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FBI: International Season 4, Episode 7 Review: ‘Keen As A Bean’

Well, I can’t say that I didn’t get what I asked for – more information about Wes, but at the same point, more questions. After this episode, there is one thing that I will say – Wes Mitchell is one of the most loyal men I have seen in any of the Dick Wolf universes.

This episode we’ve got a hacker – on the FBI’s most wanted list – who is the worse of the worst. He’s blackmailing people with deepfake photos of themselves and sending them to everyone that they know. The FBI is trying to track him down and get him out of Russia to arrest him.

His ex-wife, Kelsea, isn’t helping. The man, Ed, is obsessed with her. She’s his one weakness and it’s kind of scary how intimidated by him that she is. These two are the epitome of a really messed up relationship.

Ed’s disgusting behavior is causing people to commit suicide, but Kelsea still won’t help them catch him. She’s scared of him – that’s evident. But even being terrified of him, she needs to get herself together. People are dying.

Agent Booth is finally able to convince her to help them – to draw Ed out of Russia. This means heading to Budapest to work with the Fly Team.

Photo: Nelly Kiss/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

OLD FRIENDS

Wes and Agent Booth have known each other for what seems like forever. When Booth shows up in Budapest, they exchange their barbs and they dive right in to the case.

It’s kinda funny to me how the team has fallen into this trust for Wes, this almost blind trust, so that when he introduces Booth to the team, they all seem a little hesitant. I do believe that Wes wants to believe that Booth has the best of intentions, but even he’s a little hesitant.

The Fly Team has changed Wes. I get that. But the thing that hasn’t changed is that he has this sense of loyalty that you can see. We know that Booth has done something for him and when we find out what it is, I can understand it. I think that what I love about Booth and about Wes is that they can move forward and they have the want to just change the world.

KELSEA AND COLD FEET

Kelsea arriving in Budapest, underneath it all, she’s scared. When Booth tries to pressure her, it doesn’t go over well. She’s freaking out and his strong handed fist doesn’t sit well.

Leave it to Wes to be able to calm her down. He’s able to convince her to help and TBH, his calm voice woulda had me saying I would do whatever he wanted too. Kelsea is anxious and filled with a lot of regret in her life, but I do believe that she wants to do the right thing.

When she agrees to do more, I felt this sense of relief. Especially because I don’t think that she would ever really be able to live with herself if she didn’t.

It’s that Ed doesn’t ever want to let her go and he is invasive in every way. He is able to find her, wherever she is. I don’t understand why it is that Kelsea can let him get away with things and still listen to him, when he exploits women and disseminates naked pictures to destroy their lives.

ESTONIA

Ed has walked out of Russia and tells Kelsea to meet him in Estonia. Estonia is right across from the Russian border. The hard thing is that when The Fly Team goes into another country, they need to tell the locals that they are coming.

This time that they can’t. You can tell that Smitty isn’t down for this, but she caves when Wes asks her to. The team is doubting what is happening, and Vo questions Wes. He doesn’t seem to like being questioned, and whereas I can understand that, I am a little put off by his attitude.

I think that Wes loves being in charge, and Vo questioning his reasoning is a blow to his ego. But it’s also a challenge to him that people can see through him. Vo knows him and knows the way that she’s been trained. She knows that he’s doing something outside of what they would normally do and that it could cost them all their careers.

Wes is a ball breaker, but also, I don’t think that he wants to upset the dynamics of the Fly Team. He’s a lifer – his life is the FBI. Wes wants to make sure that he gets ahead, but also that he fosters other peoples careers to get them ahead.

And I guess he’s willing to take a chance by heading off to Estonia.

LIES

Ed takes things too far and deepfakes pictures of Booths daughter – Charlotte. I personally think that Booth will unalive him if he gets a chance. You don’t mess with peoples kids.

Ed knows that Booth is following Kelsea, and so he’s using his skills to make sure that he doesn’t get caught. So much so that he’s trying to bounce her around Estonia so that he doesn’t get caught.

Only they get caught by Estonia, being there without permission. When the police draw on Smitty, I found myself yelling at the television. But, what I also did was cheer when Raines showed up right behind him. This team will not let each other down.

I was glad to see that the team was able to work with the Estonian police.

The team thinks that they’ve found him and when they breech Ed’s place, but he wasn’t there. He was able to trick them with the video that he altered. It now means that Ed has seen all of their faces. This is going to be an issue, because Ed knows now that everyone is after him.

MARKETPLACE

Wes and Booth are able to convince Kelsea to try to draw Ed out even further. Amanda is able to block him getting into her mic long enough for them to talk to her. She tells him that she’s done – that she’s going home. He agrees to meet her and so everyone heads out to try and capture him.

But Ed knows to draw them all away, and they fell for it. They were all trying to get to where he said he would be, but quickly realize that they’d been played. Kelsea gets in the car to leave with Ed, and the team sets out after her.

I clapped when Wes wouldn’t let Booth come – saying that he doesn’t trust him with Haskins. I think it was a fair statement, as Haskins has come after his daughter.

What I didn’t expect was that the team was prepared for this scenario. They had replaced Kelsea’s anxiety pills with a tracker – so they were easily able to find her and Ed and take them into custody.

Kelsea doesn’t seem to get that by getting in the car with Ed, she made herself an accomplice. She changed the game, but in a way that is going to help the team. Why? Because she’s still Ed’s weakness.

THE ACCOMPLICE

Ed has put in a fail safe and they have two hours to get his password from him. Ed doesn’t think that they will be able to do anything – that this failsafe has given him the upper hand.

But what he didn’t count on was Kelsea getting in that car made her an accomplice. What I was shocked that changed him was Kelsea asking him to not let her go to jail.

She’s able to go free and Ed is caught. Booth is able to tell his daughter that he’s got the guy and her pictures aren’t going out.

What Booth is surprised about is that HQ has been following the case. Granted Wes had told Amanda to put Booth on everything so that HQ knows what is happening. It was nice to see him feel this sense of people appreciating him as I think that Booth has convinced himself that he’s not worthy.

The thing is though, Booths career has been stagnant and he’s just accepted that. He’s accepted it because it is what it is and all that he’s known. He has a chance to change everything now and we’re looking forward to seeing him change that.

He’s got a 90 day assignment with The Fly Team and we’re excited to see how that plays out.