Full disclosure – I’ve a love-hate relationship with tv creator and producer Dick Wolfe. I really like his Regulation & Order franchise however by no means bought into his Chicago sequence of exhibits. I tune in for FBI: Most Needed however discover that I’m not considering Wolfe’s different exhibits on this sequence, the FBI, or FBI Worldwide. For me, watching TV is like discovering companionship on a courting app. Each might be filled with surprises and typically (most occasions) a little bit of a disappointment. You begin with excessive hopes, browse, and select primarily based on first impressions.
“Varsity Blues” – FBI: MOST WANTED, Pictured: Dylan McDermott as Supervisory Particular Agent Remy Scott. Photograph: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The present opens with a younger lady ready for a prepare. The digital camera pans to her face, and we see she’s hella distressed. Viewers know she’s gonna leap. To not be macabre, however this crime procedural is doing its job as a result of the viewer instantly wonders: Who’s she? Why did she leap? Why is the digital camera lingering on the backpack? Suicide isn’t against the law, so how will the FBI FTF become involved?
It seems that the younger lady who jumped shouldn’t be the sufferer. The sufferer is without doubt one of the younger males who performed a pivotal position within the lady’s choice to finish her life. Agent Scott and his crew spring into motion when this child goes lacking. I really like his plucky crew, brokers Nina Chase, Ray Cannon, and Hana Gibson. All of them have a young toughness about them that makes them extremely watchable. Though I fault crime procedurals, normally, for being too skimpy on character improvement, FBI Most Needed a minimum of tries. For instance, the episode features a aspect story regarding Ray’s expertise as a brand new husband and stepfather to Cora and Caleb, respectively. Moreover offering precious, constructive illustration of Black males and boys in a police drama, this subplot was a welcomed palette cleanser from its harrowing storyline – however again to the crime.
“Varsity Blues” – FBI: MOST WANTED, Pictured: (L-R): Dylan McDermott as Supervisory Particular Agent Remy Scott, Shantel VanSanten as Particular Agent Nina Chase, Edwin Hodge as Particular Agent Ray Cannon, and Keisha Fort-Hughes as Particular Agent Hana Gibson. Mark Schafer/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
A younger man, Zac, goes lacking. He is taken by two teen women looking for to get revenge for his or her pal (Maria) who dedicated suicide. Maria was the goal of cyberbullying. Zac and his dude-bro, Will, created and leaked deep-faked nude photos of Maria. We finally study via the FBI’s investigation that Maria’s father didn’t consider her when she denied posing for these photos and compelled her to admit her non-existent sin at church. It was all an excessive amount of for Maria…and she or he did what she did.
All the kids on this episode make horrible selections. For example, the teenager women, or ‘imply women’ as Remy referred to as them, are terrifying. They manipulate Zac into creating and sharing deepfakes of nudes of his pal Will. Additionally they try and power Zak into making a deepfake intercourse video that includes him and Will. The video is supposed to be insurance coverage in opposition to him ratting them out. Okay, they need Will to get a style of his personal drugs. However kidnapping and stabbing Zac to coerce his cooperation? That’s excessive.
“Varsity Blues” – FBI: MOST WANTED, Pictured: Dylan McDermott as Supervisory Particular Agent Remy Scott. Photograph: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
These actions present that as a result of the teenager mind continues to be growing, they will lack impulse management, rendering them incapable of creating affordable selections or contemplating the long-term implications of their actions. Think about the proof: Maria is useless; Brook and Kaitlin are kidnappers and (eventual) murderers; and Will steals his father’s gun, considering suicide and doubtlessly harming others. The youngsters aren’t all proper.
The illustration of Gen Z, with their spectacular tech acumen, is an enormous, scary mess! The affect of deepfakes, the focusing on of younger women, and the emotional toll it will possibly tackle household and associates is profoundly damaging. As Remy and the FBI discover themselves in Will’s crosshairs, we see how the deepfakes the teenager creates may erode the general public’s confidence in legislation enforcement. Particular Agent Nina Chase asks, “Are deepfakes truly considered a crime?” The response is, “Maybe.”
“Varsity Blues” – FBI: MOST WANTED, Pictured: (L-R): Dylan McDermott as Supervisory Particular Agent Remy Scott and Shantel VanSanten as Particular Agent Nina Chase. Photograph: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Like Hansel and Gretel, who go away breadcrumbs to search out their approach again house, Remy’s crew expertly gathers every breadcrumb that leads them to the home the place Brook and Kaitlin killed Zac. I loved the reveal of the tiniest clue, like Ray determining, primarily based on the place of the motive force’s seat, that Zac was not the final driver of his automobile. The satisfaction derived from exhibits like The FBI Most Needed is in consuming the breadcrumbs – making a meal for the viewer as they journey from chaos (of the crime) to readability (of prison apprehension). This episode’s energy lies in its transformation from dysfunction to order, but leaving viewers unsettled about social engineering, the looming hazard of AI and deepfakes, and the psychological well being and wellness of a era of digital natives who’ve by no means lived in a world with out being immersed in expertise.
Possibly this nervousness is only a child boomer’s concern? How involved are you about AI, deepfakes, and Gen Z? Are you a fan of this present? If that’s the case, hit me up together with your feedback about why?
General Ranking:
9/10
Lynette Jones
