'FBI: International': Eva-Jane Willis Previews Case That is 'Quite Personal' for Smitty (Exclusive)

A new episode of 'FBI: International' airs this Tuesday, May 7 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.

By Megan Behnke

The new episode of FBI: International airing this Tuesday, May 7, will hit close to home for Europol Agent Megan "Smitty" Garretson, and Eva-Jane Willis spoke to PopCulture.com about what's in store for her character. In the episode "Touts," a former member of the Irish Republican Army turned U.S. citizen is shot dead in London, so Smitty and the Fly Team try to hunt down the people responsible. Smitty visits her mother to see if she can help the team locate an old family friend who may have a connection.

Not only that, but Willis told PopCulture that the area of London is "very close to where she grew up. In fact, she's been to the park this happened in several times throughout her life growing up. And the initial shock of this being so close to home only gets deeper as she discovers more and more that this might be something that is quite personal and close to home for her."

Willis joined FBI: International as Smitty in the second season, and with Season 3 wrapping up, the actress says it's "been great to get to know the character better." She continued, "Usually, we see Smitty as a professional. She has quite a lot of walls up that keep her unbreakable, badass, tough and it's difficult to shake her usually. This episode definitely does shake her to her very core, and it's nice as an actress to be able to show that side of her and to be able to be tipped out of my comfort zone as a character. Smitty has always got her team around her usually and them together, they feel invincible most of the time. But this particular case is not like any other vicinity."

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"Touts" – When a former member of the Irish Republican Army turned U.S. citizen is shot while in London with his son touring youth football academies, Smitty and the Fly Team work to hunt down the people responsible as the group becomes increasingly violent. While in London, Smitty pays a visit to her mother who she believes can help the team locate an old family friend who may have a connection to the case, on FBI: INTERNATIONAL, Tuesday, May 7 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on-demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on-demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs). Pictured (L-R): Eva-Jane Willis as Europol Agent Megan "Smitty" Garretson and Pippa Haywood as Scarlett Garretson. Photo: CBS ©2024 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Highest quality screengrab available.

- CBS)

As for what Smitty will be getting into in the new episode, she will be visiting her parents and her relationship with them is very different from one another. Eva-Jane Willis admitted that the Europol Agent "has a particularly complex relationship with her mother, always feeling like she's not good enough for her. She says in the episode that she tries to avoid visiting her mother at all costs. And I think it's because whenever she returns home, she can't help but feel that all those walls that she's put up to protect herself and all that kind of professional badassery go out the window, and she can't help but feel like a sloppy teenager again."

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"Her mother knows how to push her buttons, and they have a kind of special relationship," Willis said. "I think actually they're as bad as each other, and they can't help but poke at each other whenever they see each other. Her father is a different story. She has an unconditional love for him that's very pure, very playful, and sweet. And the episode will reveal that there's something much darker going on in that household that we've not known about."

What that big reveal is will be something to look forward to, but it sounds like it could change Smitty and her family moving forward. It's going to be a big episode for Smitty, and there's no telling how it will go down. Fans will just have to tune in this Tuesday, May 7 at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.

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