FBI: International

[CheshireCat]

7 hours ago, Rickster said:

 Most homes in Europe are not made of solid stone, in fact a lot of people live in apartment buildings. I’d be pretty sure drywall and the older style plaster and lathe walls are common.

Walls are definitely smooth, so it's possible there's plaster on the outside of walls to give them a smooth finish but I'm pretty sure the actual building material is some kind of concrete mixture.

Regardless, what I was trying to say is that walls are solid and there wouldn't be any empty spaces to hide something behind plaster or drywall (unless you carve out a space or you take out a brick if you have brick walls. I guess, it's possible that that's what the character did but given the history of the show, I think they simply assumed that European buildings are built like US buildings and didn't do any research).

[Xeliou66]

Good episode tonight - I couldn’t figure out what was going on for a while, good suspense. Much better than last week’s spy thriller stuff. I couldn’t figure out who was guilty of what and it had good investigation by everyone and everything made sense in the end.

[SnazzyDaisy]

S02•E05 - Yesterday’s Miracle

An interesting case with a predictable twist!

Great instinct Vo for not believing Cosmina. She should be charged for wasting police resources in searching for the baby’s body in the river.

The Palmers finally got their happy ending. ❤️

[Sandman]

No way does an FBI field office outside the U.S. get involved in extraction of intelligence agents, let alone such an extraction involving a jailbreak! The American agents depend on the goodwill of law enforcement in the host countries, and local law enforcement would never trust the FBI again. 

I kept thinking this was the most unrealistic episode yet. Just call it “Forester’s Eleven” and call it a day. 

Tank remains my favourite part of the show. 

Edited October 20, 2022 by Sandman
Tank!

[hookedontv]

On 10/19/2022 at 6:49 PM, SnazzyDaisy said:

S02•E05 - Yesterday’s Miracle

An interesting case with a predictable twist!

Great instinct Vo for not believing Cosmina. She should be charged for wasting police resources in searching for the baby’s body in the river.

The Palmers finally got their happy ending. ❤️

They did get their happy ending -- but was that supposed to be a newborn? I know it was probably 1-2 weeks after birth that they found the baby, but he looked huge when they passed him (I think this is right, I think the baby was a boy) into their arms! 

[SnazzyDaisy]

1 hour ago, hookedontv said:

They did get their happy ending -- but was that supposed to be a newborn? I know it was probably 1-2 weeks after birth that they found the baby, but he looked huge when they passed him (I think this is right, I think the baby was a boy) into their arms! 

She doesn’t look like a newborn to me.

But I appreciate that they use a real baby and not a creepy fake baby like The Resident did.

➡️  Fake Baby

[hookedontv]

3 hours ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

But I appreciate that they use a real baby and not a creepy fake baby like The Resident did.

➡️  Fake Baby

The Resident fake baby was the stuff of nightmares. 

[CheshireCat]

On 10/19/2022 at 7:31 PM, Sandman said:

No way does an FBI field office outside the U.S. get involved in extraction of intelligence agents, let alone such an extraction involving a jailbreak! The American agents depend on the goodwill of law enforcement in the host countries, and local law enforcement would never trust the FBI again.

I believe they said they don't operate in Turkey. It's Europe but not part of the Schengen area or European Union, so it would make sense to me if they don't.

6 hours ago, hookedontv said:

They did get their happy ending -- but was that supposed to be a newborn? I know it was probably 1-2 weeks after birth that they found the baby, but he looked huge when they passed him (I think this is right, I think the baby was a boy) into their arms! 

It was supposed to be a she on the show but it's entirely possible it was a boy. I would imagine the baby was as big because they're probably not allowed to use a newborn for filming. A while ago I read that rules around that are pretty strict.

On 10/19/2022 at 6:49 PM, SnazzyDaisy said:

S02•E05 - Yesterday’s Miracle

An interesting case with a predictable twist!

I had the opposite reaction, predictable case with a little bit of an unexpected twist. 😄

When they mentioned the surrogate had disappeared, my mind jumped to human trafficking immediately and when they then found her and she wasn't pregnant, I thought the baby had been sold. But I expected organized crime to be involved and not a private citizen.

I did like the episode, though.

I still haven't figured out how they're using Smitty/what exactly it is that she's doing. Didn't Jaeger usually make the introductions with local law enforcement and all that? Smitty does not seem to do that, so what is her job?

