Spoilers ahead for the fifth episode of FBI: International on CBS, called “The Soul of Chess.”
The FBI: International Fly Team headed to Poland for “The Soul of Chess” when an American journalist was poisoned and killed in a case that involved a different kind of danger for Forrester, Kellett, and the rest. While they managed to wrap up that particular case by the end of the episode, a CIA agent who became a thorn in their sides brought up some baggage regarding Forrester’s mom, and it seems that International is on the verge of delving deeper into his backstory.
The Fly Team met CIA Agent Michael Rafferty after confusing him for a tail who was tracking them, so things got off to a tense start between the "cousins." After all, the agents had every reason to want to avoid getting caught unawares by the bad guys of the week when the bad guys were armed with lethal poisons instead of firearms. Rafferty wasn’t overly eager to share CIA intel with the FBI team, and would only confirm when they managed to uncover some evidence about halfway through the hour. When Forrester called him out on not sharing, Rafferty shot back
You’re Angela Cassidy’s son, right? So maybe you can guess why my first instinct wasn’t to hand you all my intel.
Shots fired! Forrester took that remark about as well as anybody could have expected: very badly. Jaeger managed to step in and defuse the situation before Forrester and Rafferty could escalate things, and Rafferty did prove to be more helpful through the episode. And considering what FBI: International previously revealed about Forrester’s mom, it’s not surprising that her name could get him worked up.
Angela Cassidy worked for the United States government for a time, but disappeared in 2005 after selling information to the Russians. In an episode that involved spy intrigue and Russian agents, the mention of her name was quite a trigger for Forrester, even though he seemingly hasn’t encountered her for a very long time. That might not be the case for much longer, however!
In the final scene of the episode between Forrester and Rafferty, things were a little bit more cordial, if strained. Forrester handed over a flash drive of intel that the CIA was looking for, and Rafferty handed over an envelope, saying:
I got a little something for you. A personal thank you for the FBI’s help. That’s Moscow. Two weeks ago. Your mother’s still out there.
The envelope contained a surveillance photo of a woman, taken from a pretty healthy distance away, but Forrester clearly recognized her. Apparently, his mom is in Russia, but beyond that, the only details courtesy of the photo are that she wore a white hat, dark coat, and carried a brown purse.
Still, the seed of his mother out and about has been planted, and it seems that’s enough to set Forrester off, even though he doesn’t know if she’s up to anything. The description for the next episode, called “The Secrets She Knows,” sheds some light on what happens next:
After a U.S. intelligence negotiator goes missing and her ransacked Paris apartment is discovered to be covered in her blood, the team is on the clock to find her before the country’s nuclear secrets fall into the wrong hands. Also, Forrester finds himself drawing certain parallels to his mother’s disappearance.
Will FBI: International introduce Angela Cassidy in the next episode? Only time will tell on that front, but it would be pretty early to introduce her, especially considering that International is enough of a hit that the odds are very good that it will be renewed for another season to continue telling the story.
For now, you can catch new episodes of FBI: International on CBS on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET, between FBI at 8 p.m. ET and FBI: Most Wanted (which just welcomed Hana back after saying goodbye to Kellan Lutz’s Kenny Crosby to start the season) at 10 p.m. ET. The Dick Wolf TV universe is going strong on both CBS and NBC, with One Chicago and the Law & Orders as well as the FBIs, so keep on tuning in as the fall TV season continues.
