SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for FBI Season 8, Episodes 9 and 10.
The FBI fall finale being a “two-hour event” automatically sets the bar for “Wolf Pack” and “Lone Wolf” extraordinarily high. The CBS show has to deliver a plot that essentially feels like a movie, because that’s how much airtime it has to fill. And for the most part, the series gets there. A fan of the procedural genre won’t be surprised by some of the biggest plot twists—but there’s no denying that it’s all entertaining.
First and foremost, it’s easy to see why CBS packaged the two episodes as one block: they were clearly written that way. On its own, “Lone Wolf” wouldn’t have been a very fulfilling watch; it’s mostly all setup leading to the cliffhanger that audiences already know is coming, thanks to the marketing. And the emotional cliffhanger of Jubal Valentine’s son Tyler being among the injured is also not a shock, given Tyler’s appearance in the very first scene of the episode. FBI fans know he’s there for a reason and not just making a quick cameo. And fans of Dick Wolf series know that those shows have done multiple plots putting main characters’ loved ones at risk.
Yet here’s the thing: yes, Tyler Valentine being hospitalized is definitely a trope. The Wolf shows go to this well more often than other series, but they’re far from the only TV dramas to do so. What the FBI fall finale deserves major points for is that it stops short of fulfilling the trope by killing off Tyler. In many instances, the affected loved one ends up dead or severely traumatized (see: Alvin Olinsky’s daughter on Chicago PD, or Matthew Casey’s fiancee Hallie on Chicago Fire, or OA Zidan’s now ex-girlfriend Gemma Brooks on FBI). While the doctor does give Jubal and Sam a long list of things to worry about with Tyler, “Wolf Pack” ends with him alive and on the road to recovery. And that’s the way it should be—who wants to end an episode taking place near Christmas with Jubal mourning his son?
Plus, while what puts Tyler in the line of fire is also definitely a foolish decision, the FBI creative team finds a strong way to tie that storyline into the main plot. As soon as Tyler starts running around with his cell phone, the audience has to groan a little, because they know it’s not going to end well. Yet that video then becomes key to identifying the main suspect, and Tyler’s behavior makes more sense once Jubal reads his college essay and viewers understand Tyler is trying to be more like his dad. That’s a lot more engaging than the “moody teenager” phase he went through before, and it gives his subplot meaning instead of just randomly having him injured for dramatic purposes.
(Along those lines, the mentions of Maggie not having heard from her sister had better not be foreshadowing for her being killed in a future episode.)
“Lone Wolf” and “Wolf Pack” don’t present anything new villain-wise. The idea of a radical terror group trying to destroy society has been done before, and the antagonists aren’t very fleshed out. Viewers will be able to easily predict that the first suspect’s wife is his accomplice before the heroes do, and that the mastermind is the younger brother of the guy who was killed in a government standoff years ago. This is not a character-driven case of the week; it’s all about making things as big as possible. That happens with multiple explosions, a brief power outage and trying to mass-evacuate the Holland Tunnel. At the end of any kind of two-parter, the audience wants to feel a sense of major accomplishment, and FBI delivers that. It’s not the most complex or most fast-paced episode the show has ever done but it’s clear that the main characters have been through it by the time the dust settles.
But again, there’s a catch: when Maggie discovers that one of the bad guys is using the same kind of earpiece that the Bureau are, that seems like FBI is about to reveal that the communications guru who swept in to help is actually in on the plan. “Wolf Pack” mercifully doesn’t go that way. It doesn’t let him totally off the hook; OA mentioning that the guy’s company has just secured lucrative government contracts as a result is implying he found a way to capitalize on a crisis. But were this another show, the writers likely would have made him a villain just to have one more fourth-act plot twist and/or make some kind of statement about corporate greed. It’s much appreciated that FBI knows when it’s done enough and doesn’t keep trying to add more on.
The bones of “Lone Wolf” and “Wolf Pack” may be somewhat predictable, but FBI demonstrates once again that it’s a cut above the usual procedural by avoiding the obvious pitfalls it could have walked into. It ends on the reasonably happy note that viewers want to be left on until the show returns, and there’s no unnecessary cliffhanger trying to entice them to tune back in again, because this show doesn’t need it. FBI tells a large-scale story with a reliable cast and if it has any message at the end, it’s a reminder that these characters really are heroes.
FBI airs Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Photo Credit: Courtesy of CBS.
