FBI Episode 13
The episode starts with a banker arguing with a customer. Defeated, the customer goes to wait as two men in ski masks attempt to rob the bank. Much to their chagrin, the annoyed customer happens to be an off-duty NYPD officer. He opens fire and takes several hits for his troubles, but not before injuring one of the robbers in the process. One of the tellers sounds the alarm and the wounded robbers take off.
After the signature title card, Jubal is talking with a woman when he gets notification on the robbery. She asks if she’ll see him on Saturday and he says yeah. She leans in and for a second, it looks like they seem intimate, but then they only hug. Maybe she’s from his AA meetings?
“This one’s personal.”
At the scene, Bell and Zidan question the bank teller. The officer who helped stop the robbery has died, but they also learn that the attack might’ve been personal. The robbers handed the teller a note which said they knew what school her son goes to and to not trigger the alarm.
Fellow officers of the Major Case Squad admit this isn’t the first time they’ve seen robberies like this before. At the JOC, Valentine explains that there was a string of robberies last year with the same MO. The security footage shows the scene and Valentine says witnesses identified one robber as a woman. She screamed when she was shot in the leg. Mosier tells the others to call local hospitals to look out for the injury.
The other robber is a male and from the footage, the boss. They worry he might strike again soon as he did not get the money he came in for.
“Wake up call, Matty.”
A break in the case is made. The bullets match another gun used in a home robbery from five years ago, Matt Tolan was arrested for the crime. Kristen reveals he was released from Rikers three weeks ago. Bell, Zidan and SWAT raid his sister’s apartment, where they find him sleeping. He is oddly cooperative even as they get him into the interrogation room.
Matt has an alibi and reveals the gun he used in the home robbery years ago didn’t belong to him. It belongs to a Patrick Cross. He says they did a string of robberies together years ago, but they haven’t spoken in a long time. Matt says it was Cross who did the home invasion, not him.
Meanwhile, Kristen goes to talk to Valentine, who is arguing on the phone with someone. He tells Kristen that he was arguing with his ex-wife about his son. Did we know that Valentine has a son? This is interesting. It also explains the weird, almost intimate hug between the two earlier… they were once an item, after all.
She also tells Valentine that Tolan’s alibi is airtight, but no one has seen or heard from Cross in months.
“Looks like Bonnie and Clyde struck again.”
As the FBI expands their search, a robbery happens at a bodega downtown. The suspects have struck again, except this time they are spiraling, trying to get the money and get out. Bell examines the note to realize this. A female witness overheard the female robber refer to the male as Pat.
At the JOC, we learn that Cross witnessed his father murder his entire family. He was in foster care until he moved in with Matt Tolan’s family.
The two robbers stole phones from the bodega and the team traces their location through them, as well as stealing a vehicle. They corner them just before the duo escape through the Holland Tunnel, but because it is a busy street corner they take cover in a restaurant with hostages.
The female is Julia Parker; she went missing months ago. The team tries to figure out if she is a victim too or a willing participant. Jubal talks to her father, who swears the former.
“Your so-called victim just shot a damn hostage.”
At the scene however while OA tries to talk to Patrick Cross, Julia shoots a hostage. Cross makes demands, but Maggie advocates for Julia because the hostage rushed her. The NYPD are on edge; one of their own is dead. The FBI is has a ten-minute ultimatum. Maggie says if they rush in, she’ll have the officer’s badge.
At the JOC, Kristen proves that the person at the bank with Cross is not Julia. This person is shorter than her, implying that Julia is in fact a victim like Maggie believes.
Jubal informs Maggie of this new information and tells him the blood splatter from the bank matches another missing girl, Katharine James. Kristen points out the girls’ wrists; they have abrasions on them, proof both girls were restrained. This also proves both are being held captive.
With this knowledge, the NYPD agrees that Cross is the only target, only now he is making it impossible for SWAT to get into the restaurant. They both agree that he may also be the only way to find Katharine James alive. Time is running out.
When all else fails…
They turn to the only person they believe might be able to get through to him: his imprisoned father. He won’t speak to them, but their father is able to pinpoint an apartment where they lived. Because Patrick and Julia appeared on surveillance cameras near that area, this might be a lead. The team heads there in search of Katharine.
Jubal finds Katharine inside chained up but alive. She tells them that Julia would not have shot Patrick or run when she had the chance earlier because they protect each other. They are always tied and blindfolded, so it would be the only way to find her.
“We had a pact. We always go back for the other. No matter what.”
At the hostage scene, OA convinces Patrick to send in an EMT for the shooting victim. The “EMT” is Maggie. She attempts to contact Julia, but he is making it difficult. Finally, she gets her to bring ice over to the victim and shows Julia the bracelet that Katharine wears. This gets Patrick’s attention and he gets angry. Maggie, realizing, there is no coming back from this, tackles him. He is about to shoot her during the shuffle when Julia shoots him multiple times.
The girls are reunite with each other and their families.
“What is he looking for? Family. We all need one.”
The episode ends with Jubal going to his son’s birthday party.
This is a slower episode. We get a little more background on Valentine’s personal life, which is conveniently placed in an episode centered around family. He makes several comments in the episode which shows his contempt about going to the party but shows up anyway. Otherwise, there isn’t much to say.
Maggie seems a bit unsure when she questions Dana at the end of the episode for Patrick’s motive. She fought hard for these victims the entire episode—it’s a nice instinct to see in an agent. She could have backed down, but she didn’t.
Overall, it’s a solid episode, granted on the slower side. As we head into the latter half of the first season, I would assume action will pick up. With just eight episodes until our finale, there must be something big headed the team’s way.
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