The tragic meaning behind Wes Mitchell's new tattoos on FBI: International

“Nothing Sudden About It” – When an American teenager disappears from a beach party during her senior year trip to Portugal, the Fly Team heads up the search, which is further complicated by the missing teen’s parents’ differing opinions, on FBI: INTERNATIONAL, Tuesday, Oct. 29 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+.
“Nothing Sudden About It” – When an American teenager disappears from a beach party during her senior year trip to Portugal, the Fly Team heads up the search, which is further complicated by the missing teen’s parents’ differing opinions, on FBI: INTERNATIONAL, Tuesday, Oct. 29 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+. / CBS
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Wes Mitchell just joined the Fly Team on FBI: International, but he already has an established rapport with Cameron Vo. Part of this is because he trained her back in Seattle, but it's also that they get on like a house on fire. Their partnership in the field relies on their trust in one another and their ability to communicate when the pressure is on.

We saw this in season 4 episode 3, "Nothing Sudden About It," where they investigated whether Leah, an American teen was actually abducted or something else was going on with her disappearance. Cameron opened up to Wes when she felt that she'd crossed the line questioning the validity of Leah's story. She knows what it's like to be that age and not believed by the people who should be doing everything in their power to protect her.

Cameron's parents told her she was overreacting when she'd shared that there was a creepy man following her and saying highly inappropriate things to her. It'd hurt Cameron to cast doubt on Leah even though it's part of her job to make sure they're not being misled. Wes listened, he let her have her moment, and their relationship grew once again. But Cameron knows that he's not doing the same with her. She said as much after the case.

Yes, she can roll with it when Wes "freelances" like when he told Leah's father he was a single father of two sons just so he could push the man into confessing he'd staged his daughter's abduction. But the work they do is hard and they need to be able to trust one another. Wes told her he does trust her, so Cameron voiced that maybe he's having trouble letting her in and urged him to confide in her. He said he'd work on it and the ending of "Nothing Sudden About It" explained what's keeping him from opening up through a simple tattoo scene.

What Wes Mitchell's new tattoos mean on FBI: International

At the beginning of the episode, Wes had been getting two tattoos. He had to bail for the case but came back to finish it. The artist asked him what the numbers "1506" and "5903" mean. Wes shared that they're badge numbers. They'd belonged to fellow agents he'd worked with--Alana Greggs and Mike Brooks.

The reveal was a gut punch because we know Mike died in the season 4 premiere, "A Leader, Not a Tourist," which implies that Alana died two years ago. Wes has lost two partners in the span of a couple years. That's a lot of weight and grief to carry so it's no wonder he's having trouble letting Cameron in. He's likely scared of getting close to her and then losing her like he lost Alana and Mike.

But seeing how these two work, the private conversations they've had, and the clear admiration Wes has for Cameron, it looks like it's too late. He already is close enough for it to hurt if something happens to her. I have a feeling the show will test that theory at some point this season.

FBI: International airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS. Next day streaming is available on Paramount+. A new episode won't air on Nov. 5 due to Election Night coverage. The series will return on Nov. 12. Stay tuned to Americans Undercover for coverage. Follow us on X for livetweet threads and more content!

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