SPOILER ALERT: The following reveals major plot points from the CBS series FBI: International series finale, which aired tonight.
Nobody was ready to say goodbye to FBI: International in tonight’s finale, titled “Gaijin,” but alas, all good things must end.
The series, alongside FBI: Most Wanted, was canceled in March, with only the mothership series, FBI, set to continue into the 2025 to 2026 TV season. Although both shows were abandoned, a new one was lined up, tentatively called FBI: CIA, to be led by Tom Ellis.
Tonight, it’s a bittersweet goodbye, considering viewers were grooving with the show’s new lead actor, Jesse Lee Soffer, who joined the cast this season after starring in NBC’s Chicago P.D.
In Gaijin, Soffer’s FBI: International character Wes Mitchell is in Tokyo, where Heather Washburn, an American woman, has disappeared, following her hosting job the night prior. She is the sixth American woman to disappear without a trace in Japan.
Earlier in the episode, viewers watch as a creepy bar-goer attempts to make small talk with Heather, but she shoots him down. Later, when she was ready to go home, she took an Uber that, unbeknownst to her, was being driven by the guy who tried speaking at the high-end club in the Roppongi District where she works.
The relentless driver tells the young woman that the air conditioner isn’t working, before offering her a cool bottle of water. The young woman gulps it down, not realizing it is laced with a sedative. Very quickly, she falls asleep and is now completely vulnerable to the stranger. After that ride, Heather disappears.
The next day, her worried mother is trying to aid in the search and is frustrated that local police aren’t allowing her to do more.
Elsewhere, Lloyd Acuff is exposed as a person of interest, giving Wes and his local counterpart, Reiko Isokawa (Yoriko Haraguchi), a trail to begin their search. They speak to Acuff about the missing woman, sharing that he was spotted at that nightclub, a fact which he denies. He claims he was asleep during the hours in question, before pointing Wes and Reiko in another direction. Wes is certain Lloyd is their man, but they have to work fast to find evidence in the hope she is found alive.
Wes and Reiko find a new lead, a woman who had a similar interaction with an American and a Japanese man, who could’ve also been one of Lloyd’s victims. The detectives reconnect with Heather’s mother, who shares that she’s met a man who wants to help her find her daughter. Yes, it’s Lloyd, the one and only. Reiko tells Heather’s mother that Lloyd is the main suspect in her daughter’s disappearance, along with 13 others. Hopeful, Heather’s mother doesn’t want to hear that this man won’t be able to assist in finding her missing child.
Wes is tipped off about a building undergoing remodeling, the perfect place for a psycho to take advantage of someone away from prying eyes. A bondage room was discovered with Polaroids left behind of many more victims than they anticipated. Forensics discovered that at least 54 victims were found in the images, much more than originally believed, and there could be more by final count.
Japan’s superintendent of police arrives on the scene and pulls Wes and Reiko off the case, effective immediately. Wes instantly tries to defend Reiko by taking the blame for the search of the home himself, but her suspension stands. Wes is directed to return to the U.S., however, he has 12 hours left to catch up with Lloyd.
Lloyd was found casually on the streets of Tokyo, and a chase ensues. He was slippery, but Wes eventually got him in a chokehold. The coward had a lethal pill to take if he got in a pickle, however, he wasn’t getting out of this that easily. Wes offers a trade: the pill for Heather’s location.
Wes miraculously locates Heather, and she’s bruised but alive. She is reunited with her mother while Lloyd is in the back of a police car, handcuffed and scowling. He asked Wes to keep his end of the deal and give him the suicide pill. Wes does so, and the cocky Lloyd tells him, “I had a good run.”
It’s a total laugh when Lloyd opens the pill box and finds it empty. Wes comes back to taunt him, “You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?” The look of desperation on Lloyd’s face is priceless.
Wes reunites with Reiko for a brief thank you and goodbye. She reveals she has been demoted for her role in breaking the rules to save Heather, but he encourages her to keep fighting.
Back in Pittsburgh, Wes is stateside and paying a visit to someone special, his sister Delilah.
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