Spoilers ahead for the April 11 episode of FBI: International on CBS, called “Jealous Mistress.”
FBI: International was back to business as usual in this week’s episode, on the heels of the global crossover event with FBI and FBI: Most Wanted that pushed the agents’ limits with an unprecedented threat and a major betrayal. The Fly Team headed to Austria per the request of the First Lady of the United States after the attack of an American prima ballerina by the name of Nicolette. It made for an emotional hour of television, which involved Vo opening up about the choice that ultimately led her to become an FBI agent… and how the choice wasn’t hers.
While the Fly Team was only assisting Austrian investigators in Vienna because the FLOTUS (who was a donor to the ballet) made a call, Vo was personally invested in getting justice for Nicolette from very early on. It quickly became clear that it wasn’t just because a prima ballerina being attacked with acid in the face just before her debut as a lead was particularly gruesome. I initially thought that we would learn that Vo had been a dancer in her pre-FBI days, but the truth was a little different when Vo opened up to Nicolette. She said:
My mom, she put me in piano classes when I was eight. From fumbling with simple chords to playing Mozart’s ‘Rondo All Turca’ by ten. And I fell in love. By senior year, acceptance letters from Berklee School of Music and Juilliard came. My parents saw value in the arts, but not as a career. And they chose West Point for me. We don’t always get to pursue the gifts we’re born with. But I excelled in the army, and when the Bureau came calling, I chose a new path. It’s one where I get to help people, and I don’t regret it for a minute.
Who would have guessed that Vo could have been a Julliard-trained pianist in a life where she’d been able to make her own choice about the career to pursue? She didn’t drop details about what happened when her parents chose West Point or if she put up a fight to study music instead, and I was once again left with more questions about her history. It’s good to know that she has no regrets, although she seemed wistful when she told the story to Nicolette.
The story did help Nicolette feel comfortable opening up to Vo, which in turn helped the Fly Team make the breaks they needed to close the case and get justice for the dancer being attacked. Heartbreakingly, however, getting justice couldn’t undo the physical damage that was done to her, which was enough to completely ruin her chances of returning to the stage as a prima ballerina. She couldn’t see a future in dance, and she had poured years and made sacrifices in service of advancing her career.
All in all, it seemed like “Jealous Mistress” was going to end on the downer of Nicolette having to choose a new path because she no longer had any chance in the dance world, which made it all the better when Vo showed up in her hospital room, having helped arrange a live stream of opening night of the ballet so that Nicolette could watch. The dancer asked if Vo’s parents truly had made her attend West Point instead of Juilliard, and the agent responded:
They did, and I was angry at the time, of course. But now, I look back and I think it was the best thing that could’ve happened. I just knew that deep down, there were new adventures ahead, new things to fall in love with. You’ll find them too.
And that wasn’t a false promise from Vo! Before the ballet began, Nicolette saw an announcement from the company that meant she could keep doing what she loves: she was offered the position of the company’s resident choreographer once she recovered. The episode ended the storyline with Nicolette on the verge of happy tears, with the dancer having gotten some good news and Vo having shared her story.
On the whole, the episode came to a surprisingly happy ending considering the brutality of the acid attack, and was a great showcase for Vo. Whether or not the show will shed more light on her story at that point in her life remains to be seen, but given that FBI: International has already been renewed for the 2023-2024 TV season, there will be chances! In fact, all nine of the Wolf Entertainment shows that share a TV universe have been renewed, raising some questions (and possible answers) about what comes next.
Keep tuning in to CBS on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET for new episodes of FBI: International, between FBI (which just featured Scola making a bold decision about his future) at 8 p.m. and FBI: Most wanted at 10 p.m. You can also revisit the three-part crossover streaming with a Paramount+ subscription, and start planning ahead for hiatus with our 2023 TV premiere schedule.
