FBI: International - General Discussion

[preeya]

To be perfectly honest, I'm not understanding the Elizabeth Mitchell arc.

Who's scamming who and who were those guys at the end of the episode?

Why didn't she take the [fake] folder from Forrester?

The last time I saw Mitchell she fell down a hole on LOST.

[Sweet Tooth]

8 minutes ago, preeya said:

Why didn't she take the [fake] folder from Forrester?

He subtly shook his head, letting her know it was a setup.

Probably that guy's words about choosing between country and family. Like he wanted to make the right choice his mom didn't and regretted.

[mythoughtis]

Elizabeth Mitchell.., what the hell did she do to her face?  Botox I am sure.  If you are going to play Forester's Mom, then look the part.  His Mom would be in her 50s, on the run  or at least a double agent.  She wouldn’t be getting Botox injections. This actress is so wooden and boring.  
Yes, she walked past him and didn’t get the file. Doesn’t matter-the counter terrorism unit is supposedly searching for her  because of her past crimes and  they know what she looks like.  Why didn’t they grab her as she walked off the bridge? If Forrester can recognize her after 15 years, surely they can too. 

Edited February 24, 2022 by mythoughtis

[Lady Jane]

1 hour ago, mythoughtis said:

Elizabeth Mitchell.., what the hell did she do to her face?  Botox I am sure.  If you are going to play Forester's Mom, then look the part.  His Mom would be in her 50s, on the run  or at least a double agent.  She wouldn’t be getting Botox injections. This actress is so wooden and boring.  
Yes, she walked past him and didn’t get the file. Doesn’t matter-the counter terrorism unit is supposedly searching for her  because of her past crimes and  they know what she looks like.  Why didn’t they grab her as she walked off the bridge? If Forrester can recognize her after 15 years, surely they can too. 

While looking up the age of the actor (31) I discovered that this actor is Finn Abernathy from Bones, and also played Joe in Man in a High Castle! I don't know if it is good for the actor or not that I didn't recognize him!

[Sweet Tooth]

3 hours ago, Lady Jane said:

While looking up the age of the actor (31) I discovered that this actor is Finn Abernathy from Bones, and also played Joe in Man in a High Castle! I don't know if it is good for the actor or not that I didn't recognize him!

It's funny, because I also didn't recognize the actor but DID recognize the name and wondered where I'd seen it before. I was so surprised when I saw he'd been on Bones. He had such a baby face! I'm sure that's why he grew the beard.

[sweetandsour]

lol I only know the lead actor from Pretty Little Liars.

Scott Forrester can be such a jerk to his team.  Maybe I'm just too soft, but he is consistently cutting Raines off.  It was really egregious in an earlier episode, when Forrester treated Raines the same rude way Voight would treat Sheldon Jin on Chicago PD, like "Shut up, I don't want to hear how you got there, just tell me what you found."  Forrester did it again here, too.  Is this a leadership trait that the Dick Wolf universe really likes?  And it annoyed me even more in this episode because Forrester cut off Raines when they were in Vestal's apartment, but then let Vo explain everything she did to identify the location of Vestal's live video.

Not sure if this was meaningless, but they showed two shots from behind where Raines and Katrin were walking together - early in the episode when they were leaving the police station, I think Katrin had her hand on Raines' back, and at the end of the episode, Raines had his hand on Katrin's back.  Maybe the actors are just friendly and that comes out in peripheral scenes vs. it meaning anything.  Not that Katrin would be as unprofessional with workplaces romances as Forrester and Kellett, anyway.

Adler from the German police is self-declared in "warning" as blunt, but he was a real pleasure to watch.  And I thought his temperament is way better than Forrester's.  I absolutely prefer him.

[Sweet Tooth]

On 2/25/2022 at 12:13 PM, sweetandsour said:

 It was really egregious in an earlier episode, when Forrester treated Raines the same rude way Voight would treat Sheldon Jin on Chicago PD, like "Shut up, I don't want to hear how you got there, just tell me what you found."  Forrester did it again here, too.  Is this a leadership trait that the Dick Wolf universe really likes?

