FBI: Most Wanted – Varsity Blues – Review: Digital Deception

Full disclosure – I’ve a love-hate relationship with tv creator and producer Dick Wolfe. I really like his Legislation & Order franchise however by no means obtained into his Chicago collection of exhibits. I tune in for FBI: Most Wished however discover that I’m not taken with Wolfe’s different exhibits on this collection, the FBI, or FBI Worldwide. For me, watching TV is like discovering companionship on a courting app. Each could be filled with surprises and generally (most instances) a little bit of a disappointment. You begin with excessive hopes, browse, and select primarily based on first impressions. 

I got here to FBI: Most Wished after seeing Dylan McDermott on Legislation & Order Organized Crime. Okay, I admit, I am a little bit of a stalker fan. I’m on this present as a result of I’m a devotee of McDermott’s filmography, and his efficiency as the top of the Fugitive Job Drive (FTF) retains me watching. No matter my admiration for McDermott as Agent Remy Scott, this week’s episode, “Varsity Blues,” was well worth the watch. Let’s get into why…

The present opens with a younger lady ready for a practice. The digital camera pans to her face, and we see she’s hella distressed. Viewers know she’s gonna soar. 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 soar? Why is the digital camera lingering on the backpack? Suicide isn’t a criminal offense, so how will the FBI FTF get entangled?

It seems that the younger lady who jumped isn’t the sufferer. The sufferer is without doubt one of the younger males who performed a pivotal function within the lady’s resolution to finish her life. Agent Scott and his staff spring into motion when this child goes lacking. I really like his plucky staff, 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, basically, for being too skimpy on character growth, FBI Most Wished a minimum of tries. For instance, the episode features a facet story regarding Ray’s expertise as a brand new husband and stepfather to Cora and Caleb, respectively. Moreover offering precious, optimistic 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 Citadel-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 searching for to get revenge for his or her buddy (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 ultimately 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 teenagers on this episode make horrible selections. As an 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 buddy Will. In addition they try to drive Zak into making a deepfake intercourse video that includes him and Will. The video is supposed to be insurance coverage towards him ratting them out. Okay, they need Will to get a style of his personal medication. 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. Picture: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

These actions present that as a result of the teenager mind remains to be creating, they’ll lack impulse management, rendering them incapable of creating cheap selections or contemplating the long-term implications of their actions. Take into account the proof: Maria is lifeless; Brook and Kaitlin are kidnappers and (eventual) murderers; and Will steals his father’s gun, considering suicide and probably harming others. The children aren’t all proper. 

The illustration of Gen Z, with their spectacular tech acumen, is a giant, scary mess! The influence of deepfakes, the concentrating on of younger women, and the emotional toll it could possibly tackle household and buddies is profoundly damaging. As Remy and the FBI discover themselves in Will’s crosshairs, we see how the deepfakes the teenager creates also can erode the general public’s confidence in legislation enforcement. Particular Agent Nina Chase asks, “Are deepfakes really thought-about a criminal offense?” The response is, “Possibly.”

Like Hansel and Gretel, who go away breadcrumbs to seek out their method again house, Remy’s staff 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 automotive. The satisfaction derived from exhibits like The FBI Most Wished is in consuming the breadcrumbs – making a meal for the viewer as they journey from chaos (of the crime) to readability (of legal 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 anxiousness is only a child boomer’s concern? How involved are you about AI, deepfakes, and Gen Z? Are you a fan of this present? In that case, hit me up together with your feedback about why?

Total Ranking:

9/10

Lynette Jones