SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for FBI Season 8, Episode 11.
It’s interesting that after a massive two-hour event, FBI returns with an episode that is fairly by the book. “Confetti” is a fairly standard hour for the CBS drama, mixing crime-solving with personal problems. But that also means it delivers everything fans will be looking for, including one big scene that honestly doesn’t last long enough.
The episode feels almost too quiet, considering that the last time fans saw these characters, they were averting a crisis on the level of any good disaster movie. But “Confetti” is a reminder that FBI rarely has to get that big to tell a good story. It can entertain fans simply by putting the puzzle together in a way that makes sense, because the characters and the actors who play them are always reliable. Viewers just want a good story, knowing that good performances are a given.
The plot is straight out of the classic crime drama playbook: two crime families are merging, and of course it’s happening at a wedding. Viewers who know the genre will be immediately aware that one side is going to double-cross the other, and that the betrayal is going to happen in dramatic fashion. Even the reveal that the drug lord’s widow is the real one calling the shots isn’t a shocker, because that too is a common plot twist. The true boss is always the one who doesn’t seem like it.
Despite that predictability, “Confetti” is entertaining because FBI hits all the expected story beats solidly. It also relies on the performances, particularly by recurring guest star Shantel VanSanten as Nina Chase. With the cancellation of FBI: Most Wanted, one wonders if VanSanten will make further appearances on FBI, although there’s not a clear place for Nina on the team since Stuart Scola has a new partner in Eva Ramos (who is absent from this episode). Nina has developed into a great character, and her dynamic with Scola is so much more than a typical romantic subplot.
That’s profoundly evident in the final few minutes of the show. The biggest complaint about FBI Season 8, Episode 11 is that it gets to a huge milestone for Scola and Nina—but sticks it in the last five minutes of the episode. Firstly, it’s a typical plot device on any TV drama for some life-threatening event to prompt a character’s change in relationship status. Dick Wolf fans will know that the One Chicago franchise has done that more than once. But setting that aside, a moment that’s been a while coming deserves to get more breathing room. (At least it’s not like Isobel and her marriage taking everyone by surprise.)
Yet the best scene of the episode is the proposal that happens before the wedding. It starts with an honest and mature discussion between Scola and Nina; FBI has for the most part done a great job at making its romantic pairings feel like actual relationships. But then it’s touching to see Nina trying to propose to Scola, and Scola having already hidden a ring months earlier. Maybe the creative team intended this to be comic relief, but in actuality it shows how much they both truly care about each other and how their dynamic doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s also a nice touch that their baby is included in the wedding sequence, when other series may have skipped over that part to make things easier.
Given how much creativity and adorable emotion was in the proposal scene, it would have been great to see the wedding be longer, or even ditch the near-obligatory pop music needle drop and get some well-written dialogue in there. It’s satisfying for what it is, but this could have been even better. That said, “Confetti” is a solid outing for both VanSanten and John Boyd, while Zeeko Zaki and Missy Peregrym also have smaller wins as OA Zidan and Maggie Bell try to sort of give advice, reinforcing that friendships on this show are as meaningful as romantic stories. Plus, Peregrym gets a fight scene in an expensive dress, which is no easy feat.
This is not the most surprising or inventive episode of FBI. But it brings viewers back into the world efficiently, re-establishing most of the team and the dynamics within the team. And the proposal and wedding for Nina and Scola is just the icing on the cake, letting the audience come back on a high note.
FBI airs Mondays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Photo Credit: Courtesy of CBS.
