FBI's Juliana Aidén Martinez On How Eva's Quest For Justice Conflicts With The Team's Mission

Spoilers ahead for Monday's episode of "FBI"!

Eva Ramos' past has come back to haunt her. 

In Monday's "FBI," a highly dangerous strain of fentanyl hits the streets, leading to the deaths of two children and a daycare worker. When the team finally tracks down stash, it leads to Hector Vega, a drug dealer Ramos tried — and failed — to convict during her days as a prosecutor. As she tells Scola, she had a witness who was going to testify against Vega, but the witness disappeared and was presumed dead, another victim to Vega's incessant string of violence. 

Vega pitches the idea of working with the FBI to put away Jalen Turner, a dangerous guy who's moving "major weight." The new drug in question is nitazene, a synthetic opioid that's 1,000 times more potent than morphine. Since Vega wants Turner gone from the drug game, his interests now align with the FBI's. With help from Vega's man on the inside, Ramos and Scola are able to take down Turner by the end of the hour, but Vega ultimately escapes Ramos' grasp, reopening wounds from the agent's former life, including her guilt for the witness she couldn't protect.

Below, Juliana Aidén Martinez talks to TVLine about Ramos' last gig, her character's partnership with Scola, how the "FBI" crew shot that major chase scene, and more.

TVLINE | This episode peels back layers of Ramos' past. Can you tell me a bit about your character's history and why this case had such a profound effect on her?
JULIANA AIDÉN MARTINEZ | Someone from Eva's past resurfaces. We see two children and a daycare worker get killed, and it connects to someone that she wasn't able to charge when she was a prosecutor years back. So it's maybe like a personal failing or something like the one that got away from her in the past that comes back, and we see her desire to redeem herself or to get justice really conflict with the team's mission, which is what's really cool about this episode.

TVLINE | That someone is Hector Vega, and he says there's a synthetic opioid hitting the market in the city. He proposes that Eva work with him to help clean up the streets. What's her gut reaction to that?
She hates it. She abhors the idea of working with this criminal, with this man that she was going to charge with multiple things and [whom] she thinks is not on the right side of the law. So to have to work with someone that she has been thinking for years and years of how to put behind bars? He's probably the last person she wants to work with.

TVLINE | When Scola finds out that Eva withheld information about Vega at first, he's mad! Why didn't she come clean with what she knew right away?
There are several things that are coming into that. As new partners, there's the [question] of like, "How much can I trust you with information that's sensitive?" And I do think that Hector Vega is someone that she may have a lot of shame about, she has a lot of guilt about, a lot of regret, and she feels like she failed the first time in how to deal with him. And so there's a bit of that personal mission of like, "I want to see to it that I get this right." She also hasn't seen this person for years, so a sense of curiosity. To me, it's a very human moment when you know the right thing to do, but when emotions are involved and your heart is involved, how many times do you do the right thing and how many times do you do the thing that you want to do? And so, she wants to see him face to face, she needs to see him, and it just becomes another situation in which she has to trust in order to move forward.

TVLINE | Does this case change the relationship between Eva and Scola, and if so, how?
Absolutely. Even in a romantic relationship when you have your first fight, it's like the relationship really begins, the work begins. How committed are you to each other? Do your wounds fit someone else's wounds? Can you compromise with someone's flaws and vice versa? And I think that, for Scola and Eva, this is maybe the deepest you get to see Eva and how she reveals what is on her mind, what's in her heart, what she can't get over, what she needs help with, and Scola and Eva really have to come to a moment of like, "OK, I see you, and you see me. We're talking honestly, we're talking transparently, and how do we move forward and become better?" And I do think they become a real partnership at the end of this.

TVLINE | There's a huge action sequence with OA in the bed of an 18-wheeler, and Eva and Scola driving behind it. What was it like filming that scene?
It was four days to film the sequence, so it took a lot of dedication and work from our stunt people, from the crew, and from our cast. I think everyone did such a wonderful job in it, and it took such a labor of effort and love that I'm really excited to see the end result. I can tell you it was wicked being able to film it. There were so many little intricate pieces at play in order to get this done that I think the audience is really gonna enjoy, but it did take a good amount of time in order to get this. It feels very much like an action movie.

TVLINE | Eva and the team are able to take down Turner, but Vega gets away. How is she feeling about how this case wraps up?
It's very difficult for her. I don't think she necessarily feels like she redeems herself. I don't think that she feels like she was able to get her personal justice. I do think there's also that situation of like, no, I did everything right. I did everything you asked me to do, and I still didn't get the thing I wanted. There's a bit of heartbreak in that. If two plus two equals four and I did it, why didn't I get four? And that is an area that I think is so much a part of Eva's personality, but also where she needs to grow. That sometimes life isn't two plus two equals four. Sometimes it's just seven. That's just what it is, so I do think it's heartbreaking, but also an opportunity for a lot of growth.

TVLINE | When Eva shares with Scola that she lost a key witness in her former case, he tells her she can't carry it with her, but I guess it's easier said than done.
I think so. I think it's much easier to say something than do something, and so, yeah, it's going to require that she forgives herself and how long that'll take or what will inspire her to finally do it? I don't know. But I do think there's just a lot of frustration that she wasn't able to get a different outcome from that experience.

TVLINE | Any chance we'll learn more about Eva's life as a prosecutor down the road?
I hope so. I do think it's really cool that we see this person with this particular background as part of the squad. It lends a different type of approach to solving a case. A different type of superpower, so I'm really excited to see how Eva's past helps the team. I'm hoping and I'd be really excited to see more of her past come to light.

TVLINE | Anything you can tease about what's to come in Season 8's final episodes?
Our showrunner [Mike Weiss] does such a great job of [asking], "How can we make something bigger and better? How can we deliver the best product? How can we make our show just incrementally more exciting?" and he's doing such a great job with that. So I think the audience can be excited to tune into some really great storylines that we have ahead. Even seeing Maggie's journey. We just saw in last [week's] episode, she's lost her sister and what that loss does to her and this team... we're seeing the team and their own personal sacrifices and losses while trying to fight for justice for the city. So there's going to be some great episodes coming up.