Spoilers ahead for the February 1 episode of FBI: International, called “Chew Toy.”
FBI: International took the Fly Team to Transnistria for “Chew Toy,” where allies and resources were fewer and farther between than some of their more glamorous cases. Still, they successfully foiled a sex trafficking ring that had ties all the way to New York, and the episode ended on a pretty big cliffhanger for Forrester. When he was sitting in a bar in Transnistria in the aftermath of the case, none other than his estranged mom showed up, played by Lost alum Elizabeth Mitchell. Showrunner Derek Haas previewed how International will handle the aftermath.
Forrester didn’t actually get any farther than “Hey Mom” in his unexpected reunion with his mother, so viewers were left with more questions than answers about what her appearance will mean for her son at this point in Season 1. FBI: International showrunner (and Chicago Fire co-showrunner) Derek Haas shared some insight with ET after the February 1 episode about what comes next:
Elizabeth Mitchell comes in as Forrester’s mother, Angela Cassidy, whom we have been hearing about since the pilot. Is she a traitor or isn’t she? Is she loyal to the U.S. or isn’t she? How can Forrester trust anything that comes out of her mouth? She disappeared for the last 15 years! … Anyway, I, like Forrester, will be very interested in what she has to say for herself. And what she’ll be asking of him. The next episode will be a direct pickup from where we left off on tonight’s episode.
The showrunner didn’t drop all the spoilers of what comes next, but fans evidently don’t need to worry that the show is going to skip out on all of the juicy details with a time jump! With the next episode directly picking up from the end of “Chew Toy,” it could start on a pretty tense note. I’m pretty confident that he wasn’t about to jump to his feet and hug his mom! And that’s not at all surprising.
Whenever FBI: International mentioned Forrester’s mom earlier in Season 1, it wasn’t in the most flattering of terms. Angela Cassidy worked for the U.S. government until she sold information to the Russians and went MIA in 2005. His mom’s reputation caused Forrester some trouble when the Fly Team had to work with a CIA agent, although that agent ultimately tipped Forrester off that Angela was “still out there” in Moscow.
Forrester is also on somewhat less firm ground in his personal life than he was earlier in the season, after Kellett decided that they needed to break up. Although they were still on good enough terms with each other and had no trouble working together in “Chew Toy,” their dynamic has to be different. It should be interesting to see if he confides in her about Angela turning up, and if so, how much.
Elizabeth Mitchell hasn’t had much to do on FBI: International just yet, but she’s a TV alum with plenty of credits to her name, including Revolution, Once Upon a Time, The Expanse, and of course as part of the Lost cast. It’s not clear at this point how much International will feature her in Season 1, but it’s safe to say that the next episode will be must-see for fans. And judging by the ratings for the first season, there are plenty of fans to tune in!
The only bad news is that those fans will have to wait longer than usual to see what happens next, as FBI: International is heading into a mini hiatus until it returns (along with FBI and FBI: Most Wanted) to CBS on Tuesday, February 22 in the 2022 TV schedule.
