The FBI midseason finale was a rough one for OA (Zeeko Zaki), and now it feels like he may never be the same. In “Riptide,” after a cargo heist left some customs officers dead, OA convinced his team to let him involve his recently acquired CI Clay (Guy Lockard), who could get the bad guys to give up evidence of their heist operation. Since his days serving as an Army Ranger alongside OA, Clay had taken a turn towards the darker side. He ran a surveillance app and had a little network of criminals, making him a perfect informant for OA, assuming he was able to steer himself back away from being a criminal himself.
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OA put himself on the line despite serious concerns from Maggie (Missy Peregrym), and unfortunately, Maggie was right. OA was a little bit blinded by his loyalty to the guy who once saved his life, and it ended in tragedy. Either OA was going to be shot, or he had to shoot Clay after it turned out that Clay had turned on the FBI. He led them to the responsible criminals and their stolen goods, but then ditched his phone and took advantage of the situation for himself.
OA was left with no choice but to shoot him. Clay died at the scene, leaving OA feeling both betrayed and guilty as the episode ended. However, according to Zaki, OA is keeping his feelings close to his chest as the team continues to fight crime.
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“He gets right back to work, partly because the job helps take his mind off the fact that he killed his friend,” Zaki tells Parade in an exclusive interview around the winter finale. “And partly because of how quickly these agents are able to process the choices they’ve made. OA made a decision, and now he has to live with it.”
Zaki says that while the ordeal “definitely shakes” OA, they haven’t gotten to dive ino how he deals with it. “It’ll be interesting to see how we explore, or choose not to explore, how deeply this affects him moving forward.”
The FBI shooting schedule is only a few episodes ahead of the air schedule, so it’s intriguing that OA hasn’t yet had a chance to deal with any feelings. Usually, when that happens on a show like this, that means the feelings are going to hit harder later on, when it might be more difficult to deal with them in a healthy and professional way. Maggie, for example, recently had to take time off after taking guardianship of a little girl after the death of her friend. Agent Wallace (Tiffany Renee Kane) left the bureau at the beginning of this season, many episodes after another agent was killed while undercover with her. OA is the utmost professional, but FBI agents are not infallible.
For now, Zaki knows a few things remain unshaken: OA’s innate sense of loyalty, his idea of right and wrong, and his relationship with his partner Maggie. “They are each other’s rocks, each other’s ride or die,” he says. “It’s all still so fresh, but it will be interesting to see how this affects us and our relationship moving forward. For now, though, all is good, and we’re as tight as ever.” Let’s hope it stays that way!
FBI returns Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 on CBS.
Next, check out our interview with new FBI: International star Jay Hayden.
