I’m no expert, but I know there are rules to setting a television narrative. This week’s episode of “White Bull,” “FBI: Most Wanted,” is impeccably plotted and paced as it follows the FBI’s event-sequencing formula – breach, complication, escalation and arrest. However, the episode’s narrative structure suffers from too many competing themes and may disappoint some viewers, but it’s still worth watching. Please allow me to explain.
White Bull – FBI: Most Wanted, pictured: Dylan McDermott as Supervisor Remy Scott. Photo: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved.
Violations. Emma and Trevor are two passionate young people who enter an art museum. Given the popularity of the show, viewers knew art defacement was imminent. Emma shouts: “Art or the Earth – which is more important?” Trevor documents their open act of defiance when Emma pours pig’s blood on the painting.
complication. A narrator witnessed the horrific act and asked security for help. The guard drew his weapon and approached Trevor. A struggle ensues. The gun went off and the docent died.
upgrade. Trevor and Emma escape from the museum with loaded guns. Two men killed a second man while stealing a CO2 tanker truck. Ignoring FBI orders, they parked the tanker truck and drove to a market crowded with families and children. They offer up their friend Tori as cover for their escape. Tori’s capture gives Trevor and Emma time to release the compressed gas. While Remy and his agents are forced to focus on saving lives, Emma and Trevor slip away. The pair envisioned a new act of public defiance, targeting pipeline transfer stations. Trevor (sort of) convinces Emma that violence is the only answer.
“White Buffalo” – FBI: Most Wanted. Pictured: Edwin Hodge as Special Agent Ray Cannon. Photo: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved.
concern. Remy calls Trevor and Emma “eco-terrorist aunties,” and he and his agents quickly track them down. After being discovered, the two gave up attacking the relay station. Instead, they took a hostage and headed to the pipeline injection point. Here, hydraulic fracturing is done using carbon dioxide gas instead of a slurry of water, sand and chemicals. The practice is illegal and dangerous, sparking Trevor’s anger. The hostages warned that if they set fire to the injection site, they would die. Trevor ignores the warning and sets the fire. Remy’s crew approaches. Ray saw the smoke and asked Remy, “What should we do?” Remy said they had to ambush the two or they would die. Trevor tries to cower, but Remy shoots him. Emma pointed a pistol at the hostage’s head and screamed: “Trevor is dead, what am I still doing alive?” Nina put down the gun and told Emma: “You can do more things alive than dead. “Emma surrendered. Remy handcuffs Emma and tells her that she is under arrest for domestic terrorism and accessory to murder.
White Buffalo – FBI: Most Wanted, pictured (LR): Shantel VanSanten as Agent Nina Chase, Dylan McDermott McDermott as supervisory agent Remy Scott, Keisha Castle-Hughes as agent Hana Gibson, Edwin Hodge as Hodge plays special agent Ray Cannon. Photo: Mark Schafer/CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved.
That’s the story, but the execution is filled with inexplicable distractions. The distractions stem from competing themes including radicalism and terrorism, girls with daddy issues, sexual fluidity and jealousy, and the appropriateness of the “White Buffalo” legend. Radicalism and terrorism share the goal of promoting social change. The difference between these terms is method and intent. While the method (violence) is clear, Emma and Trevor’s intentions are not. Trevor’s motivations weren’t sincere and didn’t convince me that Emma would follow him so easily and that he was just a poor guy rushing to make a plan.
Early in the episode, Nina is struggling with her father’s visit. Nina’s father complained about the filth and noise in New York City. He felt insulted that her partner was willing to spend money on things. He questions Nina’s marital status. The atmosphere at home is so tense that Nina feels relieved when she gets the call about a murder investigation. The episode ends with Nina refuting her father’s claims that she had a perfect childhood. “Everything is wrong,” she growled angrily, and her father walked out. Nina’s sister hesitates before following him, saying, “Maybe this will all go away,” to which Nina replies, “If not, that’s okay with me.” We learn from Emma’s landlord, her oil executive Her father paid her rent. However, she chose to become a climate change activist in order to target the fossil fuel industry. While it’s not a perfect resemblance, we can surmise that Emma, like Nina, has daddy issues. Family conflict is at the root of both women’s motivations. It makes sense for Nina to convince Emma to surrender.
White Bull – FBI: Most Wanted, pictured (LR): Shantel VanSanten as Agent Nina Chase, John Finn as Jackson Chase, John Boyd as Agent Stewart Scola. Photo: CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved.
Emma’s landlord gives us another detail – her apparent bisexuality. When Tori helps Emma and Trevor escape to Pennsylvania, the show makes it very clear that the two women are attracted to each other. Trevor is a strange man. Trevor’s first murder was accidental, triggering his anger, fear, and insecurities. It wasn’t until they spent the night at Tory’s house that he went from radical to terrorist. Trevor’s real motivation is jealousy. He transfers and amplifies these intense emotions into his relationship with Emma, causing him to “burn everything down” – literally.
Additionally, the producers’ weaving into White Bull is clumsy. The Lakota people believe the birth of a white buffalo is a symbol of good luck, the fulfillment of a prayer, or a prophecy. According to Google Machine, the legend of the white buffalo also symbolizes “a pledge of allegiance to the earth.” Yes, this metaphor fits Emma’s logic. Unfortunately, I think the introduction of the white buffalo is a form of cultural appropriation. Rather than handling this topic carefully, the show treats it rather superficially.
“White Bull” is a good drama. However, the numerous themes dilute the crime narrative, leaving viewers like me unsure of where to focus their emotional and intellectual investments. By focusing on one or two of the themes discussed above, the episode will have greater impact and greater audience engagement. But what do I know? I just recently started reviewing FBI: Most Wanted For spoiler TV. Did you like White Buffalo? Can anyone tell me what happened between Nina and her dad and sister? Does anyone else think jealousy is the driving force behind Trevor’s behavior, or is it lost in a secondary narrative? Let me know. I always lower my head and chat.
Overall rating:
8/10
Lynette Jones