SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for CIA Season 1, Episode 7.

It’s clear to see that CIA Season 1, Episode 7, “Elimination Game” wants to give viewers a deeper look into Colin Glass. And it does in fact reveal some important information about Tom Ellis’ character. However, the way it gets there is through an overly complicated plot, while not really using the FBI characters who make a brief guest appearance.

That quasi-crossover is the first of several problems with the episode. The presence of Maggie Bell and Isobel Castille, plus the setup of the FBI and CIA working jointly at an international soccer match, sounds like the first half of a One Chicago-level franchise event that CBS viewers have been waiting for. Instead, Maggie only appears for a few minutes early on to offer a contrary opinion. Isobel has more to do as a stand-in for Nikki Reynard (as Necar Zadegan‘s character is said to be “on a mission”), but it just feels like the FBI folks got drafted in because they could, not because the story needs them.

The real team-up is between Colin and Andy Yoon, a South Korean operative who was best friends with both Colin and his late partner Toni. Very little of the information revealed about their history will come as a surprise to anyone who likes procedurals. No one watching at home will believe for as long as Colin does that Andy just happened to be at the match, and when Colin admits to Bill that Toni was also the “love of my life,” viewers will say “I told you so.” That’s been obvious from the beginning of the show. Nothing that comes out is revelatory, but it is nice to have the audience’s suspicions confirmed, and the fact that it comes out is also a turning point in Colin and Bill’s partnership—because CIA needs to keep growing that in order to keep going. That’s the dynamic that everyone should be watching for.

Tom Ellis does his best with the emotional hoops that Colin has to jump through more than once, which is another concern with “Elimination Game.” Audiences expect some twists on a show called CIA, but the script feels like it’s bouncing between several different ideas at the same time. Are Bill and Colin dealing with defectors? Spies? Assassins? A combination of all of the above? It becomes genuinely hard to figure out who’s what, and not in the entertaining, keep the audience guessing way—in the “this episode can’t quite decide what it wants to be” way. When it does get to a conclusion, fans will probably see that one coming, too. Colin’s old friend Andy is a double agent, and the implication is that he was turned by North Korea after Toni’s murder.

CIA Season 1, Episode 7 also tries to squeeze in a brief, but totally irrelevant, subplot about Bill Goodman’s personal life. There’s another “just happened” moment when the attorney working the case is revealed to be Bill’s law school classmate. Much like the Toni situation, it is no shocker when Bill tells Colin that Lauren Lafferty is also his ex-girlfriend. Now it feels like CIA might be setting Lauren up as a potential love interest, despite Bill reaffirming his commitment to fiancee Katie (who’s mentioned as being his high school sweetheart). Hopefully that’s not the case, but it’s suspicious that Katie is an off-screen presence while there’s an on-screen character clearly trying to rekindle something with Bill. And in an episode so clearly about Colin and his past, that subplot doesn’t fit. It simply feels like a distraction.

“Elimination Game” has several interesting pieces. There are two crossover characters, there’s information to be shared about Colin’s history, and the case of the week has potential. But it jumbles all these pieces together. It would be a much stronger episode—possibly one of the season’s best episodes—if the case of the week stuck to one clear direction and on the personal side, CIA not only focused in on Colin but focused on telling fans something they hadn’t already figured out for themselves. But the intent is there, and Tom Ellis continues to seem so comfortable in this role. It’s the writing that never comes together.

CIA airs Tuesdays at 10:00 p.m. 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.