FBI: International - General Discussion

[Xeliou66]

Tonight’s episode was good - I liked the case and it kept me guessing as to who was responsible for the murder - good storyline and case. I had the CEO pegged for it, I didn’t see the culprit coming. Good use of the whole team. I don’t care at all about Kellett’s relationship with the local officer, it’s just going to be more soapy drama. 

[WendyCR72]

Description for S02.E14: He Who Speaks Dies, airing February 28, 2023:

Quote

The Fly Team and Smitty head to Morocco when a commercial aircraft flying from New York to Athens is grounded and an American citizen on board goes missing. Also, Kellett’s relationship with Erdős continues to blossom.

 

[CheshireCat]

On 2/21/2023 at 11:59 PM, Xeliou66 said:

Tonight’s episode was good - I liked the case and it kept me guessing as to who was responsible for the murder - good storyline and case. I had the CEO pegged for it, I didn’t see the culprit coming. Good use of the whole team. I don’t care at all about Kellett’s relationship with the local officer, it’s just going to be more soapy drama. 

I agree, it was a good case and who the murderer was wasn't obvious. It was a really nice and unexpected twist.

While I don't mind relationships, I'm not sure about the set-up. She broke his arm during a training session? Really? I thought for sure that she'd find out he'd faked it because he likes her at the end.
What was the point of the end and her visiting the girl? I mean, I get why she wanted to but what was the purpose of it for the story? What was that supposed to tell us? What was it supposed to do with regards to what she was musing about? How was it supposed to move the story anywhere? They may have cut a lot from the actual scene but I think they should have cut it altogether because that snippet made no real sense.

[Snazzy Daisy]

 

[chicagofan]

Can someone give a brief recap on what went on in the last 10-15 minutes of the episode - after they took the hood off the not agent? CBS Chicago kept cutting in with election coverage. We saw a little of the last scene with Kellett and Hungarian guy, but they cut off before they end of the scene.

[Xeliou66]

This was a good episode - I liked the twist about the bomb threat being a plot to kidnap the DEA agent and it was an entertaining fast paced hour. I don’t care about Kellett’s romance with the local cop, that’s a boring personal subplot that will go nowhere.

8 minutes ago, chicagofan said:

Can someone give a brief recap on what went on in the last 10-15 minutes of the episode - after they took the hood off the not agent? CBS Chicago kept cutting in with election coverage. We saw a little of the last scene with Kellett and Hungarian guy, but they cut off before they end of the scene.

The guy who they took the hoof off of gave them information that the agent was being transported to another location, and the team cut them off in their vehicles - the bad guys were shot and they rescued the agent who was reunited with his son. 

[Snazzy Daisy]

S02•E014 - He Who Speaks Dies

I enjoyed this episode more than this week's FBI and FBIMW.

It's fun watching Vo and Andre kicking ass. The way Vo handled that fussy Karen and the interview of the blackmailed Air Marshall, it's so Vo. I never expect Andre to throw a bad guy over a balcony.

Not interested in Jamie's love story but it's good that she has moved on from Scott. I do wonder when she's gonna formally introduce Lt. Erdős as her BF to the team.

[Rickster]

Enjoyable plot, and interesting to see how cold and snowy it can be in Morocco.

Of course the bomb plot discovery had to be timed perfectly to take place over Moroccan airspace. If they landed in Spain, there would be no episode.

[WendyCR72]

Here is the description of S02.E15: Trust, airing on March 14, 2023:

Quote

The Fly Team lends a helping hand to the Hungarian National Police when one of their police officers is accused of murdering a couple in Budapest. Also, Kellett questions her relationship with Lieutenant Erdős.

 

[Snazzy Daisy]

FBI: International | 2x15 Promo "Trust"

[JPPT1974]

May have had a love-hate relationship with Scott but miss him tonight.

[shrewd.buddha]

11 hours ago, JPPT1974 said:

May have had a love-hate relationship with Scott but miss him tonight.

