FBI: International Season 4, Episode 12, “Blood Doesn’t Become Water” feels like a case of deja vu in more ways than one. Another new agent joins the Fly Team — the third this season. And Riley Quinn’s origin story, such as it is, is a relatively underwhelming case that feels like it could have been on any other TV crime drama.
“Blood Doesn’t Become Water” is more a story of domestic abuse than an international crime. When a child turns up dead in Baltimore, the prime suspects are his mother and stepfather, who decide to flee the country with the victim’s brother. It’s up to the Fly Team to get them back, with an assist from Riley, who doesn’t make much of an impression in her first episode.
Who Is Riley Quinn in FBI: International?
Season 4, Episode 12 Introduces a New Recurring Character
“Blood Doesn’t Become Water” is built around the character of Special Agent Riley Quinn, who works in the FBI’s Baltimore field office. Riley is played by Veronica St. Clair, who previously played the series regular role of Riley Perez in NBC’s disaster drama La Brea. But the two characters having the same name isn’t the only thing that makes Riley Quinn feel like an underwhelming character. Her backstory is quickly poured out in an interview with FBI section chief Dave Zaleski: she’s a relative newcomer to field work, only having been with the Bureau for two years and spending a year and a half of that on the Evidence Recovery Team. In essence, she’s very similar to Sydney Ortiz from the original FBI, and audiences know how that worked out.
The major difference between the two is that the character of Riley is (so far) designed to be recurring, as a new threat to Wes Mitchell. But she’s the third agent that FBI: International has added to the Fly Team in Season 4, including Wes and Tyler Booth. The idea of shaking up the squad with someone from the outside has been done. And the idea of doing that through Wes has been done with Booth, who just left two episodes earlier in Season 4, Episode 10, “Keep Calm and Deliver the Biotoxin.” He wasn’t actively out to get his old friend Wes, but his presence certainly caused some difficulties. So what is Riley Quinn going to accomplish story-wise that the rest of Season 4 hasn’t already covered in some respect?
FBI: International Season 4, Episode 12 Doesn’t Feel International
The Plot Seems Only Tangentially Connected to the Show’s Premise
The fact that Season 4, Episode 12 is set up more as a launching pad for the Riley Quinn character isn’t its biggest problem. That stems from the case of the week feeling more like a family drama that happens to take place overseas than a truly international investigation. The actual crime takes place on United States soil, and the Fly Team only gets involved because the suspects flee the country. And that only happens as the main antagonist, Ahmed Bashar, is originally from Turkey. Take that part of his character away, and this episode is just about an abusive stepfather who killed his stepson. This could have been an FBI episode with just a few tweaks.
There are a couple of cool elements to the story, such as the brief use of a helicopter that the Department of Defense sends over. That’s not something that the audience normally sees on this show. Plus, Wes making his way alone onto the second floor of a building controlled by the Turkish mafia is entertaining, thanks to Jesse Lee Soffer’s smart-alec performance. But there’s nothing in the episode that truly pops off the screen, or feels like it’s truly unique to FBI: International. Audiences will still feel emotionally satisfied by the victim’s brother LIam being reunited with his dad (even if his father has to tell him that his brother has died). They just won’t feel like they’re seeing anything fresh.
FBI: International Jumps to Some Conclusions
Season 4, Episode 12’s Quasi-Cliffhanger Feels Rushed
The final few moments of FBI: International Season 4, Episode 12 are the most confusing. It’s no surprise that Zaleski schemes to keep Riley on the Fly Team, or that the phone call about this happens just a few moments before Wes walks over to tell her the same thing. What raises an eyebrow is the phone call itself. Not only is Riley complimentary of Wes, but she calls him “maybe one of the best.” As Zaleski points out, that is a huge leap to make for someone who’s only worked one case with Wes Mitchell. The idea of Riley having divided loyalties is just fine; it’s more interesting dramatically and it shows that she’s able to think for herself, and not just go along with Zaleski’s marching orders.
Cameron Vo (to Riley): Tough love breeds discipline, and it’s all part of the process.
But her respect for Wes should be built gradually instead of quickly thinking he’s among the Bureau’s best agents. And by allowing her feelings to change organically, that also allows the audience to perhaps change their opinions about her, too. They’ll get to know how her mind works and realize that she’s not just a plant. She doesn’t have to win viewers over right away, and Wes doesn’t need to win her over right away. If she’s going to be around for multiple episodes, there’s time to lay proper groundwork both for the ongoing plot and for Riley Quinn as a specific character.
The more interesting question is where Zaleski’s grudge against Wes comes from. Fans already know from episodes like Season 4, Episode 9, “The Kill Floor” that Wes does some questionable things. He is not above reproach, and he’s never claimed to be. He’s even already been in trouble once at Greg Csonka’s trial. The underlying theme of FBI: International Season 4 seems to be trying to tear down Wes Mitchell, and “Blood Doesn’t Become Water” at least adds to that story. Otherwise, it’s an episode that probably is going to make more sense weeks or even months in the future.
