ethan that she’s not going to shoot him. As she prepares to shoot herself, Hana prevents her from pulling the trigger. “You matter,” Hana says. She continues, “Don’t abandon your kids. Your kids can’t grow up without a mom.” And the coup de grace–Hana says,” There are other ‘Carvers’ out there that you can use your voice to help.” By then, the SWAT team was through the doors and the site secured. Dani was arrested. Ethan and Hana embrace as he declares, “I love you!” Hana ambiguously responds, “I know.”
“100%” – FBI: Most Wanted, Pictured (L-R): Edwin Hodge as Special Agent Ray Cannon, Roxy Sternberg as Special Agent Sheryll Barnes, Shantel VanSanten as Special Agent Nina Chase and Ben Cain as Assistant Special Agent in Charge Hugh Puglia. Photo: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
“100%” had an ambitious thematic throughline, “Broken systems. Broken people,” that was meant to unveil the brutal fallout of bureaucratic ineptitude and institutional neglect. The episode’s most intriguing (and divisive) feature is its gender-inflected storytelling. The central antagonist, a divorced mother of two and a former soldier, brings an unexpected layer of complexity to the narrative.
Dani’s descent into violence feels raw and inevitable, a harrowing reflection of a system that fails even the most determined individuals. Her characterization, while chilling, forces the audience to confront how gender might reshape our perceptions of rage and desperation. This narrative choice, whether intentionally profound or coincidentally provocative, succeeds in making the antagonist more than a trope of a TBI damaged soldier—she becomes a lens through which we examine the cost of neglect, challenging the traditional male-dominated narrative about veterans. “100%” dared to show women not just as caretakers or victims but as participants in high-stakes conflict.
“100%” earns points for ambition. Despite the execution faltering in some places, the episode remains a thought-provoking, if uneven, piece of social commentary reflecting the cracks in systems and the human spirit. In the end, I was left with some unsettling questions: How many lives will be lost or shattered before broken systems are repaired? And in presenting women at the heart of its story, does it empower or merely exploit? What question did this episode raise for you? Let me know in the comments.
Overall Rating:
7:10
Lynette Jones