The show has a meta-mystery: where is Scott Forrester and  is he getting five second scenes to keep him on the payroll? 
I keep flashing back to the season opener where Forrester was doing some weird Rocky-style workout montage and reflecting on his estranged spy-Mom ... and then, nothing..

It was a decent episode but it could have been better without Special Agent Jamie going on a couple of righteous soapbox rants about "only caring about the truth" and a sacred "circle of trust".  Isn't this the same character that threw evidence in a river to help a young woman get away with murder and let that young woman's father go to prison for that murder?  And didn't she also have an affair with her superior officer (Scott) and they both lied and gaslighted everyone about it? 
Get off your high horse, lady - - we have video evidence.

[TVForever]

Ugh. So, Jamie ends a perfectly nice relationship with the Hungarian cop because "he didn't trust her". Pardon me, but a few dates and sleeping with someone once or twice is a nice start to something bigger. It's not necessarily the level of trust that he was dealing with. The man had discovered internal corruption, and was now on the run to prove his innocence and save his life. He didn't know who he could truly trust. He reached out to Jamie; why wasn't that enough?

But I guess the chip on Jamie's shoulder was too big. She blew up at Vo for taking her off the case (before she knew it was a ruse). But wouldn't it be expected for a cop to not be on the case when the guy she's dating is the main suspect?

Erdos seemed like a nice guy. Pity, Jamie and her tiny little circle of trust is moving on.

[Snazzy Daisy]

Scott is away again??! 

I love seeing Vo in a boss mode and how supportive Andre is of her capability. Jamie seems a bit uncomfortable with it, no matter what she says.

Vo benching Jamie, I totally believe it girl! 😆

Don’t worry Lt. Erdos, it’s Jamie’s lost. You dodge a bullet.

The show keeps hinting about Vo developing some feelings towards Andre. The way she looks at him sometimes… 🤔

[Xeliou66]

I missed Forrester in this episode, and Kellett was irritating, she had no business snapping at Vo for benching her, and she came off as self righteous the whole time. I did like seeing Vo in charge of the case. The case was fairly predictable. 

[Snazzy Daisy]

FBI: CBS Drops Plot Details for Three-Show Global Crossover, "Imminent Threat"

 

FBI: International: 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT – Special Time “Imminent Threat - Part One”

Airdate:  April 04, 2023

Synopsis:

Quote

When the abduction of an American architect in Rome appears to be connected to a brewing terror threat in New York City, FBI’s Jubal (star Jeremy Sisto) and Nina (recurring star Shantel VanSanten) join Forrester and his Fly Team in Italy as they work together to find the missing American and shed light on the terrorists’ U.S. target. 

FBI stars Alana De La Garza and John Boyd also guest star in the episode, which is part one of a three-episode FBIs global crossover event.

[CheshireCat]

I actually stopped watching when Vo confronted Jamie (the first time) because Vo's attitude towards Jamie annoyed me and I didn't want to be annoyed. I mean, she may have been lead for the case but Jamie is still the senior agent and I didn't think that Vo's attitude was in anyway justified or appropriate. Not only did I think it lacked respect and the benefit of the doubt but it also suggested that Vo doesn't trust Jamie, so, if I had been in Jamie's place, I would have suggested Vo apply for a transfer.

Lead on the case or not, would a junior agent like Vo really have the authority to remove a senior agent from a case? I doubt it. If Vo messed up, Jamie would still have to answer for it since she gave Vo the authority and would have made a wrong call.

