Leave it to a show as woke as CBS’s FBI: Most Wanted to come up with a fall finale where an entire “sundown town’s” police force is a “racist” “gang” of murderers out killing innocent black people to supposedly clean up the county’s drug problem.
But it gets even worse. The episode was titled “The Electric Company” because the police are using tasers to murder their victims and proudly call themselves by that name. Yes, seriously.
The episode opens in fictional Archer County, Maryland, where two, white intruders attack a black man, Emanuel “Manny” Birdsong (Apollo Levine) in front of his wife and child and tase him to death when he won’t tell them where his supposed drug stash is. They dump his body in a Virginia swamp where other bodies from the same county end up being found.
When FBI Agent Ray Cannon (Edwin Hodge), who is black, learns the victim is from Archer County, he remarks, “Archer County was once referred to as a ‘sundown town.’ Probably still is. It's home to the Eastern Shores' most rabid bigots. My father said they were burning crosses there till the early '70s.”
The team sets out to investigate and first attempts to question Manny’s wife, who is white, but she flees. When Ray catches her and asks why she ran, she tells him, “I don’t like cops.”
“I get that,” he replies.
The team eventually learns Manny was killed with a Taser which they trace to Archer County Deputy Eli Nelson (Andy Favreau). They interview Sheriff Blake (John Bedford Lloyd) who turns out to be a perfect caricature of a corrupt, racist cop covering for his team of equally corrupt officers:
Sheriff: Look, we got a lot of bad actors in this county who would like nothing more than to pin a charge on one of my boys.
Nina: Well, let's just take a look at your Taser logs, then. You know, I'd like to see if Eli used his device on the night that's in question.
Sheriff: We don't keep logs on our Tasers.
Nina: How come?
Sheriff: Because I trust the men who work for me.
Nina: Convenient.
Remy: Electric Company. What's this?
Sheriff: Well, that's kind of an inside joke around here. That's my anti-crime unit. They collared a murderer who, you know, eventually got the chair.
Nina: So, who's everyone in the picture with you?
Sheriff: That's Dobbs, Harvey, and Eli Nelson. So, now that we have cracked the case of the missing Taser cartridges, I'll be taking over this murder investigation. We like to clean up our own garbage here in Archer County, so you guys can just go home.
Remy: Take a look at these faces, because we're sticking around here for a while. Sheriff Blake can barely stand being in the same room with us. That means we're onto something.
Nina: Yeah, but it wasn't his department that requested our assistance. It was Virginia. So, do we need to run this by Isobel?
Remy: Already did. By the way, no one's ever gotten the chair in Maryland. That whole "Electric Company" story? Bunch of caca.
Nina: Okay. Update from Quantico Forensic Lab. All three victims in the Virginia swamp died of cardiac arrest.
Remy: Consistent with being lethally tased by the Electric Company.
Nina: There's also evidence of blunt-force trauma on all three victims, and Manny Birdsong had fractured ribs and a broken jaw.
Remy: They roughed him up and electrocuted him before they dumped him in that swamp. This profiles as renegade cops who believe they're doing the right thing by taking matters into their own hands- judge, jury, and executioner. Let's deconflict with the county D.A. before we track them down. I don't want this dumbass sheriff mucking things up.
The county D.A., also white, ends up defending the cops because the county’s lowered drug crime rate reflects well on her. Meanwhile Eli and his partner, Deputy Logan Dobbs (Shane Patrick) boldly plant the Taser used in Manny’s murder in the car of another innocent black man, Ronnie, who they refer to as “a real piece of trash.” They then force a black, male teen to call in a “tip” about the Taser’s location by threatening to arrest him for the pot he’s smoking.
Logan chastises the teen’s white, female friend, who was also smoking pot, for hanging out with a “loser.” “You should know better,” he admonishes her.
FBI agents Sheryll Barnes (Roxy Sternberg) and Ray Cannon (Edwin Hodge), both black, are pulled over in the county for speeding, and the scene is astoundingly absurd, even for a woke Hollywood drama:
Ray: Is there a problem, Officer?
Sheriff: Hands on the wheel, son.
Ray: First of all, I'm not your son.
Sheryll: Ray. Just so you know, we're both FBI agents, and we're here on official business, and we're both carrying sidearms.
Sheriff: Is that so? Does that give you the right to do 80 on a 45?
Ray: This is an emergency vehicle. I'm authorized.
Sheriff: Not in Archer County, you don't.
Ray: Right. Look, we'll slow it down, all right?
Sheriff: All right. Why don't you exit the vehicle? You too, ma'am.
Sheryll: Is that really necessary?
Deputy: Are you telling us how to do our jobs?
Sheryll: No, I'm not telling you how to do your job.
Deputy: Get out of the car!
Ray: Well, I need you to de-escalate.
Sheryll: Ray, let's get out the car.
Ray: I'm not getting out the car, Sheryll.
Sheryll: Let's get out the car.
Ray: I'm not getting out the car.
Sheryll: Ray, let's get out the car. Come on.
Deputy: Move.
Ray: What is this really about?
Sheryll: I am moving. Don't tell me to move.
Ray: We've already identified ourselves, all right?
Sheryll: I'm moving, okay? So, you don't need to tell me to move.
Ray: This ain't right.
Deputy: Turn around.
Ray: Don't tell me to turn around, man.
Sheryll: I don't need to turn around. I didn't do anything.
