Spoilers ahead for the winter premiere of FBI: International Season 2, called "Wheelman."
FBI: International returned to CBS with the winter premiere in the 2023 TV schedule, but it wasn't just back to business as usual for the Fly Team by the end of "Wheelman." Forrester was kept busy with analytics work elsewhere in Europe while Raines went undercover as part of an art heist requiring a getaway drive, with Kellett and the rest of the team helping as best they could with Ken Dandridge trying to slow them down. While they closed the case and Forrester was back in Budapest by the time the final credits rolled, his return came with a reveal about his fate that is bad news for the team.
Forrester and Kellett couldn't figure out why he was basically being shunted around Europe to do busywork for most of the episode, even with clues being dropped here and there that something was happening behind-the-scenes that didn't bode well for their team. At least part of the truth began to come out when Forrester confronted Dandridge about his three weeks of being kept out of cases. Dandridge finally revealed:
I had a chance to observe the Fly Team. The team you run, as you just reminded me. They are sloppy, undisciplined, and take unnecessary risks. They barely kept me apprised of their mission. In fact, I would say they deliberately went out of their way to keep me in the dark about what went on in Antwerp. I had to get the details through Europol. Two people died there due to your special agents' actions. And I don't blame Raines or Kellett or Vo. I blame you, their leader. So I'm here to let you know I spoke to the deputy commissioner in D.C. You're being transferred to the admin division in Alabama. You've got two weeks to wrap up here, and then you're gone.
Administration in Alabama sure is far away from leading a task force in Budapest! It seems safe to say that there's more going on with Forrester being banished to the South than just the Fly Team taking unnecessary risks, although we'll have to wait at least one more week to potentially find out more. When showrunner Derek Haas explained that Luke Kleintank was present in Season 2 less because he was a new father, he also previewed that Forrester's career would be in jeopardy and a major arc was on the way for him.
If Forrester is indeed shipped off to Alabama, that definitely doesn't bode well for the rest of the team. While Kellett has risen to the occasion of leading in his absence, the team has been counting on him coming back, so they undoubtedly won't be thrilled about this news. Plus, according to CBS' description for next week's episode – called "BHITW" – a new agent will be assigned to the team by Dandridge, and the promo suggests that it's not going to go well:
While there are definitely reasons to worry about the Fly Team losing Forrester (even if only temporarily) in Season 2, I'm just going to remember how it seemed that Jaeger was professionally doomed at Interpol in Season 1. Before long, her job was saved, she was promoted, and the Season 2 premiere revealed that she's flourishing... even if it's off-screen. If Jaeger's job could be saved, why not Forrester's?
Find out what the future holds for Forrester and the Fly Team with new episodes of FBI: International on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, between FBI at 8 p.m. and FBI: Most Wanted at 10 p.m. If you want to revisit simpler times before Alabama was on the horizon for Forrester, you can find earlier episodes streaming with a Paramount+ subscription!
