When it came to the whereabouts/fate of AWOL Special Agent Scott Forrester, CBS’ FBI: International really kept you (and the Fly Team) guessing to the very end of the Season 3 finale.
As the Fly Team gingerly-ish operated in Norway despite being strongly warned by the foreign minister not to do that, the episode trotted out a misdirect — leading Vo & Co. to believe that they were working to rescue Scott’s spook of a mom, Angela Cassidy, from a Russian prison. Viewers, meanwhile, were invited to assume that Angela (previously played by Lost‘s Elizabeth Mitchell), who was seen being brutalized (and doing some brutalizing) in prison, had perhaps been recast with The Fosters‘ Teri Polo.
The woman passing herself off as Angela was broken out of prison but nabbed soon after by ne’er-do-wells, who allowed her to make a FaceTime call to Vo. It was a short call, before the phone got yanked away from her, but long enough for Vo to know it was not Scott’s mother. (So… no recast.)
The Fly Team, with liaison Brian Lange’s encouragement, forged ahead with its plan to rescue this woman, who they came to realize was an American named Tess. But despite the agents’ effort to “not cast a shadow” while operating in Norway, a major firefight atop (!) the Olympic ski jump site in Holmenkollen — complete with a shot-down, exploding-into-flames helicopter — revealed them to the local authorities.
The foreign minister was gung-ho to prosecute the Fly Team members, with Russo’s only request that they be charged as private citizens (and not U.S. agents). Lange tried to broker a peace, suggesting that their mission could be framed as one to secure intel against Russia, for Norway. But for that to pan out, they’d need access to the intel the real Angela Cassidy had complied.
Tess swore that Angela, whom she had spent time with behind bars, never disclosed the password to her files. But a tattoo on Tess’ wrist, given to her by Angela, turned out to be a cipher that Tate used to crack open Angela’s veritable trove of intel. With a strong nudge from Smitty, the Fly Team got off scot-free.
Speaking of Scotts…. It was confirmed that Scott Forrester had synched up with his mom, and they were now on the run — and given Angela’s particular set of skills, they were not expected to be found. That said, Tate unexpectedly spotted them on a traffic cam, heading towards Alaska. Vo sighed that they were “obligated” to relay Scott’s location to the higher-ups… but with Lange’s blessing, Tate scrubbed the file. Lange then bid the team adieu, saying he’d see them “down the road.”
That night, the team (Tank included!) gathered to toast Scott getting the one thing he always wanted.
“To Scott — safe travels!”