Deputy: You really wanna do this right now?
Sheryll: Do I wanna do what?
Deputy: Turn around!
Ray: Get your hands off of her!
Deputy: Stay back!
Sheryll: Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Hey, what the hell are you doing? He didn't do anything!
Deputy: Stay down! Stay down!
Sheryll: He didn't do anything!
Deputy: Stay down!
Sheryll: He didn't do anything!
Sheriff: Welcome to Archer County.
I mean, technically, they weren’t following orders and Ray lunged at the officer, but yeah, it was obviously targeted racism knowing they were FBI agents.
Agents Remy (Dylan McDermott) and Nina (Shantel VanSanten) meanwhile interview Ronnie’s son James (Denzel Rodriquez) who warns how deep the county’s corruption runs:
James: All right, the night that guy Manny got killed, I was at home with my pop watching the Wizards play on the West Coast.
Remy: Wizards fan. Woof. That's rough.
James: Not as rough as being framed for murder. Thing is, I crashed out on the sofa after the game. My pop never left the house.
Nina: So, that's a strong alibi. Does his public defender know?
James: Yeah, I told him, but that doesn't matter. Nobody's gonna believe us.
Nina: Why not?
James: It's just the way it is out here.
Remy: Why are you so worried, James?
James: My father wouldn't do something like this. Never. Everybody I know thinks that Manny was killed by the Electric Company.
Remy: And?
James: Word on the street was that Manny was dealing. Whether that's true or not, I can't say. But Sheriff Blake and his Electric Company crew, that's how they roll with that situation- Tasers and beat-downs. They say that they're cleaning up the drug problem in this county? Yeah, maybe. But there's a trail of dead and broken bodies along the way. Last year, I got stopped by Nelson and Dobbs. Said they were looking for meth. They tore apart my car and they tased me.
Nina: Did you tell anybody about this?
James: You kidding me? The last person to complain to Sheriff Blake disappeared. Yeah, that was him sending a message. You open your mouth, The Electric Company crew will bust down your door in the middle of the night on some anonymous tip.
Remy: Like what happened to Manny.
James: Yeah. I know five, six people. Same thing. Look, I can't talk to you anymore. I gotta get back to work.
Remy: This whole damn county is going to the dark side. We need to talk to the U.S. Attorney in Baltimore.
As the episode’s end nears, the U.S. Attorney thankfully believes the FBI’s suspicions and takes them seriously:
Attorney: I’ve heard rumors of law enforcement corruption in Archer County from time to time, but nothing we could verify.
Remy: Corruption is one thing, but this is a systematic policy of intimidation, brutality, and murder. There's an entire community living in fear of a handful of deputies who operate like a street gang.
Hana: And a county DA who turns a blind eye in the name of a drug war.
Attorney: Other than the case you're working, is there any criminal activity you could substantiate?
Remy: We just spoke with someone who might be willing to break the ice. He has a list of other victims.
Nina: Plus, we may have eyewitnesses and medical records to corroborate his story.
Attorney: And why might this brave soul be willing to come forward now?
Remy: His father is being framed for murder committed by these cops.
Attorney: So, he has a bone to pick?
Remy: No, no, no. This young man is absolutely credible.
Attorney: If that's the case, I'm on board. Give me the name of your targets, and I'll have arrest warrants within the hour. Then I'll need to talk to your informant myself.
Remy: It's not gonna be easy to round up these hooligans in their own back yard. They have a network of co-conspirators and nothing to lose.
Nina: We need to speak with James Mccaffrey. We need to make sure that he's willing to cooperate with us before things get ugly.
Remy: Barnes and Ray will scoop him up at his job and bring him here.
The FBI attempts to persuade James into becoming a witness, but as he steps into his car, it immediately explodes. You can probably figure out who the culprit was:
Ray: This has the Electric Company written all over it, Remy. Look, he was innocent, and they lynched him!
Nina: Look, somebody had to have found out that he was talking with us, Remy.
Hana: We can use this to get justice for James McCaffrey's father.
Sheryll: Well, how's that gonna work now that they murdered his son?
Remy: We still have the arrest warrants, and the U.S. Attorney can convene a grand jury. Let's go round up these sons of bitches.
Hana: I've got bolos on their personal vehicles.
Sheryll: What the hell does he want? What the hell does he want?
Sheriff: Hey! Why wasn't I notified about this?
Remy: You know exactly why.
Sheriff: Oh, you think I had a hand in this?
Remy: Damn right, I do.
Sheriff: Oh, I should have put down your candy ass when I had the chance. Now, clear your people off of my crime scene so I can get to work here.
Remy: Your deputies murdered a witness in a federal prosecution. They have 24 hours to surrender. In the meantime, if you don't turn around and get back in your vehicle, I'm gonna arrest you for obstruction, you racist pig. That's right. You heard me. Get him out of here!
Deputy: Come on, boss.
Sheriff: Let's go home!
Remy: We're not waiting until tomorrow. Let's split up and get these dirtbags before they rack up even more bodies to cover their tracks.
In the end, the FBI gets enough evidence against The Electric Company to take them all into custody, minus one who shot himself.
It seems quite unfair that one hit CBS procedural drama that always respected blue lives just aired their series finale after being canceled by the network while this woke garbage of a show gets to continue on. But sadly, that’s Hollywood’s priorities for you.
