FBI: International‘s Damian Powell (Greg Hovanessian) may have escaped Bulgarian consequences last week after locking himself in a room with a suspect and nearly beating the guy to a pulp. But turns out the special agent wasn’t out of hot water just yet. In episode 5, “Death By Inches,” the Fly Team was sent to Vienna to investigate a former U.S. cabinet member who was selling classified documents, with Forrester (Luke Kleintank) going fully undercover to take down the whole operation. Powell, however, was benched. Forrester had him stay behind to coordinate from home base, and pointed out that the punishment could be much worse if he wanted it to be.
Powell reluctantly followed orders, but he had a hard time not being in the field and was convinced it was not where he belonged.
Things got hairy in the investigation as Forrester ended up kidnapped with a bag over his head, his cover blown. But all Powell could do was sit there and struggle to make decisions from afar. After Vo (Vinessa Vidotto) saved Forrester and they all got safely back to Budapest, Forrester pulled Powell into his office for a chat (and showed off his cool privacy doors). Powell assumed he was getting fired.
“Look, I wasn’t at my best yesterday,” he told his boss. “I respect what Tate and her team can do, truly, I just can’t add anything. I belong in the field.”
“I agree,” Forrester said. “Which is why you’re not getting fired. You’re getting transferred…I talked to Richard Muir in undercover ops. Turns out they’re looking for someone for a long term investigation in Germany. It’s deep cover. You’d be in the field, in the thick of it, 24/7.”
“I’m off the Fly Team?” Powell asked. “It’s just one mistake. You’re telling me you can’t look past that, just this one time?
“It’s time, Damian,” said Forrester. “It’s just one time. It’s just one inch. The team, they were willing to lie for you in Bulgaria. I have been trying to convince myself to look the other way. And I know, me and you, we go way back. It’s just, where does that lead?”
Powell then accepted the transfer with a handshake and went out for goodbye drinks with his colleagues. He thanked them all for pulling him out of the gutter and holding him accountable and saving his life a time or two.
“Most importantly, you showed me that no matter where I am or who I’m pretending to be, I will never be lost,” he said, holding up his drink.
It’s unclear what the transfer means for Hovanessian’s future on the show. Is he gone for good? Will he appear in a different capacity? Whatever the case, hopefully Powell’s next gig in the world of FBI: International will go better than his last.