[Maverick]

 I didn't like Vo or Jaime in this one.   Vo started off on the wrong foot by putting Jaime on the spot in front of the whole team.  She should have pulled Jaime aside and asked.  Then when Jaime's boyfriend became the prime suspect, she had a nasty edge toward Jaime from the jump.  "Are you sleeping with him?!"   It may be an appropriate question given the circumstances but the way she was talking to Jaime was uncalled for.   Jaime on the other hand should have backed off the minute he became a suspect, if not recused herself completely.  Seems like there would be rules about that anyway, not something left to the team lead's discretion.   But no, she's rummaging around her boyfriend's desk with just her boyfriend's partner there--two people with a vested interest in his guilt or innocence.  And then her BS when she dumped him. WTF?  They hadn't been dating that long and he was being framed.   When should he trust her completely?  He knew his partner longer than her and that's who was setting him up.   And he has no idea how she would view her professional responsibilities in a situation like this.  And as mentioned above, Jaime's helped a killer go free in the past, so she really needs to just STFU already.   The cute Hungarian cop really dodged two bullets.  

[mythoughtis]

Why is  FBI International so heavy on the interpersonal and personal drama?  Can’t we just have a nice procedural case of the week?   Scott and Jamie are both ethically challenged ( she tosses evidence, he warns his mom about a sting he helped set up).   Why should Jamie’s fledgling boyfriend trust her- he barely knows her). 

[Katie111]

What is Forrester's relationship with the 12 year old boy?  The one whose dad is being forced into crime.  I don't watch every week and I just can't figure out what the point of this relationship is.  Where did they meet?   I would be completely creeped out if I were the boy's dad.  Some foreign guy approaching me about my son outside of my workplace.  The way Forrester handled that was so strange.  

[b4pjoe]

The boy takes care of the dog when he is away.

[Snazzy Daisy]

FBI Global Crossover Event Promo "Imminent Threat"

 

 

[Snazzy Daisy]

We’ll be seeing Tank again, soon‼️😍

[Izzy85]

Ugh, I really can't stand anyone on the international team. These crossovers are the only way to get me to watch it, lol

[JPPT1974]

Really like both Cameron and Raines as really both come off smart but likable. Give or take with Jamie. But Scott really got on my nerves tonight. He goes off on everybody and though he is trying to do his job. Still the guy acted like a self righteous prick. Acting like everybody owes him. Really someone should call him out on his arrogance. Wished that Jaeger was still here. As she really is not shy in calling him out on his arrogance.

[Kemper]

Of the three episodes, I liked this one the best. Maybe because I was exhausted by the time the third hour rolled around. And the bad guys’ ability to escape during chases. Either by their Fast Running; their ability to hijack cars; or their henchmen’s knowledge of where, exactly to pick them up during a chase. 

 

[Snazzy Daisy]

Overall, this crossover was smoothly done. It’s so much better than the NCIS crossover.

Re the plot, it has too much Scola and Nina for my liking. I like the 1st part the most, with the Fly Team. The 2nd and 3rd parts don’t grab my attention much. Scola went UC for 3 weeks and got next to nothing, then entered macho Remy pulling some magic. 🙄

Why Isobel sent Nina to Rome with Jubal? Isn’t Nina working for White Collar Crime div now?

It is hard to work with someone like Chief Inspector Grannó and his hostility towards "ugly American" behavior in Europe. Scott and Smitty’s frustrations are understandable. But Jubal’s impatience is a different story.

Am struggling to feel any sympathy for Nina. She wasn’t thinking about the safety of her baby when she disobeyed Jubal’s order in the blink of an eye.

Quote

“I don’t need special treatment. I didn’t come to Rome to eat pasta.”

 

Edited April 5, 2023 by SnazzyDaisy

[ColJackOneill]

I don’t know which crew’s episode I was watching, but I saw what has now become standard for foot chases: the bad guy runs pell mell into traffic only to get flattened by a bus (or car). The first time I saw this—20 years ago—this was surprising and shocking. But c’mon … I see it too often, too many times. I think I even saw it on an episode of The Big Bang Theory.

[KeithJ]

5 hours ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

Why Isobel sent Nina to Rome with Jubal? Isn’t Nina working for White Collar Crime div now?

My question was why were they even sent in the first place (I know, because this was a crossover).  There was really no reason to send them overseas.

