SPOILER ALERT AND WARNING: The following contains spoilers for CIA Season 1, Episode 4. It also contains discussion of crimes involving children.

CIA Season 1, Episode 4 will generate mixed feelings. A story that involves both “baby factories” and hate crimes is a lot for CBS viewers to swallow. And after how emotionally heavy the previous episode was, the show probably would have been better off with something lighter within reason. But instead fans get “Forced Labor,” which will provoke sadness and some anger.

The plot is uncomfortable in multiple ways: a hate group is paying and/or threatening women to carry babies that they can then sell in the U.S. to adoptive parents, using the resulting money to fund their attacks. CIA viewers get to see two of the houses used as “baby factories” up close and personal—and they’re predictably downtrodden places where the women tell their depressing stories. There’s one mention of a stillborn child, while the baby at the center of the episode is later found being kept in a dresser drawer. This isn’t an easy hour to watch and that’s before an Alabama church gets bombed.

But at least CIA resists the temptation to pick the really sad ending (an impulse its sister series FBI did not). And the subplots for Bill Goodman and Colin Glass, while also not cheerful, do seem to point toward some substantial character development for both in the future. Colin’s is in only one scene but it goes to CIA‘s underlying premise: viewers learn that Colin’s previous partner was killed and that he, too, believes there’s a mole somewhere. This turns the central conceit of CIA from being just a Bill story into a potential team effort, which makes it a stronger idea overall. (It seems plausible at this point that the season finale will be Bill and Colin confronting the mole.)

Bill’s storyline takes up a bit of time when the show reveals that his father has been diagnosed with cancer, and it’s worse than he’s saying. There are a few calls between Bill and his family in the episode—which surprisingly flout the trend of personal phone calls just getting in the way of the plot. CIA even has a little bit of fun when Colin interrupts a FaceTime to introduce himself to Bill’s mom. That moment of humor is what CIA has been moving away from since its premiere, and that’s not great. Obviously this is not a comedy, but this being a more fun way of telling a spy story was the biggest thing that made it stand out.

“Forced Labor” also has two really good guest stars in Hope Davis and Donna Lynne Champlin. Audiences will recognize Tony Award nominee Davis from starring in Your Honor; her first TV role was in the short-lived Dick Wolf series Deadline. Champlin had an amazing guest role on Law & Order: SVU last season, so it’s fantastic that her appearance on CIA seems to suggest she’s joined the Dick Wolf talent pool. As clueless attorney Elizabeth Johnson, Champlin gets to ham it up with plenty of attitude until her character realizes who she’s actually working with. It’s a shame that setup means it’s unlikely she’ll turn up on CIA again, because she’d be a great actor to have on a recurring basis. Davis, meanwhile, helps ground the episode as hopeful adoptive mother Stephanie Harris. Those two actors, along with Tom Ellis and Nick Gehlfuss, are what make this episode worth the watch.

CIA is establishing some decent storytelling, but this episode is proof that it has to be careful not to fall into the same tone and tropes as all the other TV procedurals. There are plenty of cop (or in this case, cop-esque) shows that tell the same kind of stories. CIA has elements that allow it to deviate from that, starting obviously with its title. But it also shouldn’t be afraid to be a little lighter, or to come up with creative ways to solve a mystery. That’s what will keep this show going in the long run. “Forced Labor” isn’t a bad episode, but it also isn’t memorable except for where certain points could go in the future.

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.