Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for the FBI: International season 4 finale.As FBI: International closed in on the end, there were many worries that the characters wouldn’t gain the closure they deserved. However, most of us expected to see the Fly Team working together on the last case in the FBI: International season 4 finale. In the end, only Wes Mitchell (Jesse Lee Soffer) went to Japan, and it ended up leaving the Fly Team doing very little to aid.

During the episode, Wes flew to Japan to continue the case that came up in FBI: International season 4, episode 21. Only Wes was allowed to help find the potential Japanese serial killer, who was connected to the wealthiest family in the country. He was stopped from doing his usual job, but it was even harder with the rest of the Fly Team back in Budapest, only able to offer technical , wasting them for the last episode of the series since CBS canceled FBI: International.

Why Only Wes Went To Japan In The FBI: International Series Finale

The Fly Team Was Forced To Help Remotely

As it became clear the serial killer was in Japan, the Fly Team needed to get there to save the next victim. However, Japanese authorities didn’t want the FBI on their soil, and Wes had to pull some strings to get Superintendent Kosuke Kubo (Shintaro Kanaoya) to allow him into the country to work the investigation. The rest of the team wasn’t welcome, and they had to respect that if they wanted a slim chance at catching the killer.

Even Wes wasn’t fully welcome in Japan, and he was made aware that Japanese police protocol was stricter than in the United States.

Even Wes wasn’t fully welcome in Japan, and he was made aware that Japanese police protocol was stricter than in the United States. This made it harder for Wes to do his job, especially when he couldn’t get a warrant to search the known suspect’s house. For the majority of the hour, we watched as Wes and Reiko (Yoriko Haraguchi) figure out the clues and find a way to circumvent the restrictions.

The Fly Team Barely Played Any Role In The FBI: International Series Finale

The Fly Team Only Helped With The Odd Piece Of Research

It’s not unusual for some of the Fly Team to remain in HQ while the rest are on the field. The FBI spinoff often left Amanda Tate (Christina Wolfe) and her staff in HQ, and they could hack into systems and use security footage to aid with a case. When other of the team have been stuck at home in the past, such as after Cameron Vo (Vinessa Vidotto) was shot, they still found ways to help, even coming into work when they shouldn’t.

That wasn’t the case in the FBI: International series finale, with the Fly Team mostly being forgotten about and sidelined. They would step in with some information about Lloyd, the taxi driver suspect, and they would share updates on financial statements as that information became relevant. The only real time they were able to help was when Kosuke gave Tate access to the Japanese CCTV to be able to track down the killer at the very end, knowing Wes had just 12 hours to find the latest victim.

Even As A Season Finale, FBI: International Season 4, Episode 22 Is Disappointing (But It's Worse As A Series Finale)

A Season Finale Needs To Include Everyone Equally

If this were a middle episode of FBI: International season 4, it could have been acceptable. There would have been ways to make up for the lack of Fly Team use, making it so that Wes had to sit out a case in the future. Even if this had just been a season finale, it was lackluster with the Fly Team acting as sitting ducks with nothing to do to help. When it comes to a series finale, this is even worse, as it was the last time we would see the whole team working together.

Instead, we got an hour of Wes running around Japan, just as the series finally made good on the Fly Team name by going to another continent. If FBI: International really had to keep Wes separated from the Fly Team for the series finale, the Fly Team should have been more involved in the investigation, potentially having part of the case in Budapest or making more use of Tate and Raines’ tech skills. Everyone needed to feel the pressure to end FBI: International.