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

Full disclosure – I have a love-hate relationship with television creator and producer Dick Wolfe. I love his Law & Order franchise but never got into his Chicago series of shows. I tune in for FBI: Most Wanted but find that I’m not interested in Wolfe’s other shows in this series, the FBI, or FBI International. For me, watching TV is like finding companionship on a dating app. Both can be full of surprises and sometimes (most times) a bit of a disappointment. You start with high hopes, browse, and choose based on first impressions. 

I came to FBI: Most Wanted after seeing Dylan McDermott on Law & Order Organized Crime. Okay, I admit, I’m a bit of a stalker fan. I am interested in this show because I am a devotee of McDermott’s filmography, and his performance as the head of the Fugitive Task Force (FTF) keeps me watching. Irrespective of my admiration for McDermott as Agent Remy Scott, this week’s episode, “Varsity Blues,” was worth the watch. Let’s get into why…

The show opens with a young woman waiting for a train. The camera pans to her face, and we see she’s hella distressed. Viewers know she’s gonna jump. Not to be macabre, but this crime procedural is doing its job because the viewer immediately wonders: Who is she? Why did she jump? Why is the camera lingering on the backpack? Suicide isn’t a crime, so how will the FBI FTF get involved?

It turns out that the young woman who jumped is not the victim. The victim is one of the young men who played a pivotal role in the woman’s decision to end her life. Agent Scott and his team spring into action when this kid goes missing. I love his plucky team, agents Nina Chase, Ray Cannon, and Hana Gibson. They all have a tender toughness about them that makes them incredibly watchable. Although I fault crime procedurals, in general, for being too skimpy on character development, FBI Most Wanted at least tries. For example, the episode includes a side story concerning Ray’s experience as a new husband and stepfather to Cora and Caleb, respectively. Besides providing valuable, positive representation of Black men and boys in a police drama, this subplot was a welcomed palette cleanser from its harrowing storyline – but back to the crime.

“Varsity Blues” – FBI: MOST WANTED, Pictured: (L-R): Dylan McDermott as Supervisory Special Agent Remy Scott, Shantel VanSanten as Special Agent Nina Chase, Edwin Hodge as Special Agent Ray Cannon, and Keisha Castle-Hughes as Special Agent Hana Gibson. Mark Schafer/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved

A young man, Zac, goes missing. He’s taken by two teen girls seeking to get revenge for their friend (Maria) who committed suicide. Maria was the target of cyberbullying. Zac and his dude-bro, Will, created and leaked deep-faked nude pictures of Maria. We eventually learn through the FBI’s investigation that Maria’s father did not believe her when she denied posing for these pictures and forced her to confess her non-existent sin at church. It was all too much for Maria…and she did what she did.

All the teens in this episode make terrible decisions. For instance, the teen girls, or ‘mean girls’ as Remy called them, are terrifying. They manipulate Zac into creating and sharing deepfakes of nudes of his friend Will. They also attempt to force Zak into making a deepfake sex video featuring him and Will. The video is meant to be insurance against him ratting them out. Okay, they want Will to get a taste of his own medicine. But kidnapping and stabbing Zac to coerce his cooperation? That’s over the top.

“Varsity Blues” – FBI: MOST WANTED, Pictured: Dylan McDermott as Supervisory Special Agent Remy Scott. Photo: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

These actions show that because the teen brain is still developing, they can lack impulse control, rendering them incapable of making reasonable decisions or considering the long-term implications of their actions. Consider the evidence: Maria is dead; Brook and Kaitlin are kidnappers and (eventual) murderers; and Will steals his father’s gun, contemplating suicide and potentially harming others. The kids aren’t all right. 

The representation of Gen Z, with their impressive tech acumen, is a big, scary mess! The impact of deepfakes, the targeting of young girls, and the emotional toll it can take on family and friends is profoundly damaging. As Remy and the FBI find themselves in Will’s crosshairs, we see how the deepfakes the teen creates can also erode the public’s confidence in law enforcement. Special Agent Nina Chase asks, “Are deepfakes truly considered a crime?” The response is, “Maybe.”

Like Hansel and Gretel, who leave breadcrumbs to find their way back home, Remy’s team expertly gathers each breadcrumb that leads them to the house where Brook and Kaitlin killed Zac. I enjoyed the reveal of the tiniest clue, like Ray figuring out, based on the position of the driver’s seat, that Zac was not the last driver of his car. The satisfaction derived from shows like The FBI Most Wanted is in consuming the breadcrumbs – making a meal for the viewer as they travel from chaos (of the crime) to clarity (of criminal apprehension). This episode’s power lies in its transformation from disorder to order, yet leaving viewers unsettled about social engineering, the looming danger of AI and deepfakes, and the mental health and wellness of a generation of digital natives who have never lived in a world without being immersed in technology. 

Maybe this anxiety is just a baby boomer’s concern? How concerned are you about AI, deepfakes, and Gen Z? Are you a fan of this show? If so, hit me up with your comments about why?

Overall Rating:

9/10