Sadly, Greg Hovanessian has left FBI: International (Here's how Damian was written out)

From the moment Greg Hovanessian joined the cast of FBI: International in season 2, we were immediately a fan of his character Special Agent Damian Powell – and no, not just because he was easy on the eyes, though we for sure were crushing. Damian was unlike any other member of the Fly Team with his own unique approach to closing cases and tackling leads. He was described as being one the best agents in Forrester’s book but also known for being a bit of a wild card with a problem with authority. 

Even we were a bit shocked when Forrester extended an invite for Damian to join the team following his introduction in the nineteenth episode of season 2; however, the more we got to know Damian the more we fell in love with him. His approach was different from everyone else on the Fly Team which shook up the team dynamics and kept us on our toes as a viewer as we never quite knew what lines he might cross. 

When the season ended with an explosive cliffhanger, we feared the worst wondering whether CBS added Damian into the Fly Team ensemble only to write him off via the explosion. After all, it’s not uncommon for shows to introduce characters, let the audience fall in love with them, and then kill them off over more established characters as the payoff to a cliffhanger-style plotline. 

To our delight, Damian survived the explosion and our fear that he was leaving went away which is why we were so stunned when he was giving his walking papers at the end of the fifth episode of season 3.

Powell left FBI: International to work in undercover ops

In “Death by Inches,” the Fly Team headed out to Vienna to help investigate a disgraced former U.S. cabinet member suspected of peddling classified government documents. After Damian got physical with a witness in a locked interrogation room the previous episode, he was benched by Forrester, who took to the field to go undercover on the op. 

Damian struggled working out of the headquarters rather than joining the team in the field, particularly with taking a back seat and trusting the calls of those around him. Luckily all worked out with the case and Forrester came back to the team unscathed but it was clear to him that things with Damian weren’t working out. 

As the episode neared its end, Forrester called Damian into his office and assured him he wasn’t getting fired. He was, however, getting transferred off the Fly Team. Forrester explained that he had talked with a member of the undercovers ops branch who was looking for someone to help with a long-term investigation in Germany in what he described as a deep cover op where Damian would be in the field, in the thick of it, 24/7.

Damian initially pushed back telling Forrester it was just one mistake to which Forrester assured him it was time and that he could no longer look the other way. 

"It's time, Damian. 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?"

After accepting the transfer, Damian joined the full Fly Team for a night out for celebratory goodbye drinks toasting his teammates for helping to hold him accountable and literally saving his life on more than one occasion. As he toasted his team, he thanked them for showing him “ that no matter where I am or who I’m pretending to be, I will never be lost.” 

The moment very much felt like a goodbye and that was intentional as Greg Hovanessian has stepped away from the show and will no longer appear as a series regular on the series. 

While the show did leave the door open for Damian to return in the future, it seems unlikely we’ll see him again for some time – after all, it seems like the undercover ops gig he’s accepted is going to keep him busy for months to come. Unless the team crosses paths as part of his undercover op, which is a possibility, we’re not anticipating we’ll see Damian back in the remaining episodes of season 3.