When it comes to FBI: International, the one thing that we love more than anything is the fact that this team is there for each other, no matter what. They want to make sure that they are all protected, that they are all there for each other. It doesn’t mean that it’s not complicated.
Because it is.
In last nights episode, the team found themselves in some hot water (I hate that expression, but TBH, I am tired, and so I can’t think of another way to say it. See Vo is a person of interest in the death of a Hungarian gambling regulator and you know that it can’t be easy for the team to try and investigate and save one of their own.
But hey, easy or hard, the team is going to do it. They’re going to make it happen. Because that’s what family does. They stand by each other.
Vo is a loyal person, so when her friend from Quantico shows up, she’s excited to see him. She goes for a drink with him and ends up embattled in a case that she becomes a person of interest.
She hears a gunshot and goes running outside, finding a man murdered on the ground and her friend nowhere to be found. Of course, she calls the team and Forrester shows up, along with Kellett.
Forrester has a lot of thoughts in his brain, you can see that. But he’s going to be there for his team. Vo is honest and upfront with the team, but Forrester quickly wonders if the guy was an FBI agent, why would he run away from the scene? Vo, of course, still has loyalty and thinks that there is an explanation.
I too, am a big proponent of loyalty. I believe deeply in it. I find myself living in it blindly. But for Vo, that’s going to leave her on the sidelines, because what has happened can change everything. The Hungarian government will kick the team out of the country and Forrester isn’t about to let that happen.
When Vo heads home, her friend has made his way into her home. He’s broken in and gives her a story and she believes him. But when Kellett shows up, she can tell that Vo is hiding something.
Thorpe is a character that actually scares me. Why? Because he’s a master manipulator and makes you believe that he’s innocent. He makes you think that he is innocent. He makes you believe that he’s trying to be a good guy and help everyone. He makes you believe that what he’s doing is trying to do the right thing.
To the point that he uses Vo and the team to try and get the money that he says that the murdered man skimmed off the top of the money being laundered. But here’s the thing with the FBI – they are well trained and he’s not going to be able to hide everything for long.
He told Vo that he left the bureau to go into the private sector, but it’s not true. These things are easy for the team to figure out – it takes a call to know that he lied. He was fired, for lying to the bureau, which resulted in 10 pedophiles going free.
But Vo and the team try to solve the case of the murder and protect one of their own. She goes undercover, along with Raines as her body guard, and almost ends up murdered. But she’s blindly going into this, still believing in her friend and wanting to protect him.
It isn’t until the team realizes that he’s used them to take out everyone that can implicate him, and they crack a drive, that they find out that he’s the one skimming. He’s the one who killed the gaming regulator. He’s the one that used the team to try and cover up and put back the funds he stole.
But what kills me for Vo is that she’s known this man her entire life. They were friends when they were kids. They went through West Point and Quantico together. And he took it all for granted, used her, and let her feel that pain on every level, because he was a greedy dishonest fuck.
Thorpe thought that he had outsmarted them all, but Vo, when talking to Kellett, realizes that she needs to make sure to not get involved in a case. Yes, it’s a hard thing to do – we all let our emotions lead the way. But is that they best for us? Is that the road that we should take? Part of me would argue yes and part of me would argue no.
When Vo and the team are able to track down Thorpe, minutes before his flight is due to leave, it’s a moment that you cheer for her. Do I think that this case will change her? Yes. But I think that at the same point, that’s not a bad thing. Vo has always been a favorite, but she feels a little too trusting of people and that can be a downfall.
That can change everything.
Look, I am not saying to not trust people. That’s not something that I would recommend for anyone. Trust is a part of life that can help us grow to be better people, but it’s not something that is guaranteed. It’s a two way street and can sometimes be used against us.
I wonder what will happen and how Vo being used and having a life long friend turn out to be a piece of shit will change her. But I more than that wonder how it will change the team. Will they trust Vo’s judgement? Will they think better or worse of her?
I do believe that this team will always be there for each other. I just think that the person that this case will change the most is Vo. She may never trust as openly and as innocently as she has before.
And that’s the real loss for the team and Vo here.
FBI: International airs Tuesdays on CBS.
