FBI: International produced its series finale, but it ended up being a massive letdown for many fans and a baffling way to end the show. And while the series wasn't expecting to be canceled, it's a shame it didn't rework the FBI: International season 4 finale just a little to be a series finale.
Caution: This article contains SPOILERS for the FBI: International series finale.
After four seasons, FBI: International ended its run with “Gaijin.” The story was the conclusion of a two-part tale where the team was aided by Japanese detective Reiko (Yoriko Haraguchi) in investigating a series of murders. Wes (Jesse Lee Soffer) realized Reiko was tracking a serial killer from Japan, something her superiors didn’t want publicized.
The team thought they caught the killer, only to realize he had an accomplice. Wes flew to Tokyo to work with Reiko as they centered on taxi driver Lloyd. The case became tougher when another American woman was abducted and Lloyd started playing a dark game with Wes.
The rest of the team aided from Budapest to give Wes clues. There were complications from Reiko briefly suspended to Lloyd playing the classic game of acting like he was helping the mother of the vanished girl.
In the end, Wes managed to arrest Lloyd, tricking him into giving up the girl’s location. Reiko was pushed to a desk job, only for Wes to tell her to keep fighting.
In Budapest, Vo and Raines were told a decision had been made on who got the coveted spot on a task force, the pair awaiting, but we didn’t hear who got it. The final scene had Wes finally meeting his half-sister Delila.
As a season finale, this would have been okay. As a series finale, it absolutely stunk.
Why the FBI: International series finale failed
Had this been a finale made before the cancellation was announced, this would make sense. It felt open-ended with either Vo (Vinessa Vidotto) or Raines (Carter Redwood) getting the promotion and moving on, and Wes reaching out to his half-sister. It would feel like a case of the writers setting things up for FBI: International season 5.
However, this was not the case. FBI: International was cancelled in March while production was going on. This means that the writers had every opportunity to rework the finale into a series one, but they failed.
Yes, it would have been hard to bring back some past characters like Forrester (Luke Kleintank) and Kellett (Heida Reed). But some real closure to various storylines would have been better. We could have learned if Raines or Vo got that promotion and a warm send-off. It also would have been good to see more of Wes and his sister together.
The fact that the episode had Wes on his own in Tokyo while the rest of the squad was in Budapest makes it worse. The entire point of FBI: International was seeing the team working together, so making it a Wes solo mission was a baffling choice. At least other team members joining him in Tokyo would have been a bit better.
It just felt like a regular season finale, not a series-ender. Compare this to FBI: Most Wanted doing a great finale that gave each character a spotlight and a warm, happy ending. That felt like a real celebration of the series, while this was an almost total afterthought.
Maybe FBI: International wasn’t as popular as the other two shows. And yes, this season was shaken up a bit by the introduction of Wes as leader and other dynamics. But the show had a fanbase invested in these characters and ignoring Vo, Raines and the rest to put the spotlight on Wes working a case that felt like any standard episode was truly lacking.
Once more, the writers had more than enough time to craft a real finale that would do justice to the show’s characters. Instead, they did a lackluster “case of the week” combined with any real closure. It’s a shame that a fun show like FBI: International had to have this incredibly weak ending.
FBI: International is available to stream on Paramount+.
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