There has constantly been something missing on CIA, and that’s honesty between partners.
Despite being touted as a crossover with FBI, CIA Season 1 Episode 7 would have worked extremely well without the other characters coming in.
The power was in the partnership that Colin and Bill have formed, finally bringing out some backstory and emotion between them.
A Crossover With FBI That Wasn’t Needed
Initially, I thought that the crossover was wasted potential, but actually, it didn’t need to be a crossover at all.
I think that was bad marketing more than it was necessarily a wasted opportunity in the storytelling.
I expected Maggie and Isobel to get much more involved in the case, given this big push to have them in the episode.
This was more like when Jubal turns up at the beginning or end to work with Bill on the overarching mole arc, and that’s never touted as a crossover event.
While we got to see them show up to aid the beginning, they weren’t overly important for the installment as a whole.
Maggie and Isobel’s presence just helped cement the idea that this was an FBI case and that the CIA and the Korean authorities were visitors, despite the Fusion Cell HQ being used for much of the debriefing and information sharing.
That worked for this. With just seven episodes into CIA and three more left in the season, we need more of Colin and Bill learning to trust each other.
The seventh hour finally brought that to light, with conversations about Toni and Yuen, and how Colin will always blame himself for the case that went wrong.
I feel like that could have been ruined had it been a true crossover with FBI.
I also worried that the FBI universe would rely too much on these types of events to get CIA off the ground, and I’m glad to see that there is faith in the show in its own right.
Colin Finally Opens Up to Bill
Something that I’ve felt lacking throughout the series so far is this growing partnership.
Bill and Colin are supposed to work closely together, yet neither knows anything about the other.
Has Colin told Bill anything that’s true? I doubt it.
In fact, CIA Season 1 Episode 7 felt like the first time he had truly opened up, as he shared how he and his former CIA partner were more than just working partners. They were also in a romantic relationship.
Bill takes that at face value, and I respect him for that.
When it came to the story about Colin’s mom, Bill questioned everything. After all, the story on the two occasions it was told didn’t match up.
There also wasn’t the emotion in Colin’s words in the way there was when talking about Toni.
I get a sense that Bill is finally starting to see the tells in Colin’s attitude, which is common when working together long enough.
It also looks like Colin is finally learning to trust Bill.
There is no way Bill would have gotten through to Colin about Yuen being a double agent if there hadn’t been a level of trust.
My issue is that this has seemingly come out of nowhere.
The show has spent so much time building up the mole and Colin’s secret life arcs that it’s forgotten to develop this partnership.
There are times when I feel CIA was lucky to get a second season, because of how little it’s developed the characters, but I’m also grateful that it has.
I think the change in showrunners and cast has impacted this FBI spinoff, leading to the issues we’re seeing now.
Hopefully, with consistency behind the scenes for CIA Season 2, we’ll see stronger emotional development between the two leads.
They have, at least, finally been able to get to each other’s apartments, so that’s a start. It all just depends on how this mole arc continues.
It’s Easy to Forget Bill’s Fiancée
If you forgot that Bill has a fiancée somewhere in this universe, then you’ll be forgiven.
By now, that fiancée would usually have shown up, or we would have seen a phone call or some text messages.
Instead, this fiancée, Kate, seems like she’s that “girlfriend in Canada” who doesn’t really exist. She’s been mentioned maybe once during CIA Season 1, and that’s it.
There was clear chemistry with the former college buddy. Everyone could pick up on that!
They have history, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she shows up again, although I respect her for immediately backing off when Bill mentioned his fiancée. Now that is a woman’s woman.
There was that physical step back to widen the gap, making it clear that she does not want to break up a happy family or relationship.
However, how long until she can’t deny her feelings anymore?
And if Kate doesn’t show up soon, I’m going to start rooting for Bill to call off the engagement and find someone else.
This is what I mean by the personal development for the characters hasn’t been there.
By seven episodes into the first season, we should have at least seen something of Kate. Just some sort of evidence that she exists.
It’s disappointing that we haven’t, and I don’t expect to in the next three episodes.
There is going to be a lot of focus on the mole at the Fusion Cell over the next three episodes. There has to be if CIA wants to bring that to a satisfying conclusion.
Considering there was no guarantee of getting a second season when the mole arc was introduced, it doesn’t make sense for it to continue on after the finale.
So, that means even less time for personal development, and all I can hope is that the time is better organized during CIA Season 2.
Overall, the case itself was interesting and layered, and it served well as a platter for more emotion from Colin.
Maybe now, Colin can trust Bill with whatever he’s doing with this girl of his, Sarah.
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