The season 2 finale of Alert Missing Persons Unit had it all, from a delayed but sweet wedding ceremony to a disturbing kidnapping case to an appearance by Taye Diggs. It was a satisfying end to the short but impactful 10-episode season, with a few surprises along the way.
Alert Missing Persons Unit premiered on Fox in January 2023 and was created by Jamie Foxx and John Eisendrath. The procedural tells the story of ex-spouses Detective Jason Grant (Scott Caan) and Nikki Batista (Dania Ramirez) who work together in the Missing Persons Unit of the Philidelphia Police Department along with Detective Sergeant Mike Sherman (Ryan Broussard). Nikki and Mike’s romance has complicated the dynamic between the three and provided a compelling emotional backdrop for all the missing persons cases. The season 2 finale of Alert Missing Persons Unit was no different.
What happened in the Alert Missing Persons Unit season 2 finale?
The season 2 ending of Alert Missing Persons Unit, “Federal Prisoner #07198F-068P,” focused on two main events: the Braun brothers kidnapping Wayne Pascal (Alisha-Marie Ahamed) and Nikki and Mike’s wedding day, which was quickly approaching. While there are many TV shows about the FBI and the One Chicago franchise features characters investigating crimes, Alert Missing Persons Unit is always particularly fast-paced since the show is about trying to locate people before it’s too late.
While some procedurals feature opening scenes with minor characters that don’t appear again or have any connection to the main storyline, the beginning of the Alert Missing Persons Unit season 2 finale sets up a truly scary episode. Emerson Braun (Giles Panton) has seriously messed up and calls his brother, head of the MPU Inspector Hollis Braun (Gill Bellows in a much meaner role than sweet Billy Thomas on Ally McBeal… to say the least). Hollis is angry to learn that Emerson drove drunk and killed a couple and their two young children.
Later, the MPU team puts together the puzzle pieces of Wayne’s kidnapping and realizes that the Braun brothers took her because she knows about the car bombings that occurred in season 2. Kemi Adebayo (Adeola Role) saves the day when she realizes that when Wayne pretended to help Emerson, Wayne really hacked into Kemi’s computer system to reveal her location. It turns out that Wayne is in a sawmill that will become the ninth location of Emerson Charter Schools. As always, it’s fun and exciting to see the team solve yet another case.
The Missing Persons Unit season 2 finale cleverly shows the tension between Hollis Braun and the rest of the MPU team. They absolutely hate each other, which makes for some particularly intense scenes. The main characters all get a chance to shine and stand up for themselves. One of the best moments is when Hollis says everyone is suspended and Nikki says “we’re building a case against you.” She adds “you picked a fight with the wrong person,” because they’re going to do what they want now.
In the scene fans have been waiting for, the team arrests Emerson for his part in the deaths of the family from the beginning of the episode. Emerson is also going to prison for being an accessory in the deaths of John Moritz and Travis Sanders. But while this is thrilling to watch, it’s the backstory between Jason and Nikki that is the most important part of the Alert Missing Persons Unit season 2 finale. Although they don’t talk about it, it’s clear that they are always thinking about their son, Keith, who they couldn’t find while Jason was in Afghanistan. This unspoken trauma and pain is present in every scene between the two… and it’s also why Wayne’s kidnapping is so disturbing to them.
The season 2 ending also features Mike and Nikki’s wedding. They finally get married and Taye Diggs shows up as Kemi’s date. Nikki sweetly says “You know what, as long as we’re there, the team is there, what more do we want?” This storyline allows the show to delve into the complex feelings between Nikki and Jason. Most ex-spouses don’t have to see each other every day, but since they work together, this interesting relationship keeps fans watching.
As Carla Kettner, the showrunner, told TV Insider, the second season looks at “the challenges of navigating old love versus new love,” and that’s definitely clear in the season 2 finale. Jason may be happy with Wayne, but there might be some growing pains as he gets used to Nikki being married to someone else.
Will there be an Alert Missing Persons Unit season 3?
After an episode like the season 2 ending of Alert Missing Persons Unit, fans are hoping to see more of Nikki, Mike, Jason, and Kemi. In May 2024, Deadline reported that Alert Missing Persons Unit has been renewed for season 3 and that the cast began filming as soon as shooting for season 2 wrapped.
While it’s too soon to know what season 3 will focus on, it will be fascinating to see how Nikki and Mike’s marriage affects their professional and personal dynamics with Jason. It seems impossible for there not to be at least a little drama…
