FBI Season 8 Episode 2 was giving strong FBI: International vibes.
The New York Field Office spent the better part of the hour searching for a Russian prisoner who had escaped with the help of a bunch of AK-47 wielding allies, so how could my mind not go there?
And then Jubal’s final scene with the woman from Other Government Agency (seriously, what’s with that name?) teed up the perfect opening for an FBI: International episode that can never happen now.
FBI Season 8 Episode 2’s Case Wasn’t Interesting Until International Criminals Got Involved
The first half of the episode wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t anything special either.
Chasing down two painting thieves seemed like a low-stakes case for one of the most elite FBI teams in the United States, and I wasn’t sure I bought the excuse that the guard’s death made it an FBI matter rather than an NYPD one.
Everything that followed from the guard’s death seemed like par for the course: questioning the wrong suspects, going on the foot chases that seem to be mandatory in every episode, and Scola going undercover.
Scola’s attempts to get the art thief to trust him enough to lead him to the stolen paintings was more compelling than the rest, but even that was giving me a strong sense of deja vu.
FBI is formulaic television, but there needs to be room to do original work within that formula, and the first half of this episode didn’t do that.
Most of the scenes felt like the same old thing we’ve had for the past seven seasons, which was not a good sign for this episode (or for the season).
Scola and Maggie’s Pair-Up Was Enjoyable
That’s not to say there weren’t moments I enjoyed — I liked Maggie temporarily partnering with Scola near the beginning and trying to get him to talk about his feelings after Dani’s funeral.
But the whole thing felt a little too familiar.
Ideally, each episode should feel fresh even if it follows the same basic formula, which this didn’t.
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That changed after Evan was arrested.
I don’t know how he figured out that Scola was a cop, but the moment before he threw the table over and tried to run was the most tense in the first half of the episode, and I didn’t even mind the chase.
Evan Tipped Off The Team to An International Crime, Changing Everything
Technically, the crime still took place only on US soil, though it involved a Russian criminal.
Still, this would have. been the perfect time for a cameo appearance from one of the members of the Fly Team.
