‘FBI: International’: Eva-Jane Willis on [Spoiler]’s Return & Smitty Becoming More Rebellious

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for FBI: International Season 4 Episode 11 “Veritas Fidelis.”]

Smitty (Eva-Jane Willis) gets help from the Fly Team — and a former member! — when it comes to taking down the corruption at her old university in the latest FBI: International episode.

Smitty takes it upon herself to make sure what’s initially ruled an accident is investigated properly, and in doing so, the horrible behavior of a secret society is exposed. Furthermore, Smitty learns that what led to her own dismissal from the school was actually a set-up; a friend did not leave a bottle of gin in her room but it was planted there after she reported another student (whose father was on the Board of Governors) for stealing earrings. The headmistress is still there and still protecting those with powerful parents — like the student who raped and killed the victim.

James’ father tries to use his connections to protect him by getting to the Russian border, but the team — with Smitty’s immediate approval — tricks the pilot by generating an air traffic control transmission about a red-level threat. When they land in Germany, Jaeger (Christiane Paul returns!), the Fly Team’s Europol liaison before Smitty, is waiting. While James’ father has used his money to get his son a German passport (citizens are protected from foreign extradition), his funds are soon frozen when it’s discovered that they came from his involvement with oligarchs (therefore in violation of sanctions). James is arrested.

Below, Willis discusses Jaeger’s return, the importance of Smitty and Raines’ (Carter Redwood) friendship, and more.

I love seeing Jaeger. Talk about having her be the one who helps Smitty.

Eva-Jane Willis: It is so nice. I’m so glad they put that in. Jaeger is really her hero. When people talk about the voice in my ear when she’s doing her job, it’s Jaeger who was always the one that she was looking up to before she ever came onto the Fly Team, and the fact that Jaeger gave her that position even more so, it means that she looks up to her, she owes her. Every time she speaks to her, she says, thank you, I owe you. And Jaeger always seems to come in right at the moment that Smithy needs her and sort of save the day. It’s such a lovely treat for me personally and for Smitty as well, and hopefully for the fans to have Jaeger show up when Smitty needs her most in this episode, and I’m so glad they’ve kept that relationship going, and despite the fact that Christiane isn’t in every episode anymore, it’s so nice to be reminded and to have that reminder for everyone that Smitty wouldn’t be on the Fly Team if it wasn’t for Jaeger and it’s Jaeger that she would love to become one day in her future self. That’s the person she looks up to the most.

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Smitty agrees to Wes’ (Jesse Lee Soffer) plan to get James, who raped Emma, pretty quickly. Usually, she’s the one who’s thinking things through — if this can be done, if they should be doing this. Would she have OK’ed it as fast as she did if not for her history at the school? She knows what they’re capable of. She knows what his family is capable of.

I think obviously something personal is at stake for her here as well, so there is that, but I think she says it earlier in the episode, she’s like, we’ve got to get these guys. We’ve just got to. And it is almost symbolic because this guy, if he gets away with this, it just kind of proves that this old world elitism, which kind of runs the world still today is always one step ahead and always prevails, and she’s had enough. Time’s up on this as far as she’s concerned, and this is why she’s kind of willing to step over the line and go into more risky territory, more rebellious, not exactly rule-following territory. Mitchell’s response is, “I knew I’d rub off on you,” which I think is actually not untrue. I think having gone up against him so much in the last 10 episodes that she’s starting to see that maybe sometimes you do have to bend the rules slightly as long as justice is still served.

Especially because of what Raines uncovered about what happened with her, that she was set up. And I have to say, I love how the Smitty and Raines friendship is really being highlighted this season and in this episode.

Yes, I love it too. Carter Redwood in real life is absolutely the person who everyone confides in. He’s such an incredible deep and talented and warm human offscreen, so it’s no wonder that the writers see that and they give him that role onscreen as well. I really believe that it’s almost like a magic touch that he has — all of Smitty’s guards and walls come crashing down when he’s around and he’s the person that she can cry to. She can literally put her head on his shoulder and cry, and he holds her hand, and that’s a side of her that we never see in front of anyone else. It’s only Raines that gets to see that, and that’s the special relationship that they have as partners.

There’s also that really satisfying moment with the gin bottle when the headmistress was leaving her office. I liked that.

Yeah, that was nice. I liked that, too. Yes, [writer] Beatrice Morgan did a really good job of not only painting this world, the world of this secret society, this Covington Club — she did a really good job of accurately portraying that world and then also giving Smitty this really lovely personal thread through it. That was a nice punch at the end for her to get her own back and just a little sting to show the headmistress that she knew that she knew all along what was going on.

FBI: International, Tuesdays, 9/8c, CBS