Maybe it's the tone in which Forrester did it that was rude, but this is usually done in a comical way on pretty much every procedural I watch, where there's some techie person who goes into great detail about how they figured something out, and it's way over everyone's head, so they tell the person to just get to the point.

 

 

[JPPT1974]

Really kind of lost my respect for Scott as that episode with the NYPD and sure he is an FBI agent but the NYPD was an Inspector and despite the latter shouldn't be interfering, still Scott was so rude. That inspector was not subordinate to him.

Really do not know how Katrin puts up with Scott. She is the only one that can outtalk him. As really Scott with Katrina, he shuts up when she says he crosses a huge line.

[Xeliou66]

Mediocre episode - I don’t care at all about the Forrester/Kellett relationship drama, and I just can’t connect with these characters the way I do the characters on the other FBI’s. I didn’t like how Forrester went soft at the end and didn’t pressure the girl to give up the mom, he was again being unprofessional and letting his personal bias cloud his judgment. I liked seeing Katrin get some action, she’s probably my favorite on this show, along with Tank the dog, who hasn’t had much to do lately. 

[mythoughtis]

17 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

I didn’t like how Forrester went soft at the end and didn’t pressure the girl to give up the mom, he was again being unprofessional and letting his personal bias cloud his judgment

First, the mom wasn’t going to go where the girl thought she was going- not after she knew the FBI had her husband and kids.  Second  -Forrester didn’t give up his own mom and he is an adult and an FBI agent.  Which was a ridiculous premise anyway. She  - once she walked into the bridge the authorities  could have stopped her even before she walked by Forrester.  They knew what she looked like 

 

[GiandujaPie]

Interesting episode. My husband recognized the RFTH story right away. We looked it up later too - the people this episode was based on were caught in Montenegro 2 weeks ago. 

I thought for sure when the dad was telling the mom that the kids would be split up in foster care if she didn't turn herself in that she would just say that the girl was 16 and it would only be 2 years separation before she could age out and then go look for her brother and so she should just tough it out. I guess when she didn't show, she effectively said that, as she couldn't have known that the kids wouldn't actually be separated. 

I also thought that at the end, the girl would still tell on her mom because she didn't want this to be hanging over her head forever. I know it's hard to be the one to narc on your parents but if they did something wrong, many kids do turn their parents in. Look how many of the January 6 defendants were turned in by their own families including their kids. Plus, if I were that girl, I'd be afraid my mother would get killed in a shootout if she remained a fugitive. 

[sweetandsour]

I hope they take a good hard look at the Forrester character and the Forrester/Kellett relationship for season 2 and make them both more palatable.  As they are right now, they really detract from the show for me.  I don't watch International as a completionist for the franchise, but I wouldn't have a second thought if it didn't exist anymore.

Highlight of the episode for me was the actor who played Gabriel!  I did kind of enjoy the geography rapport, but I was mostly into the fact that he's the same kid who played the silent (mute? ...) boy Martin whom the Penguin befriended on Gotham.  He spoke slightly more on FBI: International, as he continues his journey as baby Chalamet.

[Sandman]

On 12/8/2021 at 11:19 AM, MountaineerBro10 said:

Poor Tank. He’s my favorite character! Hope he’s alright.

I want to know how Tanky is doing! He's easily my favourite character. He's such a good boy!

[Rickster]

On 3/13/2022 at 4:51 PM, Sandman said:

I want to know how Tanky is doing! He's easily my favourite character. He's such a good boy!

Pretty sure I saw Tank’s head being petted early in the last episode.

Was trying to figure out why an Albanian police station had shields on the wall with “ Polska” on them.

[Sandman]

I found myself saying "Yay, Tank!" when I spotted him in this episode -- but I spent most of the episode trying to figure out how an Albanian woman was named "Fiona." (Did the shields say "Polska" or "Polizia"? -- I thought it was some cognate of "Police" but my eye may have skipped over it.)

