It seemed inevitable that Barnes and Charlotte would end up splitting up in FBI: Most Wanted. Charlotte had met someone else, and it didn’t seem like she was willing to really give marriage counselling and date nights a try.
Granted, Barnes didn’t make things easy. Barnes is a workaholic, and we watched her choose work over marriage counseling at one point. If that happened on a regular basis, it’s not surprising that counseling didn’t work. However, it does seem like Charlotte only gave things a few months to change, and I’m not sure her heart was really in it.
After all, Charlotte had no qualms about bringing up the name of the woman she’d met. I couldn’t blame Barnes for being angry that the “homewrecker’s” name was brought up in their house. It just seemed like the writing was on the wall because Charlotte and Barnes didn’t talk about things before it go to breaking point.
A talk of divorce and children in FBI: Most Wanted
It came down to a talk of divorce. Charlotte made it clear that this is what she wants. On top of that, she’s moving to where her job is—where she can do more with her job.
This led to Barnes mentioning that Charlotte was leaving her and the children. Of course, Charlotte countered by saying that she wouldn’t be leaving the children. She wants to take the children with her.
It did seem odd that Charlotte just thought that Barnes would be okay with this. While Barnes is a workaholic, she is also a mom and she puts her efforts into making her children safe and loved. It’s not like she’s an absent parent. So, why would Charlotte think that she could just take the children without even having a real conversation about it?
This is what annoys me about Charlotte. She makes decisions for herself and doesn’t think about others around her. I’m not saying that Barnes is right, but neither is Charlotte. I get that feeling of loneliness, but a conversation needs to happen. Charlotte makes a lot of assumptions and decisions based on those assumptions. Charlotte didn’t really think about her children at this point. It was what she wanted and that was it.
Will Barnes feel her job is too dangerous?
Barnes made it clear that she wouldn’t let her children go. Despite Charlotte pointing out that it would mean a judge would need to make a choice, Barnes still refuses to let her children go. And I can’t blame her. Charlotte has thrown all of this on her without a discussion.
However, that was before Barnes was shot and almost killed on the latest case. She was shot in the leg, and she needed surgery to save her life. This could lead to Barnes feeling like Charlotte is the safer parent due to work related reasons.
We didn’t see the conversation that happened between Barnes and Charlotte in the hospital room when Remy left. There was nothing mentioned afterward either. It could mean that they didn’t have a talk about the kids—did Charlotte realize that having a conversation when Barnes had just come out of surgery was a bad idea?—or things may still be in the air as Barnes thinks about her work and what it would mean for the kids.
Considering Barnes’s job, it would make sense for Charlotte to take the kids. However, Jess proved that it was possible to raise a child while working with the Fugitive Task Force. Like Jess, Barnes has someone to help out while she’s away. Barnes’s mom is around, just like Jess had his late wife’s parents. Having a support system is important, which could allow Barnes to put up a fight to keep the kids in place rather than moving to a new place at the same time as a divorce.
We could see a custody battle happen in FBI: Most Wanted, and that could lead to things getting ugly.