FBI Review: Short Squeeze (Season 3 Episode 13)
On FBI, Season 3 Episode 13, “Short Squeeze,” we’re given some insight on exactly the type of man Agent Stuart Scola is, and we also learn a bit about the stock market!
Thankfully, they dumb it down for us several times, but even still, it made the episode hard to watch because I had to keep pausing it and going back to try and understand just how things worked. I know that’s my fault — but FBI was bold to do an entire episode on this topic.
For this exact reason, “Short Squeeze” wasn’t the episode for me. A new topic is always nice to see, but this topic is just so… boring. Give us Scola background, but at what cost?
As we know, Scola used to work on Wall Street until he got…fed up and decided to become an FBI agent instead. This episode does a fantastic job of showing us exactly why he chose to leave his old job and pursue something more fitting for him.
Usually, people come out change on an episode of FBI. They see things from a different point of view. A rich man sympathizes with the poor, a cop recognizes the struggles of sex workers, etc.
For “Short Squeeze”, this is lacking. The man who died, Tim Davis, ended up not having intentionally done anything wrong, and they didn’t even interview the man who killed him. At the same time, we have Nathan Gold (Tommy Dewey) lying through his teeth and not learning or even attempting to change a single thing.
Gold was kidnapped and it was made public knowledge (though, through hearsay) that his product didn’t work, that a boy died, and still he went on TV and touted his company and its successes.
There’s also the other horrible side of this story: capitalism. When the FBI requests that Kix (no, not the cereal, the fictional drug company) send a PR person (Victoire Charles) to reveal that the drugs don’t work to a fake news station, the woman actually says no out of fear of being fired.
Look, I know work isn’t there for you to love your boss, but letting them die because you’d be fired otherwise? That’s harsh. That’s scary. If your boss is willing to fire you because you “lie” to a fake newsperson while there’s a gun to his head, maybe your boss never really valued you at all.
In almost direct contrast, Isobel steps right into the role of Head of Research for Kix, ensuring that none of her other agents have to.
The strangest thing about all of this was that while we were learning more about Scola and how he feels about Wall Street, it feels almost out of character. Scola is usually very by the book and he gets on Tiffany all the time for it, so why now did he decide to go threaten Nathan Gold?
Imagine telling your boss that you, an FBI agent, threatened a man worth $2 billion. Scola, please.
In an almost out-of-place scene, Jubal asking Nathan about his leukemia drugs was odd. Nathan Gold was literally kidnapped for his lies, but Jubal thinks Nathan won’t lie to him for some reason.
Scola and Tiffany spoke directly to a woman about how the trial for the leukemia drugs didn’t have any improvements on 200 sick children, and that one of them died. It’s hard to believe that they didn’t report that information back to the JOC.
Here’s the thing about Off Brand Dan Stevens: he’s not totally and completely wrong. Yes, promising results that won’t come for another ten years and having no data behind it while asking people to pay for his business is wrong and unfair.
But if he then uses that money to help his business, and finds ways to cure things like cancer with honest, hard-earned data, is it stealing from people? Or are they just contributing to science?
It’s a hard line to grapple on, but when you begin to see dollar signs over human lives, that’s when you know you’ve become the wrong kind of person.
Finding out that Scola is rich was the best thing about “Short Squeeze,” and all I want is for Tiffany to tease him about it relentlessly now.
What did you think of this episode of FBI? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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FBI airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on CBS.
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Laura Wanberg
Laura is a homebody who loves everything about TV. Some of her favorite shows include Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Parks and Recreation, and The Morning Show. With her ever-growing list of new shows to watch and books to read, her favorite thing to do is to cuddle up with her cat and get lost in someone else's world.