Wasn't sure why Raines was the one to have the most trouble with the lengths to which Forrester was going in manipulating the kids. It seemed to me more like a reaction that someone newer to the team, such as Vo, might have -- haven't Raines and Forrester worked together longer? Sometimes the show's plot seems to hinge on conflicts that a team that hasn't been formed for very long might have.

Edited to add: Don't get me wrong; I'm glad Raines called Forrester on his awful plan.

Edited March 18, 2022 by Sandman

[JPPT1974]

Jaeger is my favorite. She really is the "mother hen" of the group she is in. Really love it when she calls Scott and sometimes the team out on their sh*t there. Glad she had a bigger role last time.

[Maren]

The storyline with the traitor mom really turned me off and I've skipped the last few episodes. Was this past episode the one that was supposed to highlight Jaeger more? I do like her and I will tune in for an episode featuring her more!

[Xeliou66]

I didn’t care for this episode - too much political stuff, I didn’t like the AG character at all and I was hoping her or someone on her staff would turn out to be a villain, and the douchebag agent working with Vo got on my nerves, and of course they predictably are going to go out together because I guess Vo finds that douche charming. The whistleblower was the good guy IMO, and I was hoping the episode would end with him free. Also I just can’t connect with any of the characters very much, Katrin is my favorite, along with Tank the dog, who I missed tonight. But this is by far my least favorite of the FBI’s. 

[threebluestars]

I totally agree. I don't even know the characters' names. Except Tank lol. He can lead a team of Very Good Boys who arrest human criminals.

[CheshireCat]

I'm a bit behind and just watched the Germany episode. It's the second episode where I thought I wish they'd do better research. I can't remember what the first episode was/why I thought that but social media's a lot more restricted in Germany than it is in the US (the regulations were tightened a few years ago) and free speech laws are also very different especially when it comes to threatening and insulting authorities. It's possible the guy's videos would have to have been removed under regulations and what he said would have fallen under defamation/insulting law enforcement officers, so it would have been a crime under German law.

Consequently, he might have gotten a small minority to care but the large majority probably would have shrugged and moved on and not given a damn.

I'd also like to know why they didn't explain their authority when they were confronted over it. They must have some authority, otherwise, it makes no sense to station them in Europe.

 

I got confused at the beginning of the next episode. I thought it was a flashback to Forester's childhood and only realized that it wasn't when the team started working the case. 😅

 

[JPPT1974]

Don't know about you all but I have had a love hate relationship with Scott. Sometimes he can be so smug and arrogant with others in particular, other law enforcement meaning that is. But also he has a sensitive side and that this mother issues there could really bring him out to be humanized.

[mythoughtis]

So what was the point of the man/ car that followed Vo and the temp agent when they left the office at the end? 
 

Why is this team so shady/ ethically compromised compared to FBI/ FBI Most Wanted?  Also Jubal and Rina didn’t seem to care who knew about their relationship on FBI- and Jubal reported to Rina just like Kellen reports to Forrester. Well, not just like because Rina was two levels above him. It’s not right in either case, but show some  consistency 

 

Edited March 27, 2022 by mythoughtis

[Xeliou66]

Dull episode to me despite the fact that it was supposed to be intense and high stakes - I just didn’t care about Raines’ sister and didn’t think her case was very suspenseful, and I didn’t care about Forrester/Kellett and the IA guy, I just can’t connect with these characters and find them somewhat shady, especially compared to the characters on the other 2 FBI’s. I liked Jaeger demanding Raines’ release at the end and I laughed at Tank barking at the IA dude, other than that I found this episode to be a dud.

[preeya]

1 hour ago, Xeliou66 said:

Dull episode to me despite the fact that it was supposed to be intense and high stakes - I just didn’t care about Raines’ sister and didn’t think her case was very suspenseful, and I didn’t care about Forrester/Kellett and the IA guy, I just can’t connect with these characters and find them somewhat shady, especially compared to the characters on the other 2 FBI’s. I liked Jaeger demanding Raines’ release at the end and I laughed at Tank barking at the IA dude, other than that I found this episode to be a dud.

