‘FBI’s Juliana Aidén Martinez on Meeting Eva’s Mom & Worrying About Scola Leaving

It’s time to learn more about Eva (Juliana Aidén Martinez) on FBI. The long-running CBS drama is diving into the newest team member’s personal life in the Monday, November 9, episode.

In “Ultimatum,” after Eva goes to check on her mom, she ends up in the middle of a fragile situation on the Staten Island Ferry. Meanwhile, the team is busy tracking down a thief when a highly radioactive material is stolen from a medical disposal facility. Also on Eva’s mind? Her partner, Scola (John Boyd), told her that his wife, Nina (Shantel VanSanten), has been offered her own task force — in San Diego.

Below, Juliana Aidén Martinez discusses Eva and her mom’s relationship, the possibility of her having to say goodbye to her partner, and more.

Eva goes to check on her mom. So what can you preview about why? And what’s their relationship like?

Juliana Aidén Martinez: This is the first time we get to see Eva’s backstory, personal backstory, if you will. I know that last season we saw a little bit of a case in her more professional background. But for this, you see her really with her mother and their relationship history to this point, which obviously, it’s very fragile, and there’s a bit of a conflict between these two women and what one person wants to do in order to protect her, to make sure she’s safe, and what someone else, her mother, wants to do as well. You get to see basically Eva and her mother, and I don’t know, the more intimate side to them that I think is really cool because we’ve only seen Eva as an agent to this point. So I think that’s really fascinating.

Bennett Raglin/CBS

But then Eva finds herself in the middle of this situation on the ferry. What can you say about what’s going on there and how Eva’s going to handle it? And is that almost like a welcome break from what’s going on with her mom, for her to throw herself into this?

I think absolutely. I relate to it in this way, and I think others will, too, that once there’s something you can’t control in your life, the thing that you can control is going to work and keeping yourself busy. So I think for Eva, it’s definitely a relief that she can do something that she feels like she’s good at, which is doing her job. And going to the ferry and then also joining the rest of the squad for her is a bit of relief in comparison to trying to interact or cooperate with her mother, if you will.

But then what Eva also has to have on her mind right now is the thing with Nina’s job offer in San Diego and then Scola struggling with that and possibly having to be worried about maybe losing her partner.

I know!

How worried is Eva about that? Because that would be another thing for her to deal with at this point.

It’s so astute of you to point out. I did think of that for sure. And I think that with Scola potentially leaving, there was definitely a bit of a fear that she can lose the one relationship that could potentially be stable in her life at this point or maybe a healthy mirror for her in some way. I think Scola and Nina’s relationship is something that she secretly admires because as we know, she used to have a relationship with a field agent as well, and that didn’t go too well. So I think there’s a bit of being happy for someone because they’re living out a dream that she also wants for herself, but also selfishly not wanting to lose her partner. So it’s a bit of a twofold.

Yeah, especially because we got the little bit at the beginning of the season; she’s been spending time with his family, too, so she’s really getting to know them. These are people in her life now that mean something to her.

Exactly. She’s becoming a part of their family. She’s just becoming a part of their unit, if you will. And so for her, it’s past work, it’s personal. So for him to potentially leave, I think, like many fans, it’s like, “Is he going to leave? Is he going to leave us?” And I think that’s definitely in the back of her mind.

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What can you preview about Episode 7 when Nina’s working alongside the team and what may come up with the skull, and how Eva may be involved? Is Eva going to get stuck in the middle of things?

Like a third wheel? I really loved working with Shantel, and I love the relationship that Eva’s building with Scola, and then what you see, the relationship with Nina. It’s really fun. I can’t tease too much, but I really had a blast playing with them, and the scenes are just really fun. It was really nice. I think the fans are going to love it. And as always, it’s lovely and amazing to have Shantel working again and coming back on to FBI for this coming episode. So I think fans are going to be thrilled.

OA hasn’t been the same since he came back from his undercover assignments. Is Eva picking up anything?

I think that there are a few moments where Eva’s noticing that there’s some tension between OA and Maggie, and I think she’s sensing that there’s some tension between their partnership. And because of what Eva’s investment is in a partnership, in relationship, in having a sense of trust between those two partners or between two people in a partnership, she senses that there’s something off with OA, but I don’t know if she necessarily knows what it is. She just senses that there’s something up between these two.

FBI, Mondays, 8/7c, CBS