FBI: International Season 4, Episode 13 Review: The Show’s Big Twist Blows up in Its Face

FBI: International Season 4, Episode 13, “You’ve Been Greenlit,” quickly brings Riley Quinn’s story to a head — and proves why it wasn’t much of a story to begin with. The episode doesn’t seem to know how to write Riley or anyone’s reactions to her. As a standalone case of the week, it has more than enough drama. But as far as the show’s ongoing subplot, that part doesn’t work at all.

“You’ve Been Greenlit” investigates the death of an American businessman, seemingly shot by a random killer on the street. But when it turns out the witness to his death is also the person who caused it, things take a difficult turn for the Fly Team. But it’s the subplot of Riley dealing with her status as an informant that somewhat takes over the hour and makes it ultimately underwhelming.

FBI: International Reveals That Riley Quinn Is a Mole

Season 4, Episode 13 Speeds the Subplot Forwar

Considering that Riley was just introduced in Season 4, Episode 12, it’s an honest surprise that FBI: International jumps to the point where she’s outed so quickly. It’s abrupt to get to the tipping point of a recurring subplot in just two episodes. Beyond that, how the show gets to the scene in which Riley is about to confess to Cameron Vo doesn’t hold much water, either. There’s a scene where Riley is FaceTiming with her brother, who gets legitimately angry when she asks what if there isn’t anything to find on Wes. Riley’s brother is supposed to also be a federal agent, and on top of that has allegedly been framed, so one thinks he would understand the idea of protecting a law enforcement officer’s integrity. But he’s apparently willing to throw someone else under the bus — two someones if one counts pressuring his sister — just to get himself out of prison. So instead of this scene adding to the tension, it just makes Riley’s brother and therefore her cause less sympathetic.

At the crux of the episode, Riley and witness-turned-suspect Becca Morgan are threatened at gunpoint by Captain Luka Janic, and Wes is first on the scene to shoot Janic and save them both. This gets him arrested by the local police and it’s clear what FBI: International is trying to do: Wes saving Riley’s life convinces her not to turn on him. But even how Wes reacts to her is somewhat awkward. After her testimony leads him to be released from custody, Wes tells Andre Raines that “I trust her, but something’s up.” Those two statements feel contradictory. And while Riley tips Cameron off to the fact that Wes is being targeted, the episode ends before she actually explains her part in it — so unless that scene is in the next episode, the series isn’t even showing the biggest moment in this story.

The subplot isn’t over; Riley also tells her section chief about a French police complaint regarding Wes and Tyler Booth’s actions in FBI: International Season 4, Episode 9, “The Kill Floor.” But something that was supposed to be so ominous is being rushed through rather quickly. And thus far, the moments of tension between characters it was supposed to create haven’t truly materialized.

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FBI: International Season 4, Episode 13 Has a Stronger Plot

The Case of the Week Feels More International

The investigation in “You’ve Been Greenlit” is an improvement over some other recent episodes, because it clearly requires the Fly Team. The prior episode felt more like a regular TV procedural case that just happened to move overseas. In contrast, Episode 13 is about an American murdered in Slovakia — which is exactly the kind of work the Fly Team handles. Furthermore, wrangling with foreign police is a big part of the story, as the team realizes Becca asked for the FBI’s help to get her out of the country before her guilt could be discovered. There’s also no shortage of action, including Becca wielding a rifle (the second suspect of the week to do so, as that’s also the preferred method of attempted murder on the original FBI). Even if the subplot falls flat, there’s enough happening to keep viewers engaged.

Becca being the killer is a good hook, and the fourth-act twist of Captain Janic being hired to kill Becca is partially successful. The concept of the murder victim’s business partner calling a local fixer to protect himself is a solid curveball to throw at the Fly Team. However, the fact that it’s Janic is not even close to a surprise. It’s hinted at early on when Wes and Megan “Smitty” Garretson have a conversation about corruption in the Slovakian police. And then the clear amount of contempt that Janic has for everyone else makes his allegiance clear well before the episode shows him having dinner with the fixer, Oto Kostra. The shock value would only exist if Janic was seen to be a completely upstanding cop and then revealed to be a gun for hire. As it is, he’s a pretty standard antagonist whom audiences don’t miss when he’s gone.

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Will FBI: International Write Out Wes Mitchell Already?

FBI: International Season 4 Has a Recurring Theme

FBI: International Season 4, Episode 13 confirms that the running subplot of the season is taking down Wes Mitchell. Several people have had it out for him, whether it was the multi-episode arc with Greg Csonka or now the FBI section chief wanting Riley to dig up dirt. It seems that the whole angle to Jesse Lee Soffer’s character is that he’s a black sheep within the Bureau. But how seriously should fans take these threats to Wes’s career? It would be ridiculous for him to be leader of the Fly Team for just one season, right?

The thing is, this isn’t without precedent; fans of the FBI franchise will remember that the first Special Agent in Charge on the original show was Dana Mosier, portrayed by Sela Ward. However, Dana was written out at the end of Season 1, and it was subsequently revealed that Ward was only on a one-season contract. It’s theoretically possible that Soffer is on this series under a similar deal. But nothing has been publicly stated, and frankly, the series would be foolish to let the Chicago PD alum go or to tear down Wes’ character in any lasting way. The departure of Luke Kleintank in mid-Season 3 was very hard on the fan base, and what they need is consistency. “You’ve Been Greenlit” puts a target on Wes’ back again, but it also establishes the value that Soffer has brought to FBI: International.

FBI: International airs Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. on CBS.