CIA season 1, episode 2 review: CBS show settles in with exposition-heavy episode
SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for CIA Season 1, Episode 2.
After a cracking debut, CIA hits the brakes with Season 1, Episode 2, “Fatal Defect.” It’s an episode of the FBI spinoff that isn’t quite sure what it wants to be. At first it’s a road-trip adventure and then it pivots into being a family drama. But the great news is that Nick Gehlfuss and Tom Ellis get to keep developing their pitch-perfect double act.
“Fatal Defect” is not a disappointing episode; it simply isn’t as cohesive or as dramatic as the series premiere. The story begins with Colin Glass and Bill Goodman capturing a Lebanese agent named Mona, who claims she wants to defect rather than carry out an assassination. They then have to deal with being pursued by her former colleagues and hiding out in a vacation home belonging to the ex-husband of their boss Nikki Reynard. The whole first part of the story feels like it’ll be Colin, Bill and Mona having to survive remotely, which is a perfectly valid plot.
But then CIA goes in another direction when Mona escapes to find her estranged son Samir—and then Nikki declares that Samir has been convinced to finish his mother’s mission. At that point, “Fatal Defect” wants to be a family drama, both for the guest characters and for its two leads. Audiences learn a little about Bill’s bride-to-be Katie, who is never seen, and Colin spins a tragic story about his parents that may or may not be true before it’s revealed that he has a family waiting at home. This is a nice twist because viewers would expect Colin to be a playboy-type character, given his more freewheeling personality, and for Bill to have a semi-perfect home life. CIA bucks the trend by going the other way around.
In fact, the scene of Bill returning home sadly is reminiscent of a moment in The First 48 when Miami homicide detective Kevin Ruggiero came home to find out his fiancee had left him. Obviously this is scripted and that was very real, but CIA evokes that same feeling of sadness for a character whom viewers have only met a week ago. That’s a testament to how easily Gehlfuss and Ellis have settled into the roles they’re playing. Both these characters are so well-matched to the actors that the “odd couple” dynamic doesn’t feel manufactured like it does on pretty much every other show that tries it. In CIA, it’s much more organic because that’s how these two guys would genuinely play off each other. Bill and Colin are still banter-bickering in “Fatal Defect,” but it works because everybody expects them to.
Elsewhere, CIA provides some more details about Nikki’s past as Colin talks about her ex-husband, who is apparently very rich and whom he describes as “a narcissist.” Necar Zadegan doesn’t get a ton of screen time but it is wonderful to see her briefly out in the field and not only sitting in Nikki’s office. Both she and Gina need more development, but viewers who stayed for the preview of Episode 3 will have seen that it’s going to provide plenty more for Nikki.
“Fatal Defect” likewise doesn’t wholly flesh out its guest characters as much as it could have. Mona and Samir stick pretty closely to type as the enigmatic foreign agent and the wide-eyed, impressionable kid. The best scene plot-wise still belongs to Ellis, as Colin convinces Samir to surrender by talking about how his family was also used as a tool in his recruitment. In both CIA episodes to date, Colin Glass has been shown to be incredible in the way he interacts with people, which is a lot more interesting than stereotypical spy gadgets and such.
The natural caveat is that no one knows how sincere Colin actually was with his speech, since Bill points out at least one of the details changed from when he mentioned his family before. Colin is a better character when he’s speaking honestly, as opposed to going down the familiar path of a spy who automatically lies. His ability to find truth within that grey area is a lot more compelling and Ellis is fantastic at delivering the big speeches when necessary. “Fatal Defect” works because of him and Nick Gehlfuss, because it draws the parallel between the plot and their characters’ own families (or lack thereof), and not necessarily because it’s the next great spy caper. But Ellis and Gehlfuss again prove there’s still plenty of room for that. CIA only needs the writing to be as sharp as its stars.
CIA airs Mondays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Photo Credit: Courtesy of CBS.
Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.
