Spoilers ahead for the Season 1 finale of FBI: International, called "Crestfallen."
The first season of FBI: International came to an end with an episode that brought back Elizabeth Mitchell as Angela Cassidy, but Forrester never reunited with his mom in the flesh and had to act on information he received during brief video calls with her. He went rogue to risk everything, which paid off when he (mostly) closed the case, but he was in a rough emotional place. Star Luke Kleintank spoke with CinemaBlend about Forrester's "ride or die" partnership within the Fly Team, but is the Fly Team about to lose a member?
Why Forrester Has A "Ride Or Die" Partner
The case of the finale was also set to be Jaeger's last one with the team, as she was promoted as part of Forrester and Co. saving her job earlier in the season. The episode ended with the team out for drinks to celebrate their coworker, and Forrester seemed to be slowly but surely perking up after his ordeal in Croatia. Kellett was there with a reassuring hand that seemed to help anchor him to the moment, and it was a lovely way to end the first season... if not for the killer with a grudge to hold against Forrester, but that's a potential mess for Season 2 to clean up!
The dynamic between Forrester and Kellett has been more or less at the core of the team from the very beginning, and the end of their romance wasn't the end of the show exploring and taking advantage of their bond. When we spoke ahead of the finale, Luke Kleintank shared his thoughts on the importance of Forrester and Kellett's relationship by the end of the first season:
At the end of the season, I think it is where it is at the moment. I think they're still figuring things out but at the core of it, they will do anything for one another. It's a 'ride or die' kind of situation. If she was going through something or she needed help, he would be right there. I think romantically, it becomes a little tough, because they don't want that to hurt any of [the others] so much to the point that they can't be with one another. They would rather just be in each other's presence then, if the romanticism is going to screw everything up. But they'll find a way.
"Ride or die" is a serious status when it comes to characters working a job with life-and-death stakes on a weekly basis, and they've both needed that support off and on already. And that's probably not going to change! Forrester could still be a long ways off from having closure about his relationship with his mom, and it certainly looks like he has a target on his back. The Fly Team may need to stick together on the whole, but is that possible in light of Jaeger's promotion?
Why Jaeger Is (Seemingly) Leaving The Fly Team
Jaeger worked her way up another rung on the Europol ladder by the end of Season 1, and she was on the verge of leaving the Fly Team in the finale. She just had to find the perfect replacement to fill her slot with the FBI agents. I honestly thought that something would happen by the end of the episode to make Jaeger realize that she couldn't leave this group, but that wasn't the case. In fact, she introduced Forrester to somebody who she's considering as her possible replacement: Dutch Europol Agent Astrid Jensen, played by Outlander's Lotte Verbeek and stationed in Croatia.
Jensen made a stellar first impression on Forrester, and seems like a pretty fantastic addition to the team, but is FBI: International really replacing such a key character as Jaeger after just one season? Was "Crestfallen" the last that viewers will see of Christiane Paul as a series regular? A lot may depend on whether or not International is planning on a time jump between the end of Season 1 and Season 2. I know that I wouldn't mind seeing more of Lotte Verbeek after her work on shows like Agent Carter, The Blacklist, and of course Outlander, but I'd hate to lose Paul as Jaeger.
Fans may have a while to wait before getting answers about who will and will not be the Europol member of the team, but the good news is that FBI: International has already been renewed for another two seasons at CBS, along with FBI (which planned for a high-stakes Season 4 finale) and FBI: Most Wanted (which ended after some major decisions by Dylan McDermott's Remy Scott). For some viewing options during the wait for the new seasons (if you're not rewatching the previous seasons with a Paramount+ subscription), be sure to check out our 2022 TV premiere schedule.
