FBI Season 5 Episode 15 Review: The Lies We Tell

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Someone has to make those hard calls.

Isobel showed she's not afraid to do so on FBI Season 5 Episode 15.

Not that she had another choice, with a super strain of Covid in the wrong hands. Isobel was willing to do what had to be done to keep that from being unleashed on the world.

Diplomatic Security -- Squatter - FBI Season 5 Episode 15

This crime begs the question of why. With a global pandemic killing millions since 2019, why would any lab create a super strain of Covid? Wasn't the continually mutating Covid-19 virus effective enough in thinning the population?

And it turns out that such a virus was also an attractive target for terrorists. Go figure. 

Working the Crowd - FBI Season 5 Episode 15

How about that lab's screening practices? How did the fact that Cilic was a religious terrorist in his homeland slip by?

No, instead, Cilici found a patsy to do his dirty work. Sure, he was eventually fired, but he had set his plan in motion by then. So what did his dismissal matter?

The victim's weaselly supervisor put Isobel's team in a deep hole, giving them nothing to work with when solving Reagan's murder. They discovered there was a religious nutjob running around New York with a deadly virus, so they didn't have time for "20 Questions."

It was evident from how Morales was hemming and hawing that Reagan was some sort of spy. Unfortunately, no one was willing to admit to that until it was way too late.

Off-Duty Murder - FBI Season 5 Episode 15

It shouldn't have gotten to the point when they depended on a researcher under duress to provide them with intel about Cilic.

The case should have been over at the dropoff on the boardwalk. With four FBI agents on site, there was no way that Cilic should have gotten to the backpack first. Cilic likely would have had to back off and leave without the virus if they had all converged.

Once he took possession, all they had to work with was the frightened researcher Leavins, who was concerned first and foremost with his abducted wife. He stupidly put his faith in the word of a terrorist rather than the FBI.

In retrospect, Isobel took Leavins' wife away from him again, so maybe he had no good option.

On a Hunt - FBI Season 5 Episode 15

Since Leavins was the only person to have any extended contact with Cilic, they had no choice but to try to rescue her so Leavins would feel safe enough to talk.

But again, even knowing where the wife was being held wasn't enough, as the team was again a step behind. It's a big city, and two men is a fairly streamlined operation, so that's understandable. Cilic had hidden in plain sight since he slipped in from Canada, so he was pretty good at it.

So Isobel played the only card she had to gain Leavins' cooperation. She lied, she lied some more, then finally, she lied digitally when she had run out of other options.

Having someone like Ian who can throw together a convincing deep fake while under the gun must be nice.

Security Gunned Down - FBI Season 5 Episode 15

Maggie continued in her role as the office conscience, questioning Isobel's choice of using a deep fake to get Leavins talking before Cilic disappeared with the virus. She had no better idea, so Maggie should have just stepped back and let Isobel work.

Did Isobel make the right call? Well, in the words of that great Vulcan philosopher Spock, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

Leavins would doubtless (and did) disagree, but one was a low body count under the circumstances.

It was inevitable that as soon as Isobel used the deep fake, Scola found the wife's body. Sadly, Leavins should have been prepared for the worst after fanatics took his wife.

Sneaking In - FBI Season 5 Episode 15

Not that Leavins had much intel to offer, but he gave Isobel enough that she determined Cilic was heading back to Canada.

Once again, Cilic managed to elude the agents and take hostages. Maggie kept telling him it was over, and as soon as OA and the tactical team flash-banged into the gallery, it was. That was so quick that Cilic couldn't follow through on his threat to unleash the virus.

Maggie shouldn't have bothered to attempt to hash things out with Isobel. Isobel had moved on already. She had done the only thing she could, and it worked. Case closed.

Once again, Isobel proved why she was in charge. She had made the call others would have hesitated to make and got results.

Agent's Background - FBI Season 5 Episode 15

Sure, Isobel is aloof. But that works for her. That disconnection keeps the staff (except Maggie) from questioning her decisions.

It's Jubal's job to be somewhat warm and fuzzy. He's the one team members go to with problems.

This episode knowingly exhibited their different styles of leadership.

Jubal organized a team-building outing at a popular steakhouse and invited Isobel to join her staff for a social occasion. She made up a convenient prior commitment (courtside Knicks tickets, maybe next to Spike Lee) and instead drank alone in a bar, keeping her mystique intact.

Croatian Connection - FBI Season 5 Episode 15

To revisit Isobel's history, watch FBI online.

How did you enjoy the spotlight on Isobel?

Did she make the right call with the deep fake of the wife?

Did the ends justify the means?

Comment below.

The Lies We Tell Review

Editor Rating: 4.3 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 2.6 / 5.0 (33 Votes)

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.

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FBI Season 5 Episode 15 Quotes

Maggie: So was he trying to lie?
OA: Or was he trying to tell us something?
Isobel: Probably a little of both.

You know how this works. I can only talk about certain things.

Morales