FBI Review: An Imperfect Science (Season 2 Episode 4)
A nightclub shooting puts the team under intense scrutiny on FBI Season 2, Episode 4, “An Imperfect Science.” Doubt is the main theme, as a previously ignored threat leads everyone to believe that the shooting was preventable.
I have a confession to make: Sometimes, but not often, Dick Wolf shows can bore me. The occasional episode of Law and Order: SVU or Chicago P.D. gets clogged with facts, making the hour dull and predictable. FBI sometimes falls victim to this trap, but thankfully avoids it this week. The hour keeps viewers on their toes by discussing a myriad of controversial topics alongside a satisfying, yet puzzling conclusion.
We’re starting to see Kristen, Scola, Maggie, and OA working as a unit. Broadening the scale on which these agents operate is so far one of my favorite things about Season 2, because it gives us more to emotionally invest in.
Character-wise, I’m in, but the theme of racial tension admittedly makes me weary to discuss the hour to its fullest extent. That sounds like a bad thing, but it’s actually the complete opposite. A hallmark of great television is something that makes you feel, and this episode quite literally makes you feel the agents’ uncertainty.
Kristen unfortunately bears the brunt of that uncertainty.
I don’t know who this Damon person is, but I hate him for getting in her head the way that he does. He practically preys upon her with his idea about leaking the story to the press — clearly just using her for her newfound status as a field agent. Kindly exit stage left, dude. Nobody messes with our girl.
Growing pains are to be expected, but I’m finding Kristen’s hard to stomach because I don’t see her as a newbie. I see her for the brilliant badass that she is — not the one she has yet to grow into.
Here’s the deal with Scola. He’s bland. Apart from the one detail about his brother, he’s just another FBI agent. While the jury is still out on him, though, I’m thankful for him being the voice of reason. He’s still a little boring to me, but this shows that he is a solid partner. If Kristen trusts him, I can, too.
Ivan’s confession to me is a no-brainer because it comes way too early and easily, but the disagreement amongst the group allows us to see just how strong they are as a team. Not only do they work out conflict, but everyone’s opinion carries equal weight. Maggie (and me) is the only one with doubts, but they hear her out and compromise instead of allowing the majority to drown her out.
This is quite the opposite of how Castille rolls in FBI Season 2, Episode 1, “Little Egypt,” where she won’t even acknowledge OA’s concern. Is this an odd double standard, or a completely different circumstance?
Castille still irks me. All she seems to care about is public image, and her relief at the end about “[dodging] a bullet” is worth a million eye rolls. Her desire to investigate why Threat Response didn’t — well — respond is admirable, but it’s too little, too late. I want to like you, Castille, but you’re really not making it easy.
So, let’s talk about that ending. This is probably the first time an episode of FBI has made me wide-eye at the screen. I would say “please don’t ever scare us like that again,” but it would only make the writers want to scare us more.
First off, good on Maggie for following her instinct that the shooter is inside, but following it up with a gunshot and OA falling to the ground is just terrifying. I’m not the “yell at the screen” type, but I definitely resisted the urge to repeatedly shout, “where is OA?” as Maggie makes her way inside.
Of course OA is hiding and waiting for the right moment to pounce. His getting the kill shot despite taking a shot to the vest leads to the one token partnership moment of the episode. It’s frustrating to get so little of their friendship week after week, but it’s nice when it happens because what we do get shows that their partnership is so strong.
Overall, it’s a solid episode of FBI, but I can’t help but wonder if the whole “jilted boyfriend” resolution cheapens the middle of the story. Starting with a mass shooting, then moving on to discuss racial tension, only to fake everyone out and say everything happened due to mere relationship drama, is a bit anticlimactic.
Hopefully, FBI will not be afraid to tackle these topics head-on in the future.
What did you think of this episode of FBI? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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FBI airs Tuesday at 9/8c on CBS.
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Gina Zippilli
Gina is the co-host of Meet Us At Molly’s, the first-ever Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago P.D. podcast. Outside of One Chicago, she has never met an ensemble-driven cop show, post-apocalyptic drama or true crime whodunit she has not liked.
3 comments
Sorry guys, I’m out from this series. I was a fan from the beginning, but the last 2 episode drove me away. Instead of doing with almost REAL cases of FBI, started to incept the Hollyweird agenda, of racism against people in America, which is NON-EXISTENT for 40-50 years and women empowerment, which again is the the agenda of 3rd wave feminism, feminists of today
are hated even by older feminists because they are not about women empowerment anymore… Black people are more racist than all of other races and this is coming from a black man. Our people are brainwashed by media and government and now people use this to create more chaos against all races and more so against white people. I don’t need white people to make things about me, just for the “WOKE agenda”… I don’t need that. Look up how that NYPD agent worked after the first suspect was caught, he didn’t wanted to wait to see the evidence, he forced a call to the press, he didn’t need anything… The story in the movies should be running like a sweet flow, not forced down our throat And this was what I loved about the show, the stories were quite real… Now with the Hollyweird “superior” agenda pushed, you lost me… When we will see a movie/episode of a series about a hate crime like the one Jussie Smollett did?!?!? Sorry guys, FBI lost a fan.
100% agree. This is an example of Hollywood, NBC, the ones behind the (divisive) woke agenda, etc utilizing predictive programming creating a racist narrative with the intentions of creating more division in our country. We don’t need help to sin in this fallen world. We need to encourage unity.
The one issue I had with this episode was at the end when Kristen was all but accusing Maggie of racial bias, when ironically enough SHE was the one displaying. She just assumed that the kid was guilty because he was a white racist, even when she couldn’t prove it. Then when others pointed out that the evidence wasn’t there she acted like they were trying to “protect” the kid because he was white.
I have no problem with the topic being discussed, but it needs to be mentioned that it cuts both ways and a character should be called out when they display it even if they’re a POC.
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