5 hours ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

Am struggling to feel any sympathy for Nina. She wasn’t thinking about the safety of her baby when she disobeyed Jubal’s order in the blink of an eye.

Did she really disobey an order though?  Who is higher up in charge of agents?  Jubal or Scott?  Jubal said no but then Scott said she could guard the perimeter with Vo.

My wife and I actually disagreed on this.  She kept saying that Nina shouldn't be there at all because she was pregnant.  I said it was her choice.  Do women really want to be told they have to change their job parameters because they're pregnant?

Edited April 5, 2023 by KeithJ

[Hedgehog2022]

2 hours ago, KeithJ said:

My question was why were they even sent in the first place (I know, because this was a crossover).  There was really no reason to send them overseas.

Did she really disobey an order though?  Who is higher up in charge of agents?  Jubal or Scott?  Jubal said no but then Scott said she could guard the perimeter with Vo.

My wife and I actually disagreed on this.  She kept saying that Nina shouldn't be there at all because she was pregnant.  I said it was her choice.  Do women really want to be told they have to change their job parameters because they're pregnant?

There are liability issues in jobs like FBI agent that carries a gun. This whole episode was rich with impossiblities and inaccurate scenarios. No agent who is working white collar crime and is pregnant would be sent to a European city to help in an investigation that involves a murder and a kidnapping. Maggie would have been a more believable agent to send there. I think the writers were looking for a way to end the storyline about Nina being pregnant and end the romance between her and Scola. I expect better writing and arcs from this franchise...big dissappointment. Having said that, I never bought into Nina being an FBI special agent anyway...the windblown blonde hair and tight pants looked more magazine model and not FBI. I say this because I live in a neighborhood with many FBI and Secret Service agents and they look NOTHING like Nina.

[Maverick]

 I think in most law enforcement jobs is taken off field duty, not just for the safety of the mother and child but because there are certain physical requirements you have to meet to be in the field.  Nina probably wasn't far enough along and she obviously wasn't going to ask to not go due to her pregnancy.  Maggie would have made more sense, but I'm assuming they used Nina for production reasons.   The actors who crossed over had to travel to Europe to film.  It's hard to work around that in the middle of the season on their home show.  Besides being one of the leads and harder to work around, Missy also has a newborn and probably didn't want to travel to Europe.  Using a recurring guest star who's kind of the fifth Beetle makes sense.

[Raja]

8 hours ago, KeithJ said:

Do women really want to be told they have to change their job parameters because they're pregnant?

Its not about what she wants, is it a good society that sends pregnant women into combat?

[WendyCR72]

Let's keep talk to the episode and not pregnant women at large and in combat, etc., please and thank you.

[Rambler]

I think I was supposed to hate the sneering Italian cop who was like "You Americans think you can barge in and take over and do whatever you want", but I found myself nodding in agreement with him based on earlier episodes of this show. Of course he was proven completely correct when Jubal ordered them to break in the house of an Italian family without getting a warrant, and based solely on the word of some random dude on the street who they were screaming at because he happened to be looking in the windows of the car they were after. And then afterwards Jubal was all "we should go back and interrogate the family that we just traumatized." Yeah great idea there Jubal! I wonder if the writers on FBI International secretly hate the writers on the FBI mothership because they totally threw Jubal's character into the trash.

[A coin in the hand]

At the tale end of the second installment, but Jubel is a douche and should be kicked off because he has caused two deadly situations. But they love him, so I guess nothing will happen. Intermission is done, back to seeing how this wraps up. Oh, I watch this series because I want to see International places I should put on my bucket list. That is why this one is superior for me. 

 

[Kemper]

This one is my favorite, too. I love the setting and like the cast.

[mythoughtis]

Watching this part of the crossover now.  Forester is usually the first one to disobey or go around the host country’s law enforcement -so watching him with Jubal is interesting 

[Kemper]

Last night - the ballerina who had acid thrown on her face. Half (almost exactly) of her face. In the hospital, one side was perfectly made up. The other side was really damaged (although not as terrible as I thought it would be). But. Her eye on that side was also Perfectly Made Up! It looked exactly like the other side. At the. very least, wouldn’t the eye be too sore for perfectly applied eyeliner, mascara, etc. That jarred me more than the damage from the acid - kind of took me out of the scenes. Just me?