It's usually a dud when they base an entire episode on personal stuff. The IA arc was boring but for me ended with a smirk.

Tank continues as a star and should get an episode based on his talents, not his physical well being as we've already seen.

Does every person in these FBI foreign venues speak almost perfect English? There's never a language barrier.

[tvfanatic13]

How is this still on the air? It is the red headed step child of FBI land. Yet, I still watch...

[yourdreamer]

My fiancé suggested there be a retooling of the show with just Rained, Vo, Jaeger, and Tank! Get rid of the top two agents because they are the worst. Or ship them to Most Wanted because I have a feeling I won’t be watching that one with the new guy coming in. 

[JPPT1974]

Really Dylan McDermott is a great actor and can't wait for him to be a good guy there.

[WendyCR72]

Here is the synopsis for "Left of Boom", the next episode airing April 12th:

Quote

The Fly Team lands in hot water when Vo is found at the scene where a Hungarian gambling regulator was murdered.

 

[Xeliou66]

This was a better episode than most, mainly because I never saw the twist coming that Nick was a bad guy and was playing Vo and the FBI, that was a good twist, I figured it would everything would end up with him being cleared and being a good guy, good twist.

I do get sick of all of the personal stuff on this show, how come almost every case has to be personal for one of the team? It isn’t that way on the other 2 FBI’s.

I missed Tank the dog tonight.

This was one of the show’s better episodes overall, good case with good twists.

[preeya]

11 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

I do get sick of all of the personal stuff on this show, how come almost every case has to be personal for one of the team? It isn’t that way on the other 2 FBI’s.

Yeah, it seems this is most important to TPTB, or is it the fact that there is nothing of interest to write about FBI agents in foreign lands?

[theschnauzers]

It’s definitely a writers’ room issue. I haven’t particularly noticed if the production staff includes any former FBI agents as consultants because some of the storylines are short on credibility. But then, FBI International is the second most watched new series, whose ratings are just a crumb behind NCIS:Hawai’i and that has already been renewed by CBS/Paramount. It’s an issue that could be fixed for next season.

[JPPT1974]

Yeah as really Tank needs more of a role here IMHO.

[Sandman]

I think there’s an irony (dare I say a delicious one?) in the fact that in an episode dominated by the theme of clueless Americans getting their grubby mitts all over precious French culture, the American transplant chef dude names his restaurant “l’Essence,” which means “Gasoline.” (I’m sure the food is great, though.)

[jabRI]

This episode was good but I didn't get the real premise.  The other couple wanted to scare their 'friends' to go back to America.  And what was going to happen, they would just give up their vineyard to their 'friends'? No, they'd dissolve the business.

[theschnauzers]

The premise was explained in the episode, quite clearly, in fact. The partnership agreement provided that if either couple quit the winery, the other couple would take sole control, with all the accumulated value staying with the couple that remained, the other couple would be entitled to get back only their original investment. The motive was crated when the value of the winery had already increased ten-fold, IIRC. At least this episode they moved away from a workplace romance, But Tank should have been there to greet them on their return from France.

[jabRI]

1 hour ago, theschnauzers said:

The partnership agreement provided that if either couple quit the winery, the other couple would take sole control, with all the accumulated value staying with the couple that remained, the other couple would be entitled to get back only their original investment.

Thank you, I missed this detail, often multitask during episodes!

[Xeliou66]

Not a bad episode but I predicted who the villains would be immediately. Nice to see an episode that was just centered around a case and not a lot of personal drama and no one had a personal connection to the case. 

[Sandman]

I'm sure there's lots of personal drama on the way, judging by the secret death glare that Sara the Seemingly Random Teacher of Hungarian sent Forrester's way at the very end there. (Start bringing Tank to your Hungarian lessons, Forrester, yikes!)

