FBI Episode 6 and 7
Episode 6: Family Man
In episode six, the team investigates the kidnapping of a Senator’s daughter while he is running for reelection. Two-year-old Gracie Lynch—of Senator Gary Lynch (Eoin Bailey)—goes missing with her nanny while her parents are at a campaign event. The kidnappers are demanding one hundred million dollars and state that the Lynchs cannot involve the police or any law enforcement.
This means that Agents Zidan and Bell must work discretely within the home of the family. First, they investigate the nanny, but security footage proves she was also abducted. Her innocence is further proven when the van which abducted the pair turns up and her body is inside.
Skeletons In the Closet
Meanwhile, OA and Maggie continue to grill the Senator on skeletons of his past. They are curious about his Chief of Staff, but he doesn’t seem too suspicious. Kristen back at the bull pen finds out that Lynch had an affair with a hostess who later extorted him for money after he broke it off with her. The two go and see the woman, who is dying of ALS and has secretly been raising her son (that is also Lynch’s and he is unaware of) on her own. This gives her motive, but they can’t pin any details on her.
They move toward an old childhood friend of Lynch’s, Finn, who helped get rid of the hostess, Nicole Sousa, the first time. He declares that Gary is a good guy and that he hasn’t seen Sousa since the day he paid her off years ago.
Then, the kidnapper reaches out and tells them that they want to meet at a park. At the park, Lynch finds a letter demanding that the ransom must be converted to bitcoin, which makes it harder to trace. The family is willing to pay the money to get Gracie back and is about to do so when a reporter makes the story public.
Tension Builds
This happens because Gary’s Chief of Staff tries to stop the story about his affair from going public, figuring the baby’s kidnapping would garner him more sympathy. This infuriates the kidnapper, who immediately calls Gary and tells them that they’re going to kill her. We hear Gracie crying as tension builds.
At the bullpen, Mosier tells the family to keep hope, which bothers Maggie. We learn a little bit of her past—she was recruited into the bureau from Indiana where she worked a similar kidnapping case, except it did not end well despite the promise she made the family saying otherwise. She can’t understand why Mosier would give them false hope knowing how it worked out for her years ago. Mosier declares it does not matter, the hope is what will keep them going.
No Leads, who did it?
They are scrambling to find a lead, clearly running out of time. Bell and Zidan wonder if it’s a set up by the Senator, but he still seems honestly anguished by his daughter’s disappearance. They decide to go back to the hostess’s apartment where they find she took pain pills and overdosed. Horrifically, she tried to do the same to her son. They find a pulse on the boy and rush him to the car, where OA keeps Narcan in the back. This impresses Maggie and the boy comes to. They realize Sousa’s involvement but the ability to do it not on her own, considering her medical condition. Details point to Finn who has been lying all along.
Alls well that ends well…
He won’t give them a motive, so they bring Gary into the room. He says that he asked Gary for a favor and that Gary wouldn’t help him. Gary says he couldn’t make a criminal charge go away for Finn’s son, who recently died in jail. Finn is bitter, he set everything up and set up Sousa. Gary begs him to tell the bureau where Gracie is, that she is innocent in all of this.
He eventually complies, they find her being guarded by men and bring her back, alive, to the station. The family is reunited, and Maggie apologizes to Mosier for being incorrect. Mosier tells her she did nothing wrong.
As Maggie goes to leave for the day, Gary’s wife asks her if she can adopt Nathan, the little boy who is his son. Maggie says she’s sure they can find a way.
Overall thoughts:
- Maggie’s background as a cop in Indiana was interesting. Her experience makes her who she is, and it shows within the episode. She doesn’t want to get this wrong and she knows how crucial timing is in an abduction of a child. Still, her empathy is clear, and we see how driven she is to bring home the child despite her annoyance with Gary Lynch’s secrets.
- I, like Maggie, was surprised to see that OA carries Narcan in the back of the SUV. While he doesn’t give reasoning for this, I find it both smart and awesome that he’s prepared. He was able to save that kid’s life. I do wonder if he had something personal happen, or if he just realizes how severe the opioid crisis has become in our country. New York, especially the boroughs, has high addiction and overdose rates. It’s smart that an agent thinks ahead. Score one for OA!
Other Thoughts:
- Nice to see Eoin Bailey on the TV! I enjoyed his character on Covert Affairs and his guest appearance on Law and Order: SVU a few years back. He is a bit of a chameleon … never looks the same!
- Grief. OA’s stare. When he’s furious with Finnegan over the lies, I feel as if he could literally kill him with that stare. I’m totally looking forward to when that stare is behind something personal to him. Imagine in the future if someone tries to harm someone on the team. Can you hear the bad guy giving in now? Zeeko Zaki, your looks can cause homicide.
Episode 7: Cops and Robbers
This week we join two armored vehicle drivers as they bicker to their destination. They come to a stop when they notice two cops with a seemingly drunk man on the side and ask how long it’ll be as they are blocking the road. It is then when the so-called cops pull a gun and rob the truck, injuring both drivers but not killing them. OA and Maggie are able to find one of the cars used in the attack because of surveillance video and can make an ID on one because of a unique car sticker.
They meet with the owner who has an alibi. However, the owner of the vehicle’s brother has two priors, lives in the same house and has access to his car. Nick Salerno becomes their prime suspect. What makes this even better? Salerno used to work for the armored truck company robbed: Conserva. Agents Zidan and Bell go speak to an employee of the company, Jason Morgan who shares that Salerno was fired because of his lack of work skills. He doesn’t think that he’s a bad guy though. In the office, OA notices that Morgan was an Army Ranger and they share a moment.