[SnazzyDaisy]

35 minutes ago, CheshireCat said:

I still haven't figured out how they're using Smitty/what exactly it is that she's doing. Didn't Jaeger usually make the introductions with local law enforcement and all that? Smitty does not seem to do that, so what is her job?

Smitty seems to be more interested in being a field agent than a liaison. She’s more into action than PR.

We always saw Jaeger coordinating stuffs, networking, making introductions and reminding the Fly Team on the dos and don'ts.

Edited October 21, 2022 by SnazzyDaisy

[mythoughtis]

So the high speed chase is stopped by the FBI guy running faster than the cars.   Okay then 

[GiandujaPie]

I know they said the husband couldn't pass a background check for a legal adoption, but they were uber rich. I'm sure there was some way they could have found a baby without actually breaking any laws and stealing another couple's baby. 

[mythoughtis]

7 hours ago, GiandujaPie said:

I know they said the husband couldn't pass a background check for a legal adoption, but they were uber rich. I'm sure there was some way they could have found a baby without actually breaking any laws and stealing another couple's baby. 

Yes- they could have arranged for their own surrogate and gone through the process rather than steal the baby.  However that would  mean waiting for the implantation process and  the 9 month gestation 

[SnazzyDaisy]

‘Chicago Fire’ Co-Creator and Showrunner Derek Haas Leaving One Chicago Franchise, Wolf Entertainment After 10 Years (EXCLUSIVE)

“Although I am leaving Wolf Entertainment next year to focus on creating new shows, I’m entirely committed to delivering amazing episodes of ‘Chicago Fire’ and ‘FBI: International’ through the end of the current seasons. I learned everything I know about storytelling, pace, characters, production values, and hiring the best cast, crews, and staffs from Dick Wolf and Peter Jankowski, and as hard as it is to leave a place you love and have called home for over a decade, including incredible support from Universal Television, NBC and CBS, I look forward to building my own brand in entertainment. That said, there are many, many twists and turns still to write on these two shows between now and May, so stay tuned for some epic surprises.”

[Xeliou66]

This was a pretty good episode, good twist that the missing nephew turned out to be affiliated with a terrorist group - he deserved to be locked up for his role in what happened, and his aunt can fuck off, not sure what her problem with Vo was, but her nephew was involved in terrorism.

I was always confused by Forrester’s side plot, but it appears to be resolved and I liked Forrester’s scene where he threatened the criminal, and it was nice to see Tank in the final scene.

[Xeliou66]

Interesting case tonight, it did keep me guessing as to who was behind it all, but I missed Forrester not being involved in the case for the second week in a row and I wonder what is up with that. Are they setting something up for him to fight with some bureaucrat? Those storylines get tiresome. I’m enjoying the cases but I could do without yet another storyline of the team battling the higher ups.

[CheshireCat]

5 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

Interesting case tonight, it did keep me guessing as to who was behind it all,

I agree, this was a good episode and who was behind it was not obvious. Could have been a staged kidnapping, staged by the girlfriend and bodyguard (which was my initial guess), staged by the conman and the bodyguard or it could have been real... which it turned out to be. There were a lot of options.

I also enjoyed the very cooperative local police again. It doesn't always have to be that way but it's really nice when they all work together.

I really loved the almost end when the girlfriend told him goodbye, Jamie reminded him that states were free to file their own charges and Smitty said that was worth the price of admission. I agree. ;-)

5 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

but I missed Forrester not being involved in the case for the second week in a row

When he's there, it's usually all about him, so I didn't really mind.

5 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

and I wonder what is up with that.

My guess would be either the actor had another commitment or they're planning on giving him a (lone-wolf) arc (maybe with his mom?) and therefore, had to reduce his screen time beforehand because it'll be all about him later.

5 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

Are they setting something up for him to fight with some bureaucrat? Those storylines get tiresome. I’m enjoying the cases but I could do without yet another storyline of the team battling the higher ups.

Agreed. Bosses can't be all bad, can they? Maybe, at one point, the agents should ask themselves if they're the problem if they always clash with the bosses ;-)

[SnazzyDaisy]

S02•E07 - A Proven Liar

Last week’s episode (Call It Anarchy) was like watching Charlie’s Angels, FBI version. The girls were badass.

This week, not much actions from them because it is Andre’s turn. It is still a good episode though, with solid storyline.

I thought all the girls who were conned by Brent/Gerald are working together and have hired help to kidnap his current gf to force him to pay. Thank god he wasn’t blackmailing them with intimate vids etc.

