Love, it's messy.

That was the message behind FBI Season 5 Episode 2.

Did watching young love in action make Nina and Scola think twice about their budding relationship?

Her, for sure, him, not so much.

A possible relationship between the two of them had been hinted about as far back as FBI Season 4 Episode 18, when it was revealed that they had been out on one date, then he ghosted her.

But by the end of that episode, she agreed to go on a second date with him. Lord knows why.

This episode confirms that something is percolating between them, although it wasn't immediately apparent in the handful of episodes between then and now.

So it had to be established why workplace relationships in law enforcement are a terrible idea. In the middle of a shootout, Scola raced to Nina's side after she got hit by wood chips, despite her telling him that she was OK.

Before that, after it was revealed that she'd stayed the night with him, Nina wanted to keep their relationship on the D.L. His later maneuver might have given things away if their respective partners weren't busy trying to arrest the shooter.

That's why businesses have fraternization policies so that employee behavior can be controlled to a degree. In this case, they would be separated in the field as much as possible, which is probably a good idea based on the actions of the moon-eyed Scola.

Their off-the-books relationship will likely be exposed in the worst way possible sometime shortly.

A better question is whether viewers should invest in their relationship at all.

After all, Nina is filling in for Maggie. The latter is bound to recover from her exposure to a biological weapon just as soon as Missy Peregrym's maternity leave ends, hopefully, sooner rather than later.

At that point, a transfer is bound to come through for Nina. Having a second alpha female would be a redundancy. So heartbreak is on the horizon for Stuart.

This episode's criminal couple may be the impetus to push Nina and Scola apart. Ah, young love. As Dev and Skyler learned the hard way, it makes you do stupid things.

They weren't wrong when Dev's parents blamed Skyler for ruining his life. He dropped out of school and was estranged from his family because of his love for her.

There's a reason that many young couples break up when they are separated by school. Dev and Skyler's futures would have been brighter had they done so.

Instead, to make ends meet, Dev turned to a life of crime, for which he was spectacularly unqualified.

Panicking and pitching thousands of dollars worth of drugs into the sewer because of paranoia about the police is a faux pas. There are no acceptable losses for druglords.

That led to Skyler's kidnapping and Dev's new career as an unsuccessful robber. Yes, he was desperate to raise her ransom but killing a cop put him on the road of no return.

At least the team determined pretty quickly about the coercion that Dev was under and why he had gone from Ivy League student to armed robber in a short period.

It was little wonder that the team caught up with Dev so quickly as he left a trail that was simple for the tech squad to follow. He was no polished criminal, just a distressed kid.

The team also made short work of getting all the low-level criminals to roll over and give up the next piece of the puzzle.

The problem was that Skyler also got caught up in the romance of her situation. After Dev was shot saving her, she was determined to save him, turning criminal to do so.

You can't expect the lovestruck to make rational decisions. Just ask Stuart.

They would have come out alive if Dev and Skyler had just given up when surrounded by the FBI. But instead, they took a hostage, then more hostages, rapidly dissipating any empathy the agents felt for them.

They became another criminal couple on the lam, destined to face their inevitable end. The only question would be how.

Nina was fooling herself when she thought she could get through to Skyler, cynical thirtysomething woman to love-deluded girl. They weren't dealing with the same life experiences.

Not that the insistent Scola would have done any better. Tiffany would have been the best choice as she's the most empathetic one of that particular quartet.

There was also the problem that none of them had the skills of a paramedic.

Skyler had to wonder why Nina was doing little besides trying to convince her to surrender. It was a miracle that Dev survived.

Still, there had to be a better solution than Nina maneuvering Skyler into the sniper's line of sight. That ended things, but it finished Skyler as well, and she essentially was a stressed-out victim in this situation.

By the case's end, Nina had to question getting more involved with Stuart after seeing how badly love can go.

To revisit Nina and Scola's relationship, watch FBI online.

Do you care much about Nina and Scola as a couple?

When did you know Dev and Skyler were doomed?

Does having O.A. in the background so much lessen an episode?

Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.