Edited April 12, 2023 by Kemper
Typo

[milkyaqua]

1 hour ago, Kemper said:

That jarred me more than the damage from the acid - kind of took me out of the scenes. Just me?

I hadn't paid that close attention but it doesn't surprise me.  It's not different then when shows show women perfectly made up when first waking up in bed in the morning or worse, going to bed with a full face of makeup.

[Snazzy Daisy]

S02•E17 - Jealous Mistress

The ballet parts of this episode do give us the Black Swan vibes.

I agree. The make-up team doesn’t do a great job on Nicolette’s chemical burn injuries. Her left eye, eyelid, eyebrow, eyelashes, hairline and even her lips are perfectly fine. Her vision isn’t affected at all.

This show has taken an easy way out to close the Vladislav’s chapter. With 50 years in prison, he’s no longer hunting Scott.

[milkyaqua]

1 hour ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

This show has taken an easy way out to close the Vladislav’s chapter. With 50 years in prison, he’s no longer hunting Scott.

If we trust Mr. Russian Diplomat...

[Xeliou66]

This episode was kind of confusing - so the attack on the ballerina was just to send a message to her boyfriend by the gangster? That seemed kind of underwhelming and the investigation seemed rushed. I did like Vo’s scenes with the ballerina. And I have a feeling that the guy threatening Forrester will come back in a future episode.

[Maverick]

3 hours ago, Xeliou66 said:

This episode was kind of confusing - so the attack on the ballerina was just to send a message to her boyfriend by the gangster? That seemed kind of underwhelming

 It was also ineffective since it took two law enforcement agencies to determine that was the motive.  

 I'm with Forrester on this one:  too much ballet.  Booor-ing.

 

 

[Xeliou66]

Last night’s episode was just dull to me - too much personal stuff and I didn’t have a great memory of the previous episode from last season where the bad guy’s brother was killed, so it was kind of confusing. 

[Andyourlittledog2]

I had to stop watching last night.  I just hate these plots where the (usually) lead has a mortal enemy who will stop at nothing to get him/her. They always include crazy ass locations and situations and death defying stunts and almost killed but not quite scenes. It is so predictable and boring and although I like the show I am watching and the characters in it I simply could not care less about their nemesis or the convoluted plots the writers come up with to put our heroes in peril.  Enough already. All these kinds of shows have this crap.

Ultra-terrorists. (because everyday terrorists aren't terror-y enough)

Crazy serial killers. (because everyday serial killers aren't evil and nutty enough)

Relatives of criminals out for revenge in bizarre and unbelievable ways. (because they've been biding their time for years plotting devilish and imaginative payback)

Because just shooting our hero in the street won't do. What's the fun in that? There must be secret caves of doom,  unknown poisons,  people tied to bombs or buried alive with mysterious clues so that the friends/coworkers/team can rescue the hero just in time. It must be done with panache!!

All out to get our hero. Watch him/her and their friends/coworkers/team defeat them once again. Alas! Nemesis got away again!  But they will return in a future episode with an even more bizarre and convoluted plot to do our hero in! 

I am officially boycotting all episodes with this plotline on all shows period.

Hopefully next week they can all get back to work helping other people again and leave this crap behind. Fingers crossed.

[Snazzy Daisy]

S02•E18 - Blood Feud

It’s Otis from Chicago Fire‼️

And a glimpse of Tank! 😍

They finally concluded the Vlad’s revenge plot and not dragging it into S3. Thank god! I never expect to see Novikoff again after the S1 finale.

If I were Maya, I will leave Andre, pronto. It’s just not worth it.

