Saturday, November 3, 2018

FBI - Family Man


When a United States Senator's (Eion Bailey) daughter is kidnapped Agents Maggie Bell (Missy Peregrym) and OA (Zeeko Zaki) lead the FBI in search of the kidnappers who are demanding an $100 million ransom. The investigation isn't helped by the Senator's unwillingness to disclose information about an old affair or enemies from his past with grudges. And after a reporter breaks the news, the chance of finding the baby alive drops even more.

The choice to make the media (even a single reporter, played by Julee Cerda) a villain in the episode by being heartless enough to break the story knowing it endangered the baby's life (which her publisher would know as well) is a writing choice that feels more than a little like a dig at the media in general. However, given the ticking clock, the Senator's secrets, and the kidnappers' nervousness, "Family Man" keeps the tension high throughout the investigation. While I understand the show going for the happy ending, had it gone for a more realistic outcome I think the episode would have hit home far more powerfully. In terms of the larger series the episode is also notable for revealing a failed kidnapping case from Maggie's case which brought her to the attention of the FBI (but failed to save the victim).

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