In the end, Vo looking so sad when watching Andre and gf. She said she won’t date her colleagues.

[Xeliou66]

This was a good episode, I thought the setting of it being in Milan was interesting and I was curious as to how they would prove it was murder, I thought it was one of their better episodes. I missed Forrester again though, and I don’t like the whole storyline of the team once again clashing with the higher ups. 

[SnazzyDaisy]

S02•E08 - Hail Mary

This is a solid episode but where is Scott? I miss him and his leadership. Jamie is way too emotional at times, not a good trait for a leader. I like seeing Vo goes undercover, she is a chameleon. I wish they would give Raines more things to do in this episode, not just printing some documents for Smitty.

Is Luca Rossi's character inspired by Jean-Luc Brunel? I know that Walter Maldini is sleazy but am hoping for some twists re who the killer is, maybe his arrogant wife's involvement etc.

[WendyCR72]

Per this article I found, Luke Kleintank (Forrester) has been MIA because he took parental leave since his wife just gave birth, and he wanted to spend some time with her and their new baby.

Supposed to return, according to that article.

[WendyCR72]

The show returns on January 3, 2023, S02.E09: Wheelman:

Quote

The team races through the streets of Budapest to put a halt to a major art heist about to be perpetrated by an American; Forrester grows angry as Dandridge watches every move the team makes.

 

[JPPT1974]

Spoiler

Wonder if Dandridge has a grudge against Scott for putting the latter over in Warsaw there!?

 

[WendyCR72]

On 10/21/2022 at 2:26 PM, hookedontv said:

The Resident fake baby was the stuff of nightmares. 

That makes the Rex the Wonder Preemie (old ER reference!) look normal!

[Xeliou66]

Are they setting the stage for Forrester to leave the show or something? I don’t get what this whole storyline with Daindridge is about, I get sick of the endless stories about the team battling the higher ups. The case was more of an action thriller than a case, so I found that rather dull, and I just haven’t been as into the show lately. I hope it improves soon.

[Maverick]

 Someone posted upthread that the actor has been on paternity leave, so the character has been absent or in limited scenes that could be filmed later and inserted into these episodes.  

 Something's just not gelling.  I think it's the cast.  For a group that's supposed to be a tight knit team, they just don't have a lot of chemistry together.  Forrester and Kellet kind of work in a low key way, but all the other relationships feel--lifeless?  forced?    Katrine had a good rapport with everyone but of course they ditched her.

[SnazzyDaisy]

S02•E09 - Wheelman

Scott’s absence has really changed the team dynamic. And now he’s being transferred to the Admin Division in Alabama??!

I miss Tank…😢

UC Raines isn’t as interesting as UC Vo regardless the case.

[GiandujaPie]

I thought Raines was believable as the wheelman until he suddenly became the tech expert too. To me, that would have been a big red flag if I were the ringleader. I would have immediately suspected that he was the mole. 

[WendyCR72]

Here is the description for the next episode, S02.E10: BHITW, airing January 10, 2023:

Quote

When an American basketball player for a Lithuanian team goes into cardiac arrest, the Fly Team investigates along with Zoey McKenna, the new agent appointed by Dandridge.

 

[GiandujaPie]

14 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

Here is the description for the next episode, S02.E10: BHITW, airing January 10, 2023:

 

Wow the timing on this one is impeccable. I don't think there is any reason to pull it, but have we heard that they might? 

[WendyCR72]

5 hours ago, GiandujaPie said:

Wow the timing on this one is impeccable. I don't think there is any reason to pull it, but have we heard that they might? 

That was my first thought, too. However, since it appears Damar Hamlin is improving, I'm guessing this will air. But we'll see!

[Xeliou66]

Good episode - good mystery of the week, one of their better cases of the season, it kept me guessing as to who was behind it. I just don’t get the Forrester being transferred storyline, I’m sure he’s not leaving the show and so what’s the point, Daindridge is a one note asshole. I was fine with the new agent and I wonder if she’s going to be a permanent addition.

[SnazzyDaisy]

S02•E10 - BHITW

Why is Special Agent Zoey McKenna being introduced to us? As Dandridge’s puppet or a plot device on synthetic drugs?

Scott’s transfer drama is getting lame. Wrap it up already. 😣

[mythoughtis]

Why does this show have to have Forrester  issues- mommy the spy, his often flouting of the rules, his  political infighting  with Dandridge? Why can’t it just be a procedural like FBI and FBI Most Wanted?    

