FBI – Season 7 Episode 5 ”Pledges” Recap & Review

Pledges

Episode 5 of FBI Season 7 starts with the FBI and NYPD responding to a campus protest. They secure the scene but find the body of a student. Outside, Jubal spots his son, Tyler, among the protesters arrested by the police. He walks over to the police in charge and asks for a favour to have Tyler freed.

In the meantime, the other agents identify the victim as Jacob Aquino. The NYPD Lieutenant Marcus relinquishes the case to the FBI since one of the people inside the building is a high-profile UN member. She was at the campus to give a talk, but shortly after arriving, the students took over the building. The school had made a controversial decision not to house immigrant students in the house.  Jacob was part of the students protesting against this.

The FBI start scouring the footage from campus, and it leads them to a man named Frank Dorman. He and Jacob have a confrontation, and the FBI finds Frank still at the campus. They arrest him and question him about the confrontation he had with Jacob. Frank is for the school’s new rule and has no love for immigrants. However, the police quickly realise he is not their guy.

In the meantime, Maggie and OA talk to Jacob’s mom. He was her only son, and she says he was determined to graduate. She also adds that Jacob suddenly resigned from his fraternity and helps them open his phone. Police look into it and discover that Jacob’s lab partner was expelled for cocaine possession a week before the protest. The FBI uncovered threatening messages from Freddy to Jacob. OA and Maggie return to the school to talk to the students about Jacob. They talk to a boy named Alistair, who tells them that Freddy went home after Jacob’s death. Alistair says Freddy took Jacob’s death hard, but the agents don’t believe it. They found a video of Freddy and Jacob arguing hours before his death.

Next, Maggie and OA visit Freddy and find a hidden stash of cocaine in his laundry. They bring him in for questioning, and he claims that Jacob was working with him. However, Freddy quit after his lab partner was expelled. Freddy explains that he was only threatening Jacob since his suppliers wouldn’t take it calmly with him leaving. Freddy argues that maybe his suppliers killed Jacob because they thought he would talk. Freddy agrees to help the FBI bring in his suppliers.

A problem arises since the suppliers are under an active NYPD drug task force run by Marcus. He refuses to pause his investigation or work with the FBI for fear of jeopardising his multiple homicide cases. Jubal tries to talk to him, but he threatens to press charges on Tyler. Jubal is flustered and asks Isobel not to step in when she offers to call the police commissioner. Isobel has no idea that Jubal broke the law.

The case moves forward when the FBI gets Freddy to meet with one of his suppliers, Mario. Mario makes it clear that he doesn’t care about Jacob or what happened to him. He only cares about getting his stash back and ending his professional relationship with Freddy. To make sure Freddy brings his remaining stash, Mario kidnaps Alistair, who is also part of Freddy’s gang.

Jubal reaches out to Marcus again and convinces him to team up. They agree that NYPD will get the credit once the arrest is done. They already know where Mario and his brother might be keeping Alistair. However, Marcus is wary if the information is worthwhile. Freddy is also certain that Czar killed Jacob. He tells the agents that the body shop is the brother’s headquarters.

In the meantime, the police commissioner calls Isobel to report Jubal and asks that he be punished. Isobel agrees and promises to take care of the situation.

The NYPD and FBI move to verify the information about the brother’s body shop. They send in a little camera and see Mario talking to his bodyguards. They also spot a locked door in the room. Before they can breach, Mario’s men find the camera and come out guns blazing. The task force moves to secure the area and arrest Mario. They find Alistair in the basement, with Czar holding him at gunpoint. Maggie gives Czar a chance to surrender, but the latter refuses. They end up killing him and saving Alistair. Jubal also saves Marcus when he nearly gets attacked from behind. Marcus is relieved when they find boxes of cocaine in the body shop.

Maggie and OA find a bloody tool and think it is the murder weapon. However, it turns out they were wrong. Once the ME explains the possible murder weapon, they narrow it down to a bike lock. OA also points out that Freddy said that Jacob’s skull was carved in. The agents never mentioned that. They investigate further and find the murder weapon in Freddy’s belongings. It turns out Jacob was not part of Freddy’s clique. He only threatened to report Freddy after learning the truth about his lab partner.

The episode ends with Jubal getting suspended without pay. He goes home and tries to talk some sense into Tyler to be mindful of his future.

The Episode Review

As a parent, we understand why Jubal did what he did. However, it was wrong and unfair. Tyler made a choice to be part of the protest. He knew the consequences and still went through with it. He was also not happy with his dad for swooping in and saving the day. At the end of the day, Isobel did the right thing. There have to be repercussions because no one is above the law.

This episode also touched on the immigrants in America. America is currently dealing with divisive politics that has turned people against each other. In this episode, Jacob’s mom talks about her dreams for her son. Why they moved there and, sadly, they never got to live that dream. In all accounts, Jacob was trying to do the right thing, but it cost him his life.