When it comes to the world of TV, relationships tend to take time to develop. Here FBI: International is with a sudden spark that doesn’t quite make sense. And it shows a major problem that the writers have had this season.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for FBI: International season 4, episode 16
After dealing with his ex-girlfriend all episode, Wes Mitchell ended up getting drunk at a local bar. The bartender called Amanda to come and pick him up, which she raced over to do. It was after that that we got to see a spark that didn’t exist between the two of them.
Wes pointed out that people are often so busy looking elsewhere that they don’t see the person in front of them. Up to that point in the conversation, it looked like Wes and Amanda were just having a friendly conversation while Amanda looked out for her boss. This line even threw her off, but it opens up a potential relationship that doesn’t really make sense. In fact, it shows a major flaw in the writing this season.
FBI: International has focused too much on Wes’s backstory
We need to know a character’s backstory, especially if they’re coming in as a series regular. It’s important to get to know them and understand what makes them tick. FBI: International season 4 has spent all season doing that, and over the course of the last seven episodes or so, there has been a heavy focus on Wes’s life in the agency before the Fly Team.
We had Tyler Booth, and then Riley Quinn, who brought David Zaleski with her. Then just recently, Ella Driscoll turned back up. All of this furthered Wes’s storyline at the expense of other characters.
It’s not even like he showed any interest in Amanda Tate before the latest episode. While he spoke with her throughout cases and got information from her to help solve the case, he didn’t have any personal interactions with her until the most recent episode.
We don’t even know that much about Amanda, despite her being in the series since FBI: International season 3’s premiere. The writers seem to have forgotten that she is there for more than just hacking into computer systems.
There isn’t time to flesh out this relationship in FBI: International
It’s possible that Amanda will just brush Wes’s words off as the words of a drunk man who is dealing with the return and exit of his ex. However, there’s also a chance that this storyline would open up a relationship between the two. Amanda could start to see Wes in a different light, and he could start to think about what he said to her.
There isn’t enough time in the series to develop this relationship, though. Plus, the series has already done the relationship of a boss and his subordinate through Forrester and Kellett. Do we really need it to happen again?
Wes seems to be one of those people who jumps into the dating world too fast. We know that he was on the dating apps before this, and it’s only been a few months that he had broken up with Ella. Is it possible that he just doesn’t really know how to feel comfortable alone for too long? He puts too much at risk by looking for something with Amanda, especially when the relationship has shown no signs of being a potential up to this point.
FBI: International airs on Tuesdays at 9/8c on CBS. Catch up the following day on Paramount+.
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