Regardless of the odd title, “Pig Butchering” defies preliminary impressions. On the floor the episode is about long-term funding fraud, however beneath, it’s about Particular Agent Sheryll Barnes’s struggles with grief administration. The time period “pig butchering” comes from the analogy of fattening a pig earlier than slaughtering it, symbolizing how scammers “fatten up” their victims with small beneficial properties earlier than finally taking every part.
The episode underscores the exploitation of belief and vulnerabilities by crypto scams, paralleling the emotional tolls of divorce and foster care skilled by Particular Agent Sheryll Barnes and the lacking youngsters, Jessie and Shandie. The present does not draw back from the complexities of those experiences, providing a uncooked and trustworthy take a look at their challenges of transferring on. For instance, Barnes finally ends up clashing together with her supervisor, Remy, which provides a layer of pressure and drama, preserving viewers serious about the way forward for their relationship. In the meantime, the wild antics of a legal duo, Carson and Denny Cobb (C and D), inject a way of unpredictability and frenzy into the storyline. So, let’s get into it.
“Pig Butchering” – FBI: MOST WANTED, Pictured (L-R): Dylan McDermott as Supervisory Particular Agent Remy Scott and Roxy Sternberg as Particular Agent Sheryll Barnes. Photograph: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The episode opens with Sheryll and Hana transferring furnishings round Sheryll’s residence. Astutely, Hana picks up that Sheryll could also be a bit unmoored. Sheryll’s obsessive rearranging of her furnishings and unwillingness to unpack her suitcase recommend she’s feeling unstable, indifferent, and disconnected. These unresolved emotions have an effect on her efficiency when she returns to work the subsequent day. By the way, Hana additionally shared emotions of insecurity and uncertainty relating to her often-absent love curiosity, the air marshal.
On her approach to work, Sheryll receives a spam name. She instantly shuts the caller down by figuring out herself as an FBI agent. Jessie, the caller, reveals that she and others are beneath duress and compelled to make these calls. Aside from C and D, Jessie is unable to establish her captors or the place she’s being held. Nonetheless, the concern within the 17-year-old’s voice attracts Sheryll in. She tells Remy concerning the caller, however he tells her to move the case to a different FBI group. As a result of she’s unmoored, she defies Remy’s order and recruits Hana to help her in looking for Jessie.
Sheryll and Hana hint the VPN account to Howard Merger, whereas C and D summon Jessie and the others to their workplace. Scolded for not making sufficient cash, they slit the throat of a kid to make an instance of him. When the particular brokers arrive at Howard Merger’s home, he’s washing one thing, presumably blood, from his shirt. They uncover an identical substance in his automotive, which seems to be soy sauce. C and D employed Merger to eliminate the boy’s physique they killed. He completed this by putting the physique in a suitcase within the dumpster behind a Chinese language restaurant.
“Pig Butchering” – FBI: MOST WANTED, Pictured (L-R): Shantel VanSanten as Particular Agent Nina Chase, Roxy Sternberg as Particular Agent Sheryll Barnes, Dylan McDermott as Supervisory Particular Agent Remy Scott, Keisha Fort-Hughes as Particular Agent Hana Gibson, and Edwin Hodge as Particular Agent Ray Cannon. Photograph: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Sheryll and Hana agree that it’s time to name Remy. Remy and the group at the moment are on the case, however lordy, he’s sad about Sheryll and Hana going rogue. Sheryll tries to speak to him, however he shuts her down. He tells her, “”You bought what YOU needed. Keep in mind that!”
Jessie makes a number of extra calls to the FBI, her urgency rising with every name. As an illustration, she discloses that she interviewed at evening as a result of her greatest good friend Shandie obtained $50 and a tote bag for recruiting others.
Jessica additionally discloses that somebody shoved her right into a van and blindfolded her. The group tracks down the van rental firm. In a comic book change, the rental firm worker asks Ray what number of convictions you may have and nonetheless be eligible for the FBI. He stated none, and the man was genuinely stunned by Ray’s response. Ray and Nina additionally managed to find the tote bag’s printer. Miraculously, Carson exhibits up within the retailer on the similar time. They pursue Carson right into a diner, the place he fatally shoots a server earlier than fleeing. I discover it significantly entertaining when the suspects, in every episode of FBI: Most Needed, start to kill indiscriminately. It is bananas, and I am right here for it weekly.
“Pig Butchering” – FBI: MOST WANTED, Pictured (L-R): Shantel VanSanten as Particular Agent Nina Chase and Edwin Hodge as Particular Agent Ray Cannon. Photograph: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Having dedicated two murders, Carson’s sense of disorientation is rising. He’s decided to find the mole who alerted the FBI. Shandie is aware of it is Jessica, and Jessica begs her to not inform. Carson calls Shandie into the workplace and begins the beatdown. Jessica cannot bear the screams of her good friend. Photographs ring out because the Fugitive Job Drive locates the constructing. Jessica confesses that she was the one who linked with an FBI agent on a pre-programmed name, and Carson shoots Shandie. The Job Drive nearly all the time prevails, resulting in the fast dispatching of Carson and Denny.
Sheryll once more asks Remy to cease and speak as a result of how he’s appearing round her “feels private.” Sheryll seems to be in search of reward and affirmation from Remy to validate that they made the correct resolution as a result of following her intestine saved the lives of a bunch of children. She was denied. Sheryll reminded Remy that the group helped him discover his brother’s assassin. This simply pissed Remy off extra. Remy emphasised that he sought the group’s consent and help and that he has the authority to find out which assignments the group takes on. He concluded, “If you happen to pull a stunt like this once more, you may be dismissed from the group. ” Growth!
Remy’s reprimand helped Sheryll reckon together with her state of affairs. The present ended because it started with Sheryll and Hana. Sheryll confesses that her spouse Charlotte broke her coronary heart and that she misses her children. She explains how she will’t unpack the suitcase as a result of the loss would really feel too closing, too actual. Sheryll even confessed to mendacity about assembly her dad and mom for dinner. Her instincts had been to be alone. Hana admitted to lacking the scent of Ray’s oatmeal. The attractive factor in a present replete with violence is the 2 pals reaching out for help as they pour the wine. Identical to that, it’s woman’s evening.
“Pig Butchering” – FBI: MOST WANTED, Pictured: Keisha Fort-Hughes as Particular Agent Hana Gibson. Photograph: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
General, “Pig Butchering” is a compelling mix of emotional depth, sturdy character improvement, and thrilling story turns. For me, nevertheless, the portrayal of sturdy, supportive ladies was each empowering and heartwarming. It is a must-watch for anybody searching for TV that not solely entertains but additionally resonates on a deeper emotional degree.
Do you suppose Hana and Sheryll will develop into nearer pals? Are Sheryll and Remy okay? What’s going to their work relationship be like going ahead?
General Score:
8/10
Lynette Jones