[WendyCR72]

Description for S02.E11: Someone She Knew, airing January 24, 2023:

Quote

The Fly Team races to find a kidnapped American teen in Austria as the clock ticks on Forrester's reassignment.

 

[SnazzyDaisy]

FBI: International's Luke Kleintank on Forrester's Dilemma: 'He Will Go to Any Lengths to Stay on the Fly Team, But...'

“McKenna is a big question mark for Scott and the team,” says Kleintank. “Her storyline remains ambiguous at the moment — no one knows whether she’s good or bad just yet. But I think Scott is cautiously optimistic.”

“It doesn’t help that Dandridge has connections in Washington, particularly that of very powerful senators…,” Kleintank previews.

“I think Scott will go to any lengths to stay a part of the Fly Team,” says Kleintank. “But if that means his colleagues lose their jobs, he would walk away.”

 

[Clawdette]

For the first time tonight, I watched the three FBI offerings.  I know they've been on a while but I hadn't bothered to take a look.  Imagine my surprise when on FBI (plain) I see a detective and assistant DA from the L&O Mothership and a psychologist from Bones.  Then, on FBI International I spy a Bones squint and Ross Poldark's first love (who is a long way from Cornwall).  

I was having a personal reunion with these guys.

[WendyCR72]

7 minutes ago, Clawdette said:

For the first time tonight, I watched the three FBI offerings.  I know they've been on a while but I hadn't bothered to take a look.  Imagine my surprise when on FBI (plain) I see a detective and assistant DA from the L&O Mothership and a psychologist from Bones.  Then, on FBI International I spy a Bones squint and Ross Poldark's first love (who is a long way from Cornwall).  

I was having a personal reunion with these guys.

Luke Kleintank (Finn Abernathy on Bones) plays the lead on FBI: International and has since its debut!

And John Boyd (Agent James Aubrey on Bones) joined Original FBI as Agent Stuart Scola in 2019, a year after the series began.

[Xeliou66]

I enjoyed this episode - the case was very good, with good detective work in figuring things out, and I’m glad Forrester’s plot has been resolved. I had a feeling McKenna would turn out to be good. What the hell was Daindridge’s beef with Scott anyway? That’s the one thing about this plot that I never understood. Overall a good episode from start to finish, one of this show’s better outings. 

[JPPT1974]

I have had a love-hate relationship with Scott. It is no wonder at times I miss Jaeger. As really she was the only one that could outtalk him and called him out on his arrogance. She is missed but love Smitty as well.

Good riddance to Dandredge as he had no proof over in trying to get Scott out. Hope to never see him again. He is the one guy you want to hate. Wished Scott punched him out IMHO.

[KeithJ]

On 1/24/2023 at 10:22 PM, Xeliou66 said:

What the hell was Daindridge’s beef with Scott anyway? That’s the one thing about this plot that I never understood.  

I never understood it either.  Either I totally missed it or they just never said what his beef was.  I’m just glad the storyline is over.

[SnazzyDaisy]

A three-part crossover airing Tuesday, April 4.

 

[JPPT1974]

Can't hardly wait for the second crossover!

[CheshireCat]

Catching up with the episodes... What is up with the constant uncooperative and/or incompetent and/or implied corrupt police forces throughout Europe? They're actually capable and they're not all corrupt and I'm sure they're also cooperative, especially in countries where they're stretched thin like in Germany. Not only is it getting repetitive but I also find it's getting annoying.

As is the storyline with a higher-up who has it out for an entire team or a member of a team. Do procedurals know that they don't all have to do it?
And since when does the FBI have a deputy commissioner? Aren't they all deputy directors and assistant directors? It's the police departments that have the commissioners. That's not even lazy writing anymore, that's not caring.

Really, now Smitty requested the assignment because of Forrester but not because she's still interested in him romantically but because he's such a good agent?

As far as the most recent episode, it was a decent case but how the wrote the language thing at the beginning makes little sense. Yes, "I don't understand" translates to "Ich verstehe nicht". But that is not a complete sentence and no German native speaker would say that. Also, "kidnap" is a word that's pretty well known even to non-English speakers and "Hilfe" is certainly a word everyone understands. And how could anyone interpret the action of Katy as waiting for someone? Even if you don't understand what she's saying, she was obviously scared and not waiting.

I like the show for its cases, more often than not they're pretty good with interesting twist and turns. But I think it could benefit from a new writers team or maybe new showrunners or both because more often than not, the writing itself feels like an afterthought. Like it's a side-gig for the writers and they're working full time on something else.

On 1/27/2023 at 12:38 PM, JPPT1974 said:

I have had a love-hate relationship with Scott.

Yeah, me too. I like Scott per se but he's one of those characters who ask for trust but don't really offer it in return, they're always going on about being a team but tend to exclude the team themselves and they do things alone because only they are right and/or capable and they always get rewarded for it and I find those characters frustrating.
Like, in this most recent episode. It was absolutely stupid to go there without back-up and Scott should have been knocked unconscious and the kidnapper should have taken the girls and Scott should have paid for his actions. But, of course, because they needed to stick it to Dandridge (which I fully support), that couldn't happen, so Scott got rewarded not only for going at it alone but for being completely irresponsible and endangering his life and the life of the kidnap victims.

I don't mind lone wolf characters, I mind the ones who act like they have to be a lone wolf because no one else can do what they do. It makes them very unsympathetic.

[GiandujaPie]

On 1/30/2023 at 8:27 PM, KeithJ said:

I never understood it either.  Either I totally missed it or they just never said what his beef was.  I’m just glad the storyline is over.

Count me as another one who didn't understand this. Also, why do these shows love doing story arcs where some bureaucrat is trying to break up the team for some nefarious or ridiculous reason? Criminal Minds used to do it every few years it seems. Why can't these teams just do their work and like in real life, people eventually leave or promote out on their own accord? Why must it always be because some bureaucrat has it out for them?

[WendyCR72]

Here is the description for S02.E12: Glimmers and Ghosts, airing February 14, 2023:

Quote

The Fly Team and Smitty reunite with Jaeger in Berlin as they all delve into a case involving an unidentified American who killed an elderly German man who appears to have been a covert asset of the ruthless Stasi in East Germany during the Cold War.

 

[SnazzyDaisy]

FBI: International Vet Christiane Paul Previews Jaeger's 'Holy $#*!' Encore, Revisits Counterpart's Eerie Viral Twist

[Xeliou66]

This was a great episode, one of their best - it was awesome to see Jaeger again and get an insight into her past - and the case was very good as well, it was interesting seeing them track down the perp and get to the bottom of the case and it had some good twists. Nice to see everyone get a role and work to solve the case, and since Jaeger was my favorite in season 1 it was really nice to see her return. Really good episode. 

[JPPT1974]

Hope to see her back again. Team Jaeger!

[WendyCR72]

Synopsis for S02.E13: Indefensible, airing February 21, 2023:

Quote

The Fly Team investigates the death of an American lawyer working out of Budapest, Hungary, after he is killed by a car bomb. Kellett begins to grow close to Hungarian lieutenant Benedek Erdős as the critical case progresses.

 

[CheshireCat]

I have mixed feelings about last week's episode. The episode was good, I thought the case itself was a bit too muddled. So, an Austrian citizen who worked for the Stasi approached a woman in West Berlin to accuse someone from the east of harassment? Did I get that right? What in the world does an Austrian have to do with the Stasi and why did they have to make it that complex? What purpose did that serve?
The resolution was a bridge too far for me; that was just too fantastic. I'm not saying the Stasi didn't have double agents but it was a much more straight-forward apparatus. There is the infamous case of a former ice skater spying on his fellow athletes and my granddad's partner told us last year that her best friend might have been spying on her. The Stasi didn't need a complex web of spies, they had enough leverage to use every-day people.

Plus, the Stasi files can be viewed. While they said that the Stasi did not want anyone to know who the director of this operation was, I'm sure that things recorded in the files would have added up and someone somewhere would have gotten suspicious over the years.

They still haven't brushed up on foreign laws either 😉 There were a few instances where I'm pretty sure they could get in a whole lot of trouble.

But I agree that it was nice to Jaeger again and the episode moved at a good pace and had a good balance of action and quieter scenes. And it looked very much like they were actually filming in Berlin. (And I have to give them credit for not playing Bavarian music, for not having someone run around in a Dirndl or Lederhosen and for not having someone ask for a Schnitzel. Thank you for that!)

If the murderer (Paul?) is tried in Germany, Raines doesn't have to worry. Germany is not exactly known for its harsh punishments. A life sentence usually means 15 years.