5 Shocking Twists And The "Slap In The Face" Ending Of The FBI: International Series Finale

The air date of the final mission is now a distant memory, but the fallout from the FBI: International series finale continues to resonate with its dedicated fanbase. As of today, December 12, 2025, the final episode, "Gaijin," which aired on May 20, 2025, is still the subject of intense debate, largely because it served as an unexpected series conclusion instead of a simple season end. The episode wrapped up a major case but left the personal and professional futures of the Fly Team hanging by a thread, leading to widespread disappointment among viewers who felt the ending was rushed and incomplete.

The show's cancellation after four seasons meant that the final hour had to do the work of both a season finale and a series farewell, a task many critics and fans agree it failed to achieve gracefully. The focus shifted heavily onto the newest member of the team, leaving the fates of long-standing agents ambiguous and turning what should have been a celebratory send-off into a polarizing and controversial final moment for the Dick Wolf procedural.

The Final Fly Team Roster: A Look at the Core Cast and Key Entities

The final season saw significant cast changes, making the composition of the Fly Team different from its original iteration. The series finale, in particular, centered on the newest lead while sidelining some of the original agents.

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• Agent Wes Mitchell (Jesse Lee Soffer): The newest Supervisory Special Agent who took over the team's leadership role. The series finale, "Gaijin," was heavily focused on his personal and professional closure, culminating in a final personal journey.
• Special Agent Cameron Vo (Vinessa Vidotto): A highly competent agent and one half of the Fly Team’s potential promotion storyline. Her professional future was left ambiguous in the final moments of the series.
• Special Agent Andre Raines (Carter Redwood): The intelligence expert of the team, who was also waiting on a crucial promotion decision alongside Vo. The finale failed to provide a definitive answer on his career path.
• Agent Megan Garretson (Eva-Jane Willis): The Europol liaison who joined the team in Season 2. She was a key part of the team's operations throughout the later seasons.
• Scott Forrester (Luke Kleintank): The original head of the Fly Team. His departure mid-way through Season 3 left a massive hole in the team, and his own storyline—involving his mother Angela Cassidy—was largely unresolved by the series finale.
• Jamie Kellett (Heida Reed): The original second-in-command who also departed in Season 3. Her absence contributed to the feeling of an incomplete farewell for the original cast.
• Delila: Wes Mitchell's previously unknown half-sister, whose introduction in the final scene of the series served as Mitchell's personal resolution.
• "Gaijin": The title of the two-part series finale (Season 4, Episode 22), a Japanese term meaning "foreigner" or "outsider."
• CBS: The television network that broadcast the series and announced its cancellation.
• Dick Wolf: The creator and executive producer of the entire FBI franchise.

5 Shocking Moments and Unanswered Questions from the 'Gaijin' Series Finale

The final episode of FBI: International was a high-stakes two-parter that took the team to Japan to hunt a dangerous serial killer. While the case was closed, the personal stories of the agents were left frustratingly open-ended, creating a divisive final hour.

1. Wes Mitchell's Solo Hunt and the Tokyo Killer

The main plot of "Gaijin" focused almost entirely on Agent Wes Mitchell (Jesse Lee Soffer) as he traveled to Tokyo to track a serial killer. The mission was action-packed, featuring Mitchell collaborating with a local Japanese detective, Reiko. The resolution of the case was definitive: the killer was caught. However, this focus on the newest lead meant that the rest of the Fly Team was relegated to a secondary role, a choice that irked long-time viewers who wanted more closure for the original ensemble.

2. The Promotion Cliffhanger for Vo and Raines

One of the most anticipated moments was the decision regarding the promotions for Special Agents Cameron Vo and Andre Raines. Both agents had been put forward for advancement, and the finale was expected to reveal their fate—whether they would stay with the Fly Team or move on to new assignments. Shockingly, the final moments of the series cut away just as the decision was about to be revealed. This blatant cliffhanger, which would have worked for a season finale, became a major point of contention for a series finale, leaving a huge question mark over two fan-favorite characters.

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3. Mitchell’s Final Personal Resolution with Delila

The actual final scene of the entire series was a personal one for Wes Mitchell. Having wrapped up the Tokyo case, Mitchell traveled to Pittsburgh, where he met his half-sister, Delila, for the very first time. While this provided a sense of personal closure for Mitchell, it felt disconnected from the main team and the overarching narrative of the show. For many viewers, a final team shot or a definitive word on Vo and Raines would have been a more appropriate and satisfying way to end a four-season series.

4. The Unresolved Fate of Scott Forrester

The departure of original team leader Scott Forrester (Luke Kleintank) in Season 3 was a major event. His final storyline involved his MIA status and the resurfacing of his mother, Angela Cassidy, who was located in a Russian prison. Despite the gravity of this open-ended plot, the series finale offered no substantial resolution on Forrester's fate or his mother's situation. The complete lack of closure for the character who led the team for the majority of the series was viewed as a significant oversight by the writing team.

5. The Abrupt Cancellation Announcement

The biggest twist was the series’ unexpected end itself. The show had been renewed for a fourth season in April 2024, giving fans hope for a long future. However, the subsequent decision to cancel the series after its fourth season meant that the creative team had to pivot quickly. The result was a finale that clearly felt like it was setting up a fifth season (with the promotion cliffhanger) rather than concluding the entire franchise, leading to the feeling of a premature and poorly executed ending.

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Why Fans Called the Ending a "Slap in the Face"

The reaction to "Gaijin" across social media and fan forums was immediate and overwhelmingly negative. The core of the frustration stemmed from the episode's structural choices.

Fans felt that the final episode prioritized the storyline of the newest character, Wes Mitchell, over the emotional and professional resolutions of the original agents who had been with the show since day one. The final scene, which focused on Mitchell's family life, was seen as a poor substitute for a proper send-off for the entire Fly Team.

The decision to leave the promotion decisions for Vo and Raines unresolved was the most cited example of the finale feeling like a "slap in the face." A series finale is expected to provide definitive closure, not set up a season that will never air. This creative choice left the characters' careers and personal lives in limbo, frustrating viewers who had invested years in their stories.

Ultimately, the FBI: International series finale will be remembered not for its action or its case resolution, but for its polarizing final moments that failed to honor the four seasons of storytelling that came before it. It stands as a prime example of how an unexpected cancellation can derail a franchise's final bow.