When it comes to FBI: International the thing that we can count on is that Scott Forrester is going to be brooding and pretty much pissed off at the world. We can also count on that we’re going to be left with more questions than answers when it comes to this show.
We’re waiting for them to pickup Scott’s Moms storyline. Scott’s potential girlfriend storyline. We’re waiting to figure out what happened to Kellet’s sister. We know that there is the cases going on, but the most frustrating thing about shows from Dick Wolf, (yes, it happens on more than just this one) is that they start things, drop them, and you have to play a game – will they or won’t they pick this back up.
Who knows.
We’ve learned not to expect much, but to remember everything, because the moment you forget is when it is coming out of nowhere and slapping you in the face.
But let’s breakdown the episode.
Like all episodes we open with the case. A sniper is attacking a lab, everyone in a panic. The man who runs the lab is like Europe’s Dr. Fauci, so we can automatically assume that this sniper is a person that doesn’t believe in or like science. In the attack on the lab, an American scientist is killed, which means that the team is being brought in.
The lab is working on the pandemic, trying to get ahead of what is happening and all variants. They are doing important work.
While this is all occurring, the team is in Budapest, wrapping up for the day. Kellett is on the phone with her Mom and talking about her sister. Look, I am just going to say it. Whatever happened has affected her so deeply that we need to know more to understand Kellett. It’s definitely frustrating that the character development is always up in the air and we have to draw our own conclusions.
When the team gets the case, they head to Brussels. Jaeger is already there for Europol. Say what you want, but Jaeger is instrumental to this team. She’s badass in her own way, takes no shit, and just wants the job to be done. It’s part of what we love about her. She may not be abiding by the protocols that Europol has, but the truth is that Jaeger knows that she needs to adapt to situations, which is part of the beauty about her.
The team is trying to figure everything out and the Brussel law enforcement is being amazing. They welcome the help. And it turns out they really need it, because when they think that they know where the shots are coming from, Vo and Forrester are able to lead them to where they really came from.
And that leads to Vo knowing that it has to be military. She and Forrester make a good team. We have to say that’s one thing that we do like about this episode is that we’re seeing the team work with different members and sometimes it’s been feeling like it’s Forrester and Kellett on one side, with Vo and Raines on the other.
Forrester, is his typical hothead self, pissed that the Belgium military didn’t report that guns and amo was missing. The man in charge says he only found out an hour prior. We get that what didn’t make them worry or jump to action, isn’t the same thing that we would do in the USA. But we also understand that Forrester had every right to be pissed.
The truth is that the signs were missed and when you miss the signs, shit can and will only get worse. The find a manifesto, a list of people who will be targeted. The shooter has a vendetta over the way that the pandemic has been handled and doesn’t like the way that science has suggested what we need to do.
But it’s imperative for the team to find this man, Jans. Even talking to his Mom. And well, his Mom ain’t nice at all. She is treating Raines like he’s beneath her – hell she’s being full on racist. She’s not going to give up information on her son. Well, that is until Kellett talks to her alone.
We believe that in all Dick Wolf shows there is that one character that turns on the caring and charm and gets a person to open up. Typically the character is always a woman, which is a little frustrating. But as usual, that may just be our opinion.
Going to find Jans, leads to Forrester and Vo being pinned down. Jans is coming for them and wants them all dead. They are able to get away before he blows up the car they are hiding behind.
Meanwhile Raines figures out that Jans isn’t the one that wrote the manifesto. It turns out that it was one of the people in the lab, who had been feeding Jans information.
The bad thing is that this means that they also have have the location where Europe’s Dr. Fauci is. And Jaegers boss is having a heyday with this. He’s wanting to fire her, and Scott isn’t having it. He’s standing up to him, though Jaeger tells him that he doesn’t need to.
The thing about Jaeger is that she knows that she’s not going to please everyone, but she wants to protect people. She’s trying to keep people safe and her boss is embellishing what is happening to get her in trouble. With so few episodes left, are we faced with the end of Jaeger? We do not like this option.
When Scott heads to the place where they are keeping Europe’s Dr. Fauci and they are shot at, Kellet goes after the sniper. Only Jans surprises her and holds a gun to her head. And Kellet, being herself, she tries to talk her way out of it. She’s playing on his emotions and she thinks that she has convinced him, because he puts the gun down.
But they really go savage here – knowing that Kellet’s still dealing with her sisters suicide (they don’t say it, but you can tell because every time she talks about her sister) and you see her break when Jans literally walks right off the roof to his death.
It was brutal.
My shipper heart enjoyed when Forrester hugged Kellet later for comfort, but I don’t know how much faith I am going to put into that.
FBI: International is having a solid first season, but no lie it is frustrating that it’s following other Dick Wolf shows where it feels like they juggle all these balls in the air and pick and choose when they are going to finish a storyline or give more information. May be this season, may be six seasons from now. You never know.
