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Fans are already looking ahead to Season 5 of CBS’ The Equalizer and wondering which cast members will be coming back. Following the events of the Season 4 finale, viewers are particularly worried about a fan-favorite character and wondering if Mel Bayani is leaving The Equalizer for good. Here’s everything we know about Mel’s fate on the show.
Is Mel Bayani leaving The Equalizer?
We don’t know for sure if Melody “Mel” Bayani (played by Liza Lapira) will return next season, but the Season 4 finale concluded with the fan-favorite deciding to take a step back from equalizing to focus on her healing journey. At the top of the episode, the former U.S. Air Force sniper-turned-bar owner was kidnapped by a member of her veteran support group. As it turned out, the man was not actually a veteran and his real name was Billal Malik. He and his brother Imran were tracking down and killing everyone who was involved in the death of their father Farhan, a terrorist. The two men intended to kill Mel for her involvement, but her husband Harry (Adam Goldberg) found her in time and had his CIA connection, Colton Fisk (recurring guest star Donal Logue), prove that Farhan was still alive. Farhan actually survived the shooting and was given a new identity to restart his life; he didn’t tell his sons the truth to protect them.
However, Imran was still angry and detonated a grenade. Billal jumped on it to save everyone in the room and died instantly right before Mel’s eyes. Although she and her husband made it out of the ordeal alive, it triggered Mel’s PTSD from her time in the army and she realized that she still has trauma that she needs to work through. She later told her team, including former CIA agent and justice vigilante Robyn McCall (Queen Latifah), that she was going to take some time off.
While CBS has renewed the crime drama for a fifth season, only Queen Latifah has been officially confirmed to return. Lapira hasn’t given any indication that she plans on leaving the show, but fans reacted to her character’s leave of absence on social media. Alongside a photo that the actress posted on Instagram ahead of the finale, one fan wrote: “I need answers!! You guys can’t leave the show?!? You just can’t!!!” Another one added: “Liza!!! I hope you don’t leave Equalizer. Your work has been outstanding!!! I hope you don’t leave the show, but if you do you Will always do great work!! Keep Rising Liza!!! ❤️🙏🏽.” A third fan chime in: “NOOOOO. I need Mel equalizing!!! 🥹.”
Mel isn’t the only character fans are worried about, either. Elsewhere in the Season 4 finale, NYPD Detective Marcus Dante (Tory Kittles) accepted a job transfer to Los Angeles, leaving Robyn heartbroken. Although Kittles’ character will no longer be in New York City, he doesn’t appear to be leaving the show anytime soon. In an interview with ScreenRant, the actor revealed his hopes for Season 5. “We actually have talked about some things that we can get into. Joe Wilson, our showrunner, is such a great collaborator,” he told the outlet. “We’re going to push the envelope, and we’re going to continue to open up the scope of the show. We realize that this is an international show, and we’re speaking to millions across the globe. We really want to continue to ride that wave and give audiences what they want. I look forward to that. I look forward to getting bigger and better and continuing to find the nuance in each of these characters.” He also spoke about specific plot points with Dante and shared that “going forward” the show will “finally confront Dante’s truth serum confession” from the Season 4 premiere, in which he let it slip while drugged that he loves Robyn.
Episodes of The Equalizer can be streamed on Paramount+.
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