Of the many unanswered questions from FBI: International season 4, it’s natural to get stuck on big issues like whether Vo or Raines will get the G14 promotion they’re vying for. International also left several character-based mysteries on the table, such as Smitty’s half-explored sexuality. But, although he was the finale’s star, the most frustrating unresolved storyline belongs to Wes.
FBI: International Season 4 Wrote Out Dean Bartlett In A Confusing Way
His Disappearance Wasn’t Foreshadowed Whatsoever
It might not rank as FBI: International’s biggest cliffhanger, but it’s left rather vague what happened to Dean Bartlett. While Wes ultimately travels back to the United States to meet his sister Delila, Dean himself is written out of the series offscreen with a single line of dialogue saying that he’s gone to the UK to meet a pen pal.
Besides knowing he fractured 11-year-old Wes Mitchell’s jaw and later spent 20 years in jail, we never learn much else about Dean or how he met a UK woman while behind bars. It can be difficult to find pen pal programs for UK prisons, but viewers unaware of that are left clueless as to why she’s writing an American inmate.
On top of that, we never learn much about why Dean was locked up in the first place. Although he has a history of violent abuse, the fact that Bartlett’s movements are being tracked by FinCEN suggests a financial element to his crimes. Sadly, FBI: International had little choice but to leave these threads hanging or rush through their conclusions.
Why FBI: International Season 4 Couldn’t Give Bartlett The Story He Deserved
Dean’s Arc Was Too Heavy To Explore In So Few Episodes
Had International not joined the long list of TV shows canceled in 2025, it’s quite likely that Wes Mitchell’s family plotline would have continued in FBI: International season 5. Through Wes meeting Delila (and likely her mother Cassie), several details about Dean’s background could have been explored further, including why he suddenly cared so much about Wes and Delila meeting.
Dean Bartlett could also have had a future storyline playing into why he was locked up for so long yet finally able to commute his sentence. The length of his sentence and FinCEN’s current interest in him suggest Dean was put away for something major, despite the lack of hard evidence he ever did time for his more violent offenses.
The California Board of Parole does refer to Wes as a “victim” when awaiting his statement before the commutation hearing, but it’s not clarified whether he’s a victim of the crime for which Dean’s been convicted or merely a victimized party with insights as to why Bartlett shouldn’t be released.
This might have played into his pen pal’s identity, potentially explaining why the United States Treasury Department cares who Bartlett’s shacking up with across the pond. Unfortunately, Dean’s appearance in only four episodes made it nearly impossible to address these questions before the FBI: International series finale. To finish his story now, he’d have to appear elsewhere in the franchise.
Can The FBI Franchise Ever Finish Bartlett’s Story?
It Would Be A Hard Sell Without Wes Mitchell
The most imposing barrier to following up any story from FBI: International is that the remainder of the franchise remains primarily New York-based. Any further crimes by Dean could catch the FBI’s attention more easily if Wes remains in the States as he was last seen, but Dean’s current UK whereabouts would need to be taken into account as well.
