Spoilers ahead for Episode 18 of FBI: International Season 1, called "On These Waters."
The Fly Team was drawn to Vienna in the latest episode of FBI: International, but the attack on a cruise ship on the Danube River proved disastrous for Scott Forrester's relationship back in Budapest. The flirtation with his Hungarian tutor Sara seemed to be going well, until a coincidence that seemingly attached her to the crime of the week turned it upside down as his paranoia and distrust got the better of him. Sara ultimately was not part of any crime ring, but his attempt to make amends was too late for the woman who just wants stability. It was a hard lesson for Forrester to learn, but a valuable one. The question is: will anything change?
Well, Forrester initially got a pep talk from Jaeger that convinced him to reach out to Sara, apologize, and be honest with her, and he did have a point that it was awfully coincidental that the day she tried to get him to play hooky happened to be the same day that the Fly Team began to investigate the cruise line that she had worked on. But while Jaeger's advice was good for him, it had no impact on Sara; after she shut her door on Forrester, he went to Kellett and emotionally told her that he needed a friend.
To his credit, my first thought was that he was going to give Sara's flowers to Kellett and try to play it like he wanted to come to her in the first place, especially after she tried to talk him into splitting a bottle of wine not that long ago. Luckily, he wasn't thrown quite that much by Sara shooting him down, and just went to his former flame because he "could really use a friend right now." Kellett's response of "You got one" was what he needed to hear – and certainly good to hear, after she initiated the breakup – so his night wasn't an entire loss.
He learned the lesson that honesty and openness are important in a relationship even in a job like his, and he can't cross lines and throw accusations just because they fit his vision of the world. He learned that an apology, a bouquet of flowers, and an explanation of why he acted the way that he did aren't necessarily going to be enough for a partner. And he learned that he needs to do things differently if he wants to have more luck.
That said, he's not exactly going to give up the job that has him seeing things so differently than the likes of civilians. He may be a little bit more self-aware after the events of "On These Waters," but does that make him capable of doing things the right way with the next person who gives him a chance, and can he be a stable partner in a relationship? Or is his only hope for personal happiness with another person to continue finding love with coworkers?
Well, he can't be expected to change overnight, and the demands of his job do mean that he spends most of his time with his coworkers, who have secrets of their own as well as complex histories. He and Kellett truly seemed to love each other, so maybe there are still enough sparks for a flame on that front. Whatever happens next, he learned a hard lesson in this episode, and that could be a good thing for his growth after the earlier episodes of the season (which you can watch with a Paramount+ subscription) when he was still keeping his secrets about his mom.
The Season 1 finale of FBI: International is on the way in May, but you can still look forward to new episodes on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, between FBI Season 4 (which just delivered an intense episode for Alana De La Garza's Isobel) at 8 p.m. and FBI: Most Wanted Season 3 at 10 p.m. in the 2022 TV schedule.