[nittany cougar]

4 hours ago, Sandman said:

I'm sure there's lots of personal drama on the way, judging by the secret death glare that Sara the Seemingly Random Teacher of Hungarian sent Forrester's way at the very end there. (Start bringing Tank to your Hungarian lessons, Forrester, yikes!)

That was really scary and sinister. I thought the episode was going to end with him being attacked or kidnapped.  I hope nothing happens to him. You would think that Forrester would verify the identity of the teacher before spending time with her. 

[JPPT1974]

Does anybody know if the FBI shows are being renewed there!? As really CBS would be not so bright not to renew them.

As really someone on another site thinks that the woman teaching Scott Hungarian may be suspicious. Though I have had a love-hate relationship with Scott!

[Sandman]

Go, Tank!

[Xeliou66]

This might’ve been my favorite episode of the show - a good case with good suspense and investigation, a nice role for everyone, and minimal personal crap - just a compelling drug murder case. Nice to see Tank back in action discovering the drugs. I would’ve liked to have known more about the shooters beyond just seeing their arrest on tv, but it was a good case and investigation. Don’t care about Scott’s ongoing trust issues. 

[shrewd.buddha]

8 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

Don’t care about Scott’s ongoing trust issues. 

Scott (Forrester?) has some serious boundary issues.  He is having an on/off affair with his subordinate,  then he is on the verge of starting an affair with his language tutor.  
The tutor made the right call to put an end to his drama (tho the writers made her as suspicious as possible, so his reaction was not completely out of line). 
I don't understand why the showrunners think these things are making Scott interesting or sympathetic. 
It is not ... and revisiting his mama drama isn't going to make things any better.

[theschnauzers]

On 4/22/2022 at 6:38 PM, JPPT1974 said:

Does anybody know if the FBI shows are being renewed there!? As really CBS would be not so bright not to renew them.

As really someone on another site thinks that the woman teaching Scott Hungarian may be suspicious. Though I have had a love-hate relationship with Scott!

CBS only renewed Blue Bloods yesterday, but the press release said more renewal announcements are forthcoming. Drip, drip, drip.

[preeya]

On 4/22/2022 at 4:38 PM, JPPT1974 said:

Does anybody know if the FBI shows are being renewed there!? As really CBS would be not so bright not to renew them.

"CBS has renewed the NCIS franchise, CSI: Vegas; comedies Young Sheldon, The Neighborhood and Bob Hearts Abishola; breakout hit Ghosts; and drama S.W.A.T., while veteran Bull is ending its run this season. There are several non-bubble shows that are yet to be picked up, most notably, CBS' top scripted series, FBI."

As of Apr 16, 2022

[mythoughtis]

So Scott then runs to his ex because option number 1 dumped him?   bad play 

as for option number 1 - Scott should have handed off the  investigation of her to someone else and stayed out of it in the first place.  He had an obvious conflict of interest.  She did need to be investigated in terms of this case. 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2022 by mythoughtis

[KeithJ]

I'm a little behind but just watched Uprooting.  The wine guy died (almost instantly) from a gunshot to the shoulder?  We've seen people on TV pretty much just carry on normally from a shoulder wound and this guy just dies instantly?

I wouldn't be disappointed if this show doesn't get renewed for next season.  It's by far the worst of the three.

[JPPT1974]

I know that the three FBI shows on TV Guide however had all of them in the top ten there.

[illdoc]

Renewed for two more seasons: https://tvline.com/2022/05/09/cbs-renewed-shows-fbi-season-5-list-2022/

[Xeliou66]

An average episode - the terrorism plots usually bore me, they’ve been done so many times, and the perp’s identity was discovered quickly. I didn’t see it coming that the scientist’s assistant was in on it. The more interesting stuff was with Jaeger and her boss, I wonder what will happen now that he’s apparently getting her fired, Jaeger is my favorite character, I hope she isn’t leaving. I was hoping Forrester would slug her douchebag boss.