Is it Me You’re Looking For?
The team sets up at Lighthouse Park where Green Bird and Tara meet. Tara must go because he has seen her picture, but it is a setup, Green Bird sent a woman in his place. It is seemingly a test of loyalty. They arrest the woman; her name is Nita Kayati and she believes she is Green Bird’s right-hand woman.
We see a BADASS interrogation scene between OA and Nita. He sets up a wonderful and honest representation of what real Islam is, and is able to get information out of her when she realizes she is not the only one Green Bird has promised things. She admits she has never met Green Bird but tells them there are three other girls who are going to do the same thing Caroline did in Manhattan.
Hello FBI…
The original Dark Jihad site is down, and there is a disturbing message up for the team, a taunting “Hello FBI” to end the message. They can access some conversation between the site master and Green Bird (who we eventually learn is Barhom) where he admits he wants to do these attacks cross country, New York is just the starting location.
OA looks at the scene with a haunted expression, and Bell notices. He admits that Barhom previously bombed an apartment building in the Middle East while he was undercover, killing 39 people. They were not able to stop him.
The partners discover one of the girls at a Farmers Market, and luckily can stop the attack before too many people ingest the fruit. They take down the girl, Hakeema Bassey, and find she was not injected by the sprayer. She was on her way to meet Barhom when they catch her. They find out they were to meet at the ferry, and head there.
The Past Returns…
OA and Bell split when they arrive, and OA spots him. The intensity in OA’s eyes during this scene is intense. He calls out to him, and he takes a woman hostage with a knife. They exchange words, and you can hear the hatred in OA’s voice for Barhom. He shoots Barhom in the head, and he falls to the ground.
The episode ends with OA and Bell discussing how vulnerable these girls were, and we see Bell reaching out to Tara in an email as the screen fades to black.
What I liked:
- I LOVED seeing a little background on what OA did undercover while in the military. Huge kudos to Zeeko Zaki for his acting in this episode. The anger and hatred he had for Barhom was evident and made me feel it too. I also loved his interrogation scene with Nita, where he discusses Islam; I think it was important for the show to detail that he is not just a token character. They did this well. You also see it in the scene with Caroline’s mom, when he tells her he’s asking as a man of Muslim faith. Overall, they’re doing a great job with the portrayal thus far.
- Maggie’s quick comment to OA about mansplaining. I found it humorous and not necessarily a real dig. You can tell how the two of them interact that they’ve been a team for a little while and know each other well. You can see this in the very beginning when Bell steps over the police line, and when they share looks. I truly am enjoying their chemistry. It is not over the top, but it is very fitting. They look great on screen together, but it’s not a forced “romance” line where you feel like the writers want them together now
I Liked A lot…
- Sela Ward’s entrance. It was awesome. She came onto the screen like a literal breath of fresh air. Not to speak badly of Connie Nielson, but the chemistry and overall feeling with Ward as Special Agent in Charge is much better. She has an ease to her, like the role was meant to be played by Ward. This isn’t surprising given her past track record with other shows like CSI. I found the scene charming and humorous.
- The overall push and pull of the talks of ISIS and extreme Islam. I feel as if it is very easy in today’s political climate to write episodes like this with good intentions, but bad outcomes, and this is not one of those cases. It also makes you nervous for everyday living. The food was poisoned in a food court that people frequented in a Manhattan deli. As a New Yorker, that is scary. I think as much as it is scary, it means it resonates. If a show isn’t resonating with fans, it’s doing something wrong.
- Maggie, all around. I was a little worried she might come off as this “false” hero after episode one, where we see cracks in her character. She seems to have recovered well from that case and she’s much clearer and sure of herself this episode. At the same time, we get a little hint into her own past to how she reacts to the teenage girls. I think that makes her real. She might be a FBI agent—a trained government official, but she still knows and remembers that time in her life. Again, it resonates with fans who have been there.
What I didn’t like:
Again, nothing is glaringly horrible to me.
Questions I have:
- At the end of the episode, we see OA at his desk while he talks to Bell about the case. There are ample awards on a display there. I am not an expert in that sort of thing, but I’m assuming they are from his military service. We’ve gotten bits and pieces in episode one and two, and I’m dying for more. I hope we get a centric episode, sort of how Barhom got to him in this episode, where he deals with someone directly from his past. I think we’ll see a wonderful dive into his character there, and I think it’ll make Zaki as an actor shine. His eyes tell so much in dramatic scenes, and I need more.
More Questions…
- We see, as I mentioned previously, Bell speak about how she struggled as a teen. I feel as if she probably had a rough time as a teenager. This followed up by whatever happened to her husband probably hurt her. This was mentioned this in my last review, but I am a huge fan of characterization and what makes the characters we know and love tick. I can’t wait to delve into all their backstories.
- Dana Mosier is as a profiler. And from the little hints she gives the team during this episode, a pretty damn good one (also mentioned by Agent Valentine). Why did she transfer? Did something happen? We see no mention of it in the episode, but that doesn’t mean anything. We’re only on episode two. I also wonder how this will tie into future episodes. Fans of other CBS shows like Criminal Minds know how important profilers are to the FBI.
- FBI is doing incredibly well in ratings, having beaten out This is Us this week in their timeslot. I’m hoping this continues, as it kept 97 percent of its audience.
Tune in Next Week…
Again, another excellent, well-written episode. This is a show that fans of Dick Wolf’s work will not want to miss.
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