How did FBI: International write out Forrester?

As soon as we found out that Luke Kleintank was leaving FBI: International, we had one big question. How? How would the writers write out his character?

This exit comes as a shock for many. Kleintank shared that it was his choice as he wants to spend more time with his family, a similar reasoning Kellan Lutz gave when he left FBI: Most Wanted at the start of Season 3. It’s an understandable reason, as well. Kleintank films around Europe but his family is back in the States, and his wife has just had a baby. Of course, he wants to spend time with his young family.

Of course, cast exits mean character exits. We’ve had a couple of exits from the series so far, and they have involved characters going off to other jobs. Would this exit end up with the death of a character, similar to the way Julian McMahon’s Jess LaCroix? After all, Forrester hasn’t shown signs that he wants to leave the team.

What happened to Forrester in FBI: International?

The show took the Fly Team to London to deal with a former member of the IRA who had become a U.S. citizen. He’s found dead after sharing information about the IRA, leading to the Fly Team to come in to handle the situation.

While the personal storyline was linked to Smitty, who went to see her mom during the episode, we knew there was a weight over the episode with Forrester’s impending exit. There were just no signs in Forrester’s storyline that he would leave the team by choice, and that had us extremely concerned.

The show left it to the end without even giving us answers. The last scene was Forrester and the London cop shaking hands, with the rest of the episode focused on Smitty’s revelation about her father. If we didn’t know that Kleintank was leaving the series and this was his last episode, we would have had no idea.

The good news is that Forrester wasn’t killed off. The bad news is we’re still unsure why he won’t be around for the rest of the series.

How FBI: International could handle Forrester’s exit

The promo for the new episode gives us a hint of what’s going to happen. Forrester goes “dark,” and it looks like the team is sure that he’s been taken. Is it possible that while he hasn’t been killed off yet, he’s going to be killed off in the next episode and it’s going to happen off-screen?

This could open the door for Colin Donnell’s appearance as the big villain for the next two episodes. This could also allow Teri Polo to come in as the new team leader since we know that she could be upped to series regular in Season 4. Those are my theories anyway.

FBI: International airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on CBS.