From Hold Ups to IEDs…
Back at the bullpen, Jubal lets the team know that they have a match on the saliva sample pulled from the injured driver’s face. It matches Nick Salerno. They go to arrest him, but when they arrive he’s already dead. From this, they investigate the other construction workers who were watching them interview Salerno the day previous. It is Bell’s idea that maybe the crew works with him. They confirm another suspect: Dan Healy who Salerno worked with from facial recognition and the drivers’ ID.
As they’re looking to pick him up, a call comes in. There was another attack on Conserva trucks, but this time it is a bomb. It seriously injured one driver and the other hid. As they’re checking out the scene, OA discovers another bomb and they are barely able to move everyone in time before it goes off.
An Unusual Suspect
The team confirms Dan Healy stole the C4 used in the bomb from the construction company and he is in the wind. Through more security footage near Healy’s address, they confirm their third suspect: Ryan Jenkins. However, there is a surprise. OA recognizes Conserva employee Jason Morgan with the team. The team returns to Conserva, but Morgan isn’t there. A manager tells them that he’s a good kid, having a hard time since returning from war. He admits he’s failed a drug test and has been drinking a bit too much. He also reveals that Morgan is dating someone in the company who has access to the routes of the trucks, taking him from a person of interest to a definite suspect.
They take him in and Mosier tells the duo they’ll make him a deal, but he must cooperate now. OA pushes back for him, saying that he’s a veteran and that what he did overseas for his country doesn’t just go away. In the interrogation room, OA tells a story about witnessing one of his buddies be killed and then he himself getting stuck in a basement for three days, unsure if he would live or die. It helps convince Morgan to cooperate, but OA tells Bell that it was just a story to get him to talk and that it wasn’t real. Mosier tells Bell that his file says otherwise. She wants Bell to keep a close eye on OA for the case; he’s too close to it she believes and worries it might cloud his judgement.
He Won’t Go Back…
Zidan and Bell set up a sting of sorts to flush out Healy and Jenkins using Morgan as their insider. He is to meet up with Jenkins in a warehouse. Once inside, Jenkins puts the radio on loud, making OA think that he’s going to kill Morgan and therefore having OA decide to rush inside the building without waiting for backup despite Maggie’s pleas otherwise. Once inside, they can’t find either man and head to the room where the radio is playing. The door slams shut and Maggie notices there is wiring… the door has a bomb!
OA, with his expertise, can dismantle it as it is not sophisticated. He apologizes to Maggie outside and the two rush, with the aid of the rest of the team, to follow where the two went on foot. They’re able to capture Healy and Jenkins, but it is OA who rushes after Morgan. He pins him against the marina, where Morgan states that he can’t go to jail. He’s clearly distraught and this makes him a threat. He reveals a gun on his waistband and OA begs him to not make him do this. He repeats that he can’t go into a cage, as he was a prisoner of war for three months and he won’t do it again.
I’m Your Partner
Zidan won’t take the shot. From the side, Maggie takes a non-lethal hit and they arrest him. Mosier asks what the hell happened and Maggie backs OA, not telling the truth. She asks him once they are alone if he is okay and if he wants to talk. She reminds him that she is his partner and that is what she is here for. He brushes her off. They soon find out that Morgan will survive.
The episode ends with Zidan standing outside of Maggie’s apartment in the rain when she comes home. He wants to take her up on her offer. The duo heads inside and we fade to black.
Overall Thoughts:
- Hello Jubal’s Pencil! It is hilarious how this has become a part of the show. Now, I can’t go an episode without looking to see if he’s going to have it in the scene.
- OA’s story. I had a feeling that we would see this soon. And it was heartbreaking to hear. OA was a Captain in the Army and the show has hinted previously that he’s seen some heavy stuff. But the story about being stuck in a basement of a building for three days and not being sure if he’d survive brought me back to his feelings during episode five where he told Bell why he felt so strongly about leaking information. It makes sense now.
Specifically about Veterans:
- You can tell he hasn’t quite come to terms with what has happened, but I’m glad the show isn’t going straight to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with him. He clearly is of sound mind or he wouldn’t be on duty with the FBI. That said, there are always triggers in life which can bring back bad memories and sometimes make it hard to focus. We all have things in our lives that we’ll take more personal than others, OA’s just happens to be the military. So, it’s understandable that he wanted to help Morgan and I’m glad that he sought out Maggie’s ear when everything didn’t go to plan. This duo’s trust and friendship is going to be what makes or breaks the team, both in the show’s universe and on air. We as fans love a great duo and they’re on their way to it.
- I also enjoy that they tend to humanize the people who are the criminals on the show. Morgan was a guy who didn’t mean for what happened to happen but sank anyway. He’s not a one-dimensional bad guy.
A Trend?
- That said, I’m starting to notice a weird trend and I’m hoping it doesn’t continue. In episode one, OA bonds with an Army veteran who turns out to be a bad guy. In episode five, we have another Army veteran who turns out to be a bad guy. And again, in episode seven now, we have the same. It’s a little disheartening that each time we’ve met someone with a military background that they’re immediately a problem in the show.
- I know they are trying to set up OA’s backstory for us, but there are ways to do that without making others look bad. We’re only seven episodes in and the ratio is high. I hope it’s just a coincidence, but we already heard what Maggie thinks about those in this episode. I get that it happens in real life, but it doesn’t help the public’s opinion on returning veterans. It paints those returning as unstable and criminal which is not the case. A minority doesn’t define a majority. And with so many eyes on this show, I just hope they realize what that might give to the opinion of their audience.
And A Reminder:
- Finally, if you or someone you know is a veteran struggling with mental health issues, please do not hesitate to reach out. There is nothing wrong with you and you are not alone. There are resources to help: a) Dial 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1 to talk to someone. b) Send a text message to 838255 to connect with a VA responder. c) Start a confidential online chat session at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.
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