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by SnazzyDaisy

[Izzy85]

That beating was brutal, I think this is the first time the opening crime made me cry. I've been on the receiving end of hateful racial slurs, verbally though, nothing that has escalated physically, but the panic and fear that it instills inside is hard to forget. Poor Hugo.

Oof, the found ring was a serious gut punch.

This episode just made me sad.

Edited April 26, 2023 by Izzy85

[Xeliou66]

Decent episode, very straightforward though with not a lot of suspense, but the brutal opening scene and the despicable nature of the perps kept my interest in the episode. No personal stuff was nice, just solid investigative stuff. I wonder if the undercover agent will join Forrester’s team going forward? 

[CheshireCat]

I just watched the episode that dealt with the acid attack against the ballerina in Vienna and wow, it was worse than I thought it would be. I think that was their most unrealistic and full-of-clichés episode to date.

Given the lack of research this show has shown, I'm not even sure if they used a fictitious ballet company on purpose or if they thought Vienna->Emperor->Emperial Theater.

In any case, ballet companies don't train in the actual theater. Studios are usually elsewhere.
Women don't all wear skirts and leotards like many little girls do. Some do. Others wear various forms of sweatpants, yoga pants, shorts etc.

Dancers are in the studio during rehearsal and unless they have reserved the studio, other dancers don't just get to tell them to leave. (And there was no reason for the dancers to have reserved the studio in the episode because they were rehearsing a ballet staged by the company). Of course, they can ask nicely but why would they?

Where were the teacher or choreographer or artistic director or two of the three or all of the above and the pianist for that rehearsal?

A company that big and prestigious as they said this one was has more than one principal dancer. (The Vienna State Ballet currently has 5). There are no "understudies". Rather, depending on how many performances of a ballet are planned, there are a number of principals who learn the role and will perform the lead throughout the run. So, if one principal can't dance on a particular night, another who has learned the role anyway and was scheduled on another night will fill in. Soloists can also learn and dance the role if they have the skill.

Prima ballerina or principal dancer is not a negotiable title. You get promoted to principal at the end of a season or between seasons and you get a contract as a principal that following season. I guess whether they can put her into the corps de ballet depends on how the contract is written but they can't strip her of the title without cause. So, the dancer would be paid as a principal and if they continued to not get principal roles, they could argue they're discriminated against. Plus, no company would promote someone to principal and then not use them as a principal because they'd be a principal short and, as mentioned, they'd likely be paying the dancer as a principal. I'm not sure what the writers think but this is a job like every other job and the titles are reflective of promotions just like in every other job.

A good dancer is not automatically a good choreographer nor do all dancers want to become choreographers. I almost find that the most offensive because it just feels so dismissive of dancer as a real profession.

I think if I had been the ballerina I would have thrown acid into Vo's face myself after that speech about how don't always get to do what you're talented in. Or, at the very least, I would have told her to get the hell out of my room in no unmistakable terms. I'm sure it was well-meant advice but Vo so missed the mark and showed that she had no idea of what the dancer would have gone through at that point. (The writers obviously didn't either). Dance dominates the life from a very early age on and if someone is as dedicated and passionate about ballet as the dancer was then she would still have been in a stage of denial that her career was now over and not ready for any kind of advice. And likely even less so for any advice that comes from a complete stranger. 

And lastly and not related to ballet, I doubt that they would have been allowed to continue to investigate the moment someone in either government realized that a member of the Austrian government was involved, not to mention someone who was undercover. That could have prompted all kinds of diplomatic incidents and I doubt the US government would thought that was worth the risk just because the First Lady cared. 

Aside from that I did like the episode. ;-)

In all seriousness though, I did like the twist and that it ended up not having anything to do with ballet.

 

[Xeliou66]

Last night’s episode was an interesting case - I liked the stuff with the banks and the investigation into them. I don’t like the all too predictable romance angle between Vo and the new agent, we don’t need more soapy crap, this show has gotten away from that but it looks like they are bringing it back. Very nice to see